Grant Making Trusts
Applying to Grant Making Trusts
Another way to raise money is to apply for funding from grant making trusts or foundations.
If you want to ask for grants, the first step is to find out what grant making bodies give money to organisations and projects like yours.
For example, imagine the John Scroggins Foundation only gives money to community organisations that work with children, and you need money to repair a leaky roof. In order to get a grant from them, you should show them that your church building is the centre of the community, how the church serves the community, and how having a dry building will allow you to run mums and toddlers groups, and welcome school groups etc.
Questions to ask yourself before you start:
Have you got a charity number? PCCs automatically have charitable status. If your income is less than £100,000 / year and you are not registered with the Chairty Commision, then HMRC will give you a Tax Reference number
Do you want money for a one off or ongoing support? Most grant making bodies give money for particular projects rather than doing ongoing work. Many have particular criteria which they must satisfy – you need to show them how your project fulfils their criteria.
This is a competitive market – lots of groups will be competing for the same grants! How should you write a good application?
- Find out how each trust likes to be approached, and how they want their applications to be made. Tailor each application for each trust – don’t go for a one size fits all approach.
- Be proud of what you’re trying to achieve – believe passionately in what you’re doing!
- Be honest, open and truthful
- Don’t prioritise the features of what you want to do – how many new pipes your organ needs – but what the benefits of restoring it will be – beautiful music!
- What makes your project, your church, different from all the others asking for money? Be specific, and tell people! Don’t assume they will know.
- People don’t give to organisations, they give to people. Show how your project will help real people – what difference will it make in their lives.
- Crisis fundraising raises more in the short term, but positive fundraising raises more in the long term. Besides, if you imply the church will close if you don’t get this grant, it implies you’ve not been very good at managing money up until now…
- Make sure your messages are consistent – if the grant-making body looks at your website, will they have a reinforcing message that you are raising money?
- Include a call to action – please give us X amount, please contact Y for more information.
What are trusts looking for?
These are the sort of questions a trust wants to know about your application – your answers to these questions could form the basis of a good application.
1. Can you define the problem clearly?
2. How will you make a difference? And does it work?
3. Can you show what difference will be made?
4. How long will you need before you can demonstrate an impact?
5. How do you see the problem and your approach to it fitting in with the trust’s priorities?
6. What skills will be needed for the project? Can you demonstrate that you have them? If not, how will you get them?
7. Have you supplied details of your training and past experience, if this is relevant?
8. What is innovative about the project? And how far can the innovative aspects be replicated in other situations?
9. If the project isn’t innovative, why does the application merit a grant?
10. How do you propose to evaluate and disseminate any practical experience, outcomes and lessons learned from the project?
11. Do you have a clear management structure?
12. Does the application come from or clearly have the support of the senior people in the organisation – both the senior staff and the management board?
13. Have you supplied you latest annual accounts? And do they give a picture of a well-run, effective organisation?
14. What are the major sources of income for you work at the moment, and will these continue? If not, what are you planning to do to secure you organisation’s future?
15. Is your budget realistic? Many applications undercost their projects.
16. What proportion of the total you require is being requested from the trust?
17. Where do you propose to obtain the balance? Have you already made other applications? Have any been successful? Are any pending, and when will the outcome be known?
18. What if you can’t raise the whole of the budget you have proposed? Will you be able to work on less? Will you have to adjust your plans? Will you go ahead?
19. What will happen when the trust’s grant runs out? Is there a strategy for obtaining continuing funding? Or will the project become self-sufficient or terminate at that point?
20. When do you need the funds? Most trusts have a decision process which takes several months to receive, evaluate and decide on the application. Many applicants apply far too late.
There's more advice on this at the Parish Resources website.
National Grant Making Trusts
Heritage Lottery Fund
The HLF is the main grant making trust in the UK. They have a range of grant programmes, awarding grants upwards of £3,000, and the following three are of most use to churches.
• Heritage Grants - Grants above £50,000
Heritage Grants is the main grants programme offering grants of more than £50,000 for projects that relate to the national, regional or local heritage of the UK. To receive a grant your project must help people to learn about their own and other people’s heritage, conserve the UK’s diverse heritage for present and future generations to experience and enjoy and help more people, and a wider range of people, to take an active part in and make decisions about heritage.
• Your Heritage: £3,000 to £50,000
The Your Heritage programme offers grants between £3,000 and £50,000 inclusive for projects that relate to the local, regional or national heritage of the UK. We welcome applications that help people to learn about, look after and celebrate heritage in a fun and enjoyable way. To receive a grant your project must help people to learn about their own and other people’s heritage, conserve the UK’s diverse heritage for present and future generations to experience and enjoy, and help more people, and a wider range of people, to take an active part in and make decisions about heritage.
• Repair Grants for Places of Worship: From £10,000 to £250,000
This programme is designed to help sustain and conserve heritage at risk, through urgent repairs to places of worship. The places of worship must be listed, and the project must be for urgent, high-level repair works. After the project is completed you will be required to open your place of worship for at least forty days outside of normal worship times.
