Charity Grants

This section is for charities and organisations. If you are an individual interested in our bursaries and travel awards, please go to the Bursaries and Travel Awards page. Important note for charities and organisations: Please check first to make sure that your project will meet the criteria set out below under “Application Requirements“. Specifically, we can only support applications which will directly benefit vision-impaired people and for which funds are received and accounted for within the UK.
If you have any questions, please email charity@spectaclemakers.com
Application Requirements
The Spectacle Makers’ Charity will consider applications for grants from:
- registered UK charities having a visible and meaningful impact on the lives of vision impaired people
- educational institutions in the UK teaching and researching in the eye health field
The Charity will not consider:
- grants which do not directly relate to vision
- more general disaster/emergency appeals
- direct grants outside the UK
The trustees will consider grants towards specific projects as well as co-funding larger projects where it can make a meaningful contribution.
The Spectacle Makers’ Charity (together with its founder member, The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers) is interested in developing mutually beneficial relationships with those that it supports. The impact of each grant made is very important to us. Honest reporting of outcomes and an analysis of the long term benefits delivered by past projects will form a major part of our decision making if a benefiting charity decides to re-apply for funding.
Standard Application Process
The Trustees meet four times a year.
Applications can only be accepted online and must be received by the deadline to give time for the Trustees to review and make a decision at their next meeting. The Trustees do not want charities to have to spend a lot of time and resources making an application. The form asks for certain basic information and a reviewing Trustee will then ask further questions as needed.
February meeting: applications received by 31 December
May/June meeting: applications received by 31 March
September meeting: applications received by 30 June
November meeting: applications received by 30 September
If you have a vision impairment and/or would find it difficult to submit an online form, please call us on 020 7236 2932 and we will be pleased to suggest an alternative method of providing the information. Applications will only be considered once we have received the information requested in the form. Please note that the Trustees will not consider speculative emails or printed proposal documents instead of the form.