The Marketors’ Trust is the Marketors’ registered charity (no. 272339), associated with but distinct from the Company. It provides the funding for several important charitable programmes.
Run by the Trust since 2021, the Marketors’ Charity Grants programme awards grants to smaller charities to enable them to run marketing campaigns in support of their respective causes, and benefits six charities each year across the country. The 2025 Grants have just been awarded, with the top two grants of £10,000 going to Exeter Science Centre and Shropshire Rural Support, a grant of £5,000 to Brunel Museum and three other grants of £2,500. For more details on this programme Click here.
The Marketors’ Trust has inspired hundreds of young marketers through its funding of annual awards, prizes, bursaries and other educational initiatives. Working through the Awards committee, these education linked initiatives range from support for marketing apprenticeships and the Shine Schools’ Award to awards for the best marketing theses, best CIM students and a teaching excellence award for the Academy of Marketing.
As the charity of a Livery Company, we support the City and the Mayoralty’s charitable initiatives to alleviate poverty and foster opportunities. We also support our Armed Forces affiliates and our affiliate Church of St. Bride’s.
A new initiative from 2025 is the Trust sponsoring individual Members taking part in charity challenge events.
We also support our Members who may have fallen on hard times, as guided by our Almoners.
For its income, the Trust has historically depended on the generosity of current and past Members of the Company. For the last three years, we have donated over double the value of the annual donations received, funding this by drawing down from our reserves. This is clearly not sustainable and we want to encourage more Members to give and to give more, as well as attracting other supporters, so that we can maintain all our giving programmes.
If you would like to donate to The Marketors’ Trust, please Click here. For Marketors, please log in to the Members’ Area and go to the “Donations” tab, where you will be able to set up a Direct Debit form.
Over the last three years 2021-24, The Marketors’ Trust has donated £373,358 to good causes in line with its aims of:
- INSPIRING excellence in marketing
- SUPPORTING charities and the disadvantaged
- CARING for Marketors in need
How your donations are making a difference
Below is a selection of some of the grants and donations made recently by The Marketors’ Trust.
The Marketing Academy Foundation (TMAF) is a charity that places bright young people from under-resourced backgrounds into marketing apprenticeships and internships. The WCOM supported this charity with a grant for £4,500 part of which was spent creating a video to encourage more companies to take on apprentices and trainees. Enjoy “let’s make more Mums' proud”.
The Lord Mayor’s Appeal is for City employees, residents, their families and friends and those who live and work in our neighbouring communities. They aim to find solutions to the most pressing societal issues in London and beyond. Their strategy works on four key pillars, to create a City that is Inclusive, Healthy, Skilled and Fair.
The Sheriffs and Recorders Fund is a London-based charity supporting the rehabilitation of prison leavers and their families through individual grants and prison-based rehabilitation projects.
The Marketors’ continue their close affiliation with St Bride’s Church holding events such as the Blessing of the Master in February of each year and a cheese and wine evening in 2023. Established in 1891, the St Bride Foundation was originally set up to serve the print and publishing trade of nearby Fleet Street.
We regularly support the Red Cross by selling crackers at their Christmas Market with a team of volunteers manning a busy stall. Livery Masters face mock arrests by the City of London Police during the ‘Jailed and Bailed’ held at the Tower of London. In exchange for their release, they donate their bail payments to the charity.
Unloc is an established Portsmouth-based social enterprise, founded by award winning young leaders Hayden Taylor & Ben Dowling, aimed at developing enterprising attitudes and skills amongst young people from disadvantaged communities. Unloc boasts a network of over 500 schools and colleges in the UK and 8 years of experience in developing and iterating programmes to truly empower young people, develop their employability skills and build their aspiration. Unloc boasts a network of over 500 schools and colleges in the UK and last year, its programmes reached 10,900 young people. Please watch the video below.
Armed Services
The Big Curry Lunch is an annual charity event which brings people together to support veterans of His Majesty’s Armed Forces. The Trust funds the support of two veterans on the LifeWorks programme which focuses on finding employment, education and training for Armed Forces veterans.
Supporting Marketing Education and the Profession
The Trust supports a number of marketing bodies including: