Policies for Grantmaking

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This page covers all the individual policies which you will need to know in relation to our grantmaking policy and eligibility.

Our Minimum Requirements for All Grants

 

Click here to view/download our Grant Making Policy document. 

The information above is also presented in this short video:

Policy A-Z

A  B  C  E  F  G  H  I  L  M  N  O  P  R  S  T  U  V

A

  • Animal Welfare

    Whilst we can fund work involving animals, they cannot be the primary beneficiary of the work. For example, we could support work involving Equine Therapy, or Guide Dogs for people who are visually impaired; however, we could not fund an animal shelter.

    In short, people must be the main beneficiary of any work.

  • Awareness Raising

    We do not fund awareness raising or general educational work unless there are clear outcomes connected directly to the delivery. If you do apply for this type of work, we will expect to see how your target audience are clearly at risk of the issues raised, and that this work will have a measurable outcome related to this improved knowledge.

B

  • Buildings and Capital work

    We do not fund capital or building work. The exception to this is through our Small Grants programme where you are asking for at least 50% of the total cost. 
     
    For example, if you wished to purchase/install accessible playground equipment which costs £4,000, you would have to request at least £2,000 of the total cost from us. 

  • Bursaries

    We do not fund bursaries or funding for individuals. 

C

  • Charity Registration

    You do not have to be a registered charity to apply to us, and we welcome applications from all organisations who fit our eligibility criteria. 
     
    However, the Charity Commission recommends that you should register with them once your charity has an income of over £5,000 a year. If you meet this threshold, we will expect you to be working towards this.

  • Continuation Funding (2-3 Years)

    We can fund continuation funding. If you are currently funded by us, you are able to submit an application for the same work, so long as it starts after your current funded work finishes. 
     
    Please note, we will not release further grants until you have completed satisfactory monitoring and evaluation on any previous ones.

  • Continuation Funding (4+ Years)

    We will not fund the same project continuously for longer than 3 years. For an organisation to receive over 3 years of funding, they must demonstrate that the work they are applying for is a totally separate project, working with a different group of people. After a 12 month funding gap, we will consider your project again, but may wish to see how your organisation has considered the wider financial sustainability of the project.

    The definition of what constitutes 'a separate project' is entirely at the discretion of Cheshire Community Foundation.

  • Core Costs

    We can fund core costs where there is a clear contribution to the programme outcomes and Cheshire Community Foundation's charitable objectives.

  • Counselling / Therapy

    Safeguarding is key. We will not fund delivery for regulated activity where qualifications/registrations are not in place with the appropriate regulatory body (e.g. BACP, HCPC).

E

  • Events (One-Off)

    We can fund one-off events if they can evidence significant outcomes for those who participate/attend. Applications for these would usually come through our Small Grants programme.

    The maximum contribution we can make to a one-off event (such as a trip, outing, or event) is £500.

    By a 'one-off event' we mean a time-limited, short scaled activity which does not repeat. For example, a trip to a theatre, or a weekend-long festival.

  • Exclusive Provision (e.g. Single Gender/Faith/Community work)

    We expect all funded work to be inclusive, however, we understand that for religious, cultural, or practical reasons, it can sometimes be beneficial to deliver work which only engages a particular gender or faith.

    If you are applying for a project which is exclusive to only a small number of people, we will expect to clearly see:

    • There is a clear rational behind this decision.
    • Alternate provision is provided where possible and appropriate.
    • Activities are not divided based on assumptions or stereotypes about the target audience, and that their views are taken into account when planning the activity.

F

  • Fees

    We expect all funded projects to be inclusive wherever possible, and would not fund work where financial capacity is a barrier to anyone engaging. Whilst you are able to charge appropriate fees from people you work with, we would often expect to see a policy in place which outlines how you would help people to access your project if they could not afford to contribute (e.g. a fee-waive policy).

  • Food Insecurity / Food Banks

    We can fund food banks and projects which work with food poverty, as well as contributions to stock. We often look to see if projects working in this area have a longer-term outlook, and provide wraparound support which will help people lessen their reliance on this kind of support in the future.

    We also know that many people value discretion when accessing these services, and we would encourage applicants to consider this when designing their project.

G

  • Geography

    Unless specifically stated in the programme criteria, all applications must work with and/or benefit the people of Cheshire (Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester) and Warrington.
     
