Introduction

Using This Guide

This guide has been prepared to provide a source of information regarding funding for Irish in Britain members.

The opening table gives a quick easy view of funds available, what activities are eligible, governance status required, and how much can be applied for. The following section gives more detailed information of each funder, their requirements and a hyperlink to their website. Simply click on the link and this will give you all the information they provide. Generally speaking, the headings can be interpreted in their broadest sense e.g. if it states elderly or health or welfare, this could range from sports to a tea dance through to care for dementia sufferers, likewise a community building would encompass any building which services are offered from, this could range from advice to a social centre.

Some funders only fund registered charities i.e. registered with the Charities Commission, others will fund most structures as long as they have a constitution, committee and bank account. Some are unclear when they state ‘charitable organisations’, this could mean a registered charity or just an organisation doing charitable work. It is worthwhile checking with them before commencing with any application.

There is a wide selection of funders, from those who provide small amounts, through to larger national organisations, some of these have no financial limit on the value of their award. It has been difficult to assess the success rate for different funders, Tudor Trust state they fund one in ten applications, others have stated one in five, Awards for all recently quoted half of applications were funded.

The single key factor for success for any funding proposal is that successful funding applications are borne out of well researched and planned activities that meet a need in the community. Whether it is a new or existing project you have to be able to demonstrate the project is needed, it is effective, it works with or complements other local activities and is good value for money. It also needs to look and be cohesive, this means it doesn’t look as if several activities are just lumped together for the sake of securing funding. E.G a proposal which includes, football, art and music does not look to have a lot in common, if however, these are linked with a theme of wellbeing for good mental and physical health they then have a common thread running through them.

Before deciding on who to apply for there are several things you could do to give you the best possible chances of success:

  • Identify your funding needs for the next three years, the activities you want to provide, resources required to help you identify your need
  • Look through the guide and identify suitable funders, read their website carefully
  • Do not automatically apply for the maximum grant, it reduces your chances, look for their average grant size
  • Read the case studies, these inform you of what they really like to fund
  • Don’t rush your application, every question is key, the most common and perhaps most critical is the need, national and local statistics are good, showing you have consulted with users and getting them involved is even more important, ensure you get a mix of the two
  • Don’t over inflate your costs, work out your budget carefully and accurately, these will be compared against other projects

The top one hundred and fifty trusts were researched when compiling this information, not all were suitable and we have referenced others outside of these.

Further Sources of Information

The Directory of Grant Making TrustsFunding CentralTrustfunding.org.ukCompany GivingGovernment Funding

There are other sources of support who may not offer funding but offer support in funding sources, these are CVS (Community Voluntary Services). They also have a different title of Voluntary Action with the name of the town city at the end e.g. Voluntary Action London. The national body for these organisations is NAVCA, theNational Association for Voluntary and Community Action, they can be contacted at:

One further opportunity we have not referenced are Clinical Commissioning Groups – CCG, they are the buying arm of the NHS. We have detailed them separately here because they are individual, independent bodies and vary widely across the country as to what they will fund, they may call it commission. Some fund walking groups, or activities to keep people active, smoking cessation, social activities to reduce isolation and loneliness etc.

