The Leche Trust

Registered charity 1207755 · since 2024lechetrust.org·United Kingdom·Updated 31 October 2026

At a glance

£114k

Annual giving, year to 31 July 2025

From filed accounts

£3,000 to £4,000

Grant range

From the annual report's grant list

£4,000

Typical grant (median)

30 published grants

Open to applications

Fixed application deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

If your work is a UK-based performing-arts or heritage-conservation project, The Leche Trust is worth approaching, but check the exclusions first.
Typical grants fall between £3,000 and £4,000, and the Trust prefers smaller projects or defined elements of larger ones, so a request in that range fits well.
Applications go through its online portal, the form must be submitted to become live, and trustees consider them at three meetings a year, with the database opening 10 to 12 weeks before each meeting, so plan around those dates.
Performing-arts applicants from outside London and the Southeast are asked to discuss proposals with the Grants Director before submitting, and heritage applicants need a fully costed estimate and a condition assessment by a qualified conservator, normally ICON-accredited.
Do not apply if you are an individual or one of the CICs the Trust excludes, if your project takes place outside the UK, or, for performing arts, if your organisation's income exceeds £1.5 million a year.

Overview

The Leche Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1207755).

The Leche Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1207755), founded and endowed by its founder. It exists to support the professional performing arts and the conservation of heritage by making grants to UK organisations in these fields. In its latest reported year it awarded £113,736.

What they fund

Priority Areas

The Leche Trust supports performing arts and heritage conservation through grants to organisations. Applicants are UK-registered charities or public authorities; performing-arts applicants can also be local-authority-run venues. Projects must take place in the UK. In performing arts, it prioritises commissioning, development, production or performance of new work across music, theatre, dance and performance, and artists’ professional development that addresses a clear need or gap, especially for early- or mid-career artists and reflects current practice. It aims for excellence. Heritage grants support urgent remedial conservation of historically, artistically and culturally significant buildings and objects dating from before 1837, where items are in public or charitable ownership and accessible to the public. It prefers smaller projects or defined project elements where its contribution can have greater impact.

Themes

Performing arts
Heritage conservation
New works
Artists’ professional development

Geographic Focus

UK.

What they don't fund

CICs
Applicants other than UK registered charities or public authorities
Individuals
Projects located outside the UK
Performing Arts Grants only:
- applications from CICs
- applications from organisations with an income exceeding £1.5 million per annum
- applications from individuals
- applications that promote religion
- projects, programmes and activities where the majority of the artists and creatives are under 18
- projects, programmes and activities that only take place in a school setting
- projects that will commence less than five weeks from the published decisions outcome date (dates listed here )
- recordings, unless part of a wider project of live performance of new work, and/or artist professional development
- amateur/non-professional performances or the training of amateur/non-professional artists
- general arts programmes or appeals submitted without specific details about the new works or training that they will include
- projects in which the primary purpose is health, therapy or social welfare
- visual arts projects (including performance art )
- capital developments at arts venues or purchase of equipment
- projects not taking place in the UK
- larger projects or projects that are not specific elements of projects (preference: the Trust prefers to give grants to smaller projects, or specific elements of projects)
New Works in Performing Arts only: projects, programmes, R&D and activities where there is no direct public outcome
Artists’ Professional Development only:
- artist training and development bursaries or scholarships (whether they are at higher education institutions, such as music conservatoires or theatre/ballet/music schools)
- artist training and development projects aimed at a single recipient or fixed-term funding of a creative traineeship, such as Assistant Director or Designer for the production of a new work
- prizes and awards
- professional development that only offers artists the opportunity to rehearse and perform
Heritage Conservation Grants only:
- applications from CICs
- applications from individuals
- items that are Victorian or later in date, i.e. post 1837
- applications that promote religion
- new buildings or structural repairs, such as roof repairs, mechanical and electrical services, archaeological structures, such as earthworks and ditches etc
- costs related to displays and exhibitions, such as catalogues and publications, display cases and interpretation etc
- equipment and materials relating to environmental control and protection, such as UV film, blinds and storage
- general appeals for funding without details of specific, eligible works. Including applications for core costs related to the running of an organisation
- general heritage education, outreach and audience development projects
- bell restoration projects, unless the bells and their fittings are substantially pre-1837 in date and the aim is to conserve original elements as far as possible, consistent with safe use
- organ conservation, unless instruments are substantially pre-1837 in date and the aim is to conserve an original action and/or casework
- one off costs related to site visits and quotations
- larger projects or projects that are not specific elements of projects (preference: the Trust prefers to give grants to smaller projects, or specific elements of projects)
- items not in public or charitable ownership or not accessible to the public

How to apply

Applicants use the online application portal for the relevant grant scheme; they must submit the completed form for it to become a live application.

Deadlines: The trustees consider applications at three meetings each year, and the application database opens 10–12 weeks before each meeting.

Application success factors

What the charity says:

The Trust seeks original work and aims to nurture artists and their creativity.
It aims for excellence across both performing-arts priorities.
It prefers smaller projects or specific project elements where its contribution can have greater impact.
It particularly encourages eligible performing-arts applications from outside London and the Southeast of England; applicants from those areas are asked to discuss proposals with the Grants Director before submitting.
Applicants should explain what the grant will pay for so trustees can assess its potential impact and whether costs are eligible.
Conservation applications require a fully costed estimate and condition assessment by an appropriately qualified conservator, normally accredited with ICON.
Grantees provide an impact report within twelve months of the project's conclusion.
Conservation grantees notify the Trust when the project is complete and provide the conservator’s report.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

United Kingdom

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to The Leche Trust.

The D'Oyly Carte Charitable TrustFixed deadlinesGave £2M Colwinston Charitable TrustFixed deadlinesGave £927k The Garrick Club Charitable TrustFixed deadlinesGave £327k The Sackler TrustRollingGave £3.5M Chapman Charitable TrustFixed deadlinesGave £430k The Elizabeth Cayzer Charitable TrustInvitation onlyGave £398k The Anthony and Elizabeth Mellows Charitable SettlementRollingGave £1.1M Michael Marks Charitable TrustRollingGave £247k The Britford Bridge TrustFixed deadlinesGave £1.1M The John Browne Charitable TrustRollingGave £1M

Grants

30 published grants analysed · median £4,000

How much do they typically give?

Share of 30 grants in year to 31 July 2025 by size

£2.5k–£5k100%

Median £4,000 (year to 31 July 2025)

The largest grants to organisations in this funder’s latest annual report:

Alexander Whitley Dance Company
£4,000year to 31 July 2025
Anjali Dance Company Limited
£4,000year to 31 July 2025
City of London Sinfonia
£4,000year to 31 July 2025
Co Align
£4,000year to 31 July 2025
Constella Opera ballet
£4,000year to 31 July 2025
Cosmic Music
£4,000year to 31 July 2025
fifth word
£4,000year to 31 July 2025
High Tide Festival Productions
£4,000year to 31 July 2025

Grant examples taken from the funder’s filed accounts.

1 year of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 July 2025	£196,950	£399,096	£113,736	Accounts for year to 31 July 2025

Grants paid, all years: grants awarded in the year, as reported in the accounts.

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.