The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF) today announced the awarding of £1.95m in grants to seven charities over the next three years.

The seven charities PWCF will support are: The Wildlife Trusts, Plantlife International, Practical Action, Age Scotland, Carers Trust, BIGKID Foundation and Omega. These charities were selected by Trustees for their enormously important work in the areas of environmental sustainability and social inclusion, both subjects close to The King’s heart.

The Carers Trust will receive a sizeable £300,000 grant to support the work they do in representing and campaigning on behalf of the estimated 7 million unpaid carers in the UK. One of the smaller community-based organisations to benefit with a £90,000 grant is the BIGKID Foundation; a charity set-up in 2000 to tackle youth violence and social exclusion for young people living in Brixton and across six London boroughs including Lambeth, Lewisham and Hounslow.

One of the big environmental causes to secure funding is Practical Action, a charity that supports some of the world’s poorest people to build sustainable and regenerative farming systems connected to their natural environment. A grant of £390,000 to Practical Action will allow small holder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa  to develop agricultural systems that can adapt to climate change and still provide a good standard of living. 

Other charities receiving grants include Plantlife International, which will receive £390,000 over three years to develop a science and impact programme to help with the promotion of wild plants and fungi; The Wildlife Trusts, which will also receive £390,000 over three years to put people at the heart of tackling the climate and nature crisis; Age Scotland, which will receive £300,000 over three years to help fund services to improve the financial resilience, health and wellbeing of older people; and Omega, the National Association for End of Life Care, a West Midlands-based charity that will receive £90,000 over three years to help reduce loneliness and isolation for vulnerable elderly people facing multiple challenges, such as caring responsibilities, mental health issues and bereavement.

Rob Stoneman, Director of Landscape Recovery at The Wildlife Trusts, said: “Our planet is in the grip of a climate and nature emergency – a crisis made by us and a crisis that can be solved by us. The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund and the Wildlife Trusts are working together to accelerate solutions in two vital areas. The first focuses on protecting the beautiful nature remaining and restoring degraded lands by unlocking new finance for nature’s recovery. The second bolsters the work of The Wildlife Trusts with farmers, providing farmers with the expertise they need as they grapple with drought, heat extremes and floods in a rapidly changing climate – and grow food in a way that restores nature and enhances the countryside.”

Nikki Jeffery, Executive Director of PWCF, said: “We’re really excited to be announcing our new strategic funding partnerships, and look forward to working with these charities over the next three years. Our support – across the UK, the Commonwealth and Internationally – will have a real impact in helping those vulnerable or in need and those looking to create sustainable solutions to support nature and mitigate the climate crisis.

She continued: “We are extremely grateful to Waitrose & Partners for their continuing support through sales of the Duchy Organics range.

Since 2009, royalties from the Waitrose Duchy Organics range have generated in excess of £34m for PWCF and the good causes it supports.

HM King Charles III (The Prince of Wales as he was then) founded Duchy Organic in 1990, aiming to create what he called a ‘virtuous circle’ by helping small farmers find a new market for their goods while offering consumers natural, high quality food and promoting more sustainable production methods that improved soil health and protected the environment.

Products in the Waitrose Duchy Organic range are made with high-quality organic ingredients, using meat sourced with sound animal husbandry and high welfare standards.

Waitrose & Partners Executive Director James Bailey said: “We’re delighted to see the ongoing benefit that the Waitrose Duchy Organic brand brings to communities across the UK. We're grateful to our customers for their continued support for this very special range of products which epitomise Food To Feel Good About and we look forward to seeing the impact that these latest round of grants will bring to good causes, and remain committed to supporting PWCF and its important work."