How to apply to the Gannochy Trust: who it funds, typical awards and deadlines

The Gannochy Trust is a Perth-based endowed trust that gives around £5 million a year to registered charities, mostly for work in Perth and Kinross. It funds project, core and capital costs at three grant levels, decides three times a year, and from 1 July 2026 accepts Rest of Scotland applications only from existing or recent grant holders. The next Perth and Kinross deadline is 8 January 2027.

Who the Gannochy Trust funds

The Trust funds registered charities, and it funds charities based or working in Perth and Kinross on much wider terms than charities elsewhere in Scotland. Its website states that "a greater proportion of our annual giving of around five million pounds is awarded to charities based or working in Perth and Kinross", and its funder facts page shows that all 100 of its most recent grants published to 360Giving went to registered charities. The programme names in that sample, such as "2026 Mar - Perth & Kinross", confirm that Perth and Kinross rounds dominate current giving.

For Perth and Kinross, the Trust's 2022 to 2027 strategy sets three aims: to improve the quality of life, to improve the availability or quality of the built and natural environment for wide community use, and to develop and inspire children and young people aged 0 to 21. Each aim has a short list of outcomes, and an application must show which outcomes it will deliver. The register records the Trust's purposes as arts, culture, heritage and science, amateur sport, environment, economic and community development, and recreation, which matches the Scotland browse page themes most of its grants fall under.

For the rest of Scotland, the picture changed in 2026. Following a review, the Trust decided to replace its open Rest of Scotland programme with "selective pro-active grant making" from the strategy period starting in July 2027. It reported that application numbers had risen while success rates fell from 66% to 32%. As of 1 July 2026, Rest of Scotland applications are accepted only from existing or recent grant holders whose funding ended or ends between 1 January 2026 and 30 June 2027, for work with young people aged 11 to 21.

What it funds and what it will not

The Trust makes three types of grant:

• Project funding for the delivery of projects and activities.
• Core funding for operational costs such as salaries, overheads and day-to-day running costs. See core funding for charities for how to present this kind of request.
• Capital funding to create or improve an asset, such as a new building or a refurbishment. Capital applications are a two-stage process.

Main and major grants are only available for charities and work based in Perth and Kinross. Charities applying for the first time, or that have not received funding within the past ten years, should apply for one year only; the Trust describes this as a way "to establish or re-establish a relationship". The strategy document lists exclusions, and the Trust asks every applicant to read it and the guidance notes before starting. Nothing on the public pages suggests the Trust funds individuals, and the register records that it makes grants to organisations.

Typical award

The Trust publishes its grants to 360Giving, so there is evidence beyond the stated bands. On 26 October 2026 its facts page showed 252 published grants worth £12.8 million, with a median of £19,500 across the 100 most recent and a range from £1,000 to £859,000 across all of them. That median sits inside the main grant band, which runs to £30,000 a year. The stated levels are:

• Small grants: up to £10,000 a year for up to three years.
• Main grants: up to £30,000 a year for up to three years.
• Major grants: over £30,000 a year for up to three years.
• Youth Panel Fund: up to £10,000, with the panel approving up to £100,000 a year from a budget of about £25,000 per meeting.

Do not read the £859,000 top of the range as a typical major grant. It is the largest single award in the published data, and the Trust's own bands and the median are the better guide to what to ask for.

Deadlines and rounds

Trustees meet three times a year, and the application portal opens roughly two months before each deadline. The dates published on 26 October 2026 were:

• 2 October 2026 at noon, for the meeting on 2 December 2026 (portal opened 3 August 2026). This round has closed.
• 8 January 2027 at noon, for the meeting in March 2027. The portal opens on 1 November 2026.
• 30 April 2027 at noon, for the meeting in July 2027. The portal opens on 1 March 2027.
• 1 October 2027 at noon, for the meeting in December 2027. The portal opens on 1 August 2027.

The Youth Panel Fund runs on its own cycle of four meetings a year. The remaining 2026 deadline is 6 November 2026, for the panel meeting on 5 December 2026. The Trust aims to write with a decision within three weeks of each meeting.

OpenGrant found two Gannochy schemes on the Trust's site but their records failed its quality checks, so no scheme record is listed on the facts page at the time of writing. Use the November 2026 deadlines page and the Scotland charities page to see what else closes around the Youth Panel date.

How to apply

Perth and Kinross applicants apply through the Trust's online portal at gannochytrust.benefactorcloud.co.uk, after reading the Grant Strategy 2022 to 2027 and the Guidance Notes for Grant Applicants. The Trust warns that applications needing significant clarification may be held over to a later meeting, so answer the outcome questions directly. Capital applicants must first email the grants team for a Stage 1 Capital Project Summary Template; trustees then decide whether the project goes to a full Stage 2 application. Eligible Rest of Scotland applicants should email grants@gannochytrust.org.uk for instructions rather than using the portal. Youth Panel Fund applicants use the application pack on the Youth Panel page, and should expect an acknowledgement within a week. The Trust's applying for a grant page has the current downloads.

Common reasons applications fail

The Trust's own pages point to three avoidable problems. First, applying from outside Perth and Kinross without being an existing or recent Rest of Scotland grant holder: those applications are no longer accepted. Second, failing to show how the work delivers the stated outcomes; the Trust says "only projects that can demonstrate delivery of Youth Panel Fund outcomes will be supported", and the same logic applies to the main strategy. Third, asking a new relationship to start with a multi-year grant, when the Trust asks first-time applicants to request one year. The general advice in how to write a grant application and grant due diligence checks applies here too.

Comparable funders

If your work is in Scotland but outside Perth and Kinross, these funders cover similar ground:

• The Robertson Trust, Scotland's largest independent funder by income on the register, which had no open scheme in OpenGrant's sources on 18 October 2026 but runs recurring programmes.
• Foundation Scotland, which administered 46 open or forthcoming schemes on 26 October 2026, many of them community benefit funds tied to a specific area.
• Corra Foundation, listed by OpenGrant as a similar funder with four open schemes.
• The National Lottery Community Fund, whose Awards for All Scotland offers £300 to £20,000 with a decision in 12 weeks.
• Postcode Community Trust, another OpenGrant "similar funder" for Scottish community work.

For a longer list, arts and heritage grants in Scotland covers the cultural funders and who funds youth charities in the UK covers the youth ones. Charities can also use the peers lookup with a charity number to see which funders have published grants to organisations like theirs.