Williamson Trust

Quick Stats

• Registered Charity Number: 327601
• Annual Income: £423,768 (Year ending December 2024)
• Annual Expenditure: £113,695 (Year ending December 2024)
• Grant Range: £5,000 - £75,000
• Decision Time: Approximately 2-3 months
• Geographic Focus: UK-wide, with growing focus in Scotland and Wales
• Application Method: Through partner organizations (no unsolicited applications)

Contact Details

Williamson Trust

• Website: https://williamsontrust.org.uk/
• Email: info@williamsontrust.org.uk
• Phone: 07411340687
• Address: PO Box 73, Llangollen, LL20 9BR

For Scotland-based Catalyst & Change Awards:

• Royal Society of Edinburgh: Awards@theRSE.org.uk
• Website: https://rse.org.uk/award/healthy-planet-healthy-people-catalyst-award/

For Wales-based Trusted Voices Grants:

• Learned Society of Wales
• Website: https://www.learnedsociety.wales/

Overview

Established in 1987 by William Salt (1925-2020) after the death of his mother, the Williamson Trust is a charitable trust that promotes education, health and wellbeing through grant-making to appropriate organisations and individuals. William Salt served in the Navy during World War II and later became a successful entrepreneur based in Manchester and London. The Trust is endowed with funds from various sources including major contributions from Independent Property Holding (now dissolved) and the estate of the late William Salt.

In 2020, the trustees refreshed the vision for the Trust with the “Healthy Planet, Healthy People” initiative, which encapsulates William Salt's aim to enable quality of life and longevity while reframing it in the context of ongoing global degradation of nature, the environment and the food system. Through this vision, the Trust promotes the health of individuals by supporting healthy environments, healthy communities, and healthy foods. The Trust takes a One Health approach to its donation-making strategy, integrating health, environment, and food under this unified vision.

All funding support comes from income generated by their endowment, which is managed by Evelyn Partners, signatories to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment and followers of the Financial Reporting Council's stewardship code.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The Williamson Trust operates exclusively through strategic partnerships with learned societies and does not accept unsolicited applications. Instead, they work directly with partners to co-create projects for potential funding.

1. Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Catalyst Award (Scotland)

• Amount: Up to £5,000
• Duration: Up to 12 months
• Delivery Partner: Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE)
• Focus: Community-led pilot-scale research projects
• Application Method: Online application through RSE website (rolling/annual deadlines)
• Recent Funding: Round 1: £59,518 to 12 projects; Round 2: £73,625 to 16 projects

2. Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Change Award (Scotland)

• Amount: £25,000 or £75,000
• Duration: Up to 24 months
• Delivery Partner: Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE)
• Focus: Scaling successful Catalyst Award projects
• Eligibility: Previous Catalyst Award recipients only
• Total Funding Pool: £100,000

3. Trusted Voices: Evidence-based Knowledge for Wales Grants

• Amount: Up to £10,000
• Delivery Partner: Learned Society of Wales (LSW)
• Focus: Creating trustworthy, evidence-based content for Welsh audiences
• Launch: September 2025
• Requirement: Content must be based on existing reliable research

Priority Areas

The Trust focuses on three interconnected topics:

1. Healthy Environments - Projects addressing climate change, biodiversity, environmental quality, and sustainable resource management
2. Healthy Communities - Community-led initiatives that enhance collective wellbeing and social cohesion
3. Healthy Foods - Projects promoting food and nutritional security, sustainable food systems, and access to healthy food

Within these areas, funded projects have included diverse topics: dolphins, bees, seeds, orchards, woodlands, lochs, food banks, composting, urban crofts, coffee shops, community gardens, and street theatre addressing climate conversations.

What They Don't Fund

• Unsolicited grant applications
• Projects outside their three priority topics (climate, nature, food)
• Projects not delivered through their partner organizations
• Projects that do not align with their “Healthy Planet, Healthy People” vision
• For Catalyst Awards: organizations not based in Scotland
• For Change Awards: organizations that have not previously received Catalyst Award funding

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Governance and Leadership

The Trust is run by a small team of three trustees who work to ensure financial stability, build a portfolio of empowered individuals and organizations, and deliver their “Healthy Planet, Healthy People” vision.

