Grants for charities in the UK whose work in the Foundation’s priority areas of arts, environment or social action has impact across the whole of the UK.
The Foundation supports people, society and the natural world by focusing on the arts, environment and social action as these areas can make an important contribution to wellbeing.
The minimum grant available is £10,000. There is no maximum limit an the average award is £106,000.
Most grants are for two or three years. The Foundation normally supports core funding but grants for projects are also available. Please note that demand for funds is high.
Funding is available to registered, excepted or exempt charities who are doing work that has a national footprint or a wide reach, such as working in more than one country, region or county.
For Arts funding applications, the Foundation prioritises requests for initiatives outside of the capital but may consider those based in London if the proposal would bring significant benefits elsewhere.
Organisations should have an income of between £100,000 and £10 million and be able to demonstrate:
- Effectiveness and impact: this could mean a good understanding of the needs being met and how best to tackle them; awareness of how the project adds value and relates to/complements the work of others; effective systems to monitor and review progress; a culture of learning, reflection and improvement; and being alert to opportunities to widen impact.
- Strong governance and management: a diverse and representative organisation with a well-qualified and engaged board and strong and inspiring leadership; a thorough understanding and oversight of finances across the Board and leadership team; and awareness of the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Collaborative: this could mean organisations that are well connected, understand how they fit within their world, and work well with others relevant to the work being done.
Preference is given to smaller niche national charities which shine a light on a particular concern or area of interest.
Applicants can now request new funding after submission of the Final Report. Previously, grantees had to wait for one year after their grant had ended before submitting a new application.