The Whirlwind Charitable Trust

Charity Number: 1119576

Annual Expenditure: £0.2M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £180,000 (approximately 40 organisations supported annually)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: 3-6 months (quarterly review cycle)
  • Grant Range: £1,000 - £10,000 (occasional higher awards, e.g., £300,000 to UKSA)
  • Geographic Focus: United Kingdom
  • Beneficiaries: Over 9,000 individuals supported annually

Contact Details

  • Website: www.whirlwind.org.uk
  • Application Portal: whirlwind.smapply.io
  • Applications Email: applications@whirlwindcharitabletrust.org.uk
  • Phone: 07785746952
  • Executive Manager: Dave Febry (dave@whirlwind.org.uk, 07885 500 550)
  • Donations Manager: Alison Chipperfield (alison@whirlwindcharitabletrust.org.uk, 07770 786554)
  • Address: Coganhayes, Buckerell, Honiton, EX14 3ER

Overview

The Whirlwind Charitable Trust was established in 2007 with a generous grant from the Lister Charitable Trust, created by Noel Lister (founder of MFI and UKSA) and his wife Sylvia. The Trust typically distributes approximately £180,000 annually to around 40 organisations, supporting over 9,000 individuals. The charity's mission is to enhance the potential for a positive life experience for young, disadvantaged, at-risk, and disabled people, primarily through maritime activities and outdoor pursuits, plus marine environmental education and conservation. The founding trustees—Ben Cussons, Steve Chipperfield, and David Lister—established the organisation with a vision of enabling disadvantaged people to access life-affirming outdoor experiences. The trustees have a "strong belief that life at sea and outdoor pursuits are great methods to improve participants' life chances" and have extended their remit to include grants to organisations working to protect the marine environment.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

  • Standard Grants: £1,000 - £10,000 (online portal, quarterly deadlines)
  • Exceptional Strategic Grants: Occasionally awarded (e.g., £300,000 to UKSA over multiple years for capital development)
  • Application Method: Rolling submissions through online portal with quarterly trustee reviews

Priority Areas

The Trust actively funds projects that:

  • Improve the life chances of disadvantaged young people (primarily up to age 25, though older age groups considered)
  • Help those living with disability fulfil their potential, including disabled children participating in sailing and outdoor activities
  • Provide maritime and outdoor pursuits with appropriate levels of challenge
  • Support marine environment understanding, conservation, and protection
  • Offer experiences within the context of longer-term contact, relationships, or mentoring
  • Demonstrate life-changing impact with post-project support
  • Focus on helping the transition from challenging backgrounds to becoming fulfilled, successful members of society

What They Don't Fund

  • General overheads (prefer donations focused on delivery)
  • Activities not open to participants of all races, religions, and gender
  • Organisations without a track record (prefer established charities, though newly registered may apply)
  • One-off events without longer-term mentoring or relationship context
  • More than one donation to any charity in a given year
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Governance and Leadership

Trustees (6 Directors)

  • Christopher Neil Riley - Chair (appointed March 2013)
  • David John Lister MBE - Trustee (appointed May 2007, founding trustee)
  • Benjamin Piers Cussons - Director and Company Secretary (appointed May 2007, founding trustee)
  • Stephen John Chipperfield - Former Chairman (appointed May 2007, founding trustee)
  • Natalie Levin - Trustee with over 11 years' experience in the charity sector as fundraiser and mentor (appointed July 2019)
  • Lee Bonham - Trustee (appointed July 2019)

No trustees receive any remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity. The board is predominantly male and the composition has been noted as “rather static” in external governance assessments.

Key Staff

  • Dave Febry - Executive Manager
  • Alison Chipperfield - Donations Manager

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Applications are submitted through the Trust's online portal at whirlwind.smapply.io. The application process consists of two parts:

  1. Registration and Questionnaire: First, register on the portal and validate your email address to save your application for later completion. Part one is a questionnaire about your organisation.
  2. Project Details: Part two is a questionnaire about the specific project for which you seek funding.
  3. Supporting Documents: Upload various documents to support your application.
  4. Final Submission: Click “Review and Submit” and then “Submit your Application” to officially start the process.

