Our main grants programme is incredibly competetive and we do not expect to be able to fund all organisations which apply to us. These grants are intended to be awarded to organisations who can demonstrate a strong track record and a capacity to deliver larger pieces of work. 

Please do not submit a Main Grants application form unless you have read, understood, and can confirm you have all the documentation required to show that you meet our Minimum Standards for Grantmaking. Failure to submit evidence that your organisation meets these standards may result in your application being withdrawn.

We do not expect to make many Main Grants to organisations who:

• Have not had been funded by us, or previously through another similar programme from another funder.
• Cannot demonstrate several years of successful delivery track record on other projects of a similar size.
• Have recently formed in the last 3 years.

In this programme, we also seek to prioritise local organisations who have a firm understanding of the communities with whom they work. We expect all successful applicants to be able to demonstrate that they are the best placed organisation to deliver that work, and that they have an exceptional understanding and track record of working with their target beneficiaries. If an organisation does not have a thorough understanding of the community with whom they wish to work, then it is unlikely that we will be able to fund them.

When we recieve a high number of applications in any given period, we may be required to do an additional sift of applications against our stated programme criteria. In these instances, if your application is not a strong fit for the programme, it may not be progressed to full assessment.