Process, Guidelines & Criteria

The Community Foundation for Staffordshire and Shropshire serves as a vital resource for community organisations and individuals seeking funding, awarding more than £4 million annually to support local good causes, projects and initiatives across the region.  Currently we are able to offer some form of funding to at least 75% of eligible applicants.  In order to access funding there are essential processes and guidelines that must be followed by potential applicants, covering eligibility requirements, application procedures, and post-award responsibilities to help people maximise their chances of securing funding for their projects.

Eligibility Criteria

Understanding which organisations or individuals can apply for which funding streams from the Community Foundation is the first crucial step in the application process.  We offer a broad range of support to the community, with over 40 different funds.  Some of these are funded by us directly, some by our partners, and some are funding streams that are available nationally or regionally but administered locally by us.  Each stream will have a slightly different focus, and as such the criteria may be different for each fund.  It is important to only apply to the funds to which you are eligible, as this will save you time and boost your chances of success.

Eligible Organisations

We accept applications from a diverse range of organisations, including registered charities, social enterprises, charitable incorporated organisations, constituted community groups, voluntary groups and companies with charitable aims.  For CICs and social enterprises we will only be able to consider an application if you have at least three unrelated directors.  We also offer funding streams directly to individuals, to help with their education, home life, or advancing their work or volunteering aims.

Just as there are eligible organisations, there are also some organisations that are generally not eligible to apply.  These include statutory authorities for core funding or work that they have a statutory responsibility to provide, schools for any work that is linked to a building or any part of a statutory responsibility or curriculum, hospitals, private businesses and solely commercial ventures.  There are occasions where we may be able to support these organisations, and so if that is the case we will state it explicitly on the criteria for the applicable fund.

Eligible Projects

We look at each application on its own merit, and this often involves taking a look at the project you will be running, or the thing that you want to spend funding on.  We support hundreds of projects every year, but there are some criteria about what can and cannot be funded.  Again, this will be unique to the fund in question and so do please read the criteria of a fund before applying to ensure that your project, as well as your organisation, is eligible.

What We Won’t Fund

There are several types of project that we cannot fund;

Projects that promote religion or seek to influence people’s religious choices are not eligible to apply for funding, but a religious group or organisation can apply for funding if they are not promoting religion.

Projects that promote a particular political cause or try to influence people’s political choices towards a political party are not eligible for funding.  Projects that are encouraging people to vote or take a more active role in local politics would be eligible, providing they are not focused on one political party.

Solely commercial ventures are not eligible for funding, as the primary focus is usually on profit, rather than community benefit.  We have some funds that have been developed to help people get a start in business and offer small support grants.  Where applicable, that is explicitly stated in the criteria.

Funding Programmes and Availability

We manage various programmes across Staffordshire and Shropshire, with funding amounts and priorities varying by programme.  Some are small programmes which can award as little as £100.  Some are large programmes awarding up to £100,000.

Application Windows

Application windows occur at regular intervals throughout the year.

Most of the programmes funded directly from our own funds are open year-round, so you can submit your application at any time, and it will be considered at the next available panel meeting.  We will make cut off dates for each programme clear on our website.  When we are delivering a fund in partnership with someone else, or on behalf of an external funder, there will often be an application window with clearly defined opening and closing dates.  We will usually start to promote the fund in advance of the opening date, and we will clearly state the closing date at that time.