What Can You Apply For?

• Start up costs for new organisations or new project

• Pilot Projects (a project that is going to research and gather evidence)

• Continuation costs after a pilot; the Foundation may fund an additional 12 months following a pilot project where evidence is given that the pilot was successful

• The purchase of equipment and resources

• Leverage; where a grant from the Foundation would release significant funding from other sources

• Conservation projects; we will fund the aspects of conservation based projects where the funding will directly cover volunteer training, community development, education

• ‘Total Cost Recovery’ - Groups can apply for funding to cover any core costs that are legitimately related to the wider project

• Extension and development of existing projects

We cannot fund:

• Ongoing core costs not related to a particular service or activity.

• Goods or services that should be provided by a statutory body, such as equipment for a school or hospital.

• The purchase of equipment that will become the property of a statutory body. This includes school playground equipment and refurbishment, and the purchase of equipment for hospitals

• Animal Welfare

• Projects involving political or campaigning activities

• Projects promoting religious beliefs

• Medical research or treatment

• Deficit funding or the repayment of Loans

• Unspecified expenditure. We will only fund specific items within the budget on the application. We will not fund general appeals or make contributions to a group’s reserves or endowment funds.

• We do not fund specific fundraising events. However, groups may provide an opportunity for people to make a donation to the group’s charitable aims at a funded event.

• We will not make grants to be distributed to other groups or passed onto individuals.

IMPORTANT: Give yourself enough time!  We will not pay for anything that has already been bought or committed to, except where the paying of deposits is necessary (at the discretion of the Grants Team).  
 

What happens after I submit my application?

The Community Foundation Grants Team will assess your application and write a report.  This report is then circulated to the members of the Grants Committee, which is made up of a dozen Community Representatives from a wide variety of organisations, representing a wide and diverse range of communities and interest groups. The Committee reviews all applications in each round and scores them, based on set criteria.  Those applications receiving the highest scores in a round are prioritised for funding.  
 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Are there deadlines?

Small Grants programme deadline is the last working Friday of each month. 

Community Grants programme has five deadlines per year, click to see dates
 

How long do I have to wait for a decision?

For our Small Grants programme we aim to let you know within in two weeks of the deadline and for the community grants programme we aim to let you know  within 5 weeks of the deadline.
 

Can I have two applications in at the same time?

No
 

Can I apply more than once in a year? 

Yes

Can I talk to you about my application before I submit it?  

Yes we positively welcome this

What is an Extraordinary Grant?

We sometimes have the ability to fund projects that do not fit within our ordinary grant schemes, either because they require a larger amount than the normal maximum or because they arise with urgent need that cannot wait until the next deadline.  We will only accept applications for Extraordinary Grants if we agree that the circumstances justify it, if we can identify potential funds available to make the grant should it be successful and if you have been given permission by our Grants Team to submit it.

If you have any questions or queries regarding making an application, please contact us on 01908 690 276 or email us at applications@mkcommunityfoundation.co.uk.