The Julia Rausing Trust

Registered charity 1213572 · since 2025juliarausingtrust.org·Cheshire, Gloucestershire, London, United Kingdom·Updated 29 October 2026

At a glance

£132M

Annual giving, year to 31 December 2025

From the Charity Commission register

Invitation only

Unsolicited applications are not accepted

This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. Don't spend time on an approach; the similar funders below support the same kind of work.

Key takeaways

The Trust does not accept unsolicited requests or speculative approaches, so a small charity should not send in an application out of the blue.
Its grants team researches areas of interest, identifies potential charities and contacts them directly, and that contact may lead to an invitation to apply.
Only British charities are eligible, and the themes are health and welfare, education, and arts and heritage, so check that your work sits within one of these; priority goes to organisations in West Central London, Gloucestershire and East Cheshire.
No grant range is stated, so do not assume a request size, and expect decisions to be made by Trustees through grant committees and Board meetings against six criteria: mission alignment, beneficiary need, organisational capability, governance, financial health and delivery track record.

Overview

The Julia Rausing Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1213572).

The Julia Rausing Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. It embodies a vision of a healthy society that gives care to those in need, provides opportunity for all, and offers inspiring cultural engagement and space for creativity. In its inaugural period it awarded £132.3 million via 411 grants across the UK. It works within broadly defined themes of health and welfare, education, and arts and heritage, developing targeted initiatives and programmes to respond to current issues and needs.

What they fund

Priority Areas

The Julia Rausing Trust makes grants to British charities, from small charities serving local communities to large national institutions. Its broad themes are health and welfare, education, and arts and heritage. It supports work meeting people’s basic needs and wellbeing, including immediate support and longer-term solutions for people in difficult circumstances; education, learning, training, development and employment that improve life chances; and spaces where people can access and participate in creativity, culture and beauty. The Trust develops targeted initiatives and programmes in response to current issues and needs. Its grants team proactively researches areas of interest, identifies potential charities and contacts them directly; most funding is invitation-led, with occasional programmes for aligned organisations. Priority is given to organisations operating in West Central London, Gloucestershire and East Cheshire.

Themes

Health & Welfare
Education
Arts & Heritage

Geographic Focus

UK. Priority: West Central London; Gloucestershire; East Cheshire.

What they don't fund

Unsolicited requests or applications for funding, except where specified within occasional grant programmes that may be announced from time to time
Speculative approaches for funding

How to apply

The grants team researches areas of interest, identifies potential charities and contacts them directly; contact may involve email, online meetings or site visits and may lead to an invitation to apply.

Who can apply:

British charities

Application success factors

What the charity says:

The grants team researches areas of interest and identifies potential charities under the Trustees’ direction.
Trustees consider applications through grant committees and Board meetings and make all funding decisions.
The Trust typically expects an annual report from grantees and carries out at least one site visit a year.
Each proposal is assessed for mission alignment, beneficiary need, organisational capability, governance, financial health and delivery track record.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

United Kingdom
London
Cheshire
Gloucestershire

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to The Julia Rausing Trust.

The Cherry Family FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £210k The Hadley TrustRollingGave £4.3M The RL Charitable TrustInvitation onlyGave £45,852 The Oglesby Charitable TrustInvitation onlyGave £2.4M The Field Family Charitable TrustFixed deadlinesGave £63,618 The Carr-Gregory TrustRollingGave £135k The John Coates Charitable TrustInvitation onlyGave £797k The Portishead Nautical TrustRollingGave £67,973 The 29th May 1961 Charitable TrustRollingGave £5M Wavestone UK TrustNo public processGave £79,621

1 year of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 December 2025	£165,763,576	£132,897,456	£132,272,910	Accounts for year to 31 December 2025

Grants paid, all years: grants to institutions, as reported on the charity register (Part B).

Figures from the charity’s filed accounts and its register entry. The document icon links to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register, where its filed accounts can be found.