The stated aim of the charity is to help and support the people who live in and around Bedford, and to help them improve their lives by: Reorganised as a company limited by guarantee in 2012, it was previously called The Bedford Charity (The Harpur Trust) as its legal name, but was most often referred to as the Harpur Trust.

[1] The main activities of the charity are the operation of a number of independent schools and one academy in Bedford.

This money is intended to help local organisations and individuals to make a difference to their own lives or those of others.

Sir William and his wife, Dame Alice, gave an endowment which consisted of some property in Bedford and 13 acres (5.3 ha) of water-meadows which are now Holborn.

[3][4] The Harpur Trust also owns almhouses in Bedford and the nearby village of Bromham.