Frequently asked questions

Priority will be given to applications with a particular focus on one or more of the following, with favourability shown to projects that incorporate all three:

a. Homelessness: Preventing homelessness and supporting those who are currently homeless, or who are at risk of homelessness, including actions to prevent homelessness e.g. through the provision of financial education.

b. Vulnerability: Supporting the most vulnerable in society and those that care for them such as those in need due to youth, age, disability, financial hardship, or other disadvantage, including those who have been in care.

c. Social Mobility: Supporting the education of disadvantaged young people.

Yes, as long as the project can evidence it will be sustained beyond our initial investment without reliance on future grants. 

You can apply for a grant if your organisation is not-for-profit and you have a governing document.

Applications can be made by organisations including:

• Registered Charity
• Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) / foundation CIO
• Registered Company (limited by guarantee) / Community Interest Company
• Volunteer / community group
• Foundation school, college or academy 

The proposed project must be located in the Kent and South East.

IMPORTANT: Organisations applying for more than £10,000 must be either charity registered or company registered (and supply us with a charity or company number), or an exempt charity.

Yes, the proposed project must be located in Kent and/or the South East.

The Trustees will not normally support:

• Activities that have already taken place.
• Activities undertaken by public bodies or organisations contracted to carry out public services on their behalf.
• Applications from NHS Trusts (or NHS charities), Local Authorities, Parish Councils or similar organisations where it can be assumed that projects should be funded by other means.
• Projects with a political element.
• Religious groups whose work does not have a wide public benefit.
• Individuals.
• Any organisation that is legally able to make a profit (e.g. limited liability partnerships, limited companies, sole traders).
• General organisation or past/current project costs – your application must be for a completely new project.
• Projects that aren’t sustainable (e.g. the project would need a further grant to continue beyond our investment).
• One off events or projects with a limited time frame.
• Retrospective costs – Project/work that has already taken place.
• Any organisation that cannot demonstrate appropriate governance.
• Any project that is harmful to the environment.
• Projects that have already received funding from us.

As part of the application process, we will ask you to tell us about how your organisation is structured and how you manage finances.

The following list sets out the evidence you will need to provide or confirm you have in place, and when in the process this is required (this is not a definitive list and further documents may be required relative to the project requirements).

• Legal Structure appropriate to the size and nature of the organisation, set out in a constitution or memorandum/articles of association that clearly outlines the aims and rules governing the organisation. (at application)
• Full accounting records which are appropriate to the size and nature of your organisation. (at application)
• A recent bank statement (dated within the last three months) to confirm where the grant, if awarded, will be paid. (requested later only if grant approved) 
• If your project is making any physical change to your surroundings, we will ask to see your property deeds or lease agreement, and may ask you to complete a Project Consent Form. (at application)
• If any aspect of your project involves a change to an indoor or outdoor space, or activities will be taking place outdoors, you may need to get planning permission, which you will need to have received this before applying to us. (at application)

Yes, we will need to receive full accounting records which are appropriate to the size and nature of your organisation.

You may need to pay VAT on purchases made as part of your project and we can pay for this within the grant.

Make sure you check whether VAT needs to be included when you develop your budget.

The amount of funding you request should only include VAT where you don’t intend to, or can’t, recover the VAT at a later date.

If you later find that VAT claimed under the grant becomes recoverable, you must repay this amount to us.

Once you complete the online application, we will assess whether your project meets the values and goals of the Foundation. For those that do, we will carry out detailed due diligence on your organisation and your project, and may request further information and/or documents.

The size of grant you’ve applied for, and complexity of your project, will influence how long the decision process takes, but we will always let you know the final outcome of your application within an absolute maximum of five months of submission.

We can only accept 1 application per organisation for consideration at a time. Please let your colleagues know that you are applying to our Fund.

If your application is awarded, we will happily consider future projects for funding once your funded project is completed, all required monitoring has been received, and at least 12 months have passed since the date on your previous grant offer letter.

If your application is unsuccessful, you are welcome to reapply with a different project

Once you have submitted your application, it will be reviewed by our internal team.

There are several things our team will need to do:

• Carry out a final eligibility check to make sure you can apply for funding
• Carry out due diligence checks
• Complete internal scoring and comments
• Request subject matter expert advice when necessary
• Request further detail from you if any clarification is needed

Your application will be assessed and scored against the following criteria:

• Community need: Is there a significant need for this project in the community and evidence of good engagement with the community during planning?
• Planning: Is the project planned well with a detailed and robust budget breakdown? Have relevant permissions been considered (e.g. land ownership)? Have risks (including changing costs of materials) been anticipated and mitigated?
• Sustainability: How will the project be sustained and bring benefit beyond the investment period? How will you ensure the project will still be running in a few years’ time and won’t just rely on future investment?
• Value for money: Is the amount requested good value compared to the number of beneficiaries and overall impact of the project? Are costs expensive or inflated? Does the project seem like good value for money in comparison to similar projects?

Unfortunately, if your project is ineligible and/or is not a strong fit for our criteria, we will let you know that your application will not be progressing any further.

Once you complete the online application, we will assess whether your project meets the values and goals of the Foundation. For those that do, we will carry out detailed due diligence on your organisation and your project, and may request further information and/or documents.

The size of grant you’ve applied for, and complexity of your project, will influence how long the decision process takes, but we will always let you know the final outcome of your application within an absolute maximum of five months of submission.

Unfortunately, if your project is not successful, the decision cannot be appealed. We will provide comments and reasons why it was unsuccessful, and you are welcome to reapply with a different project. We only reject applications with good reason so if you want to reapply, please take the time to understand why your application was not successful and have a chat with us. We really wouldn’t want to disappoint you again.

For all grant sizes, you must start your project within 3 months of the award date.

For grants up to £75,000, you must complete your project within 12 months.

For applications in excess of £75,001, we allow up to 24 months for project completion.

Extensions may be given in exceptional cases, but these cannot be guaranteed.

If successful, the grant will be paid by bank transfer, and we will contact you for your bank details at that time.

No, you can’t save partially completed applications. Please ensure you have all your information ready before you start.