The Queen's Commonwealth Trust

What The Queen's Commonwealth Trust does

The Queen Elizabeth II Commonwealth Trust (QECT, formerly The Queen's Commonwealth Trust) is a registered UK charity and company limited by guarantee (Company No. 10482169; Charity No. 1172107) founded in 2018 at the request of Queen Elizabeth II and now under the patronage of King Charles III. It supports young social entrepreneurs aged 15-29 transforming their communities across all 56 Commonwealth countries, operating from a registered office in London with a small staff (1-10 employees). Its functional model is grant-making plus network facilitation rather than technology development: it does not build proprietary software platforms for external use and explicitly identifies itself as a non-technology organisation. There is no API or SDK offering.

Its core 'products' are the Youth Ventures Programme (YVP), which provides flexible funding of up to £20,000 per year for two years (~£45,000 total support per young leader) alongside practical tools, technical assistance, and network access; the QECT 100 Young Leaders Awards, a recognition programme launched in 2025-2026 to mark the late Queen's centenary; the Emergency Grants Programme (35 grants of up to £5,000 during COVID-19 in 2020); and the QECT Network Hub, which connects more than 850 young changemakers across the Commonwealth. The 100 Young Leaders Awardees 2026 cohort was selected from thousands of applications across education and employability, environment, health, food and agriculture, and inclusion.

QECT's revenue mechanics are philanthropic rather than commercial. Income is drawn from individual donors via JustGiving (UK) and Pledge.to (international); corporate partnerships (notably Highclere Castle Gin and Moravia Yachting, which route a portion of proceeds or invite their clients to donate); and anchor grant funding from foundations such as the $250,000 Global Impact Fund for Women and Girls co-funded by Pivotal Ventures / Melinda French Gates. QECT charges youth-led organisations nothing — funding is grant-based, not loaned — and serves a long tail of small non-profits across 11+ priority countries, working in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat, British High Commissions, and the Royal Commonwealth Society.

Name

The Queen's Commonwealth Trust

Legal name

The Queen Elizabeth II Commonwealth Trust

Website

https://queenscommonwealthtrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

QECT is a UK-registered royal charity supporting young social entrepreneurs aged 15-29 across all 56 Commonwealth countries through multi-year grants, technical assistance, and a global peer network of 850+ changemakers, currently operating flagship programmes for youth-led organisations in health, education, environment, inclusion, and agriculture.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI)

Keywords

• Youth development grants
• Social entrepreneurship funding
• Commonwealth charity programs
• Nonprofit grantmaking services
• Philanthropic network support

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and philanthropy: QECT raises funds from individual donors, philanthropists, and corporate partners to support its grant-making activities. Donation pathways include JustGiving (UK) and Pledge.to (US/International). The trust also receives support through partnerships where partners donate a portion of proceeds.
2. Corporate partnerships and sponsorship: Corporate partners such as Moravia Yachting and Highclere Castle Gin provide financial support and fundraising partnership arrangements. Moravia Yachting's clients have the opportunity to support QECT's work, and Highclere Castle Gin donates a portion of proceeds during designated campaign periods.
3. Anchor grant funding: QECT receives anchor grant funding from major donors such as the $250,000 Global Impact Fund for Women and Girls co-funded by Melinda French Gates through Pivotal Ventures and administered in partnership with QECT. These funds are deployed as grants to youth-led organisations across the Commonwealth.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The Queen's Commonwealth Trust (QECT) provides multi-year flexible grant funding (up to £20,000 per year for two years), practical tools, technical support in areas such as financial management, impact measurement and safeguarding, and access to a global peer network of young changemakers for youth-led social enterprises operating across the 56 Commonwealth countries. It also runs recognition programmes (QECT 100 Young Leaders Awards) and an Emergency Grants Programme for crisis response.

Product overview

The Queen Elizabeth II Commonwealth Trust (QECT) operates as a unified grant-giving and support platform for young social entrepreneurs across the Commonwealth. The core offering consists of the Youth Ventures Programme (YVP), which provides multi-year funding and organisational support to youth-led organisations. QECT also runs the 100 Young Leaders Awards for recognition, maintains the QECT Network Hub for peer connections, and operates an Emergency Grants Programme for crisis response. These programmes work together to support young leaders transforming communities in areas including education, health, environment, inclusion, and agriculture across 56 Commonwealth countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Youth Ventures Programme (YVP) Flagship support programme providing flexible funding of up to £20,000 per year for two years, practical tools, technical support in financial management, impact measurement and safeguarding, and access to a global network of young leaders for selected youth-led organisations across the Commonwealth.
• QECT 100 Young Leaders Awards Recognition programme identifying and celebrating 100 exceptional young changemakers from across the 56 Commonwealth countries who are driving positive change in education and employability, environment, health, food and agriculture, and inclusion. Selected through a highly competitive process from thousands of applications, with recognition events delivered in partnership with British High Commissions.
• QECT Network Hub

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 850 young changemakers supported across 56 Commonwealth countries
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers7 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 minor and core.

