Essential Information.

Can individuals apply?

We generally do not award grants to individuals unless specified in the programme.

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

Can Community Interest Companies or Social Enterprises apply?

Organisations set up as Community Interest Companies, or as a recognised Social Enterprises must demonstrate that they have clear charitable purposes and that their work has a defined social benefit.

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?

Heart of England Community Foundation will only award funding for school-based activities which are outside the scope of statutory provision. Heart of England Community Foundation will not generally make grants for purchases or activities which fall within an existing statutorily funded budget, even where that budget may be insufficient to fund the school’s ambitions.

Can faith based organisations apply?

Whilst promotion of any religion is not an activity which will receive grant funding from Heart of England Community Foundation, faith based organisations may still be funded provided that the grant benefits the wider community and is not intended to influence people’s religious choices or to promote a particular belief system.

Can national organisations apply?

Heart of England Community Foundation will not fund national organisations. Consideration will be given to local branches of national organisations who have their own bank account and management committee.

Is there a restriction on the size of income or financial reserves of applicant organisations?

For the majority of Heart of England Community Foundation’s grant programmes an organisation’s income and level of financial reserves will be taken into consideration. If your organisation is holding significant financial reserves you will need to make it clear in the application why the reserves cannot be used to cover the cost of your activity.

Are applicant organisations asked to provide references?

For the majority of our grant programmes applicant organisations must provide a referee. Referees should know the work of the applicant organisation in a professional capacity but not be directly involved.

Are applicant organisations asked to provide evidence of insurance?

Organisations do not have provide evidence of insurance for their activities at the application stage. However, if it is necessary, your organisation must maintain adequate insurance for its activities at all times, and if asked, must supply copies of insurance confirmation.

Which types of organisation cannot apply?

Grants will not normally be made to the following types of organisation or to fund the following types of activity:

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 types of activity or item a group can apply for will depend on the grant programme to which the application is submitted. Heart of England Community Foundation manages a range of grant programmes each with its own criteria and maximum grant award. The relevant guidelines can be found on the grant programme’s webpage.

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?

Full cost recovery means securing funding for all the costs involved in running a project/activity. Heart of England Community Foundation supports the principle of full cost recovery and where appropriate applicants can include management cost in their application proportionate to the activity being undertaken.

Will Heart of England Community Foundation award a grant that contributes toward a larger project involving multiple funders?

Heart of England Community Foundation will occasionally consider making a small contribution towards a larger project cost, however the majority of our programmes will view such applications as a lower priority. Please refer to individual Fund Factsheets for programme specific criteria.

Can an organisation submit applications to more than one grant programme?

In any one financial year applicants can apply to one or more of the grant programmes run by the Heart of England Community Foundation for which they are eligible. Groups are welcome to apply to more than one grant programme if they have multiple activities they need funding for, or if they need to apply for more than one aspect of a single activity. However, we discourage the submission of duplicate applications to multiple grant programmes. To apply for any grant programmes you must not have any overdue monitoring with Heart of England Community Foundation.

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?

Groups working with children or vulnerable adults must have a safeguarding policy. We may request you to send us your policy, this is part of the due diligence process and will determine if you are shortlisted or not. You can get help from your local infrastructure organisation or online sites such as the NSPCC.

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?

Groups should have an Equality and Diversity Policy. We may request you to send us your policy, this is part of the due diligence process and will determine if you are shortlisted or not. You can get help from your local infrastructure organisation or online sites such as the NSPCC.

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