Start Eligibility Check

1. Check your Eligibility.

2. Submit an Application.

3. Wait to hear from us.

Our Criteria

If you meet the following criteria, we may be able to support you:

  • You are a small UK charity for whom a grant of between £1,000 and £5,000 will make a big difference.

  • In one way or another, you provide aid or support to a defined group of disadvantaged or marginalised people.

  • You are competently run and can support your application with up-to-date accounts.

  • You have made the effort to tap into local sources of wealth.

We do not support:
(a) Individuals (including GAP applicants)
(b) Conservation, heritage and environmental projects
(c) Conversions for disabled access
(d) Charities supporting animals
(e) Research
(f) Evangelism
(g) Umbrella charities
(h) Hospices
(i) Charities with cash balances in excess of 9 months' expenditure.

We prefer to support organisations working in areas of high unemployment and deprivation. We favour charities which make good use of volunteers. We support projects both in the UK and overseas, but for overseas projects only via UK charities, which can ensure that funds are being well used. We make grants to charities of all faiths and ethnicities.

We are unlikely to support local branches, affiliates and franchises of national brands except in the very poorest areas.

We will not make grants representing more than 10% of a charity's income.

We receive large numbers of applications which do not meet our criteria as set out above. This is a waste of the applicants' time and money. If you do not meet our criteria for support, please do not apply.

We receive many applications; we cannot give grants to them all. We will reply at our own expense to successful applicants or those we are seriously considering but need further information. We will not respond to unsuccessful applicants unless we need further information. To save on your costs, please do not send a stamped addressed envelope, and do not use special delivery or first class post. Replies may take some time because the trustees only meet twice a year.

FAQs

How do I apply?

Check your eligibility online using our eligibility checker at the top of this page.  If this concludes that you are eligible, we will contact you with the details of how to apply.

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Do you give grants for multiple years?

We do not commit to future grants.  However, we welcome future applications from many of our beneficiaries to apply again. We will provide details of how and when to do so when appropriate.

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What reporting back do you require after a grant?

We have no formal requirements except for acknowledgement of receipt. For repeat applications, we expect those applications to reflect the context of any previous support.

How quickly will I hear back?

You will receive an automated response confirming that your application has been received. We usually review applications within a couple of months and then email with any further questions that we have. Applications which pass this initial review go out to all trustees for consideration at the next half-yearly meeting.  It is therefore likely that successful applicants will receive a grant between 2 and 8 months after submitting their application.

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Do you give grants for core costs or overheads?

The vast majority of our grants are given towards general funds since we prefer to trust the trustees of our beneficiaries to use the funds they receive wisely.  In a limited number of cases, we restrict our grants for particular capital projects or particular parts of the operation or spending where this seems to us more appropriate.

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Will I know if my application has not been successful?

We do not currently reply to unsuccessful applicants, except when requesting further information. We are planning to introduce replies to all applications received electronically this year.

What are my chances of success?

We cannot support everyone and prefer to focus our grants on a limited number of charities which best meet our criteria. Based on recent experience, about 40% of applications which meet our criteria progress through an initial review and are sent to all trustees to review. Trustees typically approve a grant to about 60% of applications they receive.

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Do you give grants for capital projects?

Sometimes, but this is a small proportion of our grants. The criterion that a grant of not more than £5,000 will make a significant difference tends to limit the range of capital projects that we support.

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Can I still apply by post?

Yes, you can, but please go through the eligibility check on this website first and provide us with the email you entered in the eligibility checker with your postal application.

Application Guidance

The Format

We do not specify a specific format for applications and believe your choice of format is an important part of understanding your charity/company.  

However, we strongly suggest you include a description of what you do and a description of a particular project you are seeking funding for (if not for general funds). Providing a sense of who you are, why you are passionate about what you do, and whose lives are transformed by is also strongly recommended. Please focus your application on what you think is most important for us to understand.

We will check your financial details on the Charity Commission Website, but we ask that you provide a brief summary of your finances and other relevant financial information which is not available from your public accounts.

We look forward to receiving your applicaiton. 

Tips for Application

There are a few other things worth knowing before submitting your application:

  • You will be asked to attach your application and supporting documentation as a PDF, Word and/or Excel file. Files should not be larger than 2.5MB.

  • You do not need to include accounts or documentation that are available on the Charity Commission Website

  • We prefer to support charities that have made the effort to tap into local sources of wealth

  • We prefer to support organisations working in areas of high unemployment and deprivation.

  • We favour charities which make good use of volunteers.

  • We support projects both in the UK and overseas, but for overseas projects only via UK charities which can ensure that funds are being well used.  We make grants to charities of all faiths and ethnicities.

  • We do NOT provide grants to charities that do not meet our criteria. Check these carefully before applying.