Deadline: 08-Jul-2026
The Clare Milne Trust provides grants to not-for-profit organisations supporting people with disabilities in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Grants range from £250 to £5,000 and support projects that improve quality of life, independence, inclusion, access to services, and long-term community benefit.
The Trust funds charities, CICs, community groups, and voluntary organisations whose main purpose is to benefit people with disabilities. Eligible projects may support children, young people, and adults with physical, learning, mental, or sensory disabilities.
What is the Clare Milne Trust?
The Clare Milne Trust is a grant-making trust that supports disability-focused projects in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The Trust provides small grants to organisations that work directly with people with disabilities and help improve their daily lives, independence, wellbeing, and inclusion.
The funding is intended for not-for-profit organisations whose activities are charitable and whose main purpose is to support people with disabilities.
Main Purpose of the Fund
The main purpose of the Clare Milne Trust is to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities.
The Trust supports projects that help people with disabilities access activities, advice, support, equipment, services, training, and inclusive opportunities.
It also prioritises projects that respond to clear community needs and create long-term positive impact.
Focus Areas and Priorities
The fund focuses on disability inclusion, independence, and community-based support.
Key focus areas include:
- Disability support
- Quality of life improvement
- Independence and inclusion
- Projects led by people with lived experience of disability
- Organisations run by people with disabilities
- Activities for children, young people, and adults with disabilities
- Advice and support services
- Volunteer engagement
- Sustainable community impact
- Capital projects
- Equipment and building work
- Core organisational costs
- Salaries and staff costs
- Training and capacity building
Who Can Benefit?
The funding supports projects that directly benefit people with disabilities in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Beneficiaries may include:
- Children with disabilities
- Young people with disabilities
- Adults with disabilities
- People with physical disabilities
- People with learning disabilities
- People with mental disabilities
- People with sensory disabilities
Projects should clearly show how they improve independence, inclusion, wellbeing, access, or quality of life for people with disabilities.
Grant Amount
The Clare Milne Trust offers grants ranging from £250 to £5,000.
Applicants should request an amount that is realistic, clearly justified, and directly linked to the proposed project or organisational need.
Who is Eligible?
Eligible applicants must be not-for-profit organisations working in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Eligible organisations may include:
- Charities
- Community Interest Companies
- Community groups
- Voluntary organisations
- Disability-led organisations
- Organisations run by people with lived experience of disability
Applicants do not need to be registered charities.
However, their activities must be considered charitable, and their main purpose must be to serve people with disabilities.
What Costs Can Be Supported?
The Trust can support a wide range of costs linked to disability-focused work.
Eligible costs may include:
- Project activities
- Support services
- Advice services
- Equipment
- Building work
- Capital costs
- Core organisational costs
- Salaries
- Training
- Volunteer-related activities
- Community engagement activities
The strongest applications will show how the requested costs directly benefit people with disabilities.
Who is Not Eligible?
The fund does not support organisations or projects that fall outside its charitable disability-focused purpose.
Ineligible applicants or costs include:
- Commercial organisations
- Statutory bodies
- Organisations with significant free reserves
- Grant-making bodies
- Retrospective applications
- Political causes
- Promotion of religious choices
- Projects that do not directly benefit people with disabilities
How the Fund Works
The Clare Milne Trust provides grants to eligible not-for-profit organisations working with people with disabilities.
Applicants submit a proposal explaining the project, the disability-related need, the people who will benefit, and the expected impact.
Priority is given to projects that show clear community need, meaningful benefits, and long-term value for people with disabilities.
The Trust may support both direct project delivery and essential organisational costs where they help sustain disability-focused services.
How to Apply
Applicants should first confirm that their organisation works in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly and has a main purpose of supporting people with disabilities.
They should then check that their organisation is not excluded under the fund’s ineligible categories.
Applicants should prepare a clear proposal explaining the disability-related need, the target beneficiaries, the activities to be delivered, and the expected outcomes.
The application should also include a simple and realistic budget showing how the grant will be used.
Suggested Application Steps
- Confirm that your organisation is not-for-profit.
- Confirm that your work benefits people with disabilities in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly.
- Check that your organisation’s activities are charitable.
- Identify the disability-related need your project will address.
- Explain who will benefit from the project.
- Describe how the project will improve quality of life, independence, or inclusion.
- Prepare a budget between £250 and £5,000.
- Show how the project will create long-term benefit.
- Highlight involvement of people with lived experience of disability where relevant.
- Submit the application through the Trust’s application process.
Why It Matters
People with disabilities often face barriers to independence, inclusion, services, activities, and community participation.
Small grants can help local organisations provide practical support, accessible activities, specialist equipment, advice, training, and inclusive opportunities.
The Clare Milne Trust is important because it supports organisations that directly improve the lives of people with disabilities in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
By prioritising long-term impact and lived experience, the fund helps strengthen disability-focused community support.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid submitting projects that do not directly benefit people with disabilities.
Organisations should not apply if their main purpose is not disability-focused.
Applicants should avoid unclear budgets or requests that are not linked to project activities.
Commercial organisations and statutory bodies should not apply.
Projects promoting political causes or religious choices are not eligible.
Applicants should also avoid retrospective funding requests for costs that have already been incurred.
Tips for Strong Applications
A strong application should clearly explain the disability-related need being addressed.
Applicants should show how the project will improve quality of life, independence, inclusion, or access to support.
The proposal should demonstrate clear local benefit for people in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly.
Applicants should highlight long-term impact and sustainability.
Projects led by or shaped by people with lived experience of disability should clearly explain that involvement.
The budget should be realistic, easy to understand, and directly connected to the proposed work.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the Clare Milne Trust?
The Clare Milne Trust provides grants to support disability-focused projects that improve the quality of life, independence, and inclusion of people with disabilities in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
2. How much funding is available?
The Trust offers grants ranging from £250 to £5,000.
3. Who can apply?
Charities, CICs, community groups, voluntary organisations, and other not-for-profit organisations working with people with disabilities in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly can apply.
4. Do applicants need to be registered charities?
No. Applicants do not need to be registered charities, but their activities must be charitable and their main purpose must be to support people with disabilities.
5. What types of disabilities are covered?
The fund supports projects benefiting people with physical, learning, mental, and sensory disabilities.
6. What costs can the Trust support?
The Trust can support project activities, advice and support services, equipment, building work, organisational costs, salaries, training, and other eligible costs linked to disability-focused work.
7. What is not eligible for funding?
The fund does not support commercial organisations, statutory bodies, organisations with significant free reserves, grant-making bodies, retrospective applications, political causes, promotion of religious choices, or projects that do not directly benefit people with disabilities.
Conclusion
The Clare Milne Trust provides important grant support for disability-focused organisations in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
With grants ranging from £250 to £5,000, the fund helps charities, CICs, community groups, and voluntary organisations deliver projects that improve independence, inclusion, quality of life, and access to support.
Applicants should clearly show that their work directly benefits people with disabilities, responds to a real community need, and creates long-term positive impact.
For more information, visit Cornwall Community Foundation.
