Grants of up to £25,000 are available to registered charities in the UK working in the areas of arts and heritage, education, environment, health, or social and economic disadvantage.

The Trust will consider applications from registered charities, exempt charities, Charitable Incorporated Organisations and municipally funded museums.

Applicants must have an annual turnover of over £50,000.

Grants awarded are usually single payments of between £2,500 and £25,000. In some cases, larger grants are awarded in instalments, payable over a period of years.

Applications are made via an online form and may be for support towards capital projects, specific projects, research programmes and core costs.

There are very few restrictions on the purpose for which a grant may be used but they do not fund expeditions or projects that promote religion. This does not exclude, for example, an eligible religious organisation from applying for work that is not religious in nature, such as providing a food bank or maintaining an historic building.

The current priorities for the Health category are older people and programmes and activities that aim to support, maintain and improve mental health.

The current priorities for the Social and Economic Disadvantage category are children and housing and homeless people.

The Environmental category can currently include measures that improve the applicant organisation’s carbon footprint.

There are four application periods a year:

• 21st October to 20th January – reviewed mid-March, awarded early April
• 21st January to 20th April – reviewed mid-June, awarded early July
• 21st April to 20th July – reviewed mid-September, awarded early October
• 21st July to 20th October – reviewed mid-December, awarded early January

For full details, visit the Steel Charitable Trust website.