The Mowgli Trust

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: £555,500+ (charitable expenditure)
• Total Income: £681,881 (2024)
• Success Rate: Not applicable (invitation only)
• Decision Time: No public application process
• Grant Range: £4,000 - £150,000+ (based on documented partnerships)
• Geographic Focus: England and Wales (local), with international projects in India
• Application Method: Invitation only - no unsolicited applications accepted

Contact Details

Website: https://mowglitrust.com/

Registered Charity Number: 1173842

Email: Not publicly listed

Phone: Not publicly listed

Donations: Via PayPal on website

Overview

The Mowgli Trust (registered 2017) is the charitable arm of Mowgli Street Food restaurant chain, founded by Nisha Katona MBE, a former child protection barrister. With total income of £681,881 and charitable expenditure of £555,500 annually, the Trust distributes over £500,000 to carefully selected local community charities and international causes. Since 2014, Mowgli has raised over £1.8 million through customer donations (£1 discretionary addition to bills) and staff fundraising activities. The Trust operates a unique model where each of their 31+ restaurants has a dedicated “house charity” and Charity Champion, supporting organizations focused on children's health, education, disability support, and conservation. They explicitly do not accept unsolicited applications, working only with pre-selected partners identified by trustees.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The Mowgli Trust operates through two funding streams:

Local House Charity Partnerships (restaurant-specific, ongoing)

• Each Mowgli restaurant location partners with one local charity
• Multi-year partnerships with substantial cumulative giving
• Example grants: £150,000+ (Maggie's Cancer Care, Manchester), £75,000+ (Cerebral Palsy Cymru, Cardiff), £4,000+ (My WiSH Charity, Bury St Edmunds)
• Funded through £1 discretionary customer donations and team fundraising events

International Strategic Partnerships (Trust-wide)

• Plan International: School infrastructure projects in Varanasi, India (drinking water, STEM labs, libraries, teacher training)
• Action Against Hunger: Emergency relief and hunger prevention
• Chester Zoo: Conservation education, focus on endangered Asian elephants

Annual Special Events

• Annual Dog Show: Raised £101,000 for Claire House Children's Hospice

Priority Areas

The Trust demonstrates clear preference for:

• Children's health and wellbeing: Children's hospitals (Great Ormond Street Hospital), hospices (Claire House, Bluebell Wood, Hope House), pediatric care charities
• Disability support: Cerebral Palsy Cymru, Candlelighters
• Cancer care and support: Maggie's Cancer Care, Oxford Hospitals Charity, FOCUS (cancer patient support)
• Education access: Girls' education in India, school infrastructure
• Conservation and sustainability: Chester Zoo's endangered species programs
• Local community impact: Charities serving the specific communities where Mowgli restaurants operate

Geographic focus: Local charities must serve communities where Mowgli has restaurant locations (currently 31+ locations across England and Wales)

What They Don't Fund

The Trust does not publicly specify exclusions, but their track record indicates they do not fund:

• Organizations outside their restaurant locations (for house charity partnerships)
• General appeals or unsolicited requests
• Organizations that do not align with their focus on children, health, education, or conservation
• Individual applications (despite legal ability to grant to individuals)

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Governance and Leadership

Founder: Nisha Katona MBE

• Former child protection barrister (20 years)
• Founded Mowgli Street Food in 2014
• Awarded MBE in 2019 for services to the food industry
• Former trustee of National Museums Liverpool (2008)
• Former Cabinet Office Ambassador for Diversity in Public Appointments (2009)

Trustees: 3 trustees (names not publicly disclosed)

Volunteers: 12 volunteers support the charity

No trustee remuneration: All trustees serve without payment

Charitable Object: “To advance such charitable purposes as the trustees see fit from time to time, by providing grants, in particular, but not exclusively, to organisations and individuals in England and Wales.”

This broad remit gives trustees significant discretion in partner selection.

Operational Model:

• Each restaurant has a dedicated Charity Champion from staff
• Trust sends up to 40 team members annually to visit international project sites
• Fundraising includes staff-led activities: marathons, skydives, cake sales, the annual dog show

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

This funder does not have a public application process.

The Mowgli Trust explicitly states: “We will not accept unsolicited applications for partnerships, prizes or awards as we work only with our carefully selected charity partners.”

How Grants Are Awarded:

• House Charity Partnerships: Selected by trustees in consultation with restaurant teams when new locations open or partnerships change
• Strategic Partnerships: Board-level decisions for Trust-wide international partners
• All partners: Identified through trustee discretion and internal selection processes

The Trust operates on an invitation-only model with multi-year commitments to selected partners.

