The Pilgrim Trust was founded in 1930 by Edward Stephen Harkness of New York, with an endowment of just over £2 million, in order to promote the future well being of the United Kingdom. For nearly eight decades The Pilgrim Trust have been giving grants to charitable organisations operating in the heritage and social welfare arenas in Britain. Their aim is to preserve and promote Britain's historical and intellectual assets and to provide assistance to vulnerable members of society.

There are two levels of funding:

• Small grants of less than £5,000.
• Main grant scheme of more than £5,000.

There is no average grant.

The Trust receives more applications than 'it can possibly fund', and on average, only one in five of all appeals that fit within the guidelines is successful.

Generally, grants are not given for more than three years.

The Pilgrim Trust concentrates its funding in two areas of interest:

Preservation and Scholarship (60% of funds are allocated to projects in this area)

The Trust's concern is the preservation of the United Kingdom’s rich heritage for the benefit of future generations. Part of that heritage lies in physical objects such as buildings, artefacts and recorded information. In this programme area emphasis is placed on projects that seek to conserve historical buildings, monuments and collections. Improving access to collections is also important and the Trust encourages projects that promote awareness either by making collections more available or by supporting academic research.

• Preservation of, and repairs to, historic buildings and architectural features. Special consideration is given to projects that give new use to buildings of outstanding architectural or historic importance. The Trust will consider projects at an early stage where support is needed to develop a scheme. In exceptional cases, salary costs and other support costs can be considered.
• Conservation of works of art, books, significant ephemera, museum objects and records held in museums, galleries, specialist archives and repositories. The Pilgrim Trust funds two grant streams run by the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) for conservation of an object or collection and for preventive conservation projects. Museums must be AIM members and must be registered or accredited, or expect to achieve accreditation within two years, and they must have fewer than 60,000 visitors or a turnover of less than £300,000 per year. Full details can be found on AIM website.
• Promotion of knowledge through academic research and its dissemination, including cataloguing within museums, galleries and libraries and institutions where historic, scientific or archaeological records are preserved. Note: Funding is restricted to works for which public funds are not available. Costs for preparing the work for publication will be considered but not those for the publication itself.
• Cataloguing of archives and manuscripts: The Pilgrim Trust is currently funding the cataloguing of archives and manuscripts through the National Cataloguing Scheme administered through The National Archives.
• Conservation of manuscripts is funded through the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust.
• Places of Worship. To apply under the Trust's block grant allocation scheme, applicants should contact the relevant administering organisation directly. Contact details are available in the guidelines.

Social Welfare (40% of funds are allocated to projects in this area)

This programme aims to improve the life chances of vulnerable women and girls. The Trust is interested in supporting early interventions that address their needs before these become too deep-seated. There is particular interest in projects that give women and girls greater opportunities and greater control over their lives. These projects will take an early action approach to addressing the social inequalities women and girls face.

The Trust particularly welcome applications from organisations who have demonstrable experience and expertise in working with women and/or girls who face two or more disadvantages.

The funding can be used for:

• Revenue costs such as staff salaries and overheads.
• Project costs.
• The costs of initial exploratory work for organisations seeking to rescue important buildings, monuments etc.
• Capital costs where the total capital cost is less than £5 million.