Apply for a UK Grant

How to start

We receive many more applications than we are able to fund and we usually only support work which fits our current priorities, so before you apply for funding, please read through all the Essential Information carefully.

Who can apply

We accept applications from the voluntary and community sector throughout the UK including: constituted voluntary and community groups, charities, social enterprises, co-operatives, faith organisations, and community interest companies.

What we fund

We make grants in the programme areas outlined. You can make only one application to one programme at a time.

Where we fund

We fund work in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - and are very keen to make sure that we reach all parts of the UK, especially areas which often miss out, such as rural communities.

What we don’t fund

There are certain types of work and organisations that we do not fund. If your proposal falls into one of these categories, please do not apply to us:

• Grants to individuals
• Medical research or hospitals
• Churches or other religious bodies where the monies will be used for religious purposes
• Work where there is statutory responsibility to provide funding
• Projects where the work has already taken place
• Statutory bodies, such as local authorities or Primary Care Trusts or organisations seeking funding to replace cuts by statutory bodies
• Profit-making organisations, except social enterprises
• We are also unable to fund minibuses

How long we fund for

We usually make grants for between one and three years.

The type of grants we give

We can give grants for running costs and capital costs.

However, we give building costs a very low priority, and only fund these in exceptional circumstances. We do not fund capital costs where they are part of a much larger appeal.

We usually make grants to cover project costs, but we recognise that you may wish to include a contribution towards your organisational costs so that it reflects the true cost of running your project. This is sometimes known as full cost recovery. We are happy for you to do this, but you will need to show us how you have worked out these additional organisational costs.

How much we give

We can pay for all or some of your project costs, but we encourage you to get some of your funding from other sources if you can. There is no minimum or maximum grant in most of our programmes, but where there are limits, these are clearly stated in the programme guidelines. Our grants on average vary between £25,000 and £40,000 per year, and rarely exceed this upper limit.

We are unlikely to make large grants to very small organisations, and we will not usually fund all the costs of an application made by charities with an annual income over £10 million. These charities will be expected to make a contribution themselves or secure other income towards the costs of the project.

If your work is regional, national or provides a model that could be widely replicated, we may be able to fund at a higher level. Please call us to discuss this before you submit an application.

Reserves

Any well-run organisation should have some money set aside, to cope with changes in funding and to be able to meet their commitments. However, where your 'free' (unrestricted or designated) reserves are significant (more than one year’s running costs), we will ask you to set out your reserves policy and to explain why you really need these funds. In these cases, we may not fund the full amount you ask for or may not fund at all if we feel you have enough money to pay for the work yourself.

The number of applications you can make

You can apply for only one application at a time. If your application is unsuccessful, we are happy to provide feedback on the reasons for this. However, you cannot reapply for the same or a different project for another 12 months.

If you currently hold a grant with us, you can apply again, for the same or a different piece of work, within the last nine months of your existing grant. We do not give automatic priority to work we have funded in the past.

The number of grants you can hold at any one time

You can usually only hold one grant at any one time. Sometimes, however, large, national organisations may hold more than one grant with us where they can demonstrate they are the only organisation able to deliver work in a specific location or the work is particularly groundbreaking. In this situation, please contact us before submitting your application.

For projects in the UK, we currently have the following programmes:

Choose a programme to continue

Robbie Williams Give it Sum fund

Funding projects in North Staffordshire

Apply for a grant

• Mental Health
• Domestic and Sexual Abuse
• Refugee and Asylum Seeking Women
• Sport for Change
• Local Communities
• Older People
  
  Please note that as we received a huge response to the first grant cycle of our Older People’s Programme, we have narrowed the criteria for applicants. Only those that have an exact fit with the programme aims and outcomes will be considered.

• Young People aged 11-25:

  • Sexually Exploited and Trafficked Young People
  • Young People and Alcohol
  • Young People with Mental Health Problems

Other Programmes

• Young Carers: This programme is managed by the Princess Royal Trust for Carers. Further information will be available soon from http://www.carers.org