The Rose Paterson Trust

Charity Number: 1193191

Annual Expenditure: £0.2M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £210,000 - £310,000
  • Grant Range: £5,000 - £20,000
  • Decision Time: 3-4 months (applications reviewed April, decisions announced June)
  • Geographic Focus: UK-wide
  • Application Method: Online application form via CSJ Foundation

Contact Details

Overview

The Rose Paterson Trust was established in January 2021 (registered charity number 1193191) in memory of Rose Paterson, who died by suicide in June 2020. Rose was a prominent figure who served as Chairman of Aintree Racecourse, a trustee of many charities, a school governor, and a former art critic for the Daily Telegraph. She was the first female chairman of a National Hunt racecourse.

The Trust is led by her family, including her husband Rt Hon Owen Paterson (former MP for North Shropshire) and their children. With annual income of approximately £300,000 and expenditure of around £310,000 in the 2024 financial year, the Trust focuses exclusively on supporting small, innovative suicide prevention charities that are often overlooked by larger funders. In their first two years of grant-making, the Trust distributed over £340,000, with £131,000 in 2022 and over £213,000 in 2023. They estimate their funding has helped save more than 200 lives.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

  • Standard Grants: £5,000 - £20,000 unrestricted funding
  • Applications reviewed annually via online portal hosted by CSJ Foundation
  • Trustees conduct interviews with shortlisted applicants before final decisions

Priority Areas

The Trust emphasises two key areas in their selection process:

  1. Innovative, progressive approaches to suicide prevention - organisations developing new methods and approaches to tackling suicide
  2. Direct intervention at suicide hotspots - charities providing front-line crisis intervention services

Specific areas of focus include:

  • Suicide awareness and prevention programmes
  • Crisis intervention and hotline services
  • Bereavement support for families affected by suicide
  • Community-based mental health support
  • Early intervention programmes (including work with young people from age 4+)
  • Specialised support for underserved populations
  • Reaching people in rural and isolated communities

What They Don't Fund

The Trust does not typically fund:

  • Marketing or advertising materials
  • Website development
  • Media development
  • Fundraising activities
  • One-off events
  • Academic research
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Governance and Leadership

Trustees

  • Rt Hon Owen William Paterson - Appointed 21 December 2020 (founder, former MP for North Shropshire, Rose's husband)
  • Felix Charles Paterson - Appointed 21 December 2020 (Rose's son)
  • Evelyn Rose Paterson - Appointed 28 November 2022 (Rose's daughter)
  • Edward Owen Paterson - Appointed 28 November 2022 (Rose's son)

No trustees receive remuneration from the charity.

Leadership Quotes

Owen Paterson on the Trust's mission:

“When we set up the trust, we said that if we could stop just one family from going through what we have been through, this will have been worth it. I am very grateful to everyone who has supported the trust.”

Owen Paterson on suicide prevention:

“If you are worried about someone talk to them. If you are yourself having suicidal thoughts, tell someone.”

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Applications are submitted through an online form hosted by the CSJ Foundation at csjfoundation.org.uk/rpt-application-form. The form takes approximately 60-90 minutes to complete across six sections.

Note: The Trust's main website states they “do not currently accept unsolicited requests for funding” - applicants should use the formal application portal rather than sending speculative requests directly.

Required Documentation

  • Financial statements from the previous year
  • Reserves policy information
  • Breakdown of funding sources
  • Impact metrics demonstrating people reached and lives changed

Application Timeline

  • April: Applications reviewed; shortlisted candidates invited to interviews
  • May: Trustee interviews conducted (virtual)
  • June: Budget proposals and OKR documents due from shortlisted candidates; final decisions announced
  • July: Grant transfers completed

Post-Award Requirements

Successful grantees must:

  • Attend virtual Trustee interviews
  • Submit spending plans and OKR (Objectives and Key Results) documentation
  • Allow the Trust to use organisational information in communications
  • Host Trustee visits
  • Complete progress reports approximately 6 months after funding

Reapplication Policy

Past recipients have received repeat funding (e.g., If U Care Share Foundation, Kintsugi Hope, R;pple, and others received grants in both 2022 and 2023), indicating that successful organisations can apply for continued support.

Application Success Factors

Eligibility Requirements

  • UK-based small organisations
  • Clear focus on suicide prevention or related mental health crisis support
  • Demonstrated impact in reaching underserved populations
  • Evidence of delivering life-changing interventions
  • Ability to show you fill gaps in existing services

What the Trust Values

Based on funded organisations, the Trust looks for:

  1. Direct, measurable impact - The Trust tracks specific outcomes, estimating that their first year's grantees “used these funds to save at least 231 people from taking their own lives, with hundreds of thousands also receiving the help they badly need”
  1. Innovation - Projects using new approaches like R;pple's technology that interrupts online searches for suicide methods
  1. Community presence - Organisations like Bearded Fishermen with StreetWatch Liaison teams present on streets at night, or Beachy Head Chaplaincy patrolling 4.5 miles of coastal cliffs 15 hours daily
  1. Underserved populations - Specialised services like Salute Her (armed forces women) or Zest NI (underserved communities)
  1. Small but effective organisations - The Trust explicitly states that “small charities are often overlooked by funding organisations, despite having a huge impact”

Examples of Funded Projects

  • Bearded Fishermen (£17,500) - Boosting phoneline capacity, volunteer training, and StreetWatch Liaison Team equipment
  • Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team (£17,500) - Employing two additional chaplains for 15 hours per week to respond to increased interventions
  • Shropshire Mental Health Trust (£20,000) - Refurbished vehicle as mobile mental health centre for rural communities
  • R;pple (£20,000) - Provided free software to parents, charities, and 55 schools/education providers

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  1. Focus on small organisations - The Trust specifically seeks to fund smaller charities that may be overlooked by larger funders. If you're a small, community-based organisation, emphasise this.
  1. Demonstrate measurable, life-saving impact - The Trust tracks specific outcomes and wants to know exactly how many people you've helped and how your intervention has saved lives.
  1. Show innovation or direct intervention - The Trust values either innovative approaches (like technology solutions) or direct front-line crisis intervention work.
  1. Apply through the official channel - Use the CSJ Foundation portal rather than sending unsolicited requests directly to the Trust.
  1. Prepare for trustee engagement - Be ready for virtual interviews and potential site visits; the Trust takes a hands-on approach to their grant-making.
  1. Plan for unrestricted funding - Grants are typically unrestricted, so show how flexible funding will enable your most impactful work.
  1. Consider repeat funding potential - If successful, you can build a relationship for ongoing support, as several organisations have received grants in consecutive years.

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References