Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust grants
Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust is a local family foundation funding charities based in Kent and Medway, giving around £5m to organisations in its latest year, with a typical grant of £15,000.
Guidance last checked 16 July 2026· from the funder’s own website
Overview
The Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust (charity number 258958) is a local family foundation based in the South East, funding registered charities, CICs and other not-for-profit organisations based in Kent or Medway. In its latest recorded year it gave around £5m across 152 recorded grants, with a typical award of £15,000 and the middle half ranging from about £5,000 to £30,500. Its Community Fund offers one-off grants of £500 to £15,000, usually processed within six weeks for smaller sums and up to sixteen weeks for larger ones.
What they fund
It funds the prevention or relief of poverty, economic and community development and employment, and education and training, through one-off Community Fund grants of £500 to £15,000.
Who and where
It supports other charities and voluntary bodies, and groups working with disabled people, children and young people, and older people, based in Kent or Medway in the South East of England.
Who they help
Where they fund
What Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust says in its own guidance
Quoted directly from the funder’s own website, with a link to the page each quote came from. Always the most current word is theirs — check the source before you apply.
Who they say they'll fund
“Please note that we do not accept applications by post or by email. You must apply using our online application form.”
Source: cfct.org.uk — CFCT →
“Organisations must be a registered charity, CIC, social enterprise or other properly constituted not-for-profit organisation with a management committee with at least three unrelated members.”
Source: cfct.org.uk — CFCT →
“Organisations must be based in Kent or Medway and benefit local communities.”
Source: cfct.org.uk — CFCT →
What they say they won't fund
“hospitals, health authorities, medical care, medical equipment or medical research”
Source: cfct.org.uk — CFCT →
“national charities that do not have a physical base in Kent or Medway”
Source: cfct.org.uk — CFCT →
Grant sizes they mention
“Organisations can apply for a one-off grant of between £500 and £15,000.”
Source: cfct.org.uk — CFCT →
Income limits they mention
“Gross income in the last financial year must be £500,000 or less.”
Source: cfct.org.uk — CFCT →
How they say to apply
“We aim to process applications for £3,000 or less within six weeks. Larger sums can take up to sixteen weeks.”
Source: cfct.org.uk — CFCT →
“the Community Fund will not normally make a grant for more than 50%.”
Source: cfct.org.uk — CFCT →
“CFCT operates a light touch monitoring process. All groups are asked to provide a short update, via email, 6 months after receiving an award.”
Source: cfct.org.uk — CFCT →
“Our Community Fund programme accepts applications on a rolling basis, but the other programmes have closing dates”
Source: cfct.org.uk — CFCT →
What a typical grant looks like
| Typical (median) grant | £15,000 |
|---|---|
| Middle half of grants | £5,000 – £30,500 |
| Grants published openly | 152 |
| Most recent published grant | 2025 |
Recent grants
- Prison Advice and Care TrustSide by Side is a project supporting and empowering families impacted by imprisonment in Kent.£125,000February 2025
- Young Lives FoundationTo replicate the success of our CFCT funded Gravesham Hub in the Swale District.£50,000February 2025
- Charity Mentors Kent and MedwayTo provide charity leaders across Kent and Medway with free strategic mentoring to help them deliver sustainable support services to vulnerable people within their communities£45,000February 2025
- Uprising Youth and Community CIOWe?re seeking funding to maintain and grow our successful Hang 10 ?Walk it? programme and employability work for young people aged between 14 and 25.£40,000February 2025
- Fine Cell WorkWe are applying to embed and expand Fine Cell Work?s crafts training in Kent prisons over 2025-28£40,000February 2025
- The Amber FoundationTo fund one of three Team Leaders for two years, to deliver a new core curriculum of employment workshops at our Downsview centre in Kent.£40,000February 2025
From grants Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust publishes openly via 360Giving (the UK open grants-data standard), used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.
Their charitable objects
As registered with the Charity Commission (their formal purposes):
To or for such charitable purposes whatsoever at such times and in such manner as the trustees shall from time to time think proper
How to approach them
Start with the official sources — they’re always more current than any directory, including this one.
Common questions
How much does the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust typically give?
The median grant is around £15,000, with the middle half of its 152 recorded grants (latest recorded year: 2025) ranging from about £5,000 to £30,500. Its Community Fund offers one-off grants of between £500 and £15,000, and normally will not make a grant for more than 50% of an organisation's most recent turnover.
What does the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust fund?
It funds the prevention or relief of poverty, economic and community development and employment, and education and training, supporting people with disabilities, children and young people, older people and other groups.
Who can apply to the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust?
Organisations must be a registered charity, CIC, social enterprise or other properly constituted not-for-profit organisation with a management committee of at least three unrelated members, must be based in Kent or Medway and benefit local communities, and must have a gross income in the last financial year of £500,000 or less. Applications must be made using the online application form - they are not accepted by post or email.
What won't the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust fund?
It cannot fund hospitals, health authorities, medical care, medical equipment or medical research. It also cannot fund national charities that do not have a physical base in Kent or Medway.
How do I apply to the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust?
Its Community Fund programme accepts applications on a rolling basis with no deadline, although its other programmes have closing dates. The Trust aims to process applications of £3,000 or less within six weeks, and larger sums can take up to sixteen weeks. Full guidance is on the Trust's own website (cfct.org.uk) and its Charity Commission entry (charity number 258958).
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Contains public sector information from the Charity Commission for England and Wales licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and grants data from 360Giving used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Figures are derived (filtered and summarised by TrusteeMeetings), not republished unchanged. About the data · Terms of use. This page is a starting point for your own research, not a promise of funding, and is not endorsed by or affiliated with Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust.