FUNDING HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION PROJECTS FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT IN CORNWALL

Our Mission

We support the advancement of education, recognising its power to drive economic growth, enrich culture, and reduce poverty. Our focus is on funding initiatives that provide clear and tangible benefits to the public.

We provide grants by invitation only to these areas

  • Formal education

  • Community education

  • Physical education and development

  • Training (incl. vocational) and life-long learning

  • Research and adding to collective knowledge and understanding of specific areas of study

  • Development of individual capability, competencies, skills and understanding.

We help these kinds of organisations

  • Schools, colleges or universities

  • Pre-schools and playgroups

  • Adult learning centres

  • Research foundations

  • Think tanks

  • Professional institutes

  • Museums, galleries, archives and libraries

  • Scientific institutes

  • Learned societies

  • Other charitable organisations

  • Other not-for-profit organisations

Eligibility

The Chair of Trustees will invite appropriate organisations who meet our eligibility criteria to apply for grant funding from the charity. We do not fund individuals.

Unsolicited applications will not be considered.

Who we have funded

  • Morrab Library logo

    Morrab Library

    Building and fitting new extension and operational support for the Library and Photographic Archive.

  • Museum of Cornish Life

    Expanded storage and work area for historic Costume Collection.

  • Patricia Eschen Prize for Poetry

    International Poetry Competition delivered in partnership with the Morrab Library.

Who Was

Dennis Myner?

Dennis George Charles Myner was born in the East End of London in 1927 into a modest family. During World War Two, his family relocated to St Albans, where he later qualified as an architect. A devoted son and lifelong bachelor, the family moved to Cornwall in the late 1950s for his mother's health, settling in Penzance. In the early 1960s, he built his own home in St Ives and established his architectural practice there.

After retiring in the early 1970s, his sister Patricia encouraged him to take up painting, giving him a set of oil paints to keep him occupied. Setting himself the ambitious target of completing 300 paintings, he far exceeded it, creating 753 works by the time of his passing in 2012.

His love for painting led him to explore local history and the photographic archive of the Morrab Library in Penzance for inspiration. He recognised their need for extra space and spent 15 years and significant resources obtaining planning permission for a much-needed extension. Just days before his death, he signed the contract to fund the project.

Since Dennis Myner’s passing, The Myner Trust has continued his philanthropic legacy, supporting the Morrab Library and providing grants to various other organisations.

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