Getting on Their Radar

While the Trust does not accept unsolicited applications, organizations might increase visibility through:

Location-specific relevance:

When Mowgli opens new restaurant locations, they select house charities for those communities. Organizations in areas where Mowgli is expanding could potentially be considered. Mowgli has locations in Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Cheltenham, Oxford, Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds, and other cities across England and Wales.

Alignment with founder's values:

Nisha Katona's background as a child protection barrister and her Indian heritage inform the Trust's priorities. Organizations working in child protection, girls' education, or serving South Asian communities may resonate with these values.

Connection to hospitality sector:

The Trust is deeply embedded in the restaurant and hospitality sector. Organizations with existing relationships within this industry or that serve hospitality workers may have indirect pathways to visibility.

Existing partner relationships:

Current partners like Plan International, Action Against Hunger, and Chester Zoo were selected for strategic national/international impact. Organizations working in complementary areas or that could collaborate with existing partners might be considered.

Application Success Factors

Since there is no application process, success in becoming a Mowgli Trust partner depends on strategic fit rather than application quality. Based on their existing partnerships, successful partners typically demonstrate:

Strong local impact: House charity partners serve specific communities where Mowgli operates. Example: Cerebral Palsy Cymru in Cardiff supports children with cerebral palsy across Wales, directly serving the restaurant's community.

Engagement opportunities for staff: The Trust emphasizes staff involvement. Charity partners that can offer volunteering, awareness-raising, and meaningful engagement opportunities for restaurant teams appear preferred. Chester Zoo's role as “Sustainability Captain” includes regular team education sessions.

Multi-year relationship potential: Partnerships are long-term commitments. Maggie's Cancer Care has been supported by Manchester Corn Exchange location since 2015, raising over £150,000 across nearly a decade.

Alignment with children and families: The Trust's strongest pattern is support for children's health, education, and wellbeing. Great Ormond Street Hospital, Claire House Children's Hospice, Bluebell Wood, Hope House, and Candlelighters all focus on children facing serious illness.

Measurable, tangible outcomes: International partners deliver concrete results. The Plan International partnership rebuilds school infrastructure with specific deliverables: drinking water systems, bathrooms, STEM labs, libraries, teacher training.

Brand alignment: Partners align with Mowgli's values of community, inclusivity, and “enriching lives.” The Trust avoids controversial causes and focuses on universally supported issues like children's health and education.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• No unsolicited applications: Do not submit proposals to the Mowgli Trust. They will not be considered.
• Invitation-only model: All partnerships are trustee-selected. Focus on indirect visibility strategies rather than direct applications.
• Local presence matters most: For house charity partnerships, organizations must serve communities where Mowgli restaurants operate (31+ locations across England and Wales).
• Multi-year, high-value partnerships: When selected, partners receive sustained support over years, with cumulative grants ranging from £4,000 to £150,000+.
• Staff engagement is central: Partners should be able to offer meaningful volunteer and education opportunities for restaurant teams, not just receive funding.
• Children's causes are priority: The Trust's strongest focus is children's health, education, and wellbeing. Organizations in these areas align best with their mission.
• Track Mowgli's expansion: New restaurant openings may trigger selection of new house charity partners in those communities.

References

1. The Charity Commission, “Charity Overview: THE MOWGLI TRUST - 1173842,” Register of Charities, https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1173842&subid=0
2. The Mowgli Trust website, “Raising money for charity,”, https://mowglitrust.com/
3. Mowgli Street Food website, “The Mowgli Trust,”, https://www.mowglistreetfood.com/the-mowgli-trust/
4. Plan International UK, "Mowgli street food founder's trust funding crucial girls' education in her Indian home city,", https://plan-uk.org/press/mowgli-street-food-founders-trust-funding-crucial-girls-education-her-indian-home-city
5. Cerebral Palsy Cymru, “Mowgli Street Food Cardiff restaurant raises over £75,000 to support children in Wales living with cerebral palsy,”, https://www.cerebralpalsycymru.org/news/mowgli-street-food-cardiff-raise-75k-for-cerebral-palsy-cymru
6. Wikipedia, “Nisha Katona,”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisha_Katona
7. My WiSH Charity, “Mowgli Street Food contributes £4,000 to My WiSH charity,” East Anglian Daily Times
8. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Charity, “Fundraising with a Focus for Mowgli Street Food Cheltenham,”, https://www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/charity/news-and-events/news/fundraising-with-a-focus-for-mowgli-street-food-cheltenham/