Essentially, the main difference between a trust, foundation and charity is purely legal; charities registered in Britain are required to provide audited accounts to HMRC annually, and can claim special rates when buying goods and services (much like registered companies). They must be constituted by a board of (usually unpaid) trustees who make most of the decisions for the charity, including who they donate money to. Whereas charities MUST provide this information, trusts and foundations (if not registered as charities) do not, and therefore tend not to. Foundations and trusts are often set up in bequests from wealthy people (hence there usually philanthropic activities), and cannot call themselves a charity if they are not registered as such (but charities can call themselves funds, trusts, foundations etc if they want to). In short, the difference to you, the applicant, is not much. In this text, the term 'trust' refers to trusts, charities and foundations, unless specifically noted. For more information please see the Charity Commission website.
The vast majority of trusts will only give to organisations, companies or other trusts. A short listing of trusts that give to individuals are listed in the Funding section. Many trusts have extremely specific criteria; some only give to specific regions or types of cause/organisation, and many are still now constrained by the founder's religious views or personal foibles.
Each trust, foundation and charity will most likely have its own very specific criteria and applications procedure. You should approach each organisation separately and individually, ensuring that you follow its own specific criteria and application procedures. Apply well before you need the money, as trusts generally make decisions slowly and only at trustees meetings (held between every 2 to 12 months, depending on the trust).
More information on charitable organisations providing support can be found in the following publications:
Some trusts are able to respond quickly if they have small grants programmes, but these are few and far between. The vast majority of trusts are run on a part-time basis, even if they distribute several million pounds a year; as such, their administrative capabilities can be highly constrained. If you want acknowledgement of your application, it's usually best to include a reply-paid envelope. Some trusts will send representatives to visit you or your project; find out exactly what they want to see before making an appointment. Remember, also, that all trusts get more applications than they can fund; only about one in four applications are ultimately successful and over half of the applications a trust receives are ineligible. Take great care in what trust you apply to, as you could be wasting your own time as much as theirs.
Some of the information on this page was selected from The Guide to UK Company Giving, published by the Directory of Social Change. A copy of this publication can usually be obtained in your local library or from DSC directly.