JRCT: Power and Accountability Grant

JRCT: Power and Accountability Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
Last Updated: January 20, 2026

Summary

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) provides funding to foster social change by addressing systemic issues of inequality and injustice. Their focus lies in enhancing corporate and democratic accountability, and promoting responsible media. JRCT supports innovative projects that challenge the status quo, particularly those responding to the impacts of Covid-19 and systemic racism. They invite applications from organizations that align with their mission and values, emphasizing the importance of meaningful engagement with marginalized communities.

Overview

NOTE: You must have an account for our grants management system in order to be able to make an application - for account registration deadline see LOI deadline above. Please see separate grant pages for Sustainable Future and Peace and Security. About Us The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) is an independent Quaker trust which makes grants to organisations and individuals working to produce positive social change through their charitable work. Our mission is to support people who address the root causes of conflict and injustice. The Quaker values of equality, truth, peace, and sustainability are integral to our mission and purpose. Every year JRCT makes more than 100 grants for all kinds of charitable work, from grassroots community groups to well-established charities working to build a peaceful and just world. We make grants via five funding programmes: Power and Accountabilty, Peace and Security, Rights and Justice, Sustainable Future and Northern Ireland. This support is provided, primarily, through funding applied for by applicants. Vision Quakers have a strong commitment to equality. This leads us to reject some conventional forms of hierarchy (such as the use of titles), to share power widely within our own church structures and to be willing to speak the truth to powerful bodies and individuals. In wider society, the way that power is concentrated, shared and used is changing as a result of globalisation, geopolitics, new technology, growing use of artificial intelligence, new channels of communication, extreme inequality and other factors. These changes bring increased risks of unaccountable power, but also new opportunities for interconnected, engaged and flourishing democracy. We want to support people to create a world in which power is more equally shared, and in which powerful institutions are responsive and accountable to wider society and aligned with the long-term public interest. We welcome work that scrutinises and holds these actors to account for perpetuating inequality, injustice or abuses of power, including systemic racism and corruption. JRCT is also keen to support work that responds to the dual harms of the Covid-19 pandemic and systemic racism. Funding Priorities Strengthening corporate accountability Large corporations have significant power, and checks and balances are inadequately developed, particularly for trans-national corporations, including the largest digital platforms and intermediaries. We are interested in funding work which:develops and promotes mechanisms which increase the accountability and responsiveness of companies to shareholders, stakeholders, regulators and the long-term public interest, for example through improvements to corporate governance, corporate structures (including alternative corporate forms), company reporting or regulationdevelops and promotes mechanisms whereby those who suffer severely as a result of company actions, particularly marginalised groups, can gain access to justicepromotes the application of the same standards of accountability to large digital companies as other commercial organisations, for example with respect to taxation, consumer protection, treatment of minorities and the protection of rightsencourages a constructive dialogue across private, public and civil society sectors to define and develop values and norms of corporate accountability and transparency in relation to new digital technologies.Strengthening democratic accountability In a healthy democracy, government should be representative of the wider public and in touch with a wide range of groups, but not disproportionately influenced by any single interest. We are interested in funding work which:develops and promotes mechanisms which ensure an accountable, transparent and proportionate relationship between the private sector and governmentdevelops and promotes mechanisms which enable civil society and the general public, including marginalised groups, to engage appropriately and effectively with government policy making at all levelsencourages government, parliament and other statutory agencies to be more representative of the wider public they serve, in terms of gender, ethnicity and other factors supports the modernisation of the democratic infrastructure to increase its accessibility, relevance and resilience in a digital agepromotes greater transparency by digital intermediaries in relation to their impact on democracy and elections.Encouraging responsible mediaAll forms of media play important roles in a healthy democracy, but media companies and platforms can themselves be powerful and unaccountable. We are interested in funding work which:encourages accurate and responsible media, with appropriate safeguardshelps to develop a relevant and proportionate response to the risks of misinformation and disinformation in commercial media  explores and promotes ways for all forms of media to play a constructive role in holding government, companies and other powerful actors to accounthelps to develop and strengthen infrastructure to support new forms of community journalism for the public benefit. Under this programme, JRCT will consider applications for national work in the UK, or elsewhere in Europe for work at a pan-European level.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. JRCT is interested in funding work which:is about removing problems through radical solutions, and not simply about making problems easier to live withhas a clear sense of objectives, and of how to achieve themis innovative and imaginativeand where the grant has a good chance of making a difference.Within its areas of interest, the Trust makes grants to a range of organisations and to individuals.If your organisation is a registered, excepted or exempt charity based within any of the four jurisdictions of the UK and all of your work fits within our published programmes, we encourage you to consider applying for unrestricted or core support, although you may apply for programme or project funding if you prefer.If you are based outside the UK and you are registered as a charitable organistion in your local jurisdiction, you may apply for general support if all of your work fits within our published programmes, and the following criteria are also met:your organisation is governed by an unpaid boardyour organisation is not for profityour organisation's formal purposes fall within the list of charitable purposes recognised within English law.For all other organisations or individual applicants, you may apply for a specific project or defined programme of work that would provide public benefit and further our aims as set out in our published policies.

Ineligibility

We cannot fund organisations or work that is party political (eg supporting or opposing a political party) or which is commercial in nature or otherwise intended for private benefit.The Trust will not fund:Organisations:larger, older national charities which have an established constituency of supporters and substantial levels of reservesstatutory bodiesfor-profit organisationsProjects:medical researchacademic research, except as an integral part of policy and campaigning work that is central to our areas of interestbuilding, buying or repairing buildingsbusiness development or job creation schemesservice provision, including providing care, support or training services, such as for elderly people, children and young people, people with learning difficulties, people with physical disabilities, mental health service users, refugees or asylum seekershousing and homelessnessthe arts, except where a project is specifically concerned with issues of interest to the Trust.Individuals:travel or adventure projectseducational bursaries, including graduate and post-graduate studiesthe personal support of individuals in need.Types of funding:general appealswork which we believe should be funded from statutory sources, or which has been in the recent pastwork which has already been undertakenPlace:the Trust funds individuals or groups based in the UK to undertake work at a national level. This means work that seeks to make positive change across the UK as a whole, or across one or more of its member countries - England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Irelandunder some of our programmes, we make a small number of grants for work at a pan-European level, in relation to international institutions, or to replicate or amplify local work in the UK with wider significance. Please see individual grant policies for detailsthe Trust does not fund local or national work anywhere outside the UK.In addition to this the following types of work will not be funded:is about democratic participation or user advocacy in relation to service provision, e.g. education and health focuses on international development issuesis limited to corporate accountability in relation to a particular business sector, e.g. tourism or supermarkets this exclusion does not apply in relation to our fourth funding theme on Covid-19/Structural racism ie single sector applications are eligibleis general campaigning that is not concerned with the themes given above supports individual journalists or news organisations to undertake investigations or create content