The Cole Charitable Trust
Charity 264033
www.colecharitabletrust.org.uk
Overview
Summary
The Cole Charitable Trust appears to be a place-sensitive, small-grant funder whose role is to strengthen locally rooted charitable activity rather than deliver services itself. Its broad legal objects give trustees considerable discretion, while its stated preferences create a practical focus on smaller organisations working across social welfare, community development and quality-of-life issues in three geographic areas. The Trust may therefore function as flexible, relationship-led capital for organisations that can be overlooked by larger funders.
Operational geography
Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
Sparkhill
Confidence: medium
The Trust's latest published grants list records a £2,500 grant to Narthex Sparkhill in 2024. Narthex currently operates advice, food-support and community services in Sparkhill. This is good evidence of the Trust extending its grant-making reach into the ward, although the published grant record does not specify the funded activity or confirm that all grant expenditure supported services in this area.
- The Cole Charitable Trust, Grants made in 2024
The Trust lists a £2,500 grant to Narthex Sparkhill. - Narthex, About Us and Contact Us
Narthex describes itself as based in Sparkhill, Birmingham and states that it provides services from St John's Church in Sparkhill.
Ladywood
Confidence: medium
The Trust's latest published grants list records a £1,200 grant to Birmingham Care Group in 2024. Birmingham Care Group currently runs a food pantry, community hub and café in Ladywood. The evidence supports a current grant-funded connection to services in the ward, but does not identify the purpose or location of the specific grant-funded work.
- The Cole Charitable Trust, Grants made in 2024
The Trust lists a £1,200 grant to Birmingham Care Group. - Birmingham Care Group, Contact Us
Birmingham Care Group states that its food pantry and community hub and café operate in Ladywood, Birmingham.
Remaining uncertainties
- The Trust is a grant-maker rather than a direct service provider. No evidence was found that it operates a Birmingham office, venue or frontline service of its own; its listed charity address is in Haslingfield, Cambridgeshire and should not be treated as a Birmingham operating site.
- The latest grants page published by the Trust is for 2024. It evidences recent grant-making relationships but does not establish whether every listed relationship continued after the relevant grant period.
- The Trust explicitly includes Birmingham City within its normal Greater Birmingham eligibility area, and its 2024 awards include several Birmingham-named organisations. This reasonably indicates a citywide Birmingham funding remit, but the available evidence does not provide a complete ward-by-ward distribution of grants or funded delivery.
- Grant recipients are not necessarily formal delivery partners, and the Trust's published grant list does not state the project, beneficiaries, or precise delivery location supported by each grant.
Additional evidence needed
- A current grant-awards list or annual report covering 2025 and 2026, with recipient project descriptions and delivery areas.
- Confirmation from the Trust of whether it has any Birmingham-based meetings, staff, trustees' working locations, administered projects or physical premises.
- Grant-monitoring or impact information showing which Birmingham neighbourhoods received services through Cole-funded activity.
Areas of work
- Accommodation/housing
- Amateur Sport
- Arts/culture/heritage/science
- Disability
- Economic/community Development/employment
- Education/training
- Environment/conservation/heritage
- General Charitable Purposes
- Other Charitable Purposes
- The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty
Who they help
- Children/young People
- Elderly/old People
- Other Charities Or Voluntary Bodies
- Other Defined Groups
- People Of A Particular Ethnic Or Racial Origin
- People With Disabilities
How they help
- Makes Grants To Organisations
Discoveries involving this organisation
The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.
Observations
A deliberately local funding model
The Trust appears to prioritise organisations embedded in particular places, especially small charities and local branches, rather than seeking broad regional or national reach.
Why it matters
This suggests its value may lie in supporting locally responsive work where modest funding can be consequential, and in reinforcing civic capacity within Greater Birmingham, Cambridgeshire and Kent.
Show evidence
“The Trust supports charities in the West Midlands, Kent and Cambridgeshire areas.”
Source:Organisation“The trustees, in the main, like to support small charities for whom the modest grants available can make a significant difference.”
Source:Organisation
Flexible capital across connected local issues
The Trust’s wide remit may allow it to fund organisations working across overlapping challenges—such as poverty, housing, inclusion, youth opportunity and environmental development—without being confined to a single programme area.
Why it matters
This flexibility could make the Trust useful where local problems cut across conventional funding categories, or where a small organisation’s work combines social and community objectives.
Show evidence
“Applications are welcomed from local charitable organisations working in social welfare, housing and homelessness, community and environmental development, opportunities for young people, quality of life and personal or community empowerment.”
Source:Organisation“The charity makes grants to organisations and is registered for a range of charitable purposes including poverty relief, housing, disability, education, environment and community development.”
Source:Charity Commission
Trustee discretion may shape an important part of its portfolio
Although the Trust has clear geographic and local priorities, it appears able to support charities outside those patterns where trustees have a particular interest. This may make its grantmaking partly opportunity-led rather than fully programme-led.
Why it matters
Understanding this tension is important for prospective partners: eligibility may depend not only on published criteria but also on evolving trustee interests, which could enable unusual support while reducing predictability.
Show evidence
“The Trust also offers support for other charities where the Trustees have a particular interest.”
Source:Organisation“The charity objects allow trustees to apply funds for legally charitable objects or purposes in amounts, proportions, manner and at times they think fit.”
Source:Charity Commission
- The size, frequency and typical duration of grants are not provided.
- There is no evidence of which communities, themes or organisations have received most support over time.
- The relationship between the stated West Midlands area and the more specific Greater Birmingham focus is unclear.
Remaining uncertainties
- A multi-year grants list showing recipient, location, amount, purpose and repeat funding.
- Grant guidelines or trustee reports explaining decision criteria, exclusions and how particular trustee interests operate.
Additional evidence needed
Charity Commission profile
Activities
We welcome applications from small and local (as opposed to regional or national) registered charitable organisations, or local branches of organisations, working in the fields of -Social welfare, all age groups -Housing and homelessness -Community and environmental development -Opportunities for young people -Promotion of improved quality of life -Personal or community empowerment
Charity objects
FOR SUCH LEGALLY CHARITABLE OBJECTS OR OBJECT OR FOR SUCH LEGALLY CHARITABLE PURPOSES OR PURPOSE IN SUCH AMOUTS PROPORTIONS AND MANNER AND AT SUCH TIMES AS THE TRUSTEES SHALL FROM TIME TO TIME GHINK FIT.