    We do not generally fund work in Halton, as this is part of the Liverpool City Region and a member of the Liverpool City Combined Authority.

    We also do not generally fund work in any areas which are now a part of Greater Manchester, such as Trafford or Stockport.

H

  • Holidays and Residentials

    We can fund holidays and residential activity, including trips/excursions which take place outside of Cheshire and Warrington, as long as the beneficiaries of the project live in these areas on a permanent basis.

  • Homelessness

    Whilst we can support work with people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, we are unable to fund shelter or accommodation, as this is a statutory responsibility.

  • Hospices

    We can fund hospices, often even when their income is over £3m per year. Whilst we have special rules around the size of the organisations we fund (See: Income, Turnover, and Large Organisations), we understand that Hospices are usually best placed to deliver their specialist work. As such, we are able to fund them if they can demonstrate this.

  • Hospitals

    We cannot fund hospitals or other NHS bodies.

I

  • Income, Turnover, and Large Organisations

    As a funder, we usually prioritise smaller organisations who are embedded within the
    communities with whom they work. We do not frequently fund organisations with an
    income of greater than £3 million in the most recent, complete financial year. If an
    organisation’s income does exceed this, we will seek to understand why 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.

  • Individual Children

    Whilst we can support work with a single beneficiary, it is unlikely that a project such as this can demonstrate the outcomes required when focussed on an individual. All applications must come from an organisation which meets our grantmaking principles and minimum standards.

L

  • Local Authorities and NHS bodies

    We cannot fund local authorities, hospitals or other NHS bodies.

M

  • Medical Projects

    We can only support medical projects which clearly fall out of the statutory responsibility of the NHS and other governmental organisations. If you apply for funding for a project which supports individuals’ medical needs, you will need to clearly outline how this is additional to the support provided by statutory provision.

  • Minibuses and Vehicles

    We cannot fund minibuses or motor vehicles.

  • Monitoring
    Almost all grants we award are required to report back to us at the end of the funded period by filling out an End of Grant Report Form. This will be outlined in your offer letter and the Terms and Conditions to which you agree as part of your award. If you do not submit your End of Grant Report, we will be unlikely to consider you for funding in the future until this is done so to a satisfactory standard. Similarly, whilst we will always work with you to be flexible and proportionate, if you submit a low quality report, this may significantly impact your chances of future funding until you can send us the appropriate level of information which we require.

N

  • New Organisations

    We are able to fund new organisations. In these cases, it is important to consider if your organisation has a demonstrable capacity to deliver the work, as well as the required skills and expertise. We will expect your application to clearly outline this if you do not have a relevant track record in place.

    If you do not yet have accounts in place, we will accept a financial forecast.

O

  • Organisational Eligibility

    We expect all organisations to have the following in place:

    • Not for profit clause
    • Appropriate Asset Locks and Dissolution Clauses
    • Governing Document, Accounts/Financial Plan
    • Bank Statement within 3 months
    • Bank account in your organisations name w/ 2 unrelated signatories
    • Financial accounts examined/audited in line with recommendations from the appropriate regulatory body
    • Safeguarding policies
    • 3 Unrelated trustees/directors/committee
  • Out-Of-Area Organisations

    We can consider applications from out-of-area organisations if they fit our other criteria and the work benefits residents from Cheshire and Warrington; however, we will seek to prioritise smaller organisations who are local to the area.

    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.

P

  • Partnership Work

    We are able to fund organisations which apply in partnership; however, we will expect one organisation to be the lead partner, and where appropriate we will expect to see a partnership agreement and/or memorandum of understanding which outlines the arrangement between both parties.

  • Payment of Governing Body Members

    Whilst most organisations will not pay their governing body members, we can support this if it is in line with your regulatory body requirements.

    We are able to fund payment of a governing body member for services outside their role so long as there is a written agreement between the two parties, which outlines the limits of the payment, as well as a clear conflict of interest policy in place to manage the decisions around how the payments will be made.

    If you are a Community Interest Company (CIC), this must be clearly detailed in your governing document.

    If you are a Registered Charity, the trustees must agree that the payment is in the best interests of the charity, and fewer than half of your trustees must be paid in this way.

  • Playgroups and Playschemes

    We are only able to support playgroups and playschemes with appropriate Ofsted registration.

