The Trust was established by James Dick (1743 to 1828), who was born in Forres, Morayshire. In his Will, he provided for the establishment of a fund to support additional education for teachers in what is now Aberdeenshire and Morayshire but excluding the City of Aberdeen.
The terms of the Trust were agreed by The Court of Session and under the Education Endowments (Scotland) Acts. The present Trust Scheme was framed in 1979 and takes the form of a Statutory Instrument. The Trust is a Registered Scottish Charity (Charity Number: SC013641)
The Trust is known as “The Dick Bequest Trust”.
The Trust actively promotes all aspects of education and is fully committed to inclusion, equality and diversity.
The main purpose of the Trust is to provide grants which will assist teachers in improving their efficiency through courses and activities, thus improving the quality of education offered to pupils.
Grants are provided for courses of study, for travel of an educational nature, in the UK or internationally, and in particular activities such as courses leading to a further qualification or degree, attendance at a vacation class or summer school, taking a correspondence or distance learning course, outdoor learning, courses in pastoral care, guidance or leadership, the purchase of books and educational research.
There are ten Trustees (known as Governors).
Five are Edinburgh solicitors, all of whom have some association with the area of benefit.
Two are academics with connections to the area of benefit and who have a particular interest in education
Three are persons of experience in education, two of whom must live in Aberdeenshire and one of whom must live in Morayshire as they respectively represent those Council areas.