Application FAQs
We hope these frequently asked questions answer any queries you may have.
What are your funding priorities?
We fund projects and organisations operating in the UK and that are focused on skills and training in particular in the creative industries.
What does the inaugural funding round aim to do?
Build capacity and resources for technical and vocational skills development in creative industries, especially within historically underfunded communities
Explore the role that skills development, and creative people, makers and designers can play in addressing issues of social justice.
Create the infrastructure for a more equitable creative industry sector.
Amount available
There is £500,000 available for our inaugural grant funding round. This means that Trustees will make a maximum of 10 grants. There will be another, larger, funding round later in the year.
Do you fund salaries?
We don’t fund the salaries of specific posts e.g. your Operations Manager. This is for the simple reason that if we are not able to renew our support, we don’t want to put a member of your staff at risk.
We do make grants for operating/core costs which can be put towards your general running costs. We understand that your staff are vital in delivering your work and so you can use part of an operating/core cost grant towards your organisation’s overall salary bill.
What are operating/core costs?
These grants are made towards the general costs of running your organisation. This means they can be used to help pay overheads (such as, bills or rent) and towards your overall salary bill (just not for a specific position).
We don’t use the term ‘unrestricted’ as our operating/core cost grants can’t be put towards endowments or building up your organisation’s reserves. They are to help your organisation deliver its vital work. They are sometimes referred to as ‘revenue grants’ by other funders.
Can I apply for a capital grant?
We do not offer capital funding for bricks and mortar projects. However, Trustees may consider applications for tools and equipment.
How much can we apply for?
For this funding round, applications are invited for grants between £30,000 - £50,000. We support a broad range of organisations and causes and our Trustees don’t take a ‘one size fits all’ approach, but instead take a broad range of factors into account when assessing applications. Every application is assessed on its own merit but there are some common themes that you may find useful when determining how much it is realistic to apply for:
Operating/core cost grants
We are not able to fund all your operating costs and the size of grant will vary depending on the size of your organisation.
We would note fund the salary of a named job role.
Project/specific activity grants
We would not fund the salary of a named job role. Please check our Application Guidelines for greater detail on what we look for in applications.
We are an education institution - can we apply for operating/core costs?
By ‘education institutions’ we mean schools, colleges, universities and conservatoires.
We consider applications for specific projects outside an institution’s formal education activity e.g. widening the participation of technical and vocational training in areas of high deprivation.
If you are applying from a university, we require a covering letter from your Pro/Vice Chancellor confirming that the work presented to us is the institution’s current priority. We are only able to consider one application at any one time from an organisation so are unable to accept multiple applications from various faculties/schools within universities. This is why we require confirmation from your Pro/Vice Chancellor that they endorse the current application that is submitted to us.
My organisation is new and doesn't yet have a set of audited accounts. Are we eligible to apply?
We are only able to support organisations that have at least one year’s worth of annual accounts as a registered charity. This means that to be eligible to apply, you will need to submit one of the following:
Your annual accounts, independently audited or examined
A copy of your Charity Commission annual return
If you don’t yet have accounts, please don’t apply until you do as your finances are an important part of our decision making.
My organisation's annual income is less than £5,000 and so we aren't able to register as a charity. Are we eligible to apply to the Foundation?
We can only accept applications from Registered Charities, CIOs and a small number of other organisations which are exempt under Charity Commission guidelines.
We find that most small community organisations with an annual income under £5,000 are very successful at raising funds from their local community. You may wish to talk to your local Community Foundation for advice on where else to seek support.
My organisation is in Northern Ireland and is currently not a registered charity but has applied to be called forward for registration with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Are we able to apply to the Foundation?
Unfortunately we are only able to consider applications from organisations that are registered charities (or that have exempt or excepted status in England) with the Charity Commission for England & Wales, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland or the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). We are sympathetic to organisations such as yours which are waiting to be called forward for registration with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, however unfortunately until you have a registered charity number, we are unable to accept a funding application from you.
We are a Community Benefit Society and therefore exempt from registration with the Charity Commission. Are we eligible to apply?
We value the positive impact that Community Benefit Societies (CBS) have in their local communities. We understand that whilst your CBS may be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the FCA is not a ‘principal regulator’ as described by the Charity Commission.
The Charity Commission’s guidance on exempt charities explains that a principal regulator:
Must promote charity trustees’ compliance with charity law
Checks charity law compliance
Can ask the Commission to open a statutory inquiry into an exempt charity
Works with the Commission to make sure exempt charities are accountable to the public
Receives any reports of matters of material significance made by the auditor of an exempt charity
The Charity Commission has Memorandum of Understandings in place with other regulators in the sector, but does not have one in place presently with the FCA. We are therefore unable to accept applications from CBSs.
Our application is urgent. What can we do?
We review applications in funding rounds. We will get an outcome to you within a maximum of four months from the application deadline. If you need funding earlier than that then we are not the right funder for you.
What do you mean by an 'income plan'?
In simple terms, tell us what your organisation is doing to fund what you are applying to us for – which could be your organisation’s operating/core costs or a specific project.
For example, tell us:
Which other trusts and foundations you are applying to
How you raise funds from the local community (where relevant)
How you plan to generate earned income (where relevant) e.g. room hire, ticket sales, services etc
Whether you are planning to use any of your financial reserves
Whether you receive any contract income for delivering your services
Check our Application Guidelines to see an example of what an income plan might look like in your application.
You ask for audited annual accounts but our charity's annual income means that we don't have to produce audited accounts. What shall we send you?
Charities with an income under £25,000 have to submit an annual return to the Charity Commission that reports their income and expenditure for their last financial year.
Please therefore send us a copy of you latest Charity Commission annual return.
I've been asked to submit further information about my application. How do I do this?
If you applied online, we’ll send an email to the email address linked to your online account. This will outline what we need and a link will be in the email indicating where you can upload this information.
Please put the information in one Word document or PDF so that you can upload it easily to the online application form.
I want to access my online account but have forgotten/lost my password. Help!
Once you have used your email address to log in to the online portal it will send you a secure login link. You can use this to access your application form.
My application has been declined. Can I get some feedback?
Due to the high number of applications we receive and the size of our grants team, we prioritise reviewing applications and are not able to give feedback on individual applications. We work hard to make sure our guidance and website are as clear as possible. We include all the information we need to see in your application, in order to make a decision.
Common reasons for applications being unsuccessful include:
Applying for work which is being delivered by similar organisations in the same area as you
Financial information is missing such as your income plan and/or anticipated income and expenditure. Please read our guidelines carefully
Unclear applications that don’t explain what your organisation does, why its work is needed and the difference you are making
Large cash reserves or relatively high cost work was not explained
I've been asked to re-submit my organisation's bank details as there was something wrong with them. What do you need?
If we don’t have the right bank details for your organisation, we can’t make your grant payment! If you are asked to re-submit your bank details via your online account please note the following:
The account name should be the name on your organisation’s bank account, not the bank name or bank account type
Please only use numbers for the Sort Code and no other characters. You don’t need to use spaces or hyphens
The date of authorisation on your organisation’s bank statement should be within the last three months. This is the date the bank details have been authorised, not when your designated authoriser was given permission to authorise your bank details
The bank statement should clearly show the account name, account number, sort code and date of issue