Who we are
The Sir Halley Stewart Trust is a grant-making charity supporting innovative and pioneering Social, Medical and Religious projects, for the prevention of human suffering.
The Trust is underpinned by Christian values, but welcomes applications from other faith and non-faith projects.
The Trust was established by Sir Halley Stewart in 1924 with a capital endowment. Today it is managed by a part-time Clerk, supported by a Grants Assessor from The Trust Partnership, and governed by Trustees from the Stewart family and experts in the Trust’s special areas of interest.
Our Trustees meet three times a year to award grants to UK-based charitable organisations, for both national and international projects.
The Trust is always keen to work in partnership with other grant-making organisations, and to help grantees to share their results widely. See our Partnerships page for examples of recent joint funding collaborations and dissemination events.
Sir Halley Stewart
During the course of his life our founder, Sir Halley Stewart, was a Non-Conformist Christian Minister, a Member of Parliament, a pioneering industrialist and a philanthropist.
In 1924, when he founded the Trust, he specified four objects; to advance religion and education, to relieve poverty and to promote other charitable purposes beneficial to the community. The mind of Christ should be expressed in the prevention and removal of human misery and in the realisation of national and worldwide brotherhood. Sir Halley stated that he wished the Trustees to have the fullest discretion to apply the income of the Trust within its objects, though not for dogmatic theological purposes.
Until his death in 1937, Sir Halley continued to take a keen personal interest in the Trust and acted as Chairman of the Trustees from 1924-33. In 1933 Sir Halley put on record guidance for administration of the Trust. “It is primarily for research to prevent human suffering; not for its relief, and not for granting help to charitable institutions.” The Trust’s aims are promoting and assisting pioneer research activities with a view to making such work self-supporting at the earliest possible moment.
See here for a biography of Sir Halley, written by his great-grandson, Duncan Stewart, who is the President of the Trust.
“We are so grateful to the Trustees for their considerable support of Beside Me at HMP Perth. Without the support of the Trust, this project would not have gone ahead.”
Liam Sinclair, Executive Director and Joint CEO of Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre.
