Our funding programme has two elements - small and main grants . They operate in a similar way but there are important differences. For both programmes, we have designed our application procedures to be as simple as possible for all grant applications but at the same time to give the Trust all the information we need to assess the application fairly and to ensure that it meets our criteria as closely as possible.
Small Grants Programme
£150,000 (15%) of the Trust's funds is set aside for this programme which offers grants of between £100 and £7,500. The Trust increased the upper limit for small grants for the financial year 2007/8. It will be monitoring the impact of this increase on the number of grant applications and the impact of the projects funded on the Trust’s area. The increase in the upper limit is aimed at encouraging more ambitious small projects from local groups, but it is important to stress that the Trust will still expect the majority of small grant applications to be below the maximum figure.
Although the Trust does not normally award grants for core funding, it will consider applications from small organisations for small amounts of core funding (up to £5,000 per annum). There is a single form designed to be easily completed even if an organization has little or no experience of applying for a grant. The small grants application form can be downloaded from our downloads section.
When you complete the form please make sure you have read our grant guidelines and also any notes accompanying the form as these will certainly save you time. Please also feel free to ring the Hillingdon Community Trust office with any queries.
Funding for Residents’ and Tenants’ Association
Residents’ and Tenants Associations may apply for up to £500 for specific activities provided these will benefit the community as a whole, for example distribution of a newsletter to local residents, whether they are members of the association or not. The benefit derived from the grant must be for the wider community (not just the members of the association).
Associations applying for funding will need to provide the Trust with
- a copy of their constitution
- copies of their three most recent bank statements
- copies of the minutes of their three most recent committee meetings
- a budget for the year, giving a breakdown of the items on which the grant will be spent
Residents’ Associations may apply for larger amounts of funding for specific projects through either the main grant or small grants process, for example for play area equipment or similar facilities of benefit to the community.
Main Grants Programme (Grants of over £7,500)
There is a two stage process for main grant applications. Initially, applicants complete a short Stage One form. This is considered by the Main Grants Sub Committee and the Board of Trustees, who shortlist applicants with a reasonable chance of being funded to complete and submit a Stage Two application for a main grant which will call for much more detail about the project including detailed costings. These forms are downloadable from our downloads section. When you complete the form please make sure you have read our grant guidelines and also any notes accompanying the form as these will certainly save you time. Please also feel free to ring the Hillingdon Community Trust office with any queries.
Grants will normally be made for a maximum period of three years. It is unlikely that funding will be provided after this period.
In general, the Trust is not in a position to provide core funding – that is permanent funding to meet overheads. If it did provide such funding then effectively future years' allocations would be committed in advance and the ability to fund new projects would be limited. However, the Trust will consider applications from small organisations for small amounts of core funding (up to £5,000 per annum).
Organisations applying for grants other than for one-off items of expenditure must demonstrate the sustainability of the project and their exit strategy.
What happens next
Once we receive your application, if there are any queries we will let you know. We may arrange a visit to talk about the project. The application will be considered by our small or main grants sub-committee and they will make a recommendation to the board of trustees who will make the decision on whether the Trust can fund the project and any special conditions relating to our grant award. You will be contacted by the Trust office by letter or email with the decision.
If you are successful we will ask you to sign our grant terms and conditions. Funds are not released until we have received your signed grant terms and you have completed a payment request form (provided by us when you are ready to start to use your grant). In some cases we make grant payments in instalments, and we will discuss this with you when we make our first payment. |
