Criteria For Grants

The Unwin Charitable Trust grant application process is currently closed.

The aims and objectives of the Trust allow the Trustees to make awards to a broad selection of causes provided they are in some way related to publishing and the printed word.  We have a number of organisations that we have had a long relationship with but each year we look to find projects that help us to extend our support to new and innovative ideas.

What we do fund:

  • Projects that enhance the enjoyment of reading
  • Education for people working in the book trade
  • Schemes that encourage reading and literacy
  • Projects that support booksellers
  • Events that promote books and publishing
  • UK based organisations and charities
  • The use of reading and books to alleviate deprivation

What we do not fund:

  • Individuals
  • Schools – due to the huge number of school applications, we are unable to fund schools
  • The publishing of a single book
  • The purchasing of books for individual students
  • Projects that discriminate for or against anyone
  • Political organisations
  • Political or religious propaganda
  • Welfare such as food or shelter
  • Health care
  • Organisations that are not based in the UK
  • Environmental projects
  • Sporting activities

In the past few years we have funded very diverse projects.  These include: The Retreat, a specialist charity for people who have worked in the book trade; a pop-up bookshop at a literary festival; the Children’s Bookshow which takes authors to children all over the country;  The Reader Organisation which set up reading groups in local libraries; Book Aid which provides educational books to developing countries; Book Bus which has mobile libraries and literacy educators in some of the poorest countries in Africa, and a project interviewing members of the publishing world to catalogue the role of women in publishing over the past 100 years. For more information about the projects we have funded please look at the recent recipients page.

Most of our grants are between £500 and £10,000.  Under exceptional circumstances we are prepared to fund larger amounts.

If you have an enquiry about funding please email Georgina Miller at grants@unwincharitabletrust.org.uk

Please do not submit an application as it will not be assessed.