The D'oyly Carte Charitable Trust

Charity Number: 1112457

Annual Expenditure: £2.1M
Scotland, Northern Ireland, Throughout England And Wales

Contact Info

Website:www.doylycartecharitabletrust.org

Phone:0203 637 3003

Email:info@doylycartecharitabletrust.org

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: Not publicly disclosed
  • Success Rate: Not disclosed (heavily oversubscribed)
  • Decision Time: 3-6 months depending on submission timing
  • Grant Range: £500 - £6,000
  • Geographic Focus: United Kingdom (all regions)

Contact Details

Website: www.doylycartecharitabletrust.org

Email: info@doylycartecharitabletrust.org

Phone: 0203 637 3003

Registered Charity: 1112457

Company Number: 05638406

Address: 6 Trull Farm Buildings, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8SQ

For application assistance, contact the Grants Administrator via phone or email.

Overview

The D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust was established in 1972 by Dame Bridget D'Oyly Carte (1908-1985), granddaughter of Richard D'Oyly Carte who founded the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Dame Bridget created the Trust to support her personal interests in theatre, music, and gardening, with particular emphasis on helping disadvantaged and disabled children. She was awarded a DBE in 1975 for her services to the Trust. Operating as a UK-registered charity and company limited by guarantee, the Trust funds charities across three main fields: advancement of the arts, health and medical welfare, and environmental protection or improvement. The Trust generates income primarily from investments and operates with clear three-year priority cycles to focus its grantmaking.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

  • Main Grant Programme: £500 - £6,000 (typically one-year grants, occasionally up to 3 years)
  • Three decision meetings annually (March, July, November)
  • Online application system
  • Fixed deadlines approximately 6-8 weeks before each meeting
  • Will consider both core costs and project funding
  • Strong preference for small-scale, locally-based initiatives

Priority Areas (2023-2026)

The Arts:

  • Access and participation in the arts for those who have least access, with emphasis on choirs and singing to build community and bring people together
  • Music and drama projects engaging young people on the fringes of society to improve employability and diminish risk of social exclusion
  • Performance development opportunities in the performing arts for those in early career stages

Health and Medical Welfare:

  • Music and art therapy and non-clinical interventions using singing, drama, and musical techniques to aid recovery from illness and improve quality of life and mental wellbeing
  • Support for charities alleviating suffering of adults and children with medical conditions who struggle to find support through traditional sources
  • Support for carers, particularly young carers

Environmental Protection:

  • Social and therapeutic horticulture projects that use nature and gardening as tools for mental wellbeing
  • Environmental activities bringing positive changes to lives of those living with disabilities or ill-health
  • Conservation activities and rural crafts/skills in heritage conservation

What They Don't Fund

  • Capital projects and routine maintenance
  • Community transport organizations
  • Air ambulances and vehicle requests
  • Conferences, exhibitions, seminars, expeditions
  • Counseling and psychotherapy services
  • Drug abuse or alcoholism rehabilitation
  • Feasibility studies
  • General and round-robin appeals
  • Hospitals and individual hospices (exception: continue supporting Hospice UK and welcome applications from charities delivering music/art therapy services to hospices)
  • Individuals
  • Large well-funded national charities
  • Mainstream schools and curriculum-linked projects
  • Medical research
  • Nurseries and playgroups (except special needs)
  • Non-registered charities
  • Projects starting within 3 months of meeting date (unless 75% funded)
  • Projects outside the UK
  • Recordings and new work commissions
  • Retrospective funding
  • Religious causes and activities
  • Sports
  • Universities

Governance and Leadership

Chair of Trustees: Andrew Wimble (appointed Trustee 2013, Chair 2023)

  • Chartered Fellow of the Securities Institute and Chartered Wealth Manager
  • Over 30 years' experience as stockbroker, fund manager, and private banker
  • Extensive experience in charity investment management
  • Committee member of the Charity Investors Group

Trustees: 8 trustees with diverse professional backgrounds including investment management, law, medicine, architecture, and arts administration

Clerk to the Trustees: Johanna Tompsett

Management Team (The Trust Partnership):

  • Benjamin Janes - Chief Executive
  • Sarah Worster - Senior Grants Administrator
  • Clare Westwood - Grants Administrator
  • Noel Cooper - Finance Director
  • Anne Palmer - Accountant

Committees:

