The Chimo Trust Cio

Quick Stats

• Charity Number: 1198696
• Annual Giving: £304,230 (2024)
• Total Investment to Date: £1.4 million
• Grant Recipients: 17 charity partners
• Grant Range: £20,000 - £300,000 (estimated, based on 10% cap)
• Target Income Range: £200k - £3m (with exceptions)
• Grant Cap: Maximum 10% of recipient's annual income
• Geographic Focus: UK-wide
• Age Focus: Young people aged 11-25
• Application Method: Invitation only - does not accept unsolicited applications

Contact Details

Website: www.chimotrust.org

Email: info@chimotrust.org

Phone: 7867533477

Overview

The Chimo Trust CIO is a relatively new grant-making charity (registered charity number 1198696) that has invested £1.4 million into 17 carefully selected charity partners since its establishment. In the financial year ending April 2024, the trust had an income of £640,096 and charitable expenditure of £304,230. Founded by Gavin White, a former fund manager at Millennium Partners, the trust takes its name from White's childhood nickname - “Chimo,” a word believed to mean “a special friend for people in need” in the ancient language of the Inuit people of Northern Canada. The trust operates as a highly engaged funder, supporting charities that deliver mental health support to young people (aged 11-25) through sport, nature, and art-based interventions in non-clinical settings. Their approach focuses not just on providing grants but on supporting partners to strengthen organisational capability, increase scale, develop evidence, and collaborate with each other.

Funding Priorities

Grant Approach

The Chimo Trust provides grants to UK registered charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs). Most grants are unrestricted, allowing charities flexibility in how they use the funding. The trust is selective, having made grants to 16 organisations in their first three years, now expanded to 17 charity partners.

Grant Parameters:

• Target charities with annual income between £200k and £3m (with some exceptions)
• Maximum grant: 10% of recipient's annual income per year
• Focus on capacity-building grants (e.g., funding staff positions, CEO salaries, programme managers)

Application Cycle: Next funding round scheduled for early 2026

Priority Areas

The Chimo Trust seeks charities that:

• Physical activity and sport
• Nature-based activities
• Creative arts

1. Can evidence their impact on young people's mental health outcomes

1. Have ambition and capability to expand their reach beyond current operations

1. Are prepared to share best practice with other charities in the Chimo portfolio

1. Provide non-clinical mental health support to young people aged 11-25 who may find statutory services out of reach or unsuitable

1. Offer accessible forms of therapeutic support that serve as alternatives or pathways to traditional mental health services

Current Portfolio Examples

Confirmed charity partners include:

• GRIT (Growing Resilience in Teens) - Chimo funded the CEO's salary
• Grow (Sheffield) - Funded a Programme and Impact Manager for nature-based projects
• The Running Charity - Funded a new coach to expand services for young people experiencing homelessness
• Dose of Nature - Funded a psychologist to increase capacity from 60 to 150 young people annually
• Football Beyond Borders - Funded Head of London Programmes to expand into social prescriptions
• Poetic Unity (Brixton) - Poetry-based mental health support, particularly for marginalised Black and Black Mixed heritage young people
• The Music Works (Gloucestershire) - Music-based interventions
• The Wave Project - Surfing and peer support programmes

What They Don't Fund

• Traditional talking therapy sessions
• Organisations whose primary activity is youth work (rather than mental health support)
• Generally not available to charities outside the £200k-£3m income range
• Grants exceeding 10% of annual income

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Governance and Leadership

Key Personnel

Gavin White - Founder

Former fund manager at Millennium Partners and financial analyst at SG Warburg/UBS. After witnessing an explosion in mental health challenges among children of family and friends, he established the Chimo Trust.

Laura Barbour - Grant Giving and Impact Lead

Supports the Trustee board with over 30 years' experience in the charitable sector, including roles at UK Youth and The Sutton Trust, where she spent 27 years on the founding team leading research, policy initiatives, and programme delivery.

Karen Turner - Trustee

Distinguished career in the Department of Health and NHS. Director of Mental Health for NHS England (2015-2018), where she established an Expert Group led by the Chief Executive of Mind to produce a 'Five Year Forward View for Mental Health' and secured over £1bn in new funds for child, adolescent, and adult mental health.

Fiorella Massey MBE - Trustee

Ally - Trustee

Multi-award winning NHS Junior Doctor and recipient of the BBC Food & Farming New Talent Award, The Diana Award, and The Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.

The trustee team brings diverse experience from careers in mental healthcare, investment, business, politics, and charity into a shared vision to grow the depth and breadth of mental health support available to young people in the UK.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

The Chimo Trust does not accept unsolicited applications. The Chimo team actively seeks out charities to invite to apply for funding, rather than operating an open application process.

Their next grant giving round will be in early 2026. Charities cannot apply directly but may contact the trust at info@chimotrust.org to introduce their organisation.

