20 January 2026
To inspire and enable smaller charities to run marketing campaigns in support of their cause.
London, 20th January 2026 – In the fifth year of this program, The Marketors’ Trust is proud to award a total of £30,000 in grants to five extremely deserving charities.
The top grants of £10,000 each have been awarded to Exeter Science Centre and Shropshire Rural Support, £5,000 was awarded the Brunel Museum and £2,500 each to Baby Umbrella and Sherburn and Villages Community Trust.
“In the last five years The Charity Grants Programme has had a powerful and lasting impact, equipping smaller charities with the expertise and tools they need to improve their marketing and sustain their vital work in communities across the country.”
Julian Boulding, Master of the Worshipful Company of Marketors
Exeter Science Centre uses science to drive social change, breaking down barriers to STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, and Medicine) for marginalised communities. Since 2021, they have engaged 17,000+ people across the South West through hands-on outreach, co-created programmes and citizen science. In 2026, they will open their first permanent home in Barnstaple, transforming a High Street unit into a vibrant community science hub.
They will use their grant from the Marketors to support to support their “Science on the High Street” campaign will be launching the centre, challenges the perception that science is ‘not for people like us’ by placing it squarely in the flow of daily life
Shropshire Rural Support, provides free, confidential emotional support to farmers, their families and rural residents across Shropshire. For over 30 years, their farming-experienced volunteers have been a trusted lifeline, offering understanding, guidance and hope through life’s toughest challenges. The ensure Support is available to anyone, anywhere via our free helpline and text service — because they know that no one should face rural isolation alone.
Their Stronger Together campaign will grow awareness, strengthen fundraising and expand the volunteer network, ensuring vital support reaches those who need it most.
The Brunel Museum is an educational charity celebrating one of the world’s great engineering dynasties and the birthplace of the Thames Tunnel.
They bring together engineering, music and performance to inspire their local communities through exploration, learning and creativity.
Membership is a vital way to support the work they do work, helping preserve Brunel’s legacy and share its relevance with new generations.
They will use the grant from the Marketors to create a new membership campaign that will grow and diversify their supporter community, turning members into proud ambassadors for the Museum.
Baby Umbrella is an award-winning charity supporting over 1,000 families each year across West Kent through early parenthood.
They support new families with breastfeeding, bottle feeding, baby sleep patterns, new mums social and peer support and physical and mental wellbeing.
Their Inform & Educate campaign will raise awareness and improve early access to support, aiming to stop problems forming at their earliest stages. This campaign will help them delivering good information faster, both to professionals and parents, and ensuring families know where to get support earlier, as soon as they begin to struggle.
Finally, the last winner in this year’s funding round is Sherburn and Villages Community Trust. connecting people, spaces and services in Sherburn in Elmet and surrounding villages.
Since 1996, they have saved and run the community library, transformed the historic Old Girls’ School into a thriving community centre, and delivered projects that support health and wellbeing.
Powered by volunteers, they offer opportunities to connect, learn, be entertained and get support, serving a community of around 19,000 people.
Their marketing campaign will aim to raise awareness of the range and breath of the services they offer, helping more residents discover, use and sustain their community spaces and services.
Congratulating the winners David Cowell, Chairman of the Trust, stated:
“We are always drawn to campaigns that demonstrate creativity, passion, and clear objectives. We aim to support organisations that make a genuine difference and in selecting this year’s winners we believe we have done so. The winning charities proposed well-considered campaigns with clear potential for impact. We are proud to be supporting organisations whose marketing strategies are focused on driving meaningful change.”