The Rowse Family Trust
Charity Number: 1116849
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Quick Stats
- Annual Giving: £248,000 - £403,000 (based on recent expenditure)
- Success Rate: Not publicly available
- Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
- Grant Range: Not specified
- Geographic Focus: England and Wales
Contact Details
- Address: 4 St. Marys Court, Wallingford, OX10 0EB
- Phone: 01491 825456
- Email: mike.mcallister@bdo.co.uk
- Website: None
Overview
The Rowse Family Trust is a UK registered charity (number 1116849) established by a Trust Deed dated 30 October 2006 and registered with the Charity Commission on 16 November 2006. The Trust is associated with the Rowse family, a local Wallingford family with established business interests in retail (Pettits of Wallingford, John Sanders department stores) and historically connected to honey production.
The Trust operates as a grant-making charity with broad charitable purposes, making donations to support charitable purposes and institutions at the trustees' discretion. For the financial year ending January 2025, the Trust reported total income of £117,851 and total expenditure of £403,544, indicating significant grant-making activity. The Trust has consistently spent more than its income in recent years, drawing on capital reserves to support its charitable giving. The Trust is recognised by HMRC for Gift Aid purposes and has maintained timely submission of all annual returns and accounts.
Funding Priorities
Grant Programs
The Trust makes grants to both individuals and organisations for general charitable purposes. Specific grant programs and amounts are not publicly disclosed.
Priority Areas
- General charitable purposes
- Other charities and voluntary bodies
- The general public/mankind
The Trust has very broad objects allowing trustees to support “such charitable purposes and institutions as the trustees may think fit.”
What They Don't Fund
No specific exclusions are publicly documented. As a family trust with general charitable purposes, funding decisions are at the trustees' discretion.
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Governance and Leadership
Trustees:
- Richard Montague Rowse - Principal trustee and Managing Director of the family's retail businesses including Pettits of Wallingford and John Sanders department stores. Born February 1948, British national. The Rowse family has been prominent in the Wallingford area, having acquired Pettits department store in 1987. Richard Rowse also holds directorships in numerous companies including F.H.Rowse Limited, Rowse Properties Limited, Rowse Trading Limited, and various retail operations in Cornwall.
- Brian Howard Butcher - Trustee. Also has involvement with educational organisations including Cholsey Primary Academy Trust.
Administration:
The Trust is administered through BDO, a professional services firm, with contact person Mike McAllister handling correspondence.
No trustees receive any remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity.
Application Process and Timeline
How to Apply
This funder does not have a public application process. There is no website, published application guidelines, or formal application procedure available. Grants are made at the trustees' discretion to charitable purposes and institutions they select.
As a family charitable trust, The Rowse Family Trust operates through trustee discretion rather than accepting unsolicited applications. The Trust does not publish criteria, deadlines, or application forms.
Getting on Their Radar
Given the lack of specific information about how this Trust identifies beneficiaries, generic relationship-building advice cannot be provided. The Trust appears to operate as a private family foundation where the trustees personally select the causes and organisations they wish to support.
Organisations seeking support may wish to write a brief introductory letter to the Trust address, though there is no evidence that unsolicited approaches are welcomed or considered.
Decision Timeline
Not publicly disclosed.
Success Rates
Not publicly available. The Trust does not publish information about the number of applications received or grants awarded.
Reapplication Policy
Not applicable as there is no formal application process.
Application Success Factors
Given the limited public information available about this Trust's grant-making preferences, there are no funder-specific insights that can be reliably documented. The Trust operates with broad charitable objects and complete trustee discretion.
Key considerations based on available information:
- The Trust is based in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, and the Rowse family has strong local connections to this area
- The Trust operates throughout England and Wales
- The trustees have business backgrounds in retail
- The family has historical connections to local community organisations
Key Takeaways for Grant Writers
- No public application process: This is a trustee-discretion family trust without formal application procedures
- Significant giving capacity: Recent expenditure of £250,000-£400,000 annually indicates substantial grant-making activity
- Broad charitable purposes: The Trust can support any charitable cause at the trustees' discretion
- Local connections: Strong ties to Wallingford and the South East of England through family business interests
- Professional administration: Managed through BDO accountants, suggesting a formal administrative structure
- Established trust: Operating since 2006 with consistent filing history
- Speculative approaches only: Without a public application process, grant seekers would need to write speculatively with no guarantee of response
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References
- Charity Commission Register - The Rowse Family Trust - Charity registration details, financial information, and trustee listings
- Charity Choice - The Rowse Family Trust - Charity directory listing with contact details
- Companies House - Richard Montague Rowse Appointments - Director appointments and business interests
- Pettits of Wallingford - About - History of Rowse family business interests
- John Sanders - About - Background on Rowse family retail businesses
Information compiled December 2025