Getting on Their Radar

The Chimo Trust holds an annual summit bringing together all 17 charity partners. In 2025, this summit facilitated collaboration and best practice sharing among portfolio organisations. While specific networking opportunities are not publicly documented, the trust's emphasis on:

• Portfolio collaboration: Being part of a network that shares best practice suggests they value organisations willing to work cooperatively
• Active identification: The trust team actively researches and identifies potential partners rather than waiting for applications
• Evidence-based work: Demonstrating clear evidence of impact on young people's mental health outcomes is critical to being noticed

If your organisation fits their criteria (£200k-£3m income, therapeutic sport/nature/arts interventions for 11-25 year olds with mental health challenges), building visibility in the youth mental health sector and ensuring your impact evidence is publicly accessible may help the trust identify your work during their research phases.

Decision Timeline

Specific timelines from initial contact to grant award are not publicly documented, as the trust operates on an invitation-only basis with bespoke engagement for each potential partner.

Success Rates

Not publicly available, as there is no open application process. The trust has a highly selective approach, having made grants to only 16-17 organisations over their first few years of operation.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable given the invitation-only model. The trust appears to provide ongoing multi-year support to partners rather than one-off grants.

Application Success Factors

Since the Chimo Trust operates an invitation-only model, traditional “application success factors” differ from open grant programmes. However, based on their documented priorities and funded organisations, the following characteristics appear to attract the trust's attention:

1. Evidence of impact is paramount: The trust explicitly states they seek charities that “can evidence their impact.” Funded partners like Grow received funding for a Programme and Impact Manager specifically to strengthen impact measurement and management systems.

1. Capacity for growth: The trust looks for organisations with “ambition and capability to expand their reach.” Funded examples include Dose of Nature expanding from 60 to 150 young people annually, and Football Beyond Borders broadening service offerings.

1. Therapeutic interventions, not traditional youth work: The trust distinguishes between organisations whose primary activity is youth work versus those using sport, nature, or arts specifically as therapeutic mental health interventions.

1. Non-clinical pathways: Successfully funded organisations provide “a pathway to support for those who find statutory services out of reach or unsuitable” - filling gaps in traditional mental health provision.

1. Collaboration mindset: The trust requires charities to be “prepared to share best practice with other charities in the Chimo portfolio.” Annual summits facilitate cross-portfolio learning.

1. Strategic capacity building: Grant examples show funding for CEO salaries (GRIT), programme managers (Grow), coaches (The Running Charity), and specialists (Dose of Nature) - positions that strengthen organisational capability rather than just programme delivery.

1. Diversity in approach and reach: Portfolio includes organisations working with specific marginalised groups (Poetic Unity), different geographic locations (Sheffield, Gloucestershire, London), and various therapeutic modalities (running, surfing, poetry, music, nature).

1. Income sweet spot: Targeting the £200k-£3m annual income range suggests they seek organisations beyond start-up phase but not yet large-scale, where their grants (capped at 10% of income) can have “meaningful impact.”

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• You cannot apply directly - The Chimo Trust actively identifies and invites organisations to apply. Focus on raising your organisation's visibility in the youth mental health sector.

• Evidence is everything - Ensure your impact data on young people's mental health outcomes is robust, publicly accessible, and demonstrates effectiveness of your therapeutic approach.

• Growth potential matters - Position your organisation as having both the ambition and infrastructure to scale if you want to attract their attention (aim for £200k-£3m income bracket).

• Therapeutic, not recreational - Clearly articulate how your sport/nature/arts activities function as therapeutic mental health interventions for 11-25 year olds, not just youth engagement.

• Collaboration signals readiness - Being willing to share best practice and learn from peers is a core requirement; demonstrate openness to being part of a learning network.

• Multi-year partnership approach - The trust provides ongoing support and works closely with partners to strengthen organisational capability; they seek long-term relationships, not transactional grants.

• Unrestricted funding focus - Most grants are unrestricted, and examples show funding for core costs like CEO salaries, suggesting they value organisational sustainability over project-specific work.

• Next opportunity: Early 2026 - Mark your calendar for their next funding round and ensure your organisation's online presence clearly communicates your eligibility and impact before then.

References

• The Chimo Trust official website: www.chimotrust.org
• Charity Commission Register of Charities, THE CHIMO TRUST CIO (1198696): https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5196505/charity-overview
• Chimo Trust “What we fund” page: https://www.chimotrust.org/What-we-fund
• Chimo Trust “Who we are” page: https://www.chimotrust.org/Who-we-are
• Chimo Trust charity partner pages for GRIT, Grow, The Running Charity, Dose of Nature, Football Beyond Borders, Poetic Unity, The Music Works, and The Wave Project on chimotrust.org
• Dose of Nature blog: “Dose of Nature at the 2025 Chimo Trust Summit” https://www.doseofnature.org.uk/dose-of-nature-at-the-2025-chimo-trust-summit
• LinkedIn profiles for Gavin White (Founder), Laura Barbour (Grant Giving and Impact Lead), and Fiorella Massey MBE (Trustee)