The Noel Buxton Trust

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: £43,000 (Africa), £43,000 (Families), £43,000 (Penal) - approximately £130,000 total
• Total Income: £287,706 (2024)
• Decision Time: Approximately 6 months
• Grant Range: £2,000 - £10,000
• Geographic Focus: Sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia) and Great Britain
• Application Method: Africa and Family programmes currently closed; Penal programme accepts rolling applications

Contact Details

Address: PO Box 520, Fleet, GU51 9GX

Phone: 01252 620841

Website: www.noelbuxtontrust.org.uk

Email: Not publicly listed

Charity Number: 220881

Manager: Anne Murray (responsible for daily operations)

Overview

The Noel Buxton Trust, founded in 1919 by Noel Edward Buxton (later the first Lord Noel Buxton), is one of Britain's longest-standing independent grant-making charities. Inspired by his great-grandfather Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton's work in slave emancipation and social reform, Lord Noel Buxton established the Trust with a “worldwide view of human welfare.” At its first meeting in 1919, the Trust made a grant to the Fight the Famine Council, which became Save the Children Fund. For over a century, the Trust has supported organizations promoting social change, now focusing on three main areas: sustainable livelihoods in Africa, support for families affected by domestic abuse and child welfare issues in Britain, and work with prisoners and ex-offenders. The Trust is governed by eight trustees, including members of the Buxton family supported by expert trustees with professional experience in each grant-making area. With annual income of approximately £288,000 and total grant-giving of around £130,000, the Trust emphasizes small, grassroots organizations over large, well-supported charities.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Africa Programme (Currently closed - Spring 2026 update expected)

• Amount: £5,000 - £10,000 per year for 3-5 years
• Focus: Sustainable livelihoods, particularly benefiting women and young people
• Method: Letter applications (when open)
• Geographic Focus: Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia - especially semi-arid regions and urban slums
• 2024 Grants: 5 grants totaling £45,000

Family Programme (Currently closed)

• Amount: Up to £10,000 per year
• Focus: Strengthening work that amplifies voices of families within child welfare and family justice systems
• Method: Invitation only
• 2024 Focus Organizations: Family Rights Group, Respect, Not Beyond Redemption, Staying Put
• 2024 Grants: 5 grants totaling £43,000

Penal Programme (Open for applications)

• Amount: £2,000 - £3,000 one-off grants for specific projects; £4,000 per year for 2-3 years for sustained programmes
• Focus: Peer support, mentoring, maintaining prisoner-family relationships, skill-based volunteering and training
• Method: Online application form with 2-page proposal
• Geographic Focus: England, Scotland, Wales (emphasis on areas outside London and South East England)
• 2024 Grants: 18 grants totaling £43,000

Priority Areas

Africa Programme (when open):

• Economic development rather than service provision
• Small business support and training
• Microfinance in urban and rural settings
• Support and protection for street children
• Projects where beneficiaries have helped set priorities
• Community-based organization strengthening
• Evidence of local community co-funding
• Replication of successful solutions or policy change through advocacy

Family Programme:

• Child welfare policy engagement
• Youth co-production work
• Refuge services for families affected by domestic abuse
• In-prison legal advice for family matters
• Amplifying voices of people served by partner organizations

Penal Programme:

• Peer support and mentoring for offenders
• Maintaining relationships between prisoners and families
• Skill-based activities through volunteering or training
• Volunteer contributions within prison communities
• Community circles of support for released offenders
• Projects benefiting both offenders and wider community
• Special interest: Work with underrepresented groups (BAME, disabled, older offenders) and stigma reduction

What They Don't Fund

General Exclusions:

• Large, well-supported campaigning organizations
• Community Interest Companies (CICs) - registered charities only
• Organizations without demonstrated track record

Africa Programme Exclusions:

• Service provision without economic development component
• Projects without beneficiary involvement in priority-setting
• Applications from organizations without co-funding from local community and at least one other funder

Penal Programme Exclusions:

• Youth crime prevention work (the Trust has “moved away” from this area)
• Organizations without experience working in prison settings

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Governance and Leadership

Chair of Trustees

Emma Compton-Burnett - Great grandniece of the Founder, practising solicitor, former Global Head Investigations at UBS (until June 2024). Chair since 2013. Emma guides the overall strategic direction of the Trust.

Vice-Chair

Jo Tunnard - Founding CEO of Family Rights Group (1979), specialist in family justice policy and vulnerable families. Leads the Family grants programme.

Africa Programme Leadership

Sir Brendan Gormley KCMG MBE - Former Africa Director for Oxfam UK, first CEO of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). Lived and worked across Niger, Burkina Faso, and Egypt. Leads the Africa grants programme.

Tahera Aanachawan - Former CEO of the Maya Centre (trauma counselling for women), Chair of Women's Aid in Luton, previously chaired Transform Africa. Advises on Africa grants.

Family Programme Team

Katie Amor - Great granddaughter of Founder Lord Noel Buxton, trained solicitor (Travers Smith, Collyer Bristow), former in-house counsel for IT company Fixflo. Advises on Family grants.

Penal Programme Leadership

Katie Aston OBE - Works at Home Office Crime Directorate, former policy adviser at Clinks and The Prince's Trust, Trustee of StreetDoctors. Leads the Penal grants programme.

Anna Stogdon - Career in international development including Save the Children Fund, led impact team at Lord's Taverners, currently evaluates grants at Suffolk Community Trust. Advises on Penal grants.

Investment Strategy

James Buckley - Investment manager at Castlefield Investment Partners, ESG investing specialist. Leads the Board's investment strategy.

Management

Anne Murray - Manager responsible for daily Trust operations.

