The Three Guineas Trust

Charity Number: 1059652

Annual Expenditure: £0.8M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £837,639 (2023-24)
  • Total Assets: £46.7 million (as of April 2024)
  • Decision Time: Approximately 4 months (from application deadline to decision)
  • Grant Range: £15,000 - £150,000 (total over 3 years for Access to Justice programme)
  • 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 totalling over £35 million.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programmes

Access to Justice for Disabled People (Biennial 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: Biennial round (every 2 years) with fixed deadline, typically in June
  • Decision Timeline: Decisions typically released approximately 4 months after application deadline

Holiday Activity Schemes for Autistic Children (Annual programme)

  • Grant Amount: Up to £15,000 (typically covers part of costs)
  • Application: Annual round, typically opening in February
  • 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 prioritises:

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

What They Don't Fund

Access to Justice Programme exclusions:

  • Organisations 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
  • Organisations that currently have a grant from the Trust (except holiday scheme grants)

Holiday Schemes Programme exclusions:

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

How to Apply to The Three Guineas Trust

How to Apply

Access to Justice Programme:

  1. Express interest by emailing the Trust with: name, organisation name, role, email address, and phone number
  2. Eligible organisations 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: Typically in June (biennial round, every 2 years)
  6. Decision Announcement: Typically in October, approximately 4 months after application deadline

Holiday Activity Schemes:

  • Applications typically open in February
  • Check website for updated criteria and application details
  • Due to high demand, recent rounds have closed quickly

Decision Timeline

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

  • Applications close: Typically mid-June
  • Review and shortlisting: June-September
  • Decisions released: Typically early October

Selection Process:

  • Applications assessed by a panel of 10-12 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

The Trust has demonstrated strong support for panel-recommended projects, with all 14 projects recommended by the panel approved by trustees in the 2024 Access to Justice round. The Holiday Activity Schemes programme receives very high demand.

Reapplication Policy

Organisations currently holding a grant from the Trust (except holiday scheme grants) are not eligible to apply. The Access to Justice programme operates on a biennial cycle (every 2 years). 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 organisational decision-making, represented within the organisation, 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 organisations support people experiencing additional disadvantage due to ethnicity, faith, cultural background, LGBTQ+ identity, or age. The Trust wants to know about partnerships, who organisations work well with and why, and any groups not reached as well as desired.

Ethical Approach:

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

Collaborative Applications Welcome:

Joint applications from multiple organisations 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 centring 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 organisational governance, leadership, and service delivery—not just token representation
  • Quality accreditation matters: Ensure your legal advice or advocacy services meet recognised accreditation standards or have robust internal quality assurance
  • Income threshold is strict: Organisations 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 marginalisation
  • 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
  • Plan ahead for biennial rounds: The Access to Justice programme operates every 2 years, so organisations should plan their funding strategy accordingly

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