In 2016 the Summerfield Charitable Trust paid 91 grants totalling £417,887 as follows. 

• The arts, museums and the built heritage - £60,338
• The environment and natural heritage - £34,900
• Community work - £54,311
• Education, sport and recreation - £81,030
• Vulnerable or disadvantaged sectors of society - £187,308

To read more about the individual organisations and Gloucestershire projects funded, please visit our Grants Paid Page

The Summerfield Charitable Trust are delighted to announce our sponsored event at the 2017 Cheltenham Literature Festival on Wednesday 11th Ocotober.  The evening will be a riveting talk from Adventurer and Mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington.  Sir Chris made the first British ascent of the North Wall of the Eiger and led the expedition that made the first ascent of The South Face of Annapurna, the biggest and most difficult climb in the Himalaya at the time (c1960).  His Mountaineering career began in the 1950's and on into the 1980's and he is still travelling to this day, at the young age of 83.  Tickets are now on sale and available through the Cheltenham Festivals website.

We have updated our WHAT WE FUND page to include additional information for applicants who are looking to improve energy efficiency, habitats, conservation management, environmental education or environmental community engagement projects.  Please take a look...

On the 6th of June 2017, Trustees and friends of The ​Gloucestershire Gateway Trust held a special dinner to celebrate the Trust's 10th anniversary, and its unique partnership with the Westmorland Family.  The Dinner also bid a fond farewell to Charles Fisher, former Trustee of The Summerfield Charitable Trust and Chairman to The Gloucestershire Gateway Trust for the previous ten years.   The Dinner was held in the wonderful surroundings of the House of Commons. 

Following the retirement of Anthony McClaren as Trustee in October 2015, we were delighted to welcome Mr David Owen to our board of Trustees. 

​David was born and brought up in Gloucestershire, studying at Brockworth School, before gaining a degree in Business Studies from Liverpool John Moores University. He spent ten years in the North West working across the education sector and as MD of a start-up, high-growth, training business. For the last fifteen years he has worked in Gloucestershire, first as Director of Enterprise and Innovation at the University of Gloucestershire and now as Chief Executive of GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership (gfirstLEP).  He is currently a director of Gloucestershire Voluntary & Community Sector Alliance, South West Investment Group and Gloucestershire Enterprise Limited and is a member of the International Advisory Group of the Economic Development Council.  He lives in Stroud with his author wife and two daughters.

David attended his first meeting as Trustee in February. This also gave him the opportunity to me our team of Advisers. 
LINK: gfirstLEP website

Deadline date 22/2/2016. See 'How to Apply' for me more information.http://www.summerfield.org.uk/how-to-apply.html

The Summerfield Event
The Ultimate Guide To Happiness
Wed 7 Oct 2015 6:45pm - 7:45pm
Cheltenham Town Hall, University of Warwick Stage
£8 

Tickets on sale now - CLICK HERE TO BOOK

At their July quarterly meeting, the Trustees awarded a grant of £20,000 to Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust for their 'Cradle of the Cotswolds' project at Greystones Farm in Bourton on the Water.

Greystones Farm nature reserve is a unique site, with a long history of human settlement that has produced a wealth of nationally important heritage features. Although Greystones is already an enjoyable place to visit, many of the traditional farm buildings are derelict and there is scant information about the important heritage around the Farm. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust has always aspired to restore the farm and transform it into a location where people can learn about the rich wildlife and history of the Cotswolds.

Click on the link below to read more about the project.

LINK: Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust news

At their April 2015 quarterly meeting the Trustees awarded a grant of £75,000 to the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury towards their capital campaign for redevelopment and modernisation of the community arts centre and theatre.

The grant helped them to break through the half-way barrier of their Capital Campaign, and they have now raised over half a million pounds.

Click here to read more about the campaign.

The Trustees and staff of the Summerfield Charitable Trust would like to congratulate Gloucester Services on winning their recent award for 'Outstanding Contribution to Local Food Development' at the Western Daily Press Food & Farming Awards 2015, and wish them good luck and continued success with the opening of the Southbound Services on Tuesday 19th May 2015.
 
We are proud to be one of the early supporters of the project back in 2007. 

LINKS:
Gloucester Services
Western Daily Press Food & Farming Awards
Summerfield Trust support

At their February 2015 quarterly funding round, the Trustees awarded a grant of £30,000 to Prema Arts Centre based near Dursley towards their 'Raising the Roof Appeal'. 

Prema is a family-friendly Arts Centre, promoting performance, live music and art exhibitions as well as accessible workshops, classes and creative experiences for kids and adults.


The centre first opened its doors in 1981, and welcomes over 73,000 visitors a year.

The 'Raising the Roof' projects involves major building works including a new roof and building improvements throughout. Scaffolding went up in April 2015 and we very much look forward to following the progress of the project.

Click HERE to read more about the project.

In March this year the Trustees of the Grace Fry Charitable Trust transferred their investments to the Summerfield Charitable Trust in order that the Summerfield Trust could distribute more grants to benefit Gloucestershire charities.

Grace Fry lived in Cheltenham and keenly supported many causes similar to those of the Summerfield Trust. After her death, her Trust continued for a few years but the Trustees eventually recognised that by moving their investments to the Summerfield Trust, Mrs Fry's wishes could be retained but without the overheads.

The earth, particularly since the Industrial Revolution, has undergone significant geological change, some of it without parallel in its 4.6 billion year history. As well as the huge changes in the Earth's atmosphere leading to climate change, major changes include those to patterns of erosion and sedimentation on land. Welcome to the 'Anthropocene', a new geological era, in which many geologically significant conditions and processes are profoundly altered by human activities. 
Join Professor Mark Maslin as he shows us that humans, instead of being insignificant, might just have become the dominant geological force on the planet.

In February this year The Summerfield Trust awarded a grant of £10,000 to CREATE Gloucestershire to promote a Gloucestershire apprenticeship scheme which is providing opportunities for young people wanting to go into the creative industries. 
Create Gloucestershire has recruited 13 apprentices and interns so far through the Creative Employment Programme.
CLICK HERE to read more about the scheme.

Click on the links below for the full story:

Gloucestershire Echo - 30/12/2014
Queen's New Year Honours 2014: Former Cheltenham Racecourse boss Edward Gillespie awarded OBE

Racing Post - 31/12/2014
Former Cheltenham Chief Gillespie Awarded OBE