General Application Guidelines
Thank you for your interest in applying for funding from The Woodward Charitable Trust (WCT). Please take the time to read these guidelines to avoid submitting an application that is unlikely to be successful. We know that preparing applications can be time consuming and we always receive more applications than we can fund.
Please note that we updated our guidelines in May 2025 and applicants should refer to the information below to check that they are still eligible to apply.
All proposals must be submitted through our online application process, which you can access at the link under ‘Application Process’ below when there is a grant round open. The link to apply is not available when the grant round is closed.
For any additional information on the opening and closing dates for this grant round please refer to our Diary page.
The general grant round is currently closed. The next general grant round is expected to open later in 2026. The dates will be published here once confirmed.
Funding Priorities
In a change to our previous guidelines, WCT now only provides grants to organisations supporting disadvantaged families with young children up to age 11, and organisations that work directly with children of the same age group (0-11 years).
Grants of up to £10,000 per year for core costs are available for organisations with an annual income of up to £200,000, for a maximum of three consecutive years. The Trustees will also continue to provide one off grants. An organisation may receive funds for a maximum of three years in any five-year period.
WCT will prioritise funding organisations who are working in one or more of the following areas:
- Parenting / caregiving support
- Educational programmes for children both in and out of school, such as those that aim to boost attainment, attendance or emotional wellbeing
- Programmes and activities that benefit children’s wellbeing and development
- Pre-natal and post-natal support services
If your organisation works outside of these priority areas, it is unlikely that your application will be successful.
Whilst we understand that other individuals and groups may need support in these areas, WCT is focused on funding work that supports families with young children and children up to 11 years of age. Families may also have older children, and organisations may support other age groups, so long as at least 75% of your organisation’s work falls within these areas.
WCT will prioritise applications from organisations that:
- Evidence strong positive outcomes for the people they support and/or a strong evidenced need for new areas of work
- Promote community engagement and cohesion
- Promote skills development
- Promote volunteering opportunities and/or opportunities for the people they support to have a voice
- Work collaboratively to share learning and best practice
Please ensure your application demonstrates how your organisation’s work aligns with WCT’s guidelines. All proposals must be submitted through our online application process.
The Trustees at their discretion may grant funds to other organisations, who are usually known to the Trustees and the Trustees do not accept applications of this type. These organisations may further another charitable purpose under the law of England and Wales.
Eligibility
WCT receives more applications than we can fund, so please ensure your application meets all the following eligibility criteria. If it does not, the application will have to be rejected automatically:
Focus: Your organisation is working to support disadvantaged families with young children up to age 11 or working directly with children of the same age group (0-11 years). At least 75% of your organisation’s work must align with this focus.
Status: Your organisation is a registered UK charity, Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), Community Interest Company (CIC) or an exempt charity. WCT does not fund other types of organisations, unregistered groups or individuals.
Income: Your organisation’s income was up to £200,000 for the last financial year (unless there was an exceptional reason why it exceeded this amount, in which case you will need to provide details of this).
Request: You are making a grant request of up to £10,000 per year towards core costs. The Trustees welcome grant requests for one, two or three years.
Free Reserves: Your organisation’s unrestricted reserves did not exceed 50% of income in the last financial year (unless there was an exceptional reason why they exceeded this amount, in which case you will need to provide details of this).
WCT will only fund organisations for a maximum of three consecutive years, or for three years in a five-year period, before a two-year break will apply. This includes any core cost grants prior to April 2025, but not our Summer Play Schemes grant programme which is considered separately.
WCT does not fund unsolicited applications from:
- Charities registered or only working outside of the UK
- Individuals in any capacity
- Charities applying for capital and construction projects
Please refer to the FAQs for additional clarification on any of the above.
Application Form
Please use the application form as an opportunity to tell us more about the most significant aspects of your work. This should include details of your organisation’s primary objectives and who your primary audiences are. We want to know what you do, what difference you make and what you are most proud of in the area in which you work.
As WCT receives more applications than we can fund, it is important that you include details of how your organisation’s activities contribute to positive outcomes for the people you support. Please tell us more about past activities that have been successful in achieving these outcomes, and how you know this has been the case. We want to support organisations that make a real difference to the people they work with and in their communities.
Where possible, please include data or statistics that demonstrate how you know you are making a positive difference to the people you support. Applications that don’t demonstrate an understanding of how positive outcomes can be reached, are unlikely to be successful.
We are interested to know how your work creates opportunities for participation, so please tell us about the ways in which you ensure the voices of the people you support are heard, as well as how you share best practice amongst your networks and work collaboratively where possible.
We would also like to hear about current and future activities that are relevant to the Trust’s focus and about which you are excited.
Trustees aim to support communities across the UK, so the application form will ask you to specify the region in which you operate (i.e. Scotland, North East or West, Northern Ireland, Wales, Yorkshire & the Humber, East or West Midlands, East, London, South East or South West or the Channel Islands).
Budget
Please provide us with a topline breakdown of your anticipated income and your proposed charitable and non-charitable expenditure for the year.
Supporting Documents
Annual Accounts
Please upload your organisation’s most recent Annual Report & Accounts. These can either be the most recently published accounts, or draft accounts for a more recent financial year, if these are available.
If you are applying on behalf of a Community Interest Company, please ensure you upload a copy of the accounts that shows income and expenditure, not just the Balance Sheet. Please ensure the figures you have entered into the application form correspond to the information in your latest accounts.
Management Budget
If you are applying on behalf of a newly registered organisation that hasn’t yet filed a year of annual accounts, please upload a management budget for the current financial year, which outlines your anticipated income and expenditure in more detail. This can be in whatever format you use within your organisation.
If you do not file your accounts, we will still need to see evidence of your income and expenditure for the past year. Please upload a management budget for the previous financial year, which outlines your spent income and expenditure in more detail.
Safeguarding Policy
The Trust requires organisations to submit a relevant safeguarding policy in order to be considered for funding.
For further information, please see our FAQs page.
Application Process
Trustees will only consider applications made via the online application form. If you would like to keep a copy of the form, please fill in the Word template linked at the top of the application form page in advance of submitting your application online, as you will not receive a copy of your submission once you press submit.
The 2025 general grant round closed at 12 noon on Thursday 31st July. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. The 2026 general grant round is expected to open later in the year.
If we can provide support to make the online application process more accessible, please call or email us.
Trustees review grant applications once a year, usually in October or November depending on the volume received. Please consult the diary page for up-to-date deadlines for receipt of applications.
Types of grants
The Trustees make two types of grants:
Application grants – Up to £10,000 per year for a maximum of three years, or for three years in a five-year period, before a two-year break will apply.
The Trustees prioritise small-scale, locally based initiatives. Trustees review grant applications once a year, usually in October or November depending on the volume received. Please consult the diary page for up-to-date deadlines for receipt of applications.
Additional grants – At the Trustees’ discretion, they will make a few grants to organisations outside of the new focus area. These are usually to charities already known to the Trustees and applications are not accepted for these grants.
Children’s Summer Playschemes
In addition to the general grants programme, one off grants of c.£500-£2,000 per year are made to organisations who run playschemes for children during the summer holidays. Applications for these are made separately and considered in May each year, with grants only given to organisations whose annual income is under £100,000. For more information, please see our Children’s Summer Playscheme Guidelines. Organisations may apply for a Summer Playscheme grant in addition to a core cost grant.