The Application Process
The Community Foundation has established a clear, structured process for funding applications that helps ensure fairness and thoroughness in our evaluation of funding requests.
Taking you through it step-by-step
The application journey for an applicant begins with determining eligibility and concludes with reporting on the funded project’s outcomes. You can determine your eligibility from the criteria that we publish for our funding streams on our website, social media, or you can call us to discuss opportunities. There is also a link to the criteria for a fund on the application form. Applicants should ensure they meet the minimum eligibility requirements for a fund before making an application.
Once eligibility has been determined you can start your application. Applications are usually made through our funding portal, and you will need to create an account. By creating an account it will help to streamline the funding application process in the future, as when you log in our portal will show you available funding opportunities to which you are likely to be eligible. It will also allow you to easily submit your project monitoring. If you are unable to access the funding portal, we have other options available:
- By email: We still have application forms available that can be completed by email, or on paper, but it should be remembered that the processing time for these is often longer than an online application due to their nature.
- In person: We can meet with you at our offices or at one of our drop in locations to discuss your project and complete an application form for you, based on what you tell us.
- By telephone: We can talk to you over the phone and take the relevant details and then send a completed version to you for signature.
- By video: We are now trialling video applications with some of our funds. Please contact us to see if this service is available for the fund you’d like to apply to.
- By Relay UK: If you are deaf or hard of hearing you can use the Relay UK service. You can find more information here. If you are already signed up to Relay UK you can call us on 18001 01785 339540.
- By BSL: You can email us and we can arrange a BSL video call.
If you think you will have trouble submitting an application please call us and we can have a chat through the options to try to find one that works for you.
Each fund or programme may have a slightly different application form, as we may need to ask different questions depending on the focus of the fund. We have signed up to the Institute for Voluntary Action Research’s Open and Trusting Grant-making programme and only ask questions that are appropriate for the fund.
When an application is received it is reviewed by the Programmes Officer dealing with that specific fund. They will check your application to ensure it meets all the criteria and that you have provided everything that you need to by way of supporting documents. If your organisation and project is eligible then it will be listed for consideration at the next available panel meeting.
We often utilise a local decision-making panel, but each fund will have a slightly different panel make-up. Local panels are made up of representatives of the Community Foundation, people local to the area the fund is targeting, and will often also have representatives from a specialist focus, such as an employment adviser if the fund is targeting employment related activities, and so on. This is because we want to ensure that a panel has the knowledge they need to make appropriate decisions, and so we appoint people to that panel that work in a particular field, or live or work in a particular area.
Once a panel has met and determined which applications can be funded we will notify you of the outcome. This notification is usually made within a couple of days of the panel. You will be notified whether you have been successful or not. We know how important funding is for local charities and community groups, and we don’t want to create any unnecessary delays in you being able to start your project.
If your application has been approved for funding, we will make you a funding offer. At this stage it should not be considered a grant or approved. If you are able to meet the terms and conditions of the offer, which will include details of the project that you are hoping to run, what you can spend the funds on, (based on your application), who is responsible for the project, the dates that it will run, your agreement to provide monitoring and your consent to use your project for marketing purposes, you should sign the funding offer document. This can be done online, by computer, phone or tablet, and will speed up the award process.
Once we have received a signed funding offer we will make arrangements to transfer your funding. This payment will usually be made electronically into the bank account specified at time of application. For most funding streams supporting individuals we will not make any direct financial award, but may provide vouchers or gift cards, or arrange the direct purchase of goods or services on your behalf. Payments are usually made at the end of the month in which we receive your signed agreement, meaning that, if successful, you will never be waiting more than 28 days to receive the funding.
About the Application Form
Our application forms are broken down into several key sections, each dealing with a specific topic. The first is usually about your organisation and your contact details, including social media links.
The second section expands on your organisation and will ask about the make-up of your organisation, its governance structures, background, and overall aims and objectives.
The next section will usually focus on your project, asking for details of the project itself, its name, timescales for delivery, what you are trying to do, why you want to run the project, what you hope to achieve, how you will improve people’s lives as a result, and how you will sustain your project when any funding we can offer has ended.
Then we will ask about the people that you hope will benefit from your project, who they are, which area they are from and whether they have any characteristics that you are aiming to target.
We will then ask about your project budget, how much funding you need to run the project, whether you’ve raised any already, how much you are applying to us for, and what you will spend it on.
All application forms feature the ability to upload supporting documents. If for any reason you are unable to upload them, you can email them to us or send a picture of each page of the relevant document by WhatsApp. We need these documents before we can consider an application for funding and they must be submitted before the closing date for applications. The documents required for each fund will differ, but usually include a governing document, a set of your most recent accounts or income and expenditure breakdown, a copy of your insurance certificate if you are working with members of the public, a copy of your safeguarding policy, and a copy of a recent bank statement. This statement should be less than three months old, be in the name of the organisation making the application and clearly show the account number and sort code. If you are successful in receiving funding payment will be made to this account.
When you have uploaded these documents they will stay on the fundseeker portal in your account. This means that you won’t need to upload them again in the future if you apply for other funding, unless any of the details have changed or they are out of date.
When you are completing your application form you can save the progress as you go, so you don’t need to complete it all in one go. When you have completed your form the portal will give you the opportunity to go back and review it and make any changes you would like to.
When you are happy with your application you can submit it using the portal. If you wish to make changes after you have submitted it, providing the closing date for applications has not passed, you can give us a call and we will look at whether we can edit it for you.