Should you require further support please contact Irish in Britain

Contact details

Funder / Welfare / Sport / Elders / Heritage / Culture
Arts / Housing
Community Building / Capital / Advice
Advocacy / Core
Funds / Capacity
Building / Reg as
Charity / Value
Up to
Allen lane Foundation / √ / √ / √ / No / 15,000
Arts Council
Capital Large Grants / √ / √ / √ / No / Unstated
Arts Council
Capital Small Grants / √ / √ / √ / No / Unstated
Arts Council
Ambition for excellence / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / Unstated
Arts Council
Creative People and Places / √ / No / Unstated
Arts Council
Catalyst Evolve / √ / No / Unstated
Arts Council
Sustained Theatre Fund / √ / No / Unstated
Awards for all / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / 10,000
Andor Charitable Trust / √ / √ / √ / 10,000
Balcombe Charity Trust / √ / Yes / 160,000
Basil Samuel Charitable Trust / √ / √ / √ / Unstated / 50,000
Funder / Welfare / Sport / Elders / Heritage / Culture
Arts / Housing
Community
Building / Capital / Advice and Advocacy / Core Funds / Capacity Building / Reg as charity / Value
Charles Hayward Foundation / √ / √ / Yes / 7,000
CHK Charity
(West Midlands and National) / √ / √ / √ / √ / Yes / 25,000
City Bridge Trust
(London) / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / Yes / No Limit
Clothworkers
Foundation / √ / √ / Yes / 75,000
Coral Samuel Trust / √ / √ / No / 10,000
Clover Trust / √ / √ / Yes / 35,000
Comic Relief / √ / √ / √ / No / No Limit
Culture Ireland / √ / √ / No / Unstated
Discovery Foundation / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / 5,000
Emigrant Support Programme / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / Unstated
Esmee Fairbairn Foundation / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / 500,000
Foyle Foundation / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / Yes / 500,000
Garfield Weston / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / Yes / Up to 100,00
Over 100,000
Funder / Welfare / Sport / Elders / Heritage / Cult
Arts / Housing
Community
Building / Capital / Advice and Advocacy / Core
Funds / Capacity Building / Reg as
Charity / Value
Henry Smith
Charity / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / No limit
Heritage Lottery Fund / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / 5m
Heritage Lottery Fund
Start-up Grant / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / No
Heritage Lottery Fund Sharing Heritage / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / 3,000 – 10,000
Ireland Fund for Great Britain / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / Unstated / Unstated
Irish Youth Foundation / √ / √ / √ / Unstated / £10,000
Landfill tax credits -Entrust / √ / √ / No / 50,000
Lloyds Bank
Foundation
Invest / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / Yes / 25,000
Multi Year
Lloyds Bank Foundation Enable / √ / Yes / 15,000Over twoyears
Local Community
Foundations / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / Variable
Paul Hamlyn Foundation / √ / √ / No / 300,000
Power to Change / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / 300,000
Funder / Welfare / Sport / Elders / Heritage / Culture
Arts / Housing
Community
Building / Capital / Advice
Advocacy / Core
Funds / Capacity
Building / Reg as
Charity / Value
Reaching Communities / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / No Limit
Reaching Communities -
Buildings / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / No Limit
Small Grants Funding Strategy / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / No Limit
Sport England
Community Activation Fund / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / 50,000 – 250,000
Sport England
Get Healthy
Get Active / √ / No / 500,000
Sport England
Small Grants / √ / No / 10,000
Trusthouse
Charitable
Foundation / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / 40,000
Tudor Trust / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / No / Unlimited
WREN / √ / No / 50,000

The Allen Lane Foundation

Funds small registered charities, voluntary groups, andcharitable organisations.

Over a typical year, they make around 150 grants, to a total value of between £750,000 and £800,000.

Beneficiary Groups:

Asylum seekers and refugees

Gypsies and Travellers

LGBT communities

Migrant communities

Offenders and ex-offenders

Older people

Peopleexperiencing mental health problems

People experiencing violence or abuse

Maximum grant £15,000.

Average grant size is around £5,000-£6,000.

No deadline dates stated

"While recognising (and being willing to support) on-going, tried and tested projects, we are also particularly interested in unusual, imaginative or pioneering projects which have perhaps not yet caught the public imagination"

Arts Council

Funds individuals, community groups, registered charities and differing types of organisations.

Creative Industries Finance

Helping creative and cultural enterprises secure the finance and investment they need to grow into sustainable businesses

Funding activity / Business development, creative and cultural enterprises, sustainable businesses.

