As a Quaker Trust, JRCT believe that peace and security are built on values of equality, human rights, justice and environmental sustainability.

JRCT seeks a shift in the UK defence and security paradigm away from the highly militarised and “securitised” responses towards a new approach based on participatory and accountable governance, human rights, non-violence, diplomacy and mediation, and environmental sustainability.

Priority will be given to charitable work on the following issues:

• Challenging militarism.
• Scrutiny of counter-terrorism measures in the context of human rights and peacebuilding.
• Building support for alternative approaches to defence and security.
• Responding to the harms of systemic racism.

The Trust will not fund the following:

• Larger, older national charities which have an established constituency of supporters and substantial levels of reserves.
• Statutory bodies.
• For-profit organisations.
• Medical research.
• Academic research, except as an integral part of policy and campaigning work that is central to the Trust's areas of interest.
• Building, buying or repairing buildings.
• Business development or job creation schemes.
• Service provision, including providing care, support or training services, such as for elderly people, children and young people, people with learning difficulties, people with physical disabilities, mental health service users, refugees or asylum seekers.
• Housing and homelessness.
• The arts, except where a project is specifically concerned with issues of interest to the Trust.
• Travel or adventure projects.
• Educational bursaries, including graduate and post-graduate studies.
• The personal support of individuals in need.
• General appeals.
• Work which the Trust believes should be funded from statutory sources, or which has been in the recent past.
• Work which has already been undertaken.
• Local or national work anywhere outside the UK.
• Work focused directly on interpersonal violence, domestic violence, or violence against children.
• Work focused solely on specific local or regional conflicts in the UK or overseas (with the exception of work funded through the JRCT Northern Ireland programme).
• Work which focuses directly on the recovery of people affected by violent conflict.
• Academic research, except as an integral part of policy and campaigning work that is central to JRCT areas of interest.
• Work focused more exclusively on other governments' policy than on that of the UK, unless the work is on pacifism or conscientious objection to military service.
• Work which seems only to 'preach to the converted'.

If the Trust refuses an application, it would not normally consider a further application from the same organisation for at least a year.

 

• Challenging militarism - the Trust is interested in funding work which:
  • Highlights and holds the UK government to account for the human, economic, environmental and security costs of militarised responses to conflict.
  • Scrutinises and challenges the use of new technology for warfare.
  • Exposes and challenges the economic drivers of war, especially the arms trade highlights and challenges the culture and values of militarism in the UK.
  • Highlights and challenges the culture and values of militarism in the UK.
  • Promotes conscientious objection to military service as a globally recognised and applied human right.
• Scrutiny of counter-terrorism measures in the context of human rights and peacebuilding - the Trust is interested in funding work which:
  • Promotes greater transparency and accountability in relation to government counter-terrorism policy.
  • Challenges state abuses of power in relation to counter-terrorism.
  • Advocates policy responses to the use of terror tactics which address their underlying causes.
  • Challenges the use of counter-terrorism policies which foment conflict or undermine opportunities to build peace.
• Building support for alternative approaches to defence and security - the Trust is interested in funding work which:
  • Articulates and builds support for models of defence and security which address the root causes of conflict and injustice, and which are based on non-violence, dialogue and mediation, human rights and environmental sustainability.
  • Addresses the risks of nuclear weapons and articulates options for non-nuclear security.
  • Offers ideas and action on the re-shaping of violent masculinities which underpin the military system.
  • Promotes the understanding and effective practice of non-violence in social change.
• Responding to the harm of systemic racism - JRCT is keen to support work that responds to the harm of systemic racism related to its policy areas. It recognises that the problems it seeks to address are multidimensional and intersecting, linking to colonialism, gender, climate, and access to and control of resources. Specifically, the Trust wish to encourage work that scrutinises and holds to account the defence, security, and counter-terrorism responses and policies of powerful institutions and actors. Priority will be given to support initiatives that work towards transformative social change based on justice, peace, and sustainability. This includes work which:
  • Holds the UK government to account for the short, medium, and long-term harmful consequences of its security and counter-terrorism policies, in particular where they demonstrate disproportionate negative impact on minoritised groups and communities of colour.
  • Scrutinises, exposes, and promotes greater transparency of UK government security and counter-terrorism policies, in particular on how they are experienced by minoritised groups and communities of colour.
  • Enables full participation in the development of alternatives to current UK security and counter-terrorism approaches. This work would involve envisaging and designing policies framed by peacebuilding and informed by those most affected and harmed by them.

The Trust is primarily interested in supporting work which is focused on achieving impact in the UK context. Work which is focused on European or other international institutions (such as the UN and NATO) will only be considered if it is capable of resulting in significant impact in the UK context.

 

The first step is to read the current guidelines which can be found on the Trust's website, after which, applicants are advised to contact the programme staff before they apply with any queries or questions regarding the application process or if their work is a fit with the programme areas.

The Trust only accepts applications online via its grants management system available on the Trust's website. 

Apply now

Application deadline

02/03/2026 

Groups need to register first before applying.

The Trust has announced the following application dates for 2026:

Round 1

• Account registration closing date: 16 February 2026
• Application deadline: 2 March 2026 (10am)
• Decisions w/c 22 June 2026

Round 2

• Account registration closing date: 19 August 2026
• Application deadline: 2 September 2026 (10am)
• Decisions w/c 7 December 2026

Contact the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust for further information: