GC Gibson Charitable Trust

2019 Update

We apologise if you had problems submitting – it was our anti spam that is too clever for its own good but we have now stepped back to the old and it is working better. We have had about 200 applications and there are some amazing charities out there. It is a privilege to be able to learn about them by doing this. Sadly most will be disappointed but the idea is that your submission does not take too long. Please if you are a Church, Hospice or Farm School do not apply as we are well represented in supporting these already and it is impossible to judge between the different applications.

2019 Applications now open

Sorry it is a day late but from today we can receive application. What to do is on the How to Apply page. There are no changes but I would like to clarify that we are unlikely to support applications from Churches, Hospices and Farm Schools, not because we do not believe they are worthy of support but because a significant percentage of our support is already in those areas.

News from September 2018

2018 application process

We have now closed this year’s online application. We have had over 250 applications and we would like to thank all those who have applied. We now process them and will choose about 10 for support. If we need more information we will ask. Good luck

News from July 2017

2016 online applications – who we supported

Here are some of the charities we supported last year:

Roar – Connections for Life – funds to provide a vehicle for their Roar Do Feet community nail clipping service for older people
UCanDoIt – equipment to support their training courses to engage the elderly or disabled in digital technology and the internet
YMCA Cornwall – to help convert a building into flats for the young homeless
ERIC – children’s bowel and bladder charity – money for a new telephone system for their helpline
Brogdale Collections – home to the National Fruit Collection – to renovate their weather station for educational purposes
Tamworth Boxing Club – materials for an outdoor activity space
CESI – 7 desktop computers for digital literacy classes for retired Nepalese Gurkhas

As you can see there is no theme but all of them had imagination and inspiration. Above all we want to enable a small charity to achieve something that will happen with our support.

News from November 2016

Leucie House

We have supported Leuchie House, near East Berwick, which provides short breaks to people with long term debilitating conditions such as multiple sclerosis. A recent visit from HRH Princess Anne was reported in the press.

HRH Princess Anne meeting users of Leuchie House.

News from July 2016

Submission Criteria 2016

The online application process for The G C Gibson Charitable Trust opens today.

Application this year will be for up to 8 grants of up to £4000. As we did last year, which worked very well, we wish to support capital equipment purchases or building refurbishment which provide benefit to the aged or the disadvantaged or disabled. Ideally we can be used for matched funding to unlock further funds. Last year we had over 450 applications, by the 20th August when we closed, and gave 12 grants totalling £37,000. We wish to give to smaller charities, whose donations are up to £1 million, (please if bigger do not apply) and we only want a maximum of one page applications. If we want more information we will contact you. You will be informed in mid to late September of our decisions. Please do not chase us.

News from February 2016

2015 highlights

We gave grants of £596,000 to 185 charities last year.

We had 460 applications to our online submission programme in August.

We gave £37,000 to 12 of the online applicants. We would love to do more but do not have the resources.

We lent £50,000 to kick start the United World Schools Transforming 50,000 Lives campaign – To date this has raised nearly £900,000.

News from August 2015

CLOSING EARLY

Due to a huge number of applications coming in for what will be no more than 8 grants we have decided we will close our online process on Thursday this week the 20th August at noon. We are sorry for anyone who feels they have missed an opportunity but your chance of success is very low. Please remember most of our funds are already committed to charities we have supported for many years.

News from June 2012

Welcome to the new website

The Trustees of the GC Gibson charitable trust are moving into the modern age and intend to do everything on line. We have asked charities we support to send us their bank details. If you are new to us please use our submit form to make contact. We are sorry to say that we will no longer respond to letters or phone calls. This will save charities money and we hope to reduce our costs by £8,000 which will be available for grants in future.

Who we are

The GC Gibson Charitable trust was established in 1968 by George Gibson by a grant of shares in his shipping business, based in Cardiff, called Atlantic Shipping. The fund today is worth £16 million and invests in quoted equities aiming to grow its capital and yet provide a income which is paid out annually in small grants to around 200 charities. Support is mainly for small and medium sized charities operating in the UK. The trustees are the grandchildren of George. All engage closely with charity. Funding is often provided for many years and the trustees put no restrictions on expenditure. Each year a few appeals are supported and new charities introduced.

Who we help

The GC Gibson Charity offers grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 to a wide range of charities. The trustees are all highly involved in various philanthropic activities and priority for support is given to charities that the trustees have previously worked with. However, the trust adds few new charities each year.

For these new applications, we now focus on a particular theme for projects and we are able to change this from year to year. We help a help a diverse range of charities and our choice may be seen as a bit quirky and random but we support what appeals to the trustees using a structured process. To see what our current focus is, and to begin the application process, please see the How to apply section below.

Our History

George C Gibson was the nephew of the Welsh ship owner William James Tatem (1868–1942). Tatem was born at Appledore, North Devon, ran away to sea, suffered shipwreck and yellow fever before settling down in Cardiff in 1886 as a clerk with the tramp steamer owners Anning Bros. By 1897 he had sufficient funds to set up in business on his own and order the tramp steamer Lady Lewis in the name of the Lady Lewis Steamship Co. Ltd. Tatem’s business prospered; by 1900 he had 6 steamers and in 1903 there were 13 ships in his fleet. He was killed by a bomb in 1943 and George Gibson took over the business. It still exists today.

How to apply

Application is only by this online form, which is open yearly from 1st August to around the end of August. Please make sure your project falls within the criteria below before applying. When we close you will not longer be able to access the form to submit.

Focus for 2019

Our August online application process is now in its 7th year. Application this year will be for around 10 grants of up to £4,000 each although we may do less or more. No grant will be larger than £4,000. We wish to support capital equipment purchases or building refurbishment which provide benefit to the aged or the disadvantaged young or to the disabled, mainly in the UK but we will look at charities operating overseas. We wish to encourage projects that increase engagement for the benefit of both individuals and society. Ideally we can be used for matched funding to unlock further funds. Last year we had 321 applications by the end of August when we closed and gave 12 grants. We only will give to smaller charities, those with annual charitable donations of less than £1 million, (although total income may be higher) and we only want a maximum of one page applications. Please keep it simple and enjoy doing it. In simple terms it is likely that short applications do better. If we want more information we will contact you. You will be informed in October of our decisions. Please do not chase us and we cannot answer any questions.

General Criteria

Charities must be UK registered but can operate anywhere in the world.
We prefer smaller charities where the impact of our money will not get lost and will influence the lives of many- maximum annual charitable donations should be £1 million.
If your charity has already received support from the trust, you should contact us directly if you want more support. You should not reapply here. Please do not have too high an expectation of further support. These are one off capital grants.

Contact

You can contact us by email only on enquiries@gcgct.org WE DO NOT RESPOND TO OR ACKNOWLEDGE LETTERS – Sorry!

Complete the form below keeping the descriptions short and simple.

N.B. Applications are now closed.
They will reopen on 1 August 2020

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