English Heritage
English Heritage gives a range of grants, including the Repair Grants for Places of Worship (see above) which is mainly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and is run by English Heritage on behalf of both organisations. (English Heritage will provide funding for any grant offers to grade I and II* places of worship where the applicant says they do not want to receive funding from the lottery for moral reasons.)
You could also try applying for the Historic Buildings, Monuments and Designed Landscapes grant. Grants are available for the repair and conservation of some of England's most significant historic buildings, monuments and designed landscapes. These are mainly offered for urgent repairs or other work required within two years to prevent loss or damage to important architectural, archaeological or landscape features.
Allchurches Trust
The Allchurches Trust promotes the Christian religion, contributes to the funds of any charitable institutions or associations and carries out any charitable purposes. Grants are made out of income derived from the Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc. Grants will be considered in response to appeals in support of Churches, Church establishments, religious charities and charities preserving UK heritage.
Church and Community Fund
The Church and Community Fund supports bridge building church community projects, particularly those concerned with neighbourhood renewal, community projects with church growth at their core, and they also support replication of successful community projects that can easily be copied and rolled out elsewhere. Grants between £10,000 and £20,000 can be applied for online through the CCF website with larger grants of more than £20,000 being offered for replicating successful community engagement. The website also contains advice on how to apply online for a grant, a new set of funding guidelines that include detailed information on whether your project is eligible for funding and how to donate to the Fund.
National Churches Trust
The National Churches Trust is the only national, independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting church buildings of historic, architectural and community value across the UK. The Trust offers an annual grants programme to assist qualifying places of worship with repairs and improvements to their facilities. For 2011 they are offering two grants programmes: Repair Grants and Community Grants.
Landfill Communities Fund
The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is a Government scheme which began life in 1996 as the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme to provide funding for community or environmental projects in the vicinity of landfill sites. Companies that run landfill sites are taxed on the amount of waste of which they dispose. They can give
a percentage of this tax to community projects through the LCF and receive a 90% tax credit in return. Not-for-profit projects within 10 miles of a landfill site can apply for funding, including those which:
• Provide or improve a general public amenity
A wide range of projects might qualify under this requirement. In the past these have
included playgrounds, new or improved community or visitor centres, facilities for sports clubs, skate parks, disability access improvements, planting public gardens,
• Restoration of religious buildings or historic structures
These have included such valued public buildings and landmarks as mills, glass kilns, mausoleums, mosques, and churches throughout the country, from roofing repairs at small parish chapels to major stained glass restoration at Lincoln Cathedral.
War Memorials Trust
The War Memorials Trust works for the protection and conservation of war memorials in the UK. They provide grant schemes for the repair and conservation of war memorials.
Regional Grant Making Trusts
Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust
With the generous help from Donors and Members, the YHCT aim to help places of worship within the old boundaries of the Yorkshire Ridings with funding for repairs.
Yorkshire Forward
Yorkshire Forward is the Regional Development Agency for the Yorkshire & Humber region, and gives funding to projects regenerating cities, towns and rural communities. Their money comes from the UK government, via a ‘single pot’ into which several government departments contribute, and the EU, via the European Regional Development Fund.
One North East
One North East is the Regional Development Agency (RDA) covering North East England – including Middlesbrough. One North East runs the Third Sector Capacity Fund, which provides financial support to enable third sector organisations to engage at a strategic level in economic regeneration and associated activities which support the aims of the North East’s Regional Economic Strategy.
The York Committee
The York Committee of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation makes grants to organisations to help improve the general quality of life in York, with particular regard for those who are in any way disadvantaged. Grants typically range from £100 to £5,000.
Diocesan Funding
The Diocese is able to help your church with grants for mission, looking after parish buildings, and social care projects.
The Archbishop's Mission Fund provides seed corn funding for mission projects across a parish or deanery.
The Parish Buildings Grant is for churches (consecrated or licensed) and church halls for which the PCC is responsible for repair and maintenance.
The Social Care Fund helps projects which aim to benefit the community. These will be groups of people which are providing services, often on the basis of mutual help: they are seeking to engage with God's people in the totality of their lives - groups trying to ‘Live the Gospel’.
More information
GRANTfinder is the UK's leading grants and policy database and includes details in excess of 6,000 funding opportunities. Subscription or purchase may be needed, so it may be best to access this site through your local council Voluntary Services (or similar).
GRANTnet is a straightforward service from GRANTfinder, can help small businesses, charitable and community groups like yours to find suitable funding. Subscription or purchase may be needed, so it may be best to access this site through your local council Voluntary Services (or similar).
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising supports fundraisers, through leadership, representation, standards-setting and education.
The Directory of Social Change gives information and training for the voluntary, charity and community sectors. They offer excellent training on fundraising, and have a wide range of publictions.
The Heritage Funding Directory is a comprehensive guide to sources of financial support (and more) for anyone seeking to undertake creative projects connected with the UK’s heritage.
The Funds for Historic Buildings website is a comprehensive guide to funding for anyone seeking to repair, restore or convert for a new use any historic building in the United Kingdom (excluding the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) which is listed, scheduled or in a conservation area and of acknowledged historic merit.