Funding news: Care for the Elderly
The Woodroffe Benton Foundation's Small Grants programme is the focus of this month's funding news. The programme is offering grants for projects improving the quality of life and social engagement for older people in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
What size grants do they give?
Applicants to Woodroffe Benton Foundation's Small Grants programme can receive one-off grants in the range £500 to £2,500. They do provide larger grants, which can be spread over several years, but these are made proactively and they do not accept unsolicited applications to this programme.
When are applications considered?
Applications are only considered at the Trustees' meetings in May, July and October. The deadline for applications is normally six weeks prior to the meeting and applications that are received after the deadline are automatically held over for consideration at the subsequent one. The deadline for this round is 31st March 2024.
Who is eligible for a grant?
Charitable organisations based in the UK that are registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland are eligible to apply for a grant. The Trustees will generally only fund organisations which have at least one full set of Accounts following charity registration. The Trustees prefer to support smaller charities since modest donations are capable of providing potentially greater benefit in such cases. Consequently, it is unlikely that organisations with an annual income in excess of £750,000 will be provided with a grant under the small grants programme. As stated above, the trustees will only support bodies affiliated to a national organisation provided it has a separate charity number and receives no direct financial support. The trustees do not make grants to charities outside the UK.
What do they fund?
The Trustees prefer to contribute to core operating costs from their Small Grants programme rather than to a specific project where the funding will be legally “restricted” or to capital expenditure - applications in these latter categories are, however, not excluded.
How to apply?
All applications to the Small Grants programme must be submitted using the electronic application form which can be accessed from the foundation's website. They do not require any additional supporting documents. They generally will not accept applications submitted in hard-copy or by email. The Trustees are unlikely to approve grants to applications with incomplete or inconsistent financial information.
Successful applicants will be contacted by the foundation.