The True Colours Trust

Charity Number: 1089893

Annual Expenditure: £1.6M
Throughout England And Wales, Malawi, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Scotland ... [7 more]

Contact Info

Website: www.truecolourstrust.org.uk

Phone: 020 7410 0330

Email: info@sfct.org.uk

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £2,000,000
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: 6-12 weeks
  • Grant Range: Up to £10,000 (UK Small Grants)
  • Geographic Focus: UK-wide (particularly areas of high deprivation) and Africa

Contact Details

Website: www.truecolourstrust.org.uk

Email: info@sfct.org.uk

Phone: 020 7410 0330

Address: The Peak, 5 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1AP

Overview

Founded in 2002 by Lucy Sainsbury, The True Colours Trust is an independent grant-making charity and one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts. The Trust awards grants totalling approximately £2 million annually across programmes in the UK and Africa. Their mission centres on improving access to palliative care for babies, children, and young people in the UK, enabling disabled children and young people to live their lives to the full, and improving access to pain relief and palliative care in Africa. The Trust is distinctive in its dual approach: it operates open-application Small Grants programmes for local initiatives, while developing large, multi-year Major Programmes in strategic partnership with sector organisations to drive systemic change. They publish their grants data openly via 360Giving and are proactive in identifying organisations to support.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programmes

UK Small Grants Programme: Up to £10,000 (many grants are smaller)

  • Open applications year-round via online form or Word document
  • For UK registered charities and CICs with annual income under £350,000
  • Working with children and young people aged 0-25

Africa Small Grants Programme: £500 - £5,000

  • Administered by African Palliative Care Association
  • Applications considered twice annually
  • Supports palliative care development across Africa

Major Programmes: Amounts vary (multi-year strategic funding)

  • Developed in partnership with organisations
  • Not open to unsolicited applications
  • Designed to achieve systemic change following sector consultation

Priority Areas

What They Fund:

  • Activities for disabled children and young people and their families
  • Support for children with life-limiting conditions
  • Sibling support programmes (including siblings of disabled children or those with life-limiting conditions)
  • Bereavement support
  • Parent-led peer support groups
  • Family respite services
  • Specialized equipment (e.g., hydrotherapy pools, accessible minibuses, play equipment)
  • Projects in areas of high deprivation
  • Organisations committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, open to children and families of all faiths, backgrounds, and cultures

Geographical Priority:

  • Particularly keen to support organisations operating in areas of high deprivation across the UK
  • No specific regions named; deprivation level is a key criterion

What They Don't Fund

  • Local authorities
  • Residential care schemes
  • Schools
  • Condition-specific organisations (those supporting only one specific condition)
  • Wish-granting activities
  • Non-UK registered organisations (for UK programme)
  • Individual applicants
  • Organisations in consecutive years (unlikely to fund same organisation two years running)

Governance and Leadership

Trustees:

  • Lucy Sainsbury (Chair and Founder)
  • Tim Price
  • Dominic Flynn
  • David Wood

Staff:

  • Catherine Korris – Trust Executive (manages grant-making, governance, and finance)
  • Jo Ecclestone Ford – Strategic Lead (manages major programmes and advises on strategy)
  • Vesa Kahramani – Trust Administrator (grant administration and team support)

Advisers include experts in children's palliative care, strategic policy, and parent perspectives.

Quote from Lucy Sainsbury (on 20-year partnership with Jessie May):

"True Colours' first grant to Jessie May was awarded over 20 years ago and was one of the very first grants we ever made. We were inspired by the vision of Jessica May Purrington's parents who sought to ensure that families had the choice of home-based care for their seriously ill children available to them."

Quote from Lucy Sainsbury (on palliative care research):

"We are delighted to be able to support Professor Ulrika Kreicbergs' research to ensure that children and families get the best possible, evidence-based care. We are excited by Ulrika's vision to build a strong and vibrant research team, ensuring links between clinicians and academics."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

UK Small Grants:

  • Applications accepted year-round on a rolling basis
  • Apply via online form at www.truecolourstrust.org.uk/small-grants-application-form
  • Alternatively, download Word document to prepare responses, then paste into online form
  • Important: Online form has no save function; complete all information before navigating away
  • Applicants receive acknowledgement email within one week of submission

Africa Small Grants:

  • Applications accepted twice annually
  • Administered by African Palliative Care Association

Major Programmes:

  • Not open to unsolicited applications
  • Developed through Trust-initiated partnerships and sector consultation

Decision Timeline

  • UK Small Grants: Trust aims to respond with final decision within 6-12 weeks (sources vary; some state 6 weeks, others 12 weeks)
  • Acknowledgement of application within one week
  • Due to high application volume, unable to provide feedback on individual applications

Success Rates

  • Not publicly disclosed
  • Trust aims to support as many organisations as possible
  • High application volumes mean competition is significant

Reapplication Policy

For Unsuccessful Applicants:

  • Must wait at least one year from date of application before reapplying

For Successful Grant Recipients:

  • Should wait at least one year after project completion before reapplying
  • Trust unlikely to fund same organisation in consecutive years

Application Success Factors

Key Advice from the Trust:

  1. Focus on Deprivation: Applications from organisations operating in areas of high deprivation are particularly welcomed
  2. Demonstrate Inclusivity: Show commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; ensure services are open to children and families of all faiths, backgrounds, and cultures
  3. Prepare Thoroughly: Due to no-save function on online form, prepare responses in advance (Word document available for this purpose)
  4. Meet Eligibility Requirements: Annual income must be under £350,000; organisation must be UK registered charity or CIC
  5. Align with Mission: Clearly demonstrate how project supports disabled children/young people or those with life-limiting conditions and their families
  6. Strategic Clarity: For major programmes, the Trust values evidence-based approaches and systemic change potential

Example Projects Recently Funded:

  • £150,000 to Jessie May Trust for core funding to provide home-based care to seriously ill children
  • £100,000 to Together for Short Lives for core costs and sector research
  • £100,000 to Rainbow Trust Children's Charity for running costs supporting families with seriously ill children
  • 65 grants of up to £5,000 each (totalling £296,056) to smaller organisations during COVID-19 response
  • Multi-year partnership funding for palliative care research chair at Great Ormond Street Hospital

Language and Terminology:

  • Use terms like “live their lives to the full,” “access to good palliative care,” “disabled children and young people,” “life-limiting conditions”
  • Emphasize family-centred care and support for whole families, including siblings
  • Reference evidence-based approaches and systemic impact for major programmes

Common Pitfalls to Avoid:

  • Applying from ineligible organisations (schools, local authorities, condition-specific organisations)
  • Reapplying too soon after unsuccessful application or project completion
  • Requesting funding for wish-granting activities or residential schemes
  • Not demonstrating commitment to diversity and inclusion

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Deprivation focus: Organisations in high-deprivation areas have a significant advantage; emphasize this in applications
  • Rolling applications: No deadlines means you can apply when ready, but also means ongoing competition
  • One-year rule: Successful or not, you'll wait at least a year before reapplying, so make your application count
  • Prepare offline first: Use the Word document to draft your application before submitting online to avoid losing work
  • Think small and local: Small Grants programme favours smaller organisations (under £350,000 income) doing local work
  • Don't chase Major Programmes: These are Trust-initiated partnerships; focus your energy on Small Grants unless the Trust approaches you
  • Inclusion matters: Demonstrating commitment to serving diverse communities is a key priority for trustees
  • Be patient with decisions: 6-12 week timeline means planning ahead; no feedback means making your first application as strong as possible

Similar Funders

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References