Real Farming Trust
At a glance
Key takeaways
- The Trust suits small food and farming enterprises with strong social and ecological values that serve their local communities, within its themes of agroecology and small-scale food and farming.
- Its typical grants fall between £6,300 and £12,500, and about 8 in 10 of the 12 named organisation grants in the annual report are in that band, with the largest about £14,500, so a modest request fits its usual pattern.
- No geographic focus is stated, though most named grants went to Hampshire and Truro.
- Register your interest first, since the Trust invites full applications only where it considers you meet its criteria, and LEAP applicants should explain their governance model and plans.
- Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but the Trust says decisions take a minimum of 3 months, and sole traders or partnerships should not apply to LEAP.
Overview
Real Farming Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1061607).
The Real Farming Trust came out of the Oxford Real Farming Conference, which helped establish a new kind of farming movement in the UK. Its purpose is to accelerate food systems transformation through agroecology. It connects and supports people transforming the food system from the grassroots up, provides spaces for new ideas and partnerships, funds small-scale community food and farming, and builds the evidence base for agroecology by measuring social impact. Its annual report shows annual giving of £191,582, and its loans run from £10,000 to £100,000.
What they fund
Priority Areas
The Trust aims to accelerate food-systems transformation through agroecology and strengthen the agroecology movement. It funds small-scale food and farming enterprises with strong social and ecological values that serve their local communities. Through LEAP, it offers funding and business mentoring to small agroecological and community-based food and farming businesses, including micro-dairies, bakeries, ethical supermarkets and veg-box schemes. Its wider work brings people across food and farming together in networks and gatherings, builds and shares evidence for agroecology, and works with people and organisations to disrupt power imbalances in the food system. Its approach combines finance with mentoring, collaboration and movement-building.
Themes
- Agroecology
- Small-scale food and farming
Geographic Focus
No geographic focus is stated; the annual report shows grants mainly in Hampshire and Truro.
What they don't fund
- LEAP only: sole traders or partnerships
How to apply
Organisations register their interest. If the Trust considers they meet its criteria, it invites them to submit a full application, which is reviewed and summarised for the investment committee to decide whether to progress it.
Who can apply:
- LEAP: Please let us know what governance model you use when you register your interest, and what your plans are.
Application success factors
What the charity says:
- Applicants should share the Trust’s commitment to transforming the food system at a grassroots level.
Where they fund
Where its grants have gone
- Truro
- Hampshire
Similar funders
Funders supporting work similar to Real Farming Trust.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 12 grants in year to 31 March 2025 by size
Median £9,869 (year to 31 March 2025)
The largest grants to organisations in this funder’s latest annual report:
- Ecological Land Cooperative£14,610year to 31 March 2025
- The Now Project£12,416year to 31 March 2025
- Hampshire Market Garden£12,000year to 31 March 2025
- Cente for African Entrepreneurship£11,385year to 31 March 2025
- Cae Tan CSA£11,053year to 31 March 2025
- Sutton Community Farm£10,000year to 31 March 2025
- Soul Farm Produce£9,737year to 31 March 2025
- Truro Foodbank£9,579year to 31 March 2025
Grant examples taken from the funder’s filed accounts. Not included above: 1 line covering other, unnamed recipients (£76,381).
Five years of accounts
| Financial year | Income | Expenditure | Grants paid | Accounts document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| year to 31 March 2021 | £733,795 | £541,424 | £276,023 | Accounts for year to 31 March 2021 |
| year to 31 March 2022 | £685,000 | £548,213 | £232,915 | Accounts for year to 31 March 2022 |
| year to 31 March 2023 | £613,960 | £822,207 | £279,200 | Accounts for year to 31 March 2023 |
| year to 31 March 2024 | £842,423 | £846,621 | £177,316 | Accounts for year to 31 March 2024 |
| year to 31 March 2025 | £930,394 | £913,038 | £191,582 | Accounts for year to 31 March 2025 |
Income vs grants paid
IncomeGrants paid
Total value each financial year
Grants paid stayed within income across the 5 years shown.
- Grants paid, year to 31 March 2021; year to 31 March 2022; year to 31 March 2023; year to 31 March 2024: grants to institutions, as reported on the charity register (Part B).
- Grants paid, year to 31 March 2025: the accounts do not say whether this is grants awarded or paid.
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.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
- realfarming.org
- realfarming.org/about · read on 30 October 2026
- realfarming.org/programmes/leap/what-is-leap · read on 30 October 2026
- realfarming.org/programmes/leap/register-interest · read on 30 October 2026
- realfarming.org · read on 30 October 2026
- realfarming.org/contact · read on 30 October 2026
- Annual report (year to 31 March 2025)
This profile draws on the funder’s own website as well as its filed accounts.
Sources last checked on 30 October 2026.
🎯 You've done the research. Now write an application they can't refuse.
Hinchilla combines funder's specific priorities with your organisation's past successful grants and AI analysis of what reviewers want to see.
Data privacy and security by default
Your organisation's past successful grants and experience
AI analysis of what reviewers want to see
A compelling draft application in 10 minutes instead of 10 hours
Spotted something that needs correcting? Let us know
At a glance
Applying to Real Farming Trust?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Applying to Real Farming Trust?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required