Treebeard Trust

Charity Number: 1200102

Annual Expenditure: £1.2M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £1,216,703 (year ending April 2023)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed (unsolicited applications not accepted)
  • Decision Time: 1-2 weeks
  • Grant Range: Up to £50,000 (can exceed for specific cases)
  • Geographic Focus: UK national

Contact Details

  • Website: www.treebeardtrust.org
  • Email: jessamy@treebeardtrust.org
  • Phone: 07540466413
  • Director: Jessamy Gould (she/her)
  • Address: Glasses Graffham, Petworth, West Sussex GU28 0PU

Note: The Trust does not accept unsolicited applications but welcomes initial contact from organisations that believe they align with the Trust's mission and values. Send a few paragraphs about your work with a link to your website.

Overview

Treebeard Trust was established in 2011 by Barnaby and Cassandra Wiener as a charitable foundation with an endowment of over £20 million. The Trust's mission is to support transformational initiatives that have the potential to create a healthier planet and fairer society. Since its inception, the Trust has invested in over 60 organisations across four investment themes. In the year ending April 2023, the Trust awarded £1,216,703 in grants, with over 80% as part of multi-year commitments and over 60% as unrestricted funding. The Trust operates with a light-touch, flexible, and risk-tolerant approach, allocating around 5% of their endowment annually to grant-making. Jessamy Gould joined as the Trust's first employee and Grants Director in 2016, leading the grants programme.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

  • Core Grants: Generally up to £50,000 over one or more years (though larger amounts awarded in exceptional cases, e.g., £60,000 to Social and Sustainable Capital Trust)
  • Application Method: Rolling basis - no application deadlines, but the Trust proactively identifies partners rather than accepting open applications
  • Funding Type: Strong preference for multi-year and unrestricted funding

Priority Areas

The Trust operates across four investment themes:

  1. Environment/Sustainable Planet: Supporting environmental initiatives and climate action
  2. Social Justice: Addressing systemic inequalities and promoting fairness
  3. Vulnerable Communities: Supporting refugees, asylum seekers, and marginalized groups
  4. Systems Change: Investing in organisations working for structural transformation

Current Focus Areas:

  • Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), with particular emphasis on specialist organisations led by and working to support black and minoritised women and girls
  • Refugees and asylum seekers
  • Environmental sustainability and climate justice

What They Don't Fund

Specific exclusions are not publicly listed, but the Trust:

  • Does not accept unsolicited applications in the traditional sense
  • Does not solicit applications for grant funding
  • Cannot respond to all enquiries due to limited staff capacity (part-time team)
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Governance and Leadership

Founders: Barnaby and Cassandra Wiener (established 2011)

Trustees (5 total):

  • Barnaby Wiener (Chair, appointed 2011)
  • Dr Cassandra Wiener (appointed 2011)
  • Lisa Barrett (appointed 2019)
  • Michael Mompi (appointed 2019)
  • Andrew Purvis (appointed 2020)

Key Staff:

  • Jessamy Gould (she/her), Grants Director: Worked in the charity sector since 2007, served as a board member of Treebeard Trust from inception until early 2016 when she became the Trust's first employee. Leads the grants programme from Suffolk.
  • Investment Advisor (role dedicated to impact investing portfolio)

Leadership Philosophy (from Barnaby Wiener): “I think it will become increasingly untenable for foundations to focus 95% of their attention on the 5% they deploy in grants.” Their goal is to “be strategic and purposeful with our grant making, but at the same time light-touch, flexible and risk tolerant.”

