The Aurora Trust

Charity Number: 802623

Annual Expenditure: £2.7M
Throughout England, Italy, United States

Contact Info

Website: https://auroratrust.org.uk/

Phone: 020 7410 0330

Email: auroratrust@sfct.org.uk

Be the first to know about new funding opportunities

Get notified when we add new funders to the directory

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £2.75 million (approximate, based on recent grants data)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
  • Grant Range: £371 - £1,200,000
  • Typical Grant Size: £20,000 - £120,000
  • Geographic Focus: Primarily UK, with selective international grants (Brazil, Indonesia)

Contact Details

  • Website: https://auroratrust.org.uk/
  • Email: auroratrust@sfct.org.uk
  • Phone: 020 7410 0330
  • Address: The Peak, 5 Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1AP

Overview

The Aurora Trust (formerly The Ashden Trust) was founded in 1989 by Sarah Butler-Sloss, who remains Chair of the Board of Trustees. The Trust is one of the 17 charitable trusts within the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts network. In 2022, the organization changed its name to The Aurora Trust—Aurora meaning “dawn” in Latin—reflecting its renewed commitment to mitigating climate change. With charitable expenditure ranging from approximately £1.5 million to £4.9 million annually in recent years, the Trust's mission is to help protect the world from climate change, keep global temperatures to 1.5 degrees as agreed in the Paris Agreement, and restore our relationship with the natural world. The Trust operates through strategic grantmaking and investments, identifying organizations to support through research, partners, experts, and thorough due diligence rather than accepting unsolicited applications.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The Aurora Trust operates several interconnected programme areas:

  1. Climate Change Collaboration - Working with two other Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts (Mark Leonard Trust and JJ Charitable Trust) to move capital toward clean energy and stabilize global temperatures
  1. Connecting People with Nature - Small grants programme funding children's outdoor time in nature and play, as well as supporting adults in connecting with nature for mental and physical health benefits
  1. Stopping Deforestation - Supporting efforts in the Amazon, Indonesia, and West Papua, including support for indigenous groups protecting forest lands
  1. Sustainable Farming - Supporting organizations advocating for sustainable agricultural and food policy practices
  1. Energy Efficiency and Home Retrofitting - Supporting initiatives to increase access to sustainable energy and affordable home retrofit services
  1. Ashden Climate Solutions - Providing unrestricted funding annually to its sister charity, Ashden

Grant Amounts: Individual grants typically range from £20,000 to £120,000, though grants can range from as little as £371 to as much as £1.2 million for core organizational support.

Application Method: The Trust does not accept unsolicited applications but may occasionally issue “Call for Proposals” for specific programme areas, which will include briefing notes on objectives, criteria, process, and grant sizes available.

Priority Areas

  • Climate change mitigation and adaptation
  • Forest protection and indigenous peoples' rights
  • Agroecology and sustainable farming practices
  • Nature connection programmes for disadvantaged children and adults from BAME backgrounds
  • Renewable energy and low carbon technologies
  • Climate finance and policy advocacy
  • Legal and policy work supporting environmental justice
  • Social justice initiatives linked to climate action

What They Don't Fund

  • Individuals (grants are made to registered charities or organisations aligned with their charitable purposes)
  • Organisations not working on climate-related issues
  • Unsolicited applications outside of announced Calls for Proposals

Governance and Leadership

Trustees

Sarah Butler-Sloss - Founder and Chair

Internationally recognized for her work on sustainable development, sustainable energy, and climate solutions. Founded the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy and was named in Forbes' top 100 environmentalists. She is a regular contributor to UK and global policy debates on sustainable energy. Sarah has expressed that "very often the political world likes to find an answer that fits all, and with climate change there isn't one," highlighting the Trust's approach to supporting diverse solutions.