No trustees receive any remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Africa Programme:

Currently closed to new applications. The Trust expects to provide updates for prospective applicants in Spring 2026. Existing multi-year grant recipients' terms remain unchanged.

When open, applications are made via a short letter (1-2 pages) outlining the case for funding and demonstrating fit with guidelines. No application form is used.

Family Programme:

Currently closed to new applications. The Trust is concentrating 2024-2025 resources on four specific organizations and working in partnership with them.

Penal Programme:

Applications accepted on a rolling basis via online form available at www.noelbuxtontrust.org.uk/penal

Required materials:

• Two-page proposal (doc, docx, or PDF format; max 1MB)
• Budget for current and next year
• List of current funders and pending applications
• Description of identified need
• Track record of work
• Safety measures in place
• Impact monitoring approach

Decision Timeline

Applications typically take approximately 6 months from submission to decision.

Due to high volume of applications and limited administrative resources, the Trust does not acknowledge receipt of applications or send replies to unsuccessful appeals. Only successful applicants are contacted.

Success Rates

The Trust receives “many more appeals than they can fund.” With annual grant budgets of approximately £30,000-£45,000 per programme and grants ranging from £2,000-£10,000, the Trust can only support a limited number of organizations each year.

In 2024, the Trust made:

• 5 Africa grants (programme now under review)
• 5 Family grants (concentrated on 4 partnership organizations)
• 18 Penal grants (smaller grant amounts allow for more recipients)

Success rates are not publicly disclosed, but given the limited budget and stated preference for grassroots organizations, competition is significant.

Reapplication Policy

The Trust does not explicitly state restrictions on reapplication for unsuccessful applicants. However, given the 6-month decision timeline and limited resources, applicants should carefully assess fit with guidelines before applying.

Successful multi-year grant recipients (3-5 years for Africa; 2-3 years for Penal) do not need to reapply during their grant period unless seeking renewal.

Application Success Factors

Critical Alignment Factors:

1. Size and Type of Organization: The Trust explicitly states it “tends to offer grants to smaller, grass-roots organisations and does not generally respond to appeals from large and well-supported charities.” Small, community-based charities have a significant advantage.

1. Trustee Expertise Match: The Trust channels support “toward carefully selected areas where trustees possess relevant professional expertise.” Applications that align with the specific expertise of programme-leading trustees (Brendan's Africa development experience, Jo's family justice background, Katie's criminal justice policy work) may be better positioned.

1. Evidence of Beneficiary Voice: Particularly for the Family programme, the Trust emphasizes “listening carefully to the people they serve and amplifying their voices.” Applications demonstrating genuine beneficiary involvement in project design and delivery are valued.

Programme-Specific Success Factors:

For Africa (when open):

• Clear focus on economic development, not just service delivery
• Evidence that beneficiaries helped set programme priorities
• Demonstration of local community co-funding
• At least one other funder already committed
• Focus on women and young people in semi-arid regions or urban slums
• Potential for replication or policy change through advocacy

For Penal:

• Essential: Experience working in prison settings
• Preferred: Former offenders working as mentors/peer supporters
• Preferred: Volunteer involvement in delivery
• Preferred: Work spanning both prison and community settings
• Preferred: Immediate, sustainable impact
• Preferred: Facilitation of family contact
• Special interest: Work with underrepresented groups (BAME, disabled, older offenders)
• Special interest: Stigma reduction initiatives

What Recent Grantees Reveal:

The 2024 Penal grants list shows successful projects included:

• Employment training programmes for ex-offenders
• Volunteer mentoring schemes
• Skill-building activities in prisons
• Family relationship support
• Legal advice services within prisons

Grant amounts clustered at £2,000-£4,000, suggesting the Trust prefers to support more organizations with smaller grants rather than fewer with larger amounts.

Strategic Considerations:

1. Geographic preference for Penal grants: The Trust gives “emphasis on areas outside London and South East England,” suggesting organizations in other regions may have an advantage.

1. No acknowledgment of applications: Applicants will only hear back if successful, so should ensure applications are complete and compelling before submission.

1. Quality over quantity: With just 1-2 pages for proposals, concise, compelling writing that directly addresses the Trust's stated priorities is essential.

1. Avoid generic appeals: The Trustees' focus on limited funds for grant-making means they have no resources for lengthy correspondence. Applications should be tailored specifically to the Trust's guidelines, not generic funding requests.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• Small is better: This Trust explicitly favours grassroots organizations over large charities - if you're a major national organization, look elsewhere
• Six-month wait, silent rejections: Be prepared for a long decision timeline and no response if unsuccessful - only successful applicants are contacted
• Africa and Family programmes closed: As of late 2024, only the Penal programme is accepting applications; Africa programme update expected Spring 2026
• Demonstrate beneficiary voice: Particularly valued across all programmes - show how those you serve have shaped your work and priorities
• Geographic advantage for Penal: Organizations outside London and South East England are preferred for Penal grants
• Trustee expertise matters: With trustees leading each programme who have deep professional experience in the sector, applications will be assessed by genuine experts - superficial proposals won't succeed
• Multi-year funding available: Africa (3-5 years) and Penal (2-3 years) programmes offer sustained support, not just one-off grants - emphasize long-term sustainability in proposals

References

• The Noel Buxton Trust - Official Website -
• The Noel Buxton Trust - Our Trustees -
• The Noel Buxton Trust - Our History -
• The Noel Buxton Trust - Africa Programme -
• The Noel Buxton Trust - Family Programme -
• The Noel Buxton Trust - Penal Programme -
• The Noel Buxton Trust - Previous Grants -
• The Noel Buxton Trust - Annual Reports -
• Charity Commission - THE NOEL BUXTON TRUST (220881) -
• Funding Scotland - The Noel Buxton Trust -
• CYP Now - Funding Watch: The Noel Buxton Trust -