Robertson Trust Large Grants

The biggest of The Robertson Trust’s funds for individual charities, and it can be unrestricted, which is the part that matters if a new website is on your list. Large Grants give Scottish charities working on poverty and trauma £20,000 to £50,000 a year, usually for three years. The fund is currently paused to new applicants and reopens by the end of August 2026 under a new two-stage process.

• What they fund: Unrestricted or restricted revenue funding for charities supporting people who are experiencing, or at high risk of, poverty and associated trauma in Scotland. Unrestricted means the money goes towards running your organisation, and it can include equipment costs, so a website needs no separate defence.
• Typical grants: £20,000 to £50,000 per year, typically over three years. Up to five years may be considered where your work is strongly aligned with the Trust’s priorities and demonstrates leading practice.
• Who can apply: Registered charities working in Scotland with an annual income over £200,000 and up to £2 million. Your work must be clearly and intentionally aligned with a priority described in one of the four themes: financial security, education pathways, work pathways, or nurturing relationships. You will also need at least three unconnected trustees, independently examined or audited accounts, a bank account requiring two unconnected signatories, an equality, diversity and inclusion policy, and a safeguarding policy if you work with young or vulnerable people.
• The angle: Apply unrestricted, on the strength of your core work rather than the website. The Trust assesses what you do and how it aligns with its themes; how you then spend the money, including on your digital presence, is your call.
• Worth knowing: The Trust has been unusually candid about why it paused: unprecedented demand, plus a rise in generic, AI-written applications with weak alignment to its themes and priorities. When the fund reopens, a specific, well-evidenced application tied to a named priority will stand out more than ever, so use the pause to read the theme pages and the full guidance properly. Decisions are currently taking 10 to 12 weeks, and you cannot hold a Community Spaces Grant at the same time as a Large Grant.