The Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust is proud to be celebrating 40 years of giving.
Since its inception in 1982 the Trust has donated just over £12 million to 1000+ UK registered animal charities working both at home and abroad.
The Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust (JSAWT) was established by Mrs Jean Sainsbury, who invited a small number of her friends to become Trustees. One of the original Trustees is still a Trustee today and so has witnessed first-hand 40 years of JSAWT’s development. The first grants were awarded in 1983 and in the early days, before the charity’s name became widely known (this was, after all, pre-internet) it was difficult to identify charities in need of support.
Some of the early awards made by JSAWT were to veterinary schools such as The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) to improve their facilities, and to other national well-established charities.The special relationship with the RVC continues to this today, and the Trust gives regular donations to the College to subsidise treatment of pets whose owners are unable to afford full veterinary fees. The College’s first-opinion hospital in Camden Town has been re-named The Beaumont Sainsbury Hospital in Jean Sainsbury’s memory.
As JSAWT has grown it has moved away from supporting larger charities to concentrate on giving to smaller animal welfare and rescue charities, where a relatively small amount of money can make a substantial difference to the lives of a large number of animals. Some of the charities which have received funding from the Trust over the years have told us about how the donations have helped them (click here to read their testimonials) and it is inspiring to see the huge difference these wonderful charities have made, and continue to make, to the lives of so many animals and the people who care for them.
Today JSAWT supports a wide variety of charities in the UK and overseas helping animals ranging from Cats, Dogs, Horses and Wildlife, through to Elephants, Tigers and almost everything in-between. Awards to charities are made to support a wide range of needs including basic running costs, vet bills, vehicles or pledges for building projects. A large legacy received in memory of Joyce Evelyn Shuman allowed JSAWT to extend its support to charities working overseas and those involved with the conservation of endangered species. Over the years JSAWT has received a number of legacies which are always gratefully received and are an important contribution to our invested funds, generating additional income which we can distribute to more charities. We thank those generous donors, some who we have known, and others who have given anonymously.
The Trustees know that their job as guardians of the charity is to make sure that donations are made to charities which meet JSAWT’s criteria, are spent correctly and that the range of charities supported is in line with the wishes of Mrs Sainsbury. The charity’s funds are invested wisely to ensure that many more charities will be able to receive our help for years to come.
