General Application Guidelines
Applications for the general grant round opened on 18th May 2020. Please note we have recently moved our application form online. The current deadline for receipt of applications for this round is 31st July 2020.
From October 2019 Trustees will only make grants towards core costs rather than specific projects as they recognise that smaller charities can find these hard to fund. This will hopefully mean that any grant given will have a more direct impact on the organisation concerned.
Trustees are keen to spare charities the wasted time and costs involved in applying when there is no prospect of success. Please note that only about 15% of applicants are successful and the majority of grants are for less than £3,000.
It is recommended that all applicants take time to read these guidelines in order to avoid submitting applications that are likely to be rejected. You may also like to refer to our previous Annual Reports, available on our website, which will give you more of an idea of both the type of organisation supported and the amount awarded.
Please note that we DO NOT fund unsolicited applications from charities whose annual income exceeds £200,000 or an organisation that has more than six months running costs in its unrestricted reserves. We will also NOT fund unsolicited applications from the following:
- Charities registered overseas
- Construction projects such as playgrounds, village halls, and disabled accesses
- Educational fees
- General school appeals
- Hospices
- Individuals in any capacity
- Medical research
- Parish facilities
- Playgroups and pre-school groups
- Requests for vehicles
Funding Priorities
Trustees will consider applications for core costs which will achieve a positive impact in at least one of the following areas:
- Arts outreach work by local groups involving disadvantaged people;
- Children and young people who are isolated, at risk of exclusion or involved in anti-social behaviour and in particular organisations that work to discourage individuals getting involved in gangs or violent behaviour;
- Disability projects, which can include rehabilitation and training for people who are either physically or learning disabled as well as charities supporting mental health issues, particularly where it relates to our other priority areas;
- Disadvantaged women and their children, covering refuges and domestic violence shelters and groups;
- Disadvantaged families including parenting support;
- Prisoners and ex-offenders and specifically projects that help the rehabilitation and resettlement of prisoners and/or ex-offenders as well as requests to help prisoners’ families;
- Projects that promote integration and community cohesion particularly amongst minority groups, refugees and traveller communities.
Types of grants
The Trustees make two types of grants – smaller grants of under £3,000, usually around 100 grants per year; and larger grants of over £3,000, usually no more than 5-8 per year and almost always to charities already known to the Trustees.
The Trustees favour small-scale, locally based initiatives and most grants are only for one year.
In addition, 60-70 grants of £250-£1,000 per year are made towards Children’s Summer Playschemes. Applications for these are made separately and considered in April/May each year, grants are only given to charities whose annual income is under £100,000.
Trustees review grant applications twice a year, usually in March and October. Please consult the diary page for up-to-date deadlines for receipt of applications.
Application Process
As well as registered charities we will consider funding Charity Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) and Community Interest Companies (CICs).
Trustees will only consider appeals made via our online application form and every section must be completed.
APPLICATION FORM – Please complete the information requested and give us details on what the primary objectives of your charity are and who are your target users. Any details of specific projects that have been successful or details on the successful outcomes for your users are welcome. Please note that we are looking for charities that make a difference in their communities and who stand out in the work that they do.
Participation by past or current users is welcome, and should be mentioned, as is sharing best practice and cross community work. We want to know what you do and what you are proud of in the area in which you work. We like to award grants to charities that are really making a difference and whose users are able to progress as appropriate, statistics or numbers that support that are welcome when you complete the projected outcomes. Please note that a list of other supporters or grant applications is not required.
We also request that you tell us the region in which you operate (i.e. Scotland, North East or West, Northern Ireland, Wales, Yorkshire & the Humber, East or West Midlands, East Anglia, London, South East or South West or the Channel Islands). This is in order for the trustees to try and ensure that they support applications from across the whole of the UK.
Annual Report and Accounts
Please do not send us your Annual Accounts unless they are unavailable on the Charity Commission Website.
We are interested in how much you hold as “free” or unrestricted reserves; which is that part of your funds free from any constraints as to their use. If you would like any clarification on this, please contact the administrator. Please note the trustees are unlikely to fund any organisation with more than six months running costs in their unrestricted reserves.
If your charity’s income is under £10,000, we will need to see evidence of your income and expenditure for the past year, please send this to contact@woodwardcharitabletrust.org.uk.
If your application passes the first round, we may contact you for further information.
Budget
Please provide your approved budget for the year or a set of management accounts in headline form only.
Safeguarding Policies
Please attach your child protection, safeguarding and/or vulnerable adults’ policy along with your application.
We are not accepting applications submitted via post.