Grace Yu

Trained lawyer and Ambassador for Rainforest Alliance

Claire Birch

Co-owner of Doddington Hall and Gardens, Trustee of Doddington Hall Conservation Charity

Jeremy Rogers

Chief Investment Officer of Better Society Capital, Industrial Professor at UCL

Staff

  • Sian Ferguson - Trust Executive
  • Darren Chin - Deputy Trust Executive
  • Emily Griffin - Trust Support Officer
  • Beverley Huddy - PA/Administrator
  • Anup Shah - Senior Finance Partner

The Trust operates as a small team, which is why they do not have capacity to deal with unsolicited applications and instead identify organizations through research and expert networks.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

The Aurora Trust does not accept unsolicited applications. Instead, they:

  1. Identify organizations to support through research, partners, experts in the field, and due diligence processes
  2. Occasionally issue specific “Call for Proposals” to expand programme areas
  3. Invite interested organizations to sign up for updates at https://auroratrust.org.uk/apply/

When a Call for Proposals is issued:

  • A short briefing note explains objectives, criteria, process, and grant sizes available
  • Each Call has different criteria depending on the programme area
  • Proposals should be kept to 1-2 pages
  • Applicants must clearly demonstrate how their organization's work matches the criteria
  • Contact details must be provided

Decision Timeline

Decision timelines are not publicly disclosed and likely vary depending on the specific Call for Proposals.

Success Rates

Success rates are not publicly available. Due to the volume of applications received during Calls for Proposals, the Trust cannot respond individually to each applicant and typically only responds to successful applicants.

Reapplication Policy

Not publicly disclosed. Given the Call for Proposals model, unsuccessful applicants would have opportunities to apply again when new Calls are issued for relevant programme areas.

Application Success Factors

Key Success Factors

  1. Alignment with Programme Areas: Organizations must clearly demonstrate how their work directly addresses one or more of the Trust's five programme areas focused on climate change mitigation
  1. Strategic Approach: The Trust values organizations that take a systemic approach to climate solutions rather than single-answer solutions, reflecting Sarah Butler-Sloss's perspective on the complexity of climate challenges
  • Core organizational costs and unrestricted funding
  • Specific projects and research initiatives
  • Policy and advocacy work
  • Grassroots networks and community initiatives
  • Indigenous rights and environmental justice work
  • Ashden Climate Solutions: Receives annual unrestricted funding (largest grants: up to £1.2 million)
  • Amazon Watch: Supporting indigenous peoples' rights and forest protection
  • Soil Association: Agroecology and sustainable farming policy work
  • Sustain: Advocating for sustainable agricultural and food policy
  • The Country Trust: Bringing disadvantaged school children to farms for nature connection
  • Wild in the City: Supporting adults from BAME backgrounds to connect with local wildlife spaces
  • MCS Foundation: Mass Scale Retrofit Funding Programme for affordable home retrofit services
  • Green Finance Institute: Developing financial solutions aligned with Paris Agreement
  • Environmental Law Foundation: Developing legal concepts of nature's rights
  • Forest Peoples Programmes: Supporting indigenous rights
  1. Conciseness Matters: Keep proposals to 1-2 pages, demonstrating the Trust values clarity and directness over lengthy applications

Language and Approach

The Trust uses language focused on:

  • “Tackling climate change in a fair and just way”
  • “Restoring our relationship with the natural world”
  • “Climate solutions in action”
  • “Safeguarding,” “restoring,” and “supporting”
  • Social justice and equity alongside environmental goals

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  1. Don't Apply Unless Invited: This is a strategic funder that proactively identifies grantees. Your best approach is to sign up for their mailing list and wait for relevant Calls for Proposals, or work to get your organization on their radar through partner networks and climate sector visibility.
  1. Climate Focus is Non-Negotiable: Every grant must clearly address climate change through one of their five programme areas. Ensure your work directly contributes to keeping global temperatures within the 1.5°C Paris Agreement target.
  1. Think Systemically, Not Single Solutions: Given the founder's philosophy that there isn't one answer to climate change, demonstrate how your work addresses systemic issues or complements other climate solutions rather than claiming to be a silver bullet.
  1. Social Justice Matters: The Trust consistently emphasizes “fair and just” approaches to climate action. Highlight how your work benefits disadvantaged communities, indigenous peoples, or addresses climate justice.
  1. Build Sector Credibility: Since they identify organizations through research and expert networks, focus on building your organization's reputation in the climate sector, publishing research, and building relationships with other Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts grantees.
  1. Unrestricted and Core Costs Available: The Trust provides both project-specific and unrestricted funding, including support for core organizational costs—don't be afraid to ask for flexible funding if it fits the Call criteria.
  1. Be Concise: When the opportunity arises, keep your proposal to 1-2 pages maximum. The small team appreciates brevity and clarity over lengthy documentation.

Similar Funders

These funders frequently fund the same charities:

References