How to apply?

Step 1 - Complete the Application form

Please ensure you read the Application Guidelines before completing the form and answer the questions with as much detail as possible. Also:

  • Check the deadline date applies to your application and ensure that your paperwork arrives in plenty of time
  • Do make sure that you send relevant and up-to-date documents, as requested, to support your application. This will allow us to deal with your application as quickly as possible.

Our Grants Team, Matt Allgood and Anja Beinroth, are always happy to discuss an application in advance. Call us on 0300 303 1203.

Step 2 - The assessment

All applications received at the Community Foundation are subject to a detailed assessment. Sometimes our Panels of Volunteer Advisors may need obtain more information. In some cases, telephone contact may be all that is needed, but visits are often undertaken to understand more about the project needs. We want to fund well run organisations - no matter how small - and good projects that will improve the quality of life for local people.

Step 3 - Trustee approval

Sadly, we are not in a position where we can fund every application that we receive. Therefore decisions have to be made to establish who we can fund and the amount we can provide. Sometimes we may only be able to fund certain aspects of an application. On other occasions we may be able to draw money from a number of like funds to fully meet a request.

The Panels’ decisions and recommendations are passed to our Board’s Grants Committee for review and approval. This committee is made up of Trustees and is responsible for the funds under the Board’s management.

Step 4 - Notification

The assessment and approval process can be time consuming but we endeavour to provide a decision within 4-8 weeks of the application deadline date or receipt of the application if no deadline applies. Once the final decisions have been made, both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be advised, in writing, of the outcome.

If not already part of the application form, successful applicants will be required to sign terms and conditions relating to the use of the grant prior to the funds being released.

Step 5 - Follow up

We monitor and evaluate all successful applicants to ensure that funding has been appropriately spent. This will take the form of a questionnaire and possibly a visit. The satisfactory completion of the monitoring and evaluation form is a pre-requisite for any future grant application. Arrangements may also be made for mutually beneficial publicity.

And finally…

We are always interested in hearing your good news stories, seeing great photos and reading any press articles relating to your grant, please do e-mail them to our grants team. Now that our website is up and running, we would like to consider using your projects, photos and CDs and stories of success on our website to highlight the work that we have helped you to achieve.
We hope your project is successful and do remember, we may be able to fund you again so keep checking our website for funding opportunities, application forms and deadlines.

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