UK FUNDING PROGRAMMES – ELIGIBILITY, WHAT WE FUND, HOW TO APPLY

This programme is currently CLOSED for applications. It will open from 10am on Tuesday 21st May 2024 - until 3pm (sharp) on Tuesday 18th June 2024; and again from 10th September 2024 - 15th October 2024.

Applications can be made in one of these periods only

If you were funded by us for 2 years in 2023 I'm afraid you cannot apply to us in 2024, but you can apply if you had one year's funding or were unsuccessful.

Eligibility for our UK Programmes

We do not fund individuals, only organisations. To be eligible to make an application your organisation must be based in the UK and be one of the following:

Registered Charity
Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
Community Interest Company (CIC) (NB must be limited by guarantee, not by shares)
Charitable Company (NB you must be registered both as a charity and a company)
Excepted Charity (see Excepted charities - GOV.UK for more information on these)

Income Threshold

To be eligible to apply, your total annual income as shown in your most recent accounts should be no more than £250,000.

If your income is above that in your latest accounts but your average income over the most recent three years is under £250k then you can still apply – this is to allow for one-off “good” years.

We are keen to support small organisations where our funding will have more of an impact and our preference is to fund those already established rather than new ones - though these are still eligible.

Individuals (including via bursaries)
Non-charitable activities
Promotion of Religion
Party-political organisations or Party-political campaigning (charitable campaigning is okay)
Medical research
Registered Social Landlords (eg housing associations)
Hospitals or primary healthcare provision
Fundraising-only posts (though we can fund a post where fundraising is part of what they do)
Statutory services
Residential care

This list is not meant to be exhaustive. If you have an activity/proposal where you are not sure if we would fund it, please get in touch and we can discuss it.

We Do Not Fund

Our Priorities in Supporting Good Governance and Good Practice

Whilst you may be eligible to apply and your proposal meets our criteria, priority will be given to organisations which demonstrate good governance and good practice. For example:

having a history of returning accounts and documents to your regulatory body (eg Charity Commission) on time
having at least four Trustees/Directors on your Board and where all trustees/directors are unrelated to each other and to the CEO or Executive Director.
having robust policies and practices on safeguarding, equalities, financial management, etc

PLEASE NOTE: Your accounts must be independently examined or audited (even if your income is below the Charity Commission's threshold for an independent examination) and should comply with The Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) - GOV.UK

We will also prioritise organisations which have a significant number of people on their boards and/or staff team who have lived experience of the issues they are addressing.

Where a grant would be used to support the provision of specialist and/or sensitive services you must demonstrate sufficient track record and expertise in delivering those services. In some cases a recognised qualification or quality mark may be required.

We hope this information is clear – however if you are not sure about anything please get in touch.

Types of Grants Awarded

The Fund has signed up to the IVAR Eight Commitments ( https://www.ivar.org.uk/flexible-funders/ ) – a pledge by funders to provide clear information and reduce bureaucracy for applicants. As part of that pledge we aim to provide funding which meets your needs as far and as appropriately as possible.

We offer Unrestricted Grants; or Project/Core Funding.

You can choose which of these to apply for, however please note that to be eligible for unrestricted funding all the work of your organisation must meet our criteria. For example, if you were a general community group where only some of the work you did was with refugees then you could not apply for unrestricted funding as your other work would not meet our priorities. All unrestricted grants must be used for charitable purposes.

Organisations can apply for up to two years’ funding with grants awarded usually between £5,000 - £7,000 in value per year.

If you had a 1-year grant from us in 2023 or were unsuccessful with an application you can apply in 2024 - however, if you received a two-year grant from us 2023 then I’m afraid you are unable to apply.

Types of Grants We Provide

Our Programmes What we will fund

Asylum Seekers and Refugees

Asylum Seekers and Refugees continue to face hostility, challenge and isolation which prevents them being able to fully integrate into society; and some face considerable levels of poverty due to being unable to work or use their skills. We want to support organisations and projects which provide essential services; which help meet their needs; and which support their participation within the wider community.

Penal Affairs

Whilst custodial sentences are very damaging for all of those affected, research by the Prison Reform Trust shows that women are often more greatly impacted, especially where they have children or other caring responsibilities. During the Pandemic, for example, family visits to prisons were curtailed and many children did not see their parent for over a year. We want to support work “through the door” where charitable organisations go into prisons with projects and support to help prisoners (especially women) cope and/or maintain family bonds and to be better able to resettle positively when released. Equally we welcome applications for post-release projects which support positive resettlement and a reduction in the likelihood of reoffending. However, please note that job-search/employment agency projects are unlikely to be funded.

Applications for this programme are currently CLOSED.

You can see the key questions asked on the form here. We would recommend that you keep a copy of your completed form.

Application Opening Dates and Processing Times

The online form will next be available at 10am on Tuesday 21st May 2024 and the closing date for submitting your completed application will be 3pm sharp on Tuesday 18th June 2024. No applications will be eligible if incomplete or if received after this date/time.

Our aim is to process all applications received in the first opening period to be able to give you a decision by August or September 2024, depending on the number of applications we receive. When applying please bear in mind that your grant cannot start until you receive a formal decision from us.

As part of the assessment process we may wish to speak to you by telephone or Zoom and may, on occasion, arrange a visit with you. Please don’t worry if we ask to speak or meet with you in this way! These meetings are to help us get a fuller picture of your proposal and to give you a chance to talk about your work as it is not always easy for you to do it justice on a written application.

If your application is declined we endeavour to provide feedback if you wish – just get in touch.