Objective
The Genesis Charitable Trust ("the Trust") provides grants for public benefit to help individuals and communities within developing countries to improve their standards of living. The Trust has broad objectives and an interest in projects that provide sustainable, long-term income generation and self-sufficiency, especially those making a demonstrable positive impact on marginalised communities currently beyond the reach of traditional government or market-based solutions.
The Trust takes sustainable income to mean “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
The Trust prioritises income-generating projects in developing countries. It actively seeks to support:
- entrepreneurial initiatives
- targeted improvement of economic opportunities
- improvements to the efficiency of markets and the ease of doing business
Eligibility for Support
The Trust carefully assesses underlying needs within project countries, and we give priority to projects located in countries where we can best utilise our existing knowledge and business network.
We will only consider applications from organisations that comply with the following eligibility criteria:
- registered as a non-profit organisation in their operating country, or associated with an organisation recorded on an official register of charities (asset-locked and tax-exempt for charitable purposes) in the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand or Singapore
- works in a developing country indicated in the
document
country list
(43 KB)
. (NB. The Trustees will not consider applications for projects that take place outside countries indicated on this list)
- addresses the needs of disadvantaged communities
Priority will be given to organisations which:
- have a track record in activities that accord with our income-generation priorities
- can demonstrate positive effects of their interventions
- are cost-effective in their approach
- have good governance and financial management
- engage beneficiaries and people who are local to beneficiaries in management and decision-making
- work to achieve sustainability of the social mission, by developing local capacity to increase resilience and independence
Exclusions
We will not fund:
- activities based outside a developing country
- individual sponsorship or personal appeals
- work that is aligned to a political party or a religious or spiritual faith
- animal charities
- building or infrastructure projects
- funding for work that has already occurred
- medical research
If you are considering applying to the Trust for a project involving microfinance, please read our guidance on the Trust’s approaches and exclusions:
Applying for Funding
We review applications throughout the year.
At application stage, the Trust does not set a minimum or maximum grant value, although it is exceptional for grant payments to exceed £400,000 in any single year of a project. There is no minimum or maximum timescale for project delivery. Short pilots, one-off awards and projects lasting around three years are considered equally. Applicants are invited to set out in brief what they need to achieve their project aims.
More information, including the Trust’s most recent annual report, is available via the Charity Commission.
Organisations that are eligible and whose projects match the priorities of The Genesis Charitable Trust may complete and
document
submit this form
(50 KB)
.
Potential grantee organisations are reviewed, and those that are felt to be potentially eligible for a grant will be invited to submit to a second-stage screening involving an interview and detailed financial review. Successful grantees will be asked to sign a Grant Agreement which will include reporting requirements (normally six monthly).
Manager: Tom Hoyle
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7201 7200
Address: The Genesis Charitable Trust, 21 Grosvenor Place, London, SW1X 7HU, UK