  • Investment Committee
  • DCT/KCL Advisory Board

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

  1. Review eligibility: Must be a UK-registered, exempt, or excepted charity (Charity Commission, OSCR, or Charity Commission for Northern Ireland)
  1. Check alignment: Review downloadable guidelines and ensure your work aligns with current three-year priorities before applying
  • Do NOT use tablet/mobile devices - use PC/laptop
  • Application can be saved and resumed for up to 30 days
  • Mandatory fields marked with *
  • Organization details (legal status, registration numbers)
  • Requested grant amount
  • Project purpose and beneficiary details
  • Project timeline (start date at least 3 months after meeting)
  • UK region benefited
  • Charitable objects and activities
  • Recent financial accounts
  • Declaration of any trustee relationships
  • Completed bank details form
  • Bank account confirmation document
  • Details of other potential funders
  1. Application deadlines: Approximately 6-8 weeks before each trustee meeting

Decision Timeline

  • Application to decision: 3-6 months depending on submission timing
  • Trustees meet: Three times annually (March, July, November)
  • Grant payment: Within 30 days of decision (BACS payment to charity bank account)
  • Delayed start: Projects should have start date at least 3 months after meeting date (unless 75% funded)

Important timing note: The Trust is “always overwhelmed with applications, with many submitted on the closing date” - apply well ahead of deadlines to ensure full assessment.

Success Rates

Not publicly disclosed, but the Trust reports being heavily oversubscribed with applications.

Reapplication Policy

  • After unsuccessful application: Wait 2 years from date of rejection before reapplying
  • After successful grant: Can reapply after submitting grant report (at least 2 weeks before new application)
  • Frequency limits:
  • Maximum one grant per financial year
  • Maximum three consecutive years of funding
  • Maximum three grants within any five-year period

Application Success Factors

Direct Guidance from the Trust

Before Applying:

  • “Read the Guidelines and Exclusions before you decide to apply”
  • "Consider whether your work aligns with the Trust's priorities for the next three years"
  • Contact the Grants Administrator for assistance (0203 637 3003)

Project Timing:

  • Have at least 75% of project funding secured if starting within 3 months of meeting
  • Trustees will not award retrospective funding
  • Apply well before deadline - last-minute applications may not receive full assessment

Strategic Alignment:

  • Preference given to small-scale, locally-based initiatives
  • Strong focus on beneficiaries with least access to services
  • Emphasis on practical interventions (non-clinical for health, participatory for arts)
  • Connection to Dame Bridget's original interests: theatre, music, gardening, and helping disadvantaged/disabled children

Application Characteristics that Align with Trust Values

Arts applications should emphasize:

  • Choirs and singing as community-building tools
  • Engaging marginalized young people through music/drama
  • Early career performance development
  • Accessibility for those with least access to arts

Health applications should emphasize:

  • Music/art therapy and non-clinical creative interventions
  • Using singing, drama, musical techniques therapeutically
  • Supporting those who fall through traditional support systems
  • Carer support, especially young carers

Environmental applications should emphasize:

  • Social and therapeutic horticulture
  • Nature/gardening for mental wellbeing
  • Supporting people with disabilities or ill-health through environmental activities
  • Conservation and rural heritage skills

Red Flags to Avoid

  • Large-scale or capital projects (they prefer small, local initiatives)
  • Applications from well-funded national organizations
  • General appeals not tailored to priorities
  • Projects starting too soon or already begun
  • Mainstream educational settings
  • Lack of alignment with current three-year priority cycle

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Timing is critical: Apply well before deadlines (not last minute) and ensure project start dates are at least 3 months after trustee meeting dates to avoid automatic rejection
  • Small and local wins: The Trust explicitly prefers “small-scale, locally-based initiatives” - emphasize your grassroots nature and local impact rather than positioning as a large-scale program
  • Follow the three-year cycle: Carefully align applications with the current priority cycle (2023-2026 focuses) rather than general arts/health/environment work - specificity to choirs/singing, therapeutic creative interventions, and social horticulture matters
  • Demonstrate 75% funding: If you need to start sooner than 3 months post-meeting, prove at least 75% of project funding is already secured - this shows project viability and reduces risk for trustees
  • Target underserved beneficiaries: Emphasize how you reach those with “least access” to services or who “struggle to find support through traditional sources” - this echoes Dame Bridget's founding vision of helping disadvantaged and disabled people
  • Use their language: Applications should reflect Trust terminology - “non-clinical interventions,” “therapeutic,” “participatory,” “community-building,” “employability,” “social exclusion” - showing you understand their strategic approach
  • Prepare for the long haul: With 3-6 month decision timelines and heavy oversubscription, build this funder into longer-term fundraising strategies rather than expecting quick wins

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References