Trustees:

• Plant scientist with over 35 years of experience
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
• Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor for NuKoKo
• Potter at SaltMud Pottery
• Quote: “We are encouraging an amazing array of projects spanning food, nature, and climate, all with the potential to deliver real solutions.”
• Quote: “I speak for all the trustees at the Williamson Trust when I say we were incredibly excited to see the very strong response we got from communities across Scotland.”

• Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University
• Research interests in participatory governance, trust, and social justice
• Focus on community engagement and evidence-based policy

• Background information not publicly available

The trustees receive no remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity. The Trust has no employees with benefits over £60,000.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Important: The Williamson Trust does not accept unsolicited requests for funding. They work directly with partners to imagine and co-create projects for potential funding.

To apply for funding, you must go through one of their delivery partners:

For Scotland-based Catalyst Awards:

1. Create a profile in the RSE CRM system
2. Complete online application form
3. Recommended browser: Google Chrome
4. One proposal per applicant
5. Applications open annually with specific deadlines

For Scotland-based Change Awards:

• Only available to previous Catalyst Award recipients
• Application details provided through RSE

For Wales-based Trusted Voices Grants:

• Apply through the Learned Society of Wales
• Check their website for current application rounds

Eligibility Requirements

Catalyst Award Eligibility (Scotland):

• Lead applicant must be based in Scotland
• Impact must be Scotland-based (though projects can be transferable)
• Open to:
• Community groups
• Charitable trusts/registered charities
• Educational/research institutions
• Community Interest Companies (CICs)
• Social enterprises
• Cooperative societies
• Local authorities
• Community benefit societies
• Voluntary or community groups
• Non-profit companies limited by guarantee
• Unincorporated groups (with identified sponsor)
• Individual applicants need a letter of support from an eligible organization

Project Requirements:

• Must address one of three topics: Climate, Nature, or Food
• Must fall into one of three types:
• People: Identifying neglected voices and conducting research guided by these voices
• Problem: Addressing issues through data collection and analysis
• Practice: Proposing novel practical solutions to established problems

Decision Timeline

For RSE Catalyst Awards:

• Application Opens: Early September
• Application Deadline: Early December (typically December 4)
• Assessment Period: December - January
• Decision Notification: End of January
• Public Announcement: February
• Project Start Dates: March - August (following year)

Overall Timeline: Approximately 2-3 months from application deadline to decision notification.

Success Rates

While exact success rates are not publicly disclosed, the Trust has shown flexibility in funding strong applications:

• Round 1: Initially planned for 10 projects, expanded to 12 due to application strength
• Round 2: Further expanded to 16 projects with £73,625 awarded
• Applications continue to grow, demonstrating strong community interest
• The expansion of successful projects suggests a competitive but responsive approach to quality applications

Reapplication Policy

No specific reapplication policy is publicly stated. However, the Change Award program explicitly encourages previous Catalyst Award recipients to apply for larger-scale funding, suggesting a positive approach to ongoing relationships with successful applicants.

Application Success Factors

Assessment Criteria

Applications are assessed by RSE committees based on:

1. Quality and importance of the research
2. Feasibility of the project plan
3. Outputs and impact - demonstrable outcomes
4. Value for money
5. For Change Awards specifically: measurable impact and potential for sustainable outcomes

What the Funder Values

Based on successful projects and trustee statements, the Williamson Trust values:

Innovation and Diversity: Professor David Salt's quote highlights their encouragement of “an amazing array of projects” covering topics from dolphins to coffee shops, showing they value creative approaches across their three priority areas.

Community Leadership: All programs emphasize “community-led” approaches, indicating preference for projects genuinely driven by local communities rather than imposed from outside.

Evidence-Based Approaches: The Trusted Voices program specifically requires content “based on existing reliable research and evidence,” suggesting strong value placed on academic rigor combined with practical application.

Scalability: The Change Award program provides larger funding to “grow and scale” successful Catalyst projects, indicating they value projects with potential to expand impact beyond initial scope.

Measurable Impact: The Change Award prioritizes “demonstrable measurable impact,” suggesting successful applications should include clear metrics and evaluation plans.

