Below are the frequently asked questions about the grants, please click on the question to get the appropriate answer, if you can’t find the question you are looking for, please click here to contact us directly.

I’ve completed the application form. What else do I need to do to apply for a grant?

All groups need to provide us with their constitution or set of rules, an equal opportunities policy, the latest set of accounts (or income and expenditure forecasts for one year if a new group) and their safeguarding/child protection policy if you work with children or vulnerable adults. All of these documents should bear the same name as the group making the application.

We don’t know where to start! Who can help us?

You can get advice on making applications and putting together policies and procedures from your local CVS and often from the community development officers at your local authority. Please see our links page for further information.

Does our group need to have been established for a set length of time to be eligible?

No, most funders do not stipulate this.

Do you give grants to individuals?

Not currently. We have a scheme in development which will provide small grants to assist people with learning difficulties or disabilities to access recreational activities, but even these applications will need to be supported by an established organisation. As soon as this grants scheme is available, it will be announced on our website.

What can we apply for?

Our different funds can support a wide range of things – project costs, events, materials, equipment, trips and outings – but all proposed activity must show wider community benefit.

How do I apply?

Application forms can be downloaded from the website and we are planning to launch online applications later this year. If you can’t download the documents, you can call the Grants Team on 02476 884435 and they can send you a hard copy. If you have any questions, just call the Grants Administrator.

How do I know what fund to apply for?

You don’t need to worry about applying for a specific fund. Let us have the details of your proposed project and we will match it against the most appropriate fund. However if you are applying to Comic Relief  or  ESF Community Grants you will need to download the specific application form from our website.

How long will it be before we hear whether our application has been successful?

All applicants will hear a result within approximately 12 weeks.

We are committed to starting our project in a couple of weeks. What do we do if we haven’t heard back from you by then?

You must allow sufficient time to hear the outcome of your application. We can’t fund a project which has already started so please wait for the results of your application before committing to any costs, e.g. hire charges, deposits or fees.

Our project has already started but we didn’t really have enough money. Can we apply to you?

If you are planning to add a completely new element to an existing, successful project that is so distinct it could qualify as a separate project, then please give the Grants Team a call on 02476 884435.

Can I apply for different projects on separate application forms?

No – You can only have one live award with the Foundation at a time. The amount of funding we have is limited and, in order to be fair to all, we prioritise groups who have not received funding from us before.

Do you part-fund large projects?

No – the Heart of England Community Foundation would anticipate being the majority funder.

Can we email our application to you?

You can email the application to us (including all the supporting documentation), but we would need an original signature page as well.

Do we have to be a registered charity to apply for a grant?

No you don’t have to be a registered charity but you do need to be formally constituted, have written accounts (or projections if you are a new group), and have policies on equal opportunities and safeguarding children and vulnerable adults if appropriate. We fund a whole range of community and voluntary sector groups whose purposes are charitable, but who are not set up as a registered charity.

What happens after we’ve applied?

Every application is considered in a competitive process. We aim to fund high quality projects which will have big benefits on local communities. If you are given a grant, we expect you to submit monitoring information as agreed in your contract.

How long do we have to spend our grant?

Your offer letter will include the date by which all the grant money should be spent and monitoring information returned. Usually this is within 12 months.

What are the guidelines for promoting our project?

Any press releases, marketing materials or publicity you produce should mention the Heart of England Community Foundation and the fund your grant came from (as detailed in your offer letter), preferably with our logo and the funders if appropriate. We ask all groups to send copies of these with their end-of-grant monitoring reports. We also have Heart of England plaques for public display and vinyl stickers for different grant schemes which we will ask you to display.

The main contact on our application form has now left. Do we need to inform you?

We only have contact details for the person who applied for funding and often, if the group doesn’t have its own premises, this is the person’s home address. Therefore, we can’t keep in touch unless you tell us when contact details change.

During our project, we didn’t spend as much as we had budgeted and now we have an under spend. Can we just spend it on other items to benefit our group?

No. You must call the Grants Team on 02476 884435 and let us know how much you have left over and why. Usually we can be flexible about how the under spend is used, but we must agree all changes in advance.

What if we don’t return the monitoring information?

Returning monitoring information, including receipts, is a condition of grant. If you do not return the monitoring information, we will ask for the grant to be returned and your group may not be able to apply again.

Will you come and see our project?

We try informally to see as many different groups as possible, but we have a very small staff team. Formal monitoring visits are conducted on a random basis for quality purposes.

We’ve been given our grant but we’ve thought of a way to improve our project. What do we do?

Changes can be made and we try to be as flexible as possible, particularly if it helps the project. However, these changes must be agreed in advance by a member of the Grants team and you must tell us by email or in writing.