Grant Policy
The charitable objects of the Trust are to pay the income and, in so far as the Trustees think fit, the capital to such charitable bodies or for such purposes as shall be exclusively charitable as the Trustees may from time to time decide.
Please note that the Trust does not fund individuals or expeditions.
Grants are made at regular intervals during the year and the total level of grants annually is approximately £100,000. Grants are generally made as single payments of between £1,000 and £5,000.
The existing policy clearly identifies Northern Ireland and South Africa as geographical areas of interest with UK grants otherwise tending to be London-centric. The grants in Northern Ireland are not restricted by particular categories but rather by the Trustees’ perception of need; this remains so in South Africa as well where many of the grants still reflect the particular interests of Lord, and particularly, Lady Lurgan. In the UK the grants have a bias towards
- music education
- education with an emphasis on the arts
- the elderly
- medical research
- medical relief including hospice support, and
- disability with a bias towards deafness
and reflect the charitable objects stated in the Original Trust Deed.
South African ballet and opera bursaries
The annual Lurgan Junior Ballet Bursary was awarded in perpetuity to the Durban Dance Foundation in the 1970s and is still contested annually at the National Creative Arts Youth Festival. The Lurgan Opera Bursary's first recipient was Stella Beder, whom Lord and Lady Lurgan both coached in various operatic and oratorio roles, but this bursary appears to have become defunct. In 2008 the Trust decided to augment the Durban Dance Foundation's Lurgan Junior Ballet Bursary set up by Lady Lurgan. The Trustees are attempting to revive the Lurgan Junior Opera Bursary in South Africa, thus encouraging the dreams of talented young classical singers. The South African grants are administered through the Johannesburg law firm Beder-Friedland.
The Trust receives more applications than it has funds to support. In many cases it may not be possible to make grants for projects within the funding priorities.