  • Political Activity

    We are unable to support any project which lobbies, or attempts to spread or further any particular political cause.

  • Prisons

    Whilst we cannot fund prisons directly, we are able to support work which takes place in prisons.

R

  • Redistribution of Funds

    We will usually expect the applicant to be the organisation who is responsible for delivering the majority of work funded. We understand that some projects will require certain elements to be outsourced to other organisations, or that you may be working in partnership with another group who require funds to be transferred to them; however, we will still expect the lead applicant to be the organisation who is primarily responsible for delivery.

    If you are planning to pass awarded funds on to another party, we will expect to see a clear plan of how this organisation was selected to receive funds and what processes you have to ensure that proper due diligence is in place. We will also expect to see your approach to elements such as record keeping and transparency/confidentiality where appropriate. This will need to be especially clear in applications where you intend to redistribute funds to an organisation/person/family who you have not yet identified (i.e. through a bid, commission, or onward grantmaking process).

  • Religious Organisations

    We can fund religious organisations, however we are unable to support any project which proselytises or preaches a faith.

  • Reserves

    We will not usually fund organisations with more than 12 months of unrestricted reserves, unless there is a clear reason for why they are holding these. If your organisation is holding a large amount of reserves, we are likely to ask for your reasoning behind this.

  • Retrospective Funding

    We cannot fund activity which has already taken place. Any work which you apply for must take place after the date your decision is communicated, not the date your application is submitted.

S

  • Safeguarding

    We expect all organisations to demonstrate an extremely strong commitment to safeguarding Children, Young People, and Vulnerable Adults.

    Your organisation should have a safeguarding policy in its own name, which outlines your processes, responsibilities, and referral pathways. All organisations should have a named Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or similar to take responsibility for this.

    All staff and volunteers should have appropriate background checks which are refreshed on a regular basis.

    All staff, and your governing body, should also have appropriate training in place which is relevant to their role and covers your organisation's policies.

    We would also expect to see appropriate risk-assessments in place for any activities which require them.

    Finally, we would look to see a culture of safeguarding in your organisation, which is embedded in all staff and volunteers, rather than a set of policies which do not guide your work on a day-to-day basis.

  • Schools and school-time work

    We are able to fund schools and other educational establishments, but only when they can demonstrate that the funded work is additional to curricular activity, and not replacing statutory provision (including PSHE).

    Work with Children and Young People which takes place within the school day cannot be supported unless there is a clearly defined reason as to why this is in the best interests of the child, and that it would not remove them from their statutory education.  We are able to fund school time work with young people who are classed as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) who would otherwise not miss any educational provision.

    We can fund work which takes place after school or in play/break times.

  • Sports and Physical Activities

    Whilst we can fund work involving sport and physical activity, we cannot fund:

    • Activities focussed around attainment or competitive achievement. (i.e. participation in a league or tournament)
    • Sport where the primary focus is engagement with the activity itself.

     

    Any sporting or physical activities which we fund must be able to show additional outcomes. These outcomes must be in line with our priorities as a funder, and we are particularly focussed on activities which reduce the impacts of inequity or reduce them in future.

  • Statutory Overlap

    We cannot fund public bodies, local authorities, or NHS bodies. Any work funded by any organisation must be additional to the statutory responsibility of the government and local authority.

T

  • Training Costs

    We can fund training in instances where the skills gained would support the outcomes of the programme, unless specifically stated otherwise.

U

  • UK-Wide and Federated Organisations

    We can fund applications from groups who are part of a larger, wider network of organisations. In these cases, we will expect to see relevant documentation in the name of your organisation, not your parent body, and clear evidence of which policies are used in each individual situation.

    For example, we will need to see an extremely clear process and pathway for all safeguarding concerns, and in what instances you would use each policy etc. If there is any uncertainty or lack of clarity as to which policies apply and when, we will be unable to fund you.

  • Unregistered Organisations

    Whilst your organisation must be formally constituted in some way, you do not need to be registered to apply to us.

    However, we expect organisations to register in line with regulatory body recommendations.

    For example, the Charity Commission recommends that you should register with them once your charity has an income of over £5,000 a year. If you meet this threshold, we will expect you to be working towards this.

V

  • Volunteer Expenses

    Volunteer expenses can only be paid if they are reimbursing volunteers. We cannot pay volunteers a pre-determined a set amount.