What Pilgrim Trust does

Pilgrim Trust is an independent UK charitable foundation established in 1930 by American philanthropist Edward Harkness. Registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (No. 206602) and headquartered at Somerset House, London, the trust is governed by a 12-member Board of Trustees chaired by Lord Sassoon (since January 2025) and led operationally by Director Sue Bowers MBE with a small team (1-10 employees). The trust awards approximately £3 million in grants each year to UK charities and public bodies, focused on two strategic verticals: preservation and conservation of UK cultural heritage (historic buildings, places of worship, archives, and cultural collections) and a Young Women's Mental Health programme for women aged 14-25 that was launched in 2021 with a £5 million commitment over 2021-2026.

The trust operates a hybrid funding model combining direct grants and strategic partnership distribution. Direct grants range from small awards (e.g., £2,500 to York Museums & Gallery Trust) to larger flagship partnerships (e.g., £414,000 over 2023-25 to the Association of Independent Museums, £120,000 over 2023-25 to the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust). Strategic partnerships channel funds through intermediary bodies including AIM, Church Buildings Council, National Manuscripts Conservation Trust, and Theatres Trust, which together have awarded over 500 grants since Pilgrim Trust's engagement with AIM began in 2007. Collaborative funding initiatives include the Archives Revealed partnership with The National Archives, Wolfson Foundation and National Lottery Heritage Fund (over £5 million attracted investment), the Collaborative Conservation Skills Internship Programme (CCSIP, 2024) with six co-funders addressing conservation skills shortages, and the May 2026 'Young Women in Mind 2026-2028' joint fund deploying £5 million over three years with Prudence Trust and Julia Rausing Trust.

The trust generates no commercial revenue; its grant-making capacity is sustained by investment returns from an endowment created by Harkness's 1930 gift. Go-to-market for grantees is structured web-based application via thepilgrimtrust.org.uk, supplemented by stakeholder engagement through annual reports (2015-2024), published research and impact evaluations ('Empowering Minds', applicant perception research, conservation guidelines), webinars, and a LinkedIn/X social presence. Customer segments (grantees) are diversified across preservation and conservation non-profits, heritage and cultural institutions (SPAB, York Museums, Capital Theatres, Spike Island), and young women's mental health charities (42nd Street, SICK! Productions, NE Youth, ARCH Teesside, among others).

Name

Pilgrim Trust

Legal name

Pilgrim Trust

Website

https://thepilgrimtrust.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1930

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pilgrim Trust is a UK charitable foundation established in 1930 that disburses approximately £3 million annually in grants for cultural heritage preservation and young women's mental health services across the United Kingdom.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Grant-making

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Charitable grant-making
• Heritage preservation funding
• Cultural conservation grants
• Foundation grant programmes
• Mental health grants

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pilgrim Trust is a UK-wide independent grant-making charitable trust that awards approximately £3 million in grants each year to charities and public bodies across two strategic themes: (1) Preservation and Conservation of significant historic buildings, places of worship, archives, and cultural collections, and (2) Young Women's Mental Health through age- and gender-specific services for women aged 14–25. It also administers a Research, Advocacy and Development Fund, the Archives Revealed partnership, the Young Women in Mind 2026-2028 collaborative fund, and the Collaborative Conservation Skills Internship Programme.