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Important: The Trust does not accept unsolicited applications in the traditional sense. Instead:

  1. Proactive Identification: The Trust draws on its own research and growing networks to identify potential partners. Funding opportunities are proactively researched by the Director or Impact Investment Advisor.
  1. Initial Contact: Organisations that consider themselves a good fit are welcome to send a few paragraphs about their work with a link to their website or further information to jessamy@treebeardtrust.org
  1. Pre-Application Advice: The Trust urges organisations to read their priorities and values carefully before making contact, as staff work part-time and cannot respond to all enquiries.
  1. Eligibility: UK registered charities and social enterprises working in environment, social justice, and vulnerable communities

Decision Timeline

  • Decision Time: 1-2 weeks typically
  • Process: All investment decisions (grant or financial) require trustee approval, but these are not restricted to specific meeting times or certain times of year
  • Notification: Not specified in available sources

Success Rates

Success rates are not publicly disclosed. The Trust does not operate an open application process, making traditional success rate metrics irrelevant. The Trust invested in over 60 organisations since 2011.

Reapplication Policy

No specific reapplication policy is publicly available. Given the Trust's proactive approach to identifying partners, this is not applicable in the traditional sense.

Application Success Factors

What the Trust Values

Due Diligence Approach: According to their partner survey feedback, the Trust's “light touch” and “personal approach” are highly appreciated. They value “clarity, simplicity, and proportionality” as best practice.

Organisational Characteristics:

  • Exceptional teams and projects
  • Clearly defined goals and measures of success
  • Commitment to measuring and reflecting on results
  • Willingness to share learning from the evaluation process
  • Ability to learn through work and respond to both challenges and achievements
  • Transparency and honesty over rigid frameworks and quantitative measurement

Strategic Approach: “They want to support exceptional teams and projects, and seek out partners who set themselves clearly defined goals and measures of success.”

Recent Funded Projects (Examples)

  • The Bike Project: Received funding in 2022 for a matched funding campaign to increase bikes refurbished and donated to refugees and asylum seekers
  • The Vavengers: Multi-year grant to support education, campaigning, and direct action work
  • The Magpie Project: Support for providing safe spaces for mothers with children under 5 living in temporary accommodation in Newham
  • Egmont Trust: Funding for Vision of Hope project in Zambia reducing numbers of young girls and women living on streets
  • Ecological Land Cooperative: Partnership support for sustainable land use
  • Social and Sustainable Capital Trust (SASC): £60,000 grant

Language and Terminology

The Trust uses terms like:

  • “Transformational initiatives”
  • “Systems change”
  • “Impact investments”
  • “Social and environmental return”
  • “Light-touch, flexible and risk tolerant”
  • “Unrestricted funding”
  • “Multi-year commitments”

Standing Out

  • Alignment with values: The Trust's core values emphasize doing what's right rather than what's popular or easy, interacting with clarity and openness, and viewing the world from a position of empathy and care
  • Long-term thinking: Demonstrate commitment to sustained impact rather than short-term projects
  • Learning orientation: Show how your organisation learns from its work and adapts
  • Power awareness: The Trust is “reflective about the power imbalance in all funding models” - acknowledge this in your approach
  • Flexibility: Be open to “genuine and intelligent interaction between investor and investee”

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Don't apply traditionally: This Trust proactively identifies partners rather than accepting open applications. Send a brief, compelling introduction if you believe you're a strong fit, but don't expect to go through a formal application process.
  • Emphasise learning and adaptation: The Trust evaluates organisations not just on outcomes but on their ability to learn through their work. Demonstrate your commitment to reflection and evidence-based adaptation.
  • Prioritise unrestricted, multi-year asks: Over 60% of partners received unrestricted funding and over 80% received multi-year commitments. Position your request accordingly.
  • Be patient but expect speed once engaged: While initial contact may not receive a response, once the Trust engages with you, decisions can be made within 1-2 weeks.
  • Focus on systems change and transformation: Use language around transformational change, systems-level impact, and long-term structural shifts rather than short-term service delivery.
  • Demonstrate values alignment: Show how your organisation embodies empathy, care, risk-taking for the right reasons, and critical self-examination.
  • Network strategically: Since the Trust identifies partners through their networks, being connected to their existing partners or working in coalitions may increase visibility.

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