03 April 2025
Charities across the Thames Valley are invited to apply for the 51ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø’s Charity of the Year Scheme, which opens for applications today [3 April].
The scheme, which launched in 2024, will see the University select a single charity to work with and support, in a variety of ways, throughout an academic year.
The charity must be active and supporting local people in the Thames Valley (defined as Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire).
The scheme aims to create positive impact for the selected charity, with clear outcomes and benefits for the local community, at the same time as supporting the University’s charitable objectives of advancing education, learning and research for public benefit.
Applications for the Charity of the Year Scheme will close at 11pm on Wednesday 21 May.
A charity will be selected over the summer. An initial panel judging process will create a shortlist of charities, which will then be put to a staff vote. Official activity with the new Charity of the Year will begin in September, the start of the new 2025/26 academic year.
The University’s Charity of the Year for 2024/25 is Thames Valley Care Team, which supports families who are caring for a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness.
Rainbow Trust’s Family Support Workers provide a lifeline to struggling families, offering practical and emotional support, whenever it is needed for as long as it is needed. 
The University will continue to work with Rainbow Trust until the end of June 2025. Examples of activity undertaken so far include:
Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor of the 51ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, said: “Rainbow Trust is a fantastic charity doing vital work to support families through the most difficult of times. My colleagues have shown their kindness and generosity in how they have supported all of the different activities as part of our Charity of the Year Scheme.
“I am looking forward to seeing which local charity we will be supporting in the next academic year.”
The Charity of the Year Scheme runs separately to the University’s Community Engagement Fund, which typically provides one-off grants for projects that staff members are involved in either as part of their job or in a voluntary capacity, also across the Thames Valley region. Applications for this year’s Community Engagement Fund will open after Easter.
Further information about the Charity of the Year Scheme, and how to apply, is available online.
We are in the process of finalising our postgraduate taught courses for 2026/27 entry. In the meantime, you can view our 2025/26 courses.