Applications must be from registered UK charities. For assistance at any stage, contact applications@whirlwindcharitabletrust.org.uk.

Decision Timeline

  • Trustees meet quarterly in January, April, July, and October
  • Application cut-off: 2 weeks before each trustee meeting
  • Late applications are carried forward to the following quarterly meeting
  • Total timeline: Allow at least 6 months, though it can take longer or occasionally be faster
  • The Trust currently receives significantly more applications each quarter than they can fund

Success Rates

The Trust distributes approximately £180,000 to around 40 organisations annually, supporting over 9,000 individuals. Specific success rate percentages are not publicly disclosed, but the Trust notes they receive “significantly more applications each quarter than they can fund” and also receive “many that are not well aligned with their charitable remit.”

Reapplication Policy

The Trustees generally do not make more than one donation to any charity in a given year. Specific policies for unsuccessful applicants are not publicly disclosed; contact the Trust directly for clarification.

Application Success Factors

The Whirlwind Charitable Trust explicitly states what makes a successful application:

What the Trust looks for:

  • “A well-considered project with cost-efficient planning and delivery from a lean, well managed organisation with a realistic pay structure and, ideally with the involvement of volunteers.”

Strong alignment characteristics:

  • Maritime/outdoor focus with challenge: “Applications with involvement in maritime or outdoor pursuits with a level of challenge appropriate to the circumstances of the individuals involved, with the potential to bring about significant, life changing impact”
  • Addressing significant disadvantage or disability: “Activities that change the lives of young people with significant disadvantage, or disability”
  • Longer-term support: Provide “post-project mentoring or support” and “experiences within the context of longer term contact, relationships or mentoring”
  • Clear transformational objective: “The clear objective of helping the transition from a challenging background to becoming a fulfilled and successful member of society”

Operational preferences:

  • “Modest organisational overheads and employee salaries”
  • “A high percentage of volunteer help”
  • “Donations focused on delivery rather than general overheads”
  • “High quality service from the charity applying in terms of the timeliness and efficiency of responding to requests for documentation and sign-offs”

Track record matters: “The Trust prefers to support charities that have established a successful track record of delivery”

Long-term relationship building: “The Trust hopes to build long term relationships with organisations that can deliver against their agenda in an efficient, cost-effective manner”

Recent funded projects include:

  • Sailing courses teaching visually impaired adults navigation and seamanship skills toward RYA qualifications
  • Day sails and residential voyages for disadvantaged young people from Plymouth
  • Residential projects providing outdoor activities for 150 disadvantaged children from Merseyside with young volunteer helpers
  • Climbing programmes for families with limited economic means, including equipment purchase
  • Wilderness journeys with 10 days of wild camping, canoeing, walking, and abseiling with intensive personal support (Venture Trust)
  • £300,000 over multiple years to UKSA for accommodation centre development, enabling an additional 3,000 children and young people to visit annually

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Alignment is critical: Before applying, carefully evaluate whether “your charity and Whirlwind could be a good fit”—the Trust emphasizes this assessment and receives many applications not aligned with their remit
  • Demonstrate cost-efficiency: Show modest overheads, realistic salaries, and volunteer involvement—the Trust explicitly values “lean, well managed” organisations
  • Maritime and outdoor pursuits are the sweet spot: While other areas are considered, the trustees have a "strong belief that life at sea and outdoor pursuits are great methods to improve participants' life chances"
  • Think beyond the event: One-off experiences without longer-term mentoring or relationship context are unlikely to succeed—show how you'll provide ongoing support
  • Plan ahead for quarterly cycle: Applications have a 2-week cut-off before quarterly meetings (January, April, July, October), and the process takes at least 6 months
  • Responsiveness matters: The Trust values “high quality service...in terms of the timeliness and efficiency of responding to requests for documentation and sign-offs”
  • Build for the long-term: The Trust “hopes to build long term relationships” with efficient, cost-effective organisations—a successful grant could lead to future support (though generally not within the same year)

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