The Sibbald Trust is an independent charitable Trust that supports work, activities, or matters of interest that would not necessarily receive funding from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Its mission is closely tied to enhancing and benefiting the purposes and work of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, especially through promoting taxonomic research and related botanical sciences.
The grant program of the Sibbald Trust aims to support a wide range of activities beneficial to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Specifically, it gives special emphasis to basic taxonomic research, supporting research on taxonomy, phytogeography, and floral development in families of particular interest to the Garden, such as Begoniaceae, Gesneriaceae, Sapotaceae, and Zingiberaceae. The Trust awards fellowships and grants for smaller projects in its spring meeting and considers applications for fellowships in its autumn meeting. It also supports botanists worldwide by providing short-term subsistence grants enabling them to access the Garden's extensive resources. Additionally, contributions have been made towards the publication of botanical and historical books, botanical illustration, digitizing transparencies, and the restoration of memorials, underlining the Trust's commitment to both scientific research and the preservation of botanical heritage.