Grant Programmes
Foundation awards are made under five broad programme headings which are explained below, each of which has specific objectives set by the Trustees. These objectives, which are reviewed regularly, are the criteria against which Trustees assess the relevance and potential impact of outcomes that a grant applicant proposes to achieve with the help of a Foundation grant.
The Foundation makes grants in two financial categories: small grants and large grants.
SMALL GRANTS FUND
The Foundation allocates up to £300,000 a year to small one-off grants of less than £10,000. Most of these grants will be of the order of £5,000. Grants may be towards a specific event, activity or for general funding needs. Standard exclusions as listed in the Guidance to Applicants apply.
Applicants for grants under the Small Grants Fund must be registered charities and have an income of less than £50,000 in the twelve months before the application.
Decisions on applications under this Fund are taken out of committee. An acknowledgement can be expected within three working weeks of application.
New applications will not be considered from previously successful applicants within 24 months of the completion of a grant.
LARGE GRANTS FUND
The Grants Committee considers applications to the Large Grants Fund at its three annual grants meetings: July, November & March. Following the initial assessment process, applicants proceeding to the formal application stage are told for which grants meeting agenda their application has been scheduled.
Our large grants are generally awards covering a number of years, but may be a one-off payments: a one-off grant is unlikely to exceed £15,000. Awards may be towards a specific project for service provision or to cover core costs such as rent, revenue (salaries), infrastructure development and capacity building, and staff or management training.
Our periodic grants range up to £60,000, but are typically of the order of £30,000 to £50,000 depending on the nature of the project and the length of the award.
The maximum period of support is three years.
Periodic grants are subject to tapering instalments such that there is a maximum payment in one year with lower payments in other years. The maximum in any one year is presently £25,000, but is typically of the order of £20,000 to £22,000.
Example: £40,000 grant over three years in payments of £17,000, £13,000 and £10,000 (or any combination that meets the funding strategy of the applicant).
New applications will not be considered from previously successful applicants within 24 months of a one-off grant payment or from the end of the periodic grant period.
