All our services for small charities are free, thanks to the generosity of the volunteers, trusts, foundations, corporate partners and donors who support our work.

How it all started

In 1988 HRH The Princess Royal challenged staff, students and alumni of Cranfield University to use their skills to benefit the voluntary sector.  As a result, Cranfield Trust was founded. Just a year later we became a registered charity and although we have adapted to changing needs and introduced new services over the years, our ethos has never faltered. 

To this day we have the same passion and enthusiasm to build successful charities. Our large and extensive network of skilled volunteers provide valuable business advice, guidance and skills to thousands of charities across the UK every year.  As Patron of the Trust, HRH The Princess Royal, continues to be an active supporter and advocate of our work. 

About us

Cranfield Trust is a national charity and the UK's leading provider pro bono business support for the voluntary sector. For more than 35 years we have been adding value to the lives of people across the country, by providing free business skills to help build successful charities.

Every year our network of over 1,300 highly skilled volunteers from the commercial sector shares knowledge and experience with charities by providing independent advice and support on everything from business planning, to charity governance, and financial management.  

Over the years we have developed services to meet the growing needs of the voluntary sector. To complement our flagship management consultancy service, we also offer mentoring, telephone advice and a series of topical masterclasses and webinars. We are able to deliver all our valuable services free, thanks to the generous support of volunteers, charitable trusts and foundations, individual givers, major donors, corporate supporters and legacies. 

Our vision

Strong, effective charities transforming people’s lives and communities.

Our mission

We bring together skilled volunteers and small charities to strengthen
organisations, develop leaders and deliver impact that lasts.

Our values

We care and connect

We build trusted, human relationships that support charity leaders with empathy, constructive challenge and practical help.

We deliver impact that lasts

We offer high‑quality, appropriate support that creates real, lasting impact for charities and communities.

We learn and lead

We use insight, evidence and expertise to improve practice,strengthen charities and share learning and knowledge across the sector.

We meet the moment

We respond with pace and agility to emerging challenges,providing the right support at the right time.

The value we contribute

We make practical expertise and human judgement available at scale
for small charities and their leaders, through appropriate and relational
support they could not otherwise afford or easily access, helping them make
better decisions, strengthen their organisations and increase their impact.

We are proud to be one of the founding members of the UK Pro Bono Association - alongside Reach Volunteering and Pilotlight - a collaborative network to promote skills-based volunteering and to make pro bono professional skills more accessible to the charities that need and would like them. 

The UK Pro Bono Association brings together 33 organisations that promote and provide pro bono services and support. Some are focussed on specific professions, such as law, accountancy and property, while others focus on specific sectors to support, such as education or homelessness.

To make it easier for charities to find their way to support, members have signed a pledge to signpost and guide charities to the right support, if that member organisation is not best placed to provide it. 

So if you contact Cranfield Trust for pro bono support and we can't provide it, we'll signpost you to an organisation that can.