The Three Guineas Trust

Charity Number: 1059652

Annual Expenditure: £2.7M
Throughout England And Wales

Contact Info

Website: https://threeguineastrust.org.uk/

Phone: 020 7410 0330

Email: info@sfct.org.uk

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £837,639 (2023-24)
  • Total Assets: £46.7 million (as of April 2024)
  • Decision Time: 4 months (from June application to October decision)
  • Grant Range: £15,000 - £150,000 (total over 3 years)
  • Geographic Focus: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland

Contact Details

Overview

The Three Guineas Trust was established in 1996 by Clare Sainsbury and is part of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts. As of April 2024, the Trust holds total assets of £46.7 million. The Trust funds work to support the autonomy, liberty, and civil rights of autistic, neurodivergent, and disabled people across the UK. With a small team of three part-time trustees, three advisers, and three part-time grantmaking staff, the Trust operates two main grant programmes and a portfolio of strategic grants. The Trust is committed to transparency, publishing all grant data in real time through 360Giving, and demonstrates its commitment to ethical employment by only funding projects that pay the Living Wage. Since inception, the Trust has awarded 708 grants totaling over £35 million.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Access to Justice for Disabled People (Annual programme)

  • Grant Amount: Up to £50,000 per year for up to 3 years (£150,000 maximum total)
  • Total Available: £1.5 million per funding round
  • Application: Annual round with fixed deadline (June)
  • Recent Round: In 2024, the panel recommended 14 projects and trustees approved all 14

Holiday Activity Schemes for Autistic Children (Annual programme)

  • Grant Amount: Up to £15,000 (typically covers part of costs)
  • Application: Annual round (opens mid-January 2026)
  • Focus: School holiday programmes for autistic children, young people, and their siblings

Strategic Grants

  • Small portfolio of projects working on disabled people's civic rights
  • Small number of organisations responding to violence against autistic, neurodivergent, and disabled people
  • Social skills projects and parent/carer family support

Priority Areas

Access to Justice Programme focuses on:

  • Income, welfare benefits, and debt advice
  • Housing and homelessness support
  • Community care advocacy
  • Personal liberty protections
  • Equal access to goods and services

Holiday Schemes Programme prioritizes:

  • Autistic-specific activity programmes during school holidays
  • Extra support costs for autistic children in mainstream activity schemes
  • One-to-one support programmes with specialized training

What They Don't Fund

Access to Justice Programme exclusions:

  • Organizations with annual income over £1 million
  • Residential care providers
  • SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) advice services
  • Immigration advice services
  • Services provided by statutory bodies
  • Work outside the UK
  • Organizations that currently have a grant from the Trust (except holiday scheme grants)

Holiday Schemes Programme exclusions:

  • Residential activities
  • Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) programmes
  • Schools, nurseries, local authorities, or NHS Trusts

Governance and Leadership

Trustees:

  • Clare Sainsbury (Settlor/Founder)
  • Dominic Flynn (Solicitor and partner at BDB Pitmans LLP)
  • David Wood

Staff:

  • Matt Williams – Lead Grants Executive
  • Elaine Ponte – Grants Executive
  • Blandine Labry – Finance Partner

The Trust also employs three part-time advisers who support the grant-making work. The Trust's solicitors are BDB Pitmans LLP.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Access to Justice Programme:

  1. Express interest by emailing the Trust with: name, organization name, role, email address, and phone number
  2. Eligible organizations receive an application form, guidance notes, and budget worksheet
  3. Submit required documents: safeguarding policy, latest financial statements, and detailed budget
  4. Applications submitted via online portal
  5. Application Deadline: June 12, 2025 at 6:00 PM
  6. Decision Announcement: Week of October 6, 2025

Holiday Activity Schemes:

  • Next round opens mid-January 2026
  • Check website for updated criteria and application details

Decision Timeline

Access to Justice Programme: Approximately 4 months from application deadline to decision

  • Applications close: Mid-June
  • Review and shortlisting: June-September
  • Decisions released: Early October

Selection Process:

  • Applications assessed by a panel of 11 people with lived experience of disability
  • Panel uses co-designed tools to shortlist and review applications
  • Panel makes recommendations to trustees
  • Trustees make final grant decisions

Success Rates

In 2024, the Trust approved all 14 projects recommended by the panel for the Access to Justice programme. The 2025 Holiday Activity Schemes round received an “overwhelming response,” suggesting competitive application processes.

Reapplication Policy

Organizations currently holding a grant from the Trust (except holiday scheme grants) are not eligible to apply. Detailed reapplication policies for unsuccessful applicants are contained in guidance notes sent to applicants but not published publicly on the website.

Application Success Factors

What the Trust Values

Representation and Involvement of Disabled/Neurodivergent People:

The Trust places strong emphasis on how disabled or neurodivergent people are involved in organizational decision-making, represented within the organization, and included in design, leadership, and delivery. Applications must demonstrate this in limited 100-word sections.

Quality Standards:

  • Legal advice must be provided to an accredited standard
  • Advocacy services must be accredited or use high-quality in-house supervision and training
  • Projects must demonstrate proven ability to overcome access barriers for disabled people

Inclusive Practices:

Applications should address how organizations support people experiencing additional disadvantage due to ethnicity, faith, cultural background, LGBTQ+ identity, or age. The Trust wants to know about partnerships, who organizations work well with and why, and any groups not reached as well as desired.

Ethical Approach:

For applications including campaigning and policy advocacy, organizations must demonstrate ethical approaches and include ways to protect participants' wellbeing. All funded organizations must pay the Living Wage.

Collaborative Applications Welcome:

Joint applications from multiple organizations are encouraged, provided the work is directed by disabled or neurodivergent people.

Co-Designed Process

The application process was co-designed with disabled and neurodivergent people, reflecting the Trust's commitment to centering the voices and experiences of the communities they serve.

Recent Funded Work Examples

  • INQUEST's “No More Deaths” campaign launched in the House of Commons with bereaved families and parliamentarians
  • 14 access to justice projects approved in 2024 round

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Leadership by lived experience is critical: Demonstrate meaningful involvement of disabled/neurodivergent people in organizational governance, leadership, and service delivery—not just token representation
  • Quality accreditation matters: Ensure your legal advice or advocacy services meet recognized accreditation standards or have robust internal quality assurance
  • Income threshold is strict: Organizations with income over £1 million are automatically ineligible for the Access to Justice programme
  • Living Wage is non-negotiable: Budget must include Living Wage payments for all staff working on the funded project
  • The panel has lived experience: Applications are reviewed by disabled and neurodivergent people who understand the barriers communities face—be authentic and specific about your approach
  • Address intersectionality: Show how you support people facing multiple forms of disadvantage and marginalization
  • Think long-term: Multi-year funding (up to 3 years) allows for sustainable programme development—demonstrate clear outcomes across the funding period
  • Transparency matters: The Trust publishes all grants data publicly through 360Giving, reflecting their commitment to accountability

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References