Capital: Large Grants

We are supporting organisations to be more resilient by having the right buildings and equipment to deliver their work

Funding activity / Buildings and infrastructure
Total fund / £88 million. £45 million in the first round and £43 million in the second round

Capital: Small Grants

We are supporting organisations to be more resilient by having the right buildings and equipment to deliver their work

Funding activity / Buildings and infrastructure
Total fund / £32.5 million. We have allocated£9.6 million to the first funding round, which relates to activity taking place between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017 (financial year 2016/17).

Ambition for Excellence

Ambition for excellence is a £35.2 million programme aimed at stimulating and supporting ambition, talent and excellence across the arts sector in England

Funding activity / Audio-visual,broadcast and transmission,commissioning,digital creation,exhibition,festival,original work,performance,production
Total fund / £35.2 million
Next key date / 27/10/2017

Creative People and Places fund

This fund focuses on parts of the country where involvement in the arts is significantly below the national average

Applications must come from consortia that includerepresentatives from both local community groups and arts organisations. The activity must benefit people from specific areas identified as being the least engaged with artand culture. See the guidance document for further information

Funding activity / Audio-visual, commissioning, exhibition, festival, original work, participation, performance, professional development.
Total fund / £37 million invested to date.

Catalyst: Evolve

Closed/Fund

A new £17.5 million initiative enabling organisations with a limited track record in fundraising to attract more private giving

Funding activity / Capacity building,organisational development
Total fund / £17.5 million
Next key date / 22/07/2016

Grants for the Arts

Our grant programme for individuals, art organisations and other people who use the arts in their work

We offer awards from £1,000 to £100,000 to support a wide variety of arts-related activities, from dance to visual arts, literature to theatre, music to combined arts.

Applying to Grants for the Arts

How to apply to our grant programme for individuals, art organisations and other people who use the arts in their work

Funding activity / Audio-visual,broadcast and transmission,buildings and infrastructure,capacity building,commissioning,digital creation,diversity and equality,education and learning,exhibition, festival,organisational development,original work,participation,performance,production,professional development, publishing,research and development,sector development,talent development,touring.
Grant range / £1,000 to£100,000.

Sustained Theatre Fund

To support the development of established and emerging Black and minority ethnic theatre makers and to increase the representation of Black and minority ethnic theatre makers across the wider theatre sector in England.

Funding activity:

Diversity and equality,Organisational development,Performance,Professional development,Sector development,Talent development

Total fund

A total budget of up to £2 million is available through the fund.

Grant range: between £200,000 - £500,000

Eligibility: Partnerships and consortia – to include but not limited to Black and minority ethnic theatre makers, National portfolio organisations, theatres and theatre companies, other arts organisations and professional development schemes or agencies.

Key dates

Activities must start no earlier than 1 October 2016

Funded activities must end no later than 31 December 2019

Open / Deadline / Decision
14 April 2016 / 09 June 2016 / 30 September 2016

"We invest in artand culture for a lasting return. We're looking for organisations, artists, events, initiatives and others to apply for our funding and help us achieveour mission of great art and culture for everyone".

Awards for all

Awards for All offers grants of between £300 and £10,000 for grassroots and community activity that aims to improve life for local people and neighbourhoods. It doesn’t have a deadline and you can apply at any time.

You can apply to Awards for All England if you are a community or not-for-profit group, parish or town council, health body, or school. You do not need to be a registered charity to apply.

You must have a bank account that requires at least two people to sign each cheque or withdrawal.

They will fund activities that benefit the community, including:

  • hosting an event, activity or performance;
  • purchasing new equipment or materials
  • running training courses
  • setting up a pilot project or starting up a new group
  • carrying out special repairs or conservation work
  • expenses for volunteers, pay for workers and professional fees
  • transport costs.

This is one of the most accessible funds available, with a little thought it can be applied to most new activities, or activities you are planning to expand, the last figures we had was a success rate of 50%.

They do not fund one day events unless they are tied into a longer or larger programme.

They will not fund PAYE staff but will fund sessional staff.

They do not fund rent but will fund venue hire.

