Essential Information.
Can individuals apply?
Which types of organisation can apply?
Grants are awarded to organisations in the West Midlands (see Fund Factsheets for programme specific geographical details).
Your group does not have to be a registered charity but must have charitable aims together with the following:
- A management committee/board of trustees/board of directors with at least 3 unrelated people as members. Companies must have 3 directors registered with Companies House
- A written constitution/set of rules that sets out the purpose of your organisation and how it is managed
- A copy of your most recent annual accounts or financial records that show your organisation’s balance of funds, income and expenditure. If you do not have financial records that cover a full year then you will need to provide what records you have currently and/or a cashflow forecast
- A bank account in the name of the organisation with at least two unrelated signatories
- Equal Opportunities Policy, and Child Protection Policy or Vulnerable Adults Policy, if appropriate
- Quotations for capital items over £300
Can Community Interest Companies or Social Enterprises apply?
- Heart of England Community Foundation will consider supporting Community Interest Companies (CICs) and other social enterprises, where there is a sound business plan, with the start-up or expansion of charitable work, or the delivery of specific charitable activities
- The Foundation would prefer that a SE or CIC will have been registered with the appropriate Regulatory Body for twelve months prior to the date of the grant application. The Foundation would normally expect a SE or CIC to have become self-sustaining within four years from incorporation but will consider applications from those which have been established for a longer period than this, providing the application is for capacity building or a new initiative that will develop services for the ultimate benefit of the user group. Community Interest Companies and Social Enterprises will need to have:
- A board of directors with at least 3 unrelated people as members. Companies must have 3 directors registered with Companies House
- A written constitution/set of rules/governing document that sets out the purpose of your organisation and how it is managed
- A set of annual accounts or financial records that show your organisation’s balance of funds, income and expenditure. If you do not have financial records that cover a full year then you will need to provide what records you have currently and/or a cashflow forecast
- A bank account in the name of the organisation with at least two unrelated signatories
- A safeguarding policy if your organisation works directly with children or vulnerable adults
- That the salaries and benefits of any paid directors are approved by a majority of non-executive directors and are reasonable and proportionate to the work they do and the financial position of the organisation
- Have an ‘asset lock clause’ to ensure that funds or assets can only be transferred to a named organisation or cause with charitable objects aligned to the applicant
- Your CIC must be set up and registered as such with Companies House, and able to provide a registration number. A copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association must be supplied with applications
- If a CIC is limited by shares rather than guarantee the company may be eligible providing they meet other criteria which will include open share distribution from the wider community. We will not fund an organisation where the shares are limited to the Directors or people who are involved/employed with the CIC only
Can schools apply?
Can faith based organisations apply?
Can national organisations apply?
Is there a restriction on the size of income or financial reserves of applicant organisations?
Are applicant organisations asked to provide references?
Are applicant organisations asked to provide evidence of insurance?
Which types of organisation cannot apply?
- Animal welfare
- Arts projects with no community or charitable element
- Direct replacement of statutory funding
- Medical research and equipment for statutory or private healthcare
- Political groups or activities promoting political beliefs
- Religious groups seeking to influence people’s religious choices
- Sports projects with no community or charitable element
- General appeals
- Retrospective grants
- Contribution to endowment fund, payment of deficit funding or repayment of loans
- Overseas travel or expeditions
- Funding for projects taking place overseas
- Sponsored or fundraising events or groups raising funds to distribute to other causes
- Schools, Churches, Parish Councils or PTA’s unless wider community benefit is demonstrated
- Contingency or unspecified expenditure
What can be applied for?
The majority of Heart of England Community Foundation’s grant programmes support activities that benefit people who are disadvantaged. The beneficiaries may be disadvantaged due to poverty, disability, age, location or culture.
Does Heart of England Community Foundation support the principle of full cost recovery?
Will Heart of England Community Foundation award a grant that contributes toward a larger project involving multiple funders?
Can an organisation submit applications to more than one grant programme?
Organisations that have not previously had funding from Heart of England Community Foundation can only hold a maximum of two applications until satisfactory receipt of monitoring has been received.
How often can an application be submitted to any one grant programme?
If you have been successful in a grant application you can not apply to that programme for another 12 months.
What should my Safeguarding Policy include?
We look for the following in your safeguarding policy:
- Definitions of abuse and signs of abuse and reporting procedure in case of disclosure
- The name of the person responsible for child protection
- All staff, volunteers and trustees that are working directly with vulnerable adults and/or children have the appropriate checks
- It is good practice for all staff, volunteers and trustees who do not work directly with children and young people should be trained on safeguarding
- Risk assessments should be carried out to ensure children and young people in their care are safe
- A description of how abuse if different for adults (in a Vulnerable Adults Policy)
- Needs to show a date and review date (yearly)
What should my Equality and Diversity Policy include?
We look for the following in your policy:
- References Equality Act 2010
- Policy should cover age, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or having a child, disability, race, religion/belief or lack of, gender, sexual orientation, being or becoming a transsexual person
- Equal access to services
- Employment
- Preventing harassment and ensuring everyone is treated equally
- Complaints are dealt with fairly
Project Costs:
We require a detailed breakdown of costs. As well as a list of project costs we require the budget to be broken down in detail.
E.g. if you are requesting sessional salary costs we require the number of staff x the number of hours x the £’s per hour
If you are requesting capital items such as computers we need to know the cost per item
Bank Statements:
As part of our due diligence process we require your organisations bank statement from the last 3 months. The bank statement must be clear and not redacted. It must show the following:
- Name and address of the organisation
- Account balance
Our request for a bank statement falls in line with GDPR requirements. In the event that payments have been made to individuals you can redact these in line with GDPR.
Funds are limited and it is important that the funds are distributed equitably; therefore if you submit multiple applications you may not receive the outcome you wish for them all. Please only apply for the funds that are most closely aligned with the work of your organisation.
COVID-19
All projects must adhere to the most current Government guidelines in relation to COVID-19.