• British High CommissionsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2026Recognition events for the QECT 100 Young Leaders Awards 2026 will take place in partnership with British High Commissions across multiple Commonwealth countries. These events celebrate youth leadership and strengthen Commonwealth collaboration, providing awardees with governmental-level recognition.
• Royal Commonwealth SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023The Royal Commonwealth Society supported the Flags of Peace initiative for Commonwealth Day 2023, incorporating the Peace Flag into the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey, London. This was part of a joint effort with the Commonwealth Secretariat, QECT, and Bruno Peek (Pageantmaster) to promote 2023 as the Commonwealth Year of Peace.
• Commonwealth SecretariatcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023The Commonwealth Secretariat worked with QECT on multiple initiatives including the Flags of Peace for Commonwealth Day 2023 and the Commonwealth Year of Youth. QCT is helping galvanise youth across the Commonwealth to participate in flag-raising ceremonies. The Commonwealth Secretariat (headquartered at Marlborough House, London) represents the official institutional body of the 56-nation Commonwealth.
• Bruno Peek (Pageantmaster)minorOthers · 1 January 2023Bruno Peek served as Pageantmaster for the Commonwealth Flags of Peace initiative, working in partnership with QECT, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Royal Commonwealth Society in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
• Highclere Castle GinminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Highclere Castle Gin selected QECT as its official charity partner. The gin, inspired by botanicals from Highclere Castle's ninth-century herb gardens, donates a portion of proceeds to QECT during designated campaign periods (e.g., the month of August as part of the Platinum Jubilee year). Together they aim to increase support and investment in youth-led projects across the Commonwealth.
• Commonwealth Youth Programme / Commonwealth SecretariatcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022QECT partnered with the Commonwealth Secretariat as a sponsor of the Commonwealth Youth Awards for the second consecutive year. QECT sponsors the CYA Social Enterprise award, offering the winner up to two years of flexible funding at £20,000 per year, coaching opportunities, and organisational development support. The awards celebrate outstanding contributions by young people (aged 15-29) across the 56 Commonwealth countries.
• Future FoundationsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2020QECT launched a joint pilot programme with Future Foundations — The QCT GSL Grant Award — offering semi-finalists from Future Foundations' Global Social Leaders Competition the chance to apply for small grants from QECT and mentoring from Future Foundations. Future Foundations' mission is to inspire young people to achieve their full potential, with a vision of a society where all organisations are led by socially conscious people.
• Moravia YachtingminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2018Moravia Yachting, founded in 2018 and operating as the exclusive yachting partner of QECT, connects its clients (through Hill Robinson Group) with QECT's work. QECT CEO Chris Kelly and Moravia Yachting's Alastair Callender developed the partnership over several years. Moravia Yachting's clients have the opportunity to directly impact worthwhile causes supported by QECT. The partnership includes plans for specially curated fundraising events combining QECT and Moravia's networks.
• WE (WE Charity)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2018In 2018, QECT launched a partnership with WE to enable projects developed by young people in WE programmes to be brought to life with QECT support. WE is a movement engaging over 3.8 million young people globally. The partnership was designed to enable more young people to deliver impact by providing access to funding, connecting leaders to a wider network, and championing their work. In 2020, the focus shifted to support WE's work in the UK specifically during COVID-19.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Commonwealth Secretariat: The official intergovernmental body of the 56 Commonwealth countries, headquartered at Marlborough House, London. Comparable: a strategic co-development partner of QECT (Commonwealth Youth Awards, Flags of Peace) and an institutional sibling addressing youth policy across the same 56-country footprint, though structured as an intergovernmental agency rather than a grantmaking charity.

Direct peers

• Restless Development: Youth-led development agency headquartered in London with operations across Africa, Asia, and the Commonwealth, delivering programmes and capacity-building for young social entrepreneurs. Directly comparable: youth-led development focus, Commonwealth-heavy geographic mix, similar theory of change centred on empowering young people as agents of community change.
• Global Fund for Children: UK- and US-registered grantmaking foundation that funds community-based organisations working with children and youth globally, including in many Commonwealth countries. Directly comparable: small-staff grantmaking foundation with flexible multi-year grants and capacity-strengthening support for community-led organisations, including a recent strategic focus on youth-led movements.
• The Prince's Trust: UK-registered youth charity founded by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales), providing multi-year funding, mentoring, and training to young people facing disadvantage. Directly comparable: similar youth-focused grant-and-support model, royal-founder lineage, and UK + Commonwealth operating footprint; QECT essentially extends the Prince's Trust model toward youth-led social enterprises in the developing Commonwealth.
• Diana Award: UK charity established in memory of Princess Diana that runs a flagship Young Leaders Award programme and youth development initiatives. Directly comparable: parallel royal-legacy charity, parallel youth recognition and development mission, parallel UK-headquartered small-team model supporting young people across the UK and Commonwealth.
• Royal Commonwealth Society: Long-standing Commonwealth-chartered charity promoting youth opportunity, literacy, and cross-Commonwealth collaboration. Directly comparable: same 56-country Commonwealth footprint as QECT, same youth-development mandate, recurring co-marketing initiatives such as the Flags of Peace for Commonwealth Day 2023.

Broad incumbents

• Duke of Edinburgh's International Award: Established international youth award programme operating in over 130 countries, founded under royal patronage. Comparable: another royal-patron youth recognition and development initiative in the Commonwealth, though the Award is more established and broader in scope, focusing on personal development rather than social-venture funding.
• Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF): One of the world's largest philanthropic foundations, headquartered in London, with major grant programmes in children's and adolescents' health, education, and nutrition across Africa and South Asia. Comparable as a large UK-registered grantmaking foundation whose youth, girls' empowerment, and Global-South strategies overlap with QECT's emerging portfolio, though CIFF operates at vastly greater scale.
• UNICEF Generation Unlimited: Global UN-led initiative focused on skills, engagement, and employment for 15-24 year olds in lower-income countries. Comparable as a much larger incumbent in the youth-development grantmaking and convening space, frequently partnering with smaller foundations to deliver country-level programmes.

Emerging players

• Peace Direct: UK-registered grantmaker focused on locally-led peacebuilding, with a model of flexible long-term funding to community organisations in conflict-affected countries. Comparable: small-staff, grant-plus-capacity-building foundation targeting locally-led change agents in lower-income geographies, similar funding tickets and theory of change to QECT.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/queenscomtrust
• Facebookfacebook.com/queenscommonwealthtrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thequeenscommonwealthtrust

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Queen's Commonwealth Trust