This is a very accessible fund and with a little creativity will fit many activities.

Awards for all

Andor Charitable Trust
Grant for charitable organisations undertaking education, social welfare, arts or medical projects in the UK.Funding is at the discretion of the Trustees. Previous grants have been for between £1,000 and £10,000.
The Andor Charitable Trust offers grants to charitable organisations working in the UK, the scheme aims to fund a wide range of projects, including those focusing on:
Medical and ancillary services (including medical research).
Education.
Helping the disabled.
Helping the aged.
Relieving poverty.
Developing the arts.
Key Criteria
Charitable organisations based in the UK are eligible to apply.
Eligible ExpenditureCosts associated with eligible projects.

Andor Trust

Balcombe Charity Trust

Previous grants have been awarded for between £2000 and £160,000.

Grants are available for charitable organisations in the UK undertaking projects for education, the environment, health and welfare. Eligible organisations must be a UK registered charity, or a charitable organisation which is exempt from registration.

No deadlines specified

No further information available.

Balcombe Charity Trust

Basil Samuel Charitable Trust

The Basil Samuel Charitable Trust offers grants to charitable organisations active in the UK.

In particular, the scheme wishes to support projects with the following themes:

Cultural activities;
Social care;
Education;
Medical needs.
Charitable organisations operating in the UK are eligible to apply, the latest information states they award grants up to £50,000.

No minimum or maximum grant awards are specified by this funder. During the year ended 5 April 2012 the Trust made 47 grants to 44 institutions totalling £397,500 in furtherance of the charitable objects of the Trust.

Although the latest figures above are from 2012 the Charities Commission shows this trust is still active and last year made awards to the value of £782,000.

The Trust does not have a website. Further information is however available on the Charity Commission website.

The Trust’s annual accounts include a detailed list of grant awards. The application process is on-going and interested applicants may apply at any time.

Basil Samuel Charitable Trust

Charles Hayward Foundation

They wish to fund preventative and early intervention programmes being delivered locally which allow older people to stay in their own homes and remain independent, and are particularly interested in seeking out programmes which show some creativity in improving the quality of life of older people.

  • Programmes aiming to alleviate isolation and depression in older people, including informal day care or social, physical and recreational activities
  • Programmes which mainly use volunteers to give practical help, assistance and support for older people living in their own homes
  • Programmes addressing the emotional and practical needs of older carers
  • Programmes designed to meet the specific needs of people with dementia

Registered charities only are eligible, this is their small grants fund and is a rolling grant programme, applications are considered every two to three months. Value up to £7,000

Charles Hayward Foundation

CHK Charities

Registered charities only with a preference for the West Midlands and national programmes. Grants made on a one-off basis will be towards core costs or for a specific project for which applicants have requested support. This could include a contribution towards a building/refurbishment project, purchase of specialist equipment or other similar capital expenditure, or assistance with running costs.

In approved cases, the trustees will provide assistance towards start-up or capital costs and ongoing expenses. This may take the form of a one off grant or conditionally renewable grant for say three to five years following which support may be withdrawn to enable the resources to be devoted to other projects.

Up to £25,000 from their one off grants programme.

Preference is given to National or West Midlands charities. The trustees use the following programme areas to classify their grants:-

  • Artistic Causes
  • Crime prevention
  • Disabled/Handicapped Treatment and Care
  • Drug Prevention and Treatment
  • Education
  • Employment and Job Creation
  • General Welfare and Social Problems
  • Homeless/Housing
  • Miscellaneous
  • Population Control
  • Youth care

CHK Charities

City Bridge Trust

London Only

Registered Charities only, there is no minimum or maximum revenue grant. A grant from the Trust cannot amount to more than 50% of an organisation's turnover/income in any one year. Applications over £5,000 need to be accompanied by a detailed proposal it is the Trust’s usual practice to award salary costs at a level of no more than one full-time equivalent post. Capital grants for access improvements will be for a maximum amount of £100,000.