Product overview

The Pilgrim Trust is a UK-wide independent grant-making charitable trust that operates multiple grant programmes rather than a traditional product platform. Its core offerings include: Preservation and Conservation Grants for historic buildings, structures, objects, works of art, and collections; Young Women's Mental Health Grants (Young Women in Mind programme) for women aged 14-25; and a Research, Advocacy and Development Fund. The Trust also runs strategic partnerships including Archives Revealed with The National Archives, Wolfson Foundation and National Lottery Heritage Fund, and collaborative initiatives such as the Young Women in Mind 2026-2028 fund with Prudence Trust and Julia Rausing Trust (£5 million over three years), and the Collaborative Conservation Skills Internship Programme (CCSIP) addressing skills shortages in conservation specialisms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Preservation and Conservation Grants Grants to preserve and conserve significant historic buildings across the UK and to conserve significant historic objects, works of art, collections and records. Awarded to UK charities, trusts and public bodies through direct applications and via strategic partners including AIM, Church Buildings Council, National Manuscripts Conservation Trust, Theatres Trust and Architectural Heritage Fund.
• Young Women's Mental Health Grants Grants to improve the mental health of women aged 14–25 by increasing their access to high quality, age and gender specific mental health services. The core of the Young Women in Mind programme, with funded services including counselling, peer support, expressive arts and social prescribing.
• Research, Advocacy and Development Fund Research, advocacy and development funding that encourages systemic change in young women's mental health and preservation and conservation areas. Supports independent evaluations (e.g., Centre for Mental Health's 'Empowering Minds' report) and policy research on gender-specific mental health provision.
• Archives Revealed A partnership programme between The National Archives, the Pilgrim Trust, the Wolfson Foundation and The National Lottery Heritage Fund that helps unlock collections across the UK and build the skills needed to care for them. Attracted £5m investment in its latest phase.
• Young Women in Mind 2026-2028 Partnership funding initiative with Prudence Trust and Julia Rausing Trust investing £5 million over three years (2026–2028) to strengthen mental health support for girls and young women aged 14–25 in the UK.
• Collaborative Conservation Skills Internship Programme (CCSIP) A programme set up in 2024 to provide fully funded internships for early-career conservation professionals to develop skills and expertise in areas such as books and archival material, musical instruments, horology, scientific instruments and industrial heritage. Co-funded with six other trusts and foundations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 120,000 expected audience for the Donald Rodney exhibition
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Manuscripts Conservation TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Three-year grant of £120,000 (2023-25) to support conservation of manuscripts across the UK. Pilgrim Trust was one of the original funders when NMCT was founded in 1990.
• Association of Independent Museums (AIM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Three-year grant of £414,000 (2023-25) to support AIM's collections care and conservation grant programmes. Partnership ongoing since 2007 with over 500 grants awarded.
• Church Buildings CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Three-year grant of £455,000 to fund specific grant programmes for church buildings of architectural and historic merit.
• Theatres TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Three-year grant of £90,000 to support the 'Resilient Theatres: Resilient Communities' programme to help theatres recover from Covid-19 impacts.
• Theatres TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Three-year grant over multiple years to create and run the programme 'Resilient Theatres: Resilient Communities' as the national advisory body for theatres across the UK.
• The National ArchivescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner in the Archives Revealed programme which helps unlock collections across the UK and build skills needed to care for them. Pilgrim Trust has been a partner since the programme's inception.
• Architectural Heritage FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for heritage building projects with shared funding approach for three more years.
• Centre for Mental HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner that conducted the independent evaluation 'Empowering Minds' of the Young Women in Mind grant programme.
• Agenda AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for research on women and girls at risk, providing policy research and reports on gender-specific mental health provision.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Architectural Heritage Fund: UK charitable funder focused specifically on historic building reuse, a long-standing Pilgrim Trust strategic partner with shared funding approach for three more years.
• Leverhulme Trust: Major UK charitable trust established from a similar Edward-era family endowment. Funds research and education via grants - structurally analogous to Pilgrim Trust.
• The Henry Smith Charity: Independent UK grant-making trust funding heritage, health and social welfare. Similar grant programme structure and UK geographic focus.
• Garfield Weston Foundation: One of the UK's largest family-funded charitable foundations supporting heritage, arts, education and community causes. Same grant-making model and UK-wide scope as Pilgrim Trust.
• Julia Rausing Trust: UK grant-making trust and joint partner with Pilgrim Trust on the £5 million Young Women in Mind 2026-2028 initiative. Comparable size, scope and grant-making model.
• Wolfson Foundation: Major UK grant-making foundation funding heritage, science, health and education. Direct co-funder of Pilgrim Trust in the Archives Revealed partnership programme.
• Prudence Trust: UK mental-health-focused charitable foundation that partnered with Pilgrim Trust on Young Women in Mind 2026-2028. Comparable model but more thematically concentrated.
• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: UK grant-making foundation funding heritage, environment, social change and children's development. Overlaps with Pilgrim Trust's heritage and social welfare remits.
• The National Lottery Heritage Fund: The UK's largest dedicated heritage funder and the newest partner in Archives Revealed. Funds preservation and conservation across the UK, overlapping directly with Pilgrim Trust's heritage remit.
• The Theatres Trust: National advisory body for theatres and Pilgrim Trust strategic partner. Recipient of £90k for Resilient Theatres programme and £455k to Church Buildings Council - directly comparable grant-recipient/partner profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ThePilgrimTrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thepilgrimtrust

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Pilgrim Trust