For Seonaidh Baker, PR and Development Manager for the charity, this is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.

“The criteria revolves around children – whether that’s food poverty, illness or daily support needs,” Seonaidh explains. “It’s quite a wide remit, though, and we’ve helped lots of different people in the past, through a wide range of charities and community groups. You don’t need to be a registered charity to apply.”

A fund with deep roots

Although the charity was formally established in 2015, the idea of supporting families goes back much further.

“The Trades Widows’ Fund was set up in the 1700s to support deceased members’ widows,” Seonaidh says. “The charity in its modern form was born in 2015, and since then we’ve reached an incredible milestone of £1.5 million donated.”

The Fund is part of the Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen, a body with more than 500 years of history. The trades – Hammermen, Bakers, Wrights & Coopers, Tailors, Shoemakers, Weavers and Fleshers – were once central to regulating crafts and training apprentices in the city.

Today, their main purpose is charitable giving.

People always ask the purpose of the trades nowadays, especially when some of the trades don’t exist anymore,” Seonaidh notes. “I think very much the purpose now is charitable outreach. And the way we can do that is through the Trades Widows’ Fund Charity.

Supporting local projects

The Fund has supported a wide range of projects over the years, many of them small in scale but big in impact.

“We generally give between £2,500 and £5,000,” Seonaidh explains. “For local groups, who are often volunteer-led, that kind of funding can be transformational. A relatively small grant can cover the costs of a project that might not otherwise happen, and for those groups it makes all the difference.”

That approach has seen funding go to smaller organisations, such as community centres, school initiatives and local volunteer projects, as well as larger charities with their roots in the city, including Charlie House, AberNecessities, the Denis Law Legacy Trust and Befriend a Child. Support has ranged from specialist sensory equipment for SensationALL, to an oven for cooking lessons at Camphill, to bus hire for school trips and equipment for care facilities.

“It’s wonderful to see the impact,” Seonaidh says. “Going to visit these groups and seeing what difference it makes to children and adults alike – it’s really lovely.”

By choosing to spread the funding across many smaller projects, the charity ensures that its reach is as wide as possible.

“We made a decision to do smaller grants so we could help more people,” Seonaidh explains. “It’s about planting a little seed of opportunity. If that gives someone a foot up, and they can then grow and do more themselves, that’s exactly what we want.”

Applications made simple

The application process is intentionally straightforward. “It’s about two pages long,” says Seonaid “It asks what the funds will be used for, and a breakdown of costs. We’ve had really positive feedback on how simple it is. And I’m more than happy to guide anyone who needs help filling it out.”

That accessibility is important, because many of the groups applying are run by volunteers without specialist fundraising knowledge. By keeping the process simple, the Fund removes barriers and ensures funding goes where it’s needed most.

Giving back to the city

For Seonaidh, the work of the Fund ties directly into the trades’ long-standing connection with Aberdeen.

“From the very beginning, the Seven Incorporated Trades have been supporting the community,” she says. “We’ve been in the city for 500 years, and we just want to see it improve and thrive.”

That relationship is reciprocal.

“I like to think the city supports the trades, so the trades support the city,” Seonaidh reflects. “That’s really what it comes down to.”

Looking ahead

The Fund’s ambition is simple: to keep growing, and to keep helping. “I think the Fund will just go from strength to strength,” Seonaidh says. “We’ll keep going. We’ve been at this, collectively, for centuries. I don’t see us stopping anytime soon.”

With another round of applications now open, the Trades Widows’ Fund Charity is once again looking forward to seeing what local groups can achieve with a little extra support. Whether it’s helping families, supporting young people, or improving community spaces, the Fund remains committed to making a tangible difference.

Applications close on 7th November. To find out more or to apply, visit www.twfcharity.org.

This article originally appeared in the October 2025 edition of ACVO News, our free monthly digital magazine for and from the the third sector in Aberdeen. Read the current and past editions, and sign up to our mailing list, at acvo.org.uk/acvo-news