The Trust was founded by Mr and Mrs H. N. Spalding in the 1920s to promote a better understanding between the great cultures of the world by encouraging the study of the religious principles on which they are based.

To further this purpose, the Trust makes grants to institutions and to
individuals. The institutions may include libraries, colleges or any place of learning, and the grant may be dedicated to the purchase of books, the provision of a subsidy towards the cost of a visiting lecturer's fee or, in exceptional circumstances, to the establishment of a professorial Chair or a Lectureship.

In the case of individuals, a grant may be offered, for example, to support the
costs involved in a research project or the cost of publication of the results of research. The Trustees are particularly interested in research projects which are
backed by a professional ability to raise the standard of knowledge of religious
principles and practices, and to interpret their relation to contemporary society.
Consideration is also given to applications which are not academically
orientated, provided that they will have a practical and beneficial effect on inter- religious understanding.

The Trustees are willing to consider applications for assistance with travelling
expenses, but they would need to be assured that they would thereby be supporting projects that have a specific bearing on the Trust's interests.
In general, the Trustees are reluctant to approve requests for assistance with
the expenses of undertaking or completing first-degree courses.
On completion of a project, the Trustees expect to receive a report on what has
been achieved, and in the case of funds provided to assist with publication costs, the grant should be acknowledged within the publication itself.

The Trust's resources do not permit assistance to applicants to whom adequate
other sources of finance are available. In a number of cases, the grant may be offered only in support of major funding from elsewhere. No grant may be offered for a study or project within the context of the applicant's own religion unless there is likely to be a significant result in the improvement of inter-religious understanding. Trustees meet annually to consider major applications but grants are also approved monthly throughout the year.