Ethical Requirements

The Trust has a comprehensive ethics policy based on British Academy guidelines. All funded projects must demonstrate:

• Accurate reporting of findings and commitment to enabling others to replicate results where possible
• Fair dealing in respect of other persons and their intellectual property
• Proper employment conditions for project staff
• Transparency and honesty about project purpose, methods, and risks
• Confidentiality of information supplied by project participants
• Impartiality in research conduct

Applicants must indicate whether their proposed project raises special ethical issues and confirm relevant authority approval where applicable.

Investment Focus

The Trust seeks investments that promote:

• Greenhouse gas emissions reductions
• Environmental quality
• Food and nutritional security
• Equitable partnerships

This investment strategy reflects their overall funding priorities and suggests alignment between project goals and these themes will strengthen applications.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

1. No Direct Applications: The most critical factor is that you cannot apply directly to the Williamson Trust. You must work through their delivery partners (RSE for Scotland, LSW for Wales). Build relationships with these partner organizations.

1. Community-Led is Essential: The Trust explicitly values community-led projects. Applications should demonstrate genuine community leadership, not external organizations delivering to communities.

1. Interconnected Approach Wins: Given their One Health approach, projects that demonstrate links between environment, food, and community health are likely to be competitive. Show how your project addresses multiple aspects of their vision.

1. Evidence of Strong Demand: The Trust expanded both their first and second funding rounds due to application strength, suggesting they are responsive to quality proposals and may have capacity to fund more projects than initially planned.

1. Pathway to Larger Funding: The Catalyst to Change Award progression (£5,000 to £75,000) provides a clear pathway for successful projects to scale. Initial applicants should consider how their pilot could develop into larger initiatives.

1. Flexibility Valued: Projects ranging from “dolphins to coffee shops” have been funded, demonstrating the Trust values innovative approaches across diverse topics within their three core areas.

1. Ethics Matter: The comprehensive ethics policy suggests applications should proactively address ethical considerations, research integrity, and community safeguarding from the outset.

Similar Funders

These funders have a similar focus and geographic reach:

• People's Health Trust
• THE LINDER FOUNDATION
• P F Charitable Trust
• The Mary Kinross Charitable Trust
• HAMAMELIS TRUST
• THE FISHMONGERS' COMPANY'S FISHERIES CHARITABLE TRUST
• Chapman Charitable Trust
• THE LENNOX HANNAY CHARITABLE TRUST
• IMAGINE FOUNDATION
• Peter Sowerby Foundation

References

1. Williamson Trust Official Website - https://williamsontrust.org.uk/
2. Williamson Trust “How We Operate” - https://williamsontrust.org.uk/how-we-operate/
3. UK Charity Commission - Williamson Trust (327601) - https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/327601/full-print
4. Royal Society of Edinburgh - Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Catalyst Award - https://rse.org.uk/award/healthy-planet-healthy-people-catalyst-award/
5. Royal Society of Edinburgh - “RSE announces 16 recipients of community-led research awards” - https://rse.org.uk/rse-announces-16-recipients-of-community-led-research-awards/
6. Royal Society of Edinburgh - “Autumn 2025 RSE Research Awards programme opens today” - https://rse.org.uk/autumn-2025-rse-research-awards-programme-opens-today/
7. Williamson Trust - “The RSE is pleased to announce 12 new community-led research awards recipients” - https://williamsontrust.org.uk/the-rse-is-pleased-to-announce-12-new-community-led-research-awards-recipients/
8. Third Force News - “Scottish community projects receive over £70,000 of research funding” - https://tfn.scot/news/scottish-community-projects-receive-over-70000-of-research-funding
9. Greater Govanhill - “From community gardens to sustainable coffee: Govanhill projects win funding for local research” - https://www.greatergovanhill.com/latest/eco-boost-for-southside-community-sustainability-projects-win-10k-for-green-living
10. West Coast Today - Media Library, Professor David E Salt FRSE profile - https://www.westcoasttoday.co.uk/media-library/professor-david-e-salt-frse-chairperson-of-the-williamson-trust
11. Manchester Metropolitan University - Professor Karen Salt profile - https://www.mmu.ac.uk/staff/profile/professor-karen-salt
12. Learned Society of Wales - https://www.learnedsociety.wales/