Funding FAQs

We support charities registered in England and Wales, CIOs (Charitable Incorporated Organisations) working in England and Wales and certain organisations which include specialist schools, scout and guide groups and housing associations. We also support cooperatives and community benefit societies registered with the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority).

Please see What We Fund for information on our funding criteria and Community, Education, Health or Social Welfare categories for examples of recently funded projects.

Our Trustees decide on the amount to be given so do not specify an amount unless there is a good reason for doing so – for example, you may only need a specific amount to meet your fundraising target.

Our grants are offered as a contribution to your overall project costs as we do not fully fund projects.

We offer three levels of grants. These are large grants of £20,000 and above; medium grants of up to £20,000 and small grants of £5,000 and under. Our large and medium grants are considered and agreed upon at our Trustees’ meetings. Our small grants are agreed by Trustees on a monthly basis and form the majority of our grants.

Small grants are normally awarded to projects costing £100,000 and under.

We usually award single year grants and occasionally multi year grants. We do not offer match funding.

We accept applications for works to both owned premises and rented properties. If rented, you must have more than 10 years left on the lease to apply to us.

We do not accept applications for revenue costs. Any revenue grants are made at the discretion of the Trustees. Please see What We Don’t Fund for further information.

We are always happy to discuss potential applications. Before you get in touch please read our Grants and How To Apply sections.

We do not fund organisations with an income of £10 million or over per annum. Our Trustees prefer to support smaller organisations where our funding can have more of an impact.

We have a preference for projects of up to £5 million. If your project costs are over £5 million but below £10 million, we ask you to call or email the office before making an application.

We do not fund projects that cost under £10,000.

We have no deadlines and accept applications all year round.

You need to have the full project costs and planning permission in place and fundraising should either be underway or there is a fundraising plan in place. Visit our How To Apply section for more detail.

For our small grants, please allow up to 3 months.

For all other applications, please allow up to 6 months. For more information visit How to Apply.

We receive many more applications than we can fund. Applicants generally have a 50:50 chance of being awarded a grant.

Our grant offer is valid for up to two years. We usually make the grant payment once you have raised the total project cost. See Grant Holders for more information.

We are not able to provide individual feedback.

If you have been rejected you can re-apply to us 12 months after the date of your original application.

If you have claimed a grant from us (that is, we have released your payment) then you are welcome to submit an application for a new project or new phase of your project.

The Foundation supports applications for education and learning centres at arts organisations where there is a wide community benefit and involvement.

Only if you can demonstrate a wide community benefit. Heritage/conservation projects per se are not eligible.

Only if there is strong evidence of secular activities that benefit a broad section of the local community.

We do not fund any medical or research medical equipment.

The Foundation supports capital projects such as improvements to care homes, hospices, day centres or other facilities for the elderly and those with special needs; the creation or refurbishment of outdoor or recreational spaces for patients and specialist new transport.