Mills & Reeve Charitable Trust

Mills & Reeve Charitable Trust is central to our commitment to making a positive impact beyond our legal work. For over 40 years, it has provided independent, direct funding to a wide range of local, national and international charities.

Funded by contributions from the firm’s partners, it supports charitable causes that align with our purpose and values, key responsible business goals, and strengthens the communities where we live and work.

It's run by the trustees who are responsible for the governance of the Trust and oversee how the Trust’s funds are spent and which charities it will support.

Source of funding and how we decide which charities to support?

Every year the partners make a donation to the Trust based on a percentage of the firm’s turnover for that year. All of that money is then used to make grants to other charities. Funds available for grants in 2026-27 total £340,000.

The trustees decide on a ‘theme’ each year which helps it to focus and prioritise grants for greater impact. Our theme for 2026-27 is building a better society.

Each year, the overall funds available for the making of grants are divided into three funding streams:

Firm

The firm pot is used to provide grants to both national and international charities, and to provide assistance to international crises through Disaster Emergency Committee appeals. Additionally, it donates in memory of M&R colleagues and supports the firm's annual Charity Challenge.

Local office

Donations from the local office pots are used to support charities which are often local to the office in question. Each office has full autonomy of how this pot is allocated through its charitable committee and local charitable trustees.

M&R colleague

The M&R colleague pot is available for any colleague across the business who can request a donation of £150 in any financial year to a specific charity that they are working with or are fundraising for.

Could your charity be the recipient of a grant?

The Mills & Reeve Charitable Trust is always looking to support inspiring charities whose work creates meaningful, lasting impact. Each year, we focus most of our grants on a specific charitable theme to help maximise the difference they can make. Our theme this year is Building a better society. If your charity is creating meaningful impact in communities and your work aligns with our current charitable theme, we'd love to hear from you. Follow the link below, complete the short form and we'll review your enquiry before inviting selected charities to provide a more detailed application.

Tell us more about your charity

Key donations in 2026 include

£16,450 to Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity, dedicated to saving and improving lives through research.
Visit Cancer Research UK
£10,000 to Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)
CALM is the suicide prevention charity that provides life-saving services and practical mental health support to anyone who needs it.
Visit CALM
£10,000 to The Felix Project
The Felix Project saves surplus food from suppliers and redistributes to 1.5 million people across the UK, alongside 16 other independent charities, 18,000 volunteers, and thousands of partners.
Visit Felix.org
£10,000 to Dementia UK
Dementia UK is focused on scaling specialist support, reshaping systems, and building the foundations so every family has a lifeline through dementia.
Visit Dementia UK
£8,450 to Fortalice
Fortalice are a Bolton based charity providing frontline services for people who are, or have been, affected by domestic abuse and violence.
Visit Fortalice
£7,700 to IntoUniversity
IntoUniversity supports young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to attain their chosen aspiration, including further and higher education, employment and work-based training.
Visit IntoUniversity
£10,000 to British Red Cross
The British Red Cross is a leading humanitarian organisation delivering critical support to people facing emergencies in the UK and internationally.
Visit the British Red Cross

Thank you for your support. Your generous donation has helped us to distribute 12,672 Little Lifts Boxes to breast cancer patients across our NHS hospital partnerships.
Little Lifts
Thank you for your generous donation towards our work to beat cancer. We stand on the brink of discoveries that will transform how we understand - and overcome - cancer and many other diseases. Your generous support is contributing to a golden age of cancer research and means we can go further, faster.
Cancer Research UK
Thank you for your donation. Your support means that we can empower blind and partially sighted children nationwide with the tools and confidence to open doors that once felt closed.
Royal Society for Blind Children
Thank you for your generous grant. It will make a huge difference to the lives of veterans across the UK enabling them to tackle the past and take on the future.
Combat Stress
Thank you again for all the Mills & Reeve Charitable Trust has done to support the DEC Myanmar Earthquake Appeal. Your generosity has made an enormous difference to those who were impacted by the devastating earthquake.
Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)
Thank you for your incredible kindness and generosity this year. With you by our side, we’ve brought hope and life-saving support to people across the world, and we look forward to continuing our impact together in the year ahead.
British Red Cross
Thanks to Mills & Reeve’s donation, we were able to be there for around 1,230 vital conversations with people who may have had nowhere else to turn. That’s 1,230 lives that could have been saved, thanks to their support.
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)