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.
There is a single form designed to be easily completed even if an organization has little or no experience of applying for a grant. This needs to be sent to the Trust office (ideally by email as well as by hard copy) along with supporting documents, such as accounts, constitution, protection policies, etc.) We are always pleased to answer your queries before you complete the form and to give advice on the application procedure. Giving us a call to discuss an application could save you a lot of time and effort.
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 guideline and eligibility criteria on this website 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 generally a two stage process for main grant applications for sums over £7,500. Most funding requests will require a Stage One application. There is no set format for this – but we do prefer you to limit your application to no more than two sides of A4 and in no less than 11pt font. Our downloads section sets out the information that we will need in the stage one application.
Groups applying for capital only grants of more than £7,500 but less than £12,000 need not complete a stage 1 submission if they would prefer not to do so, but may apply for funding on a Stage Two application.
Applications are 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. The stage 2 form can be downloaded from our downloads section.
We are always pleased to answer your queries before you complete the form and to give advice on the application procedure. Giving us a call to discuss an application could save you a lot of time and effort and help improve your chances of making a successful application.
When you complete the form please make sure you have read our grant guideline, checked eligibility criteria, and also any notes accompanying the form as these will certainly save you time.
Grants will normally be made for a maximum period of three years. It is unlikely that funding will be provided after this period.
Projects involving schools in the Trust area
If your organisation is seeking funding for a project involving schools within the Hillingdon Community Trust area, please note that we will require you to submit evidence of support for the project from the schools concerned. We normally request this at Stage 2.
Core Funding
The Trust reviewed its policy on core funding following feedback from groups and the evaluation of the Trust’s work carried out in 2008. This policy is set out in detail in our grant guidelines. You should familiarise yourself with these before completing the Trust application forms. The Trust will generally accept that a grant application should aim to allow an organisation to meet all reasonable overheads relating to a project (eg a proportion on rent, salary, management costs, etc). In addition in certain circumstances (detailed in the guidelines), the Trust will consider applications for either :
- Development funding
- Strategic funding
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. |
