SMALL GRANT PROGRAMME - update at 28th February 2025
Our Small Grant funding round is open from 1st to 31st March 2025. The focus of our March 2025 Small Grant funding round is on projects that allow young people, aged 18-25, to engage with the natural environment in order to increase employability skills and/or to increase physical health or wellbeing with particular preference given to those who are precluded from engaging with the natural environment due to disability, disadvantage or location. Applications that do not fall within this focus will be rejected.
All applications for Small Grant funding must be submitted using the online application form which is accessible from our website from 1st to 31st March 2025.
Applications submitted in our March 2025 Small Grant funding round will be considered at our Trustees’ meeting on 23rd April 2025. Successful applicants will be contacted within two weeks of the meeting. As a small organisation with limited administrative resources, we do not routinely contact unsuccessful applicants.
In accordance with the Foundation’s objects, funded projects must be made available to all potential users or beneficiaries, regardless of race or religious denomination, and actions taken wherever possible to promote inclusivity. By submitting an application to our Small Grant programme you are considered to have accepted this condition should you be successful in receiving a grant.
If you have any queries regarding an application to our Small Grants Programme, please contact us on secretary@woodroffebenton.org.uk
Areas of funding focus
The Foundation provides grants to officially recognised charitable organisations within the United Kingdom only in respect of:
Relief of persons in need, hardship or distress by reason of disaster or as a consequence of social or economic circumstance.
Provision/Maintenance of care and accommodation for the sick and elderly.
Promotion of education - in particular within the Derbyshire region.
Environmental Conservation/Preservation/Protection/Improvement - in particular where this would encourage the provision of access by members of the general public.
Human physical well-being – but applicants should note that funding in this area is proactive and the trustees will not make grants in response to unsolicited applications
Within these categories, the trustees do not usually make grants for:
Organisations without a Charity Commission registration.
Organisations that have been operating for less than 24 months and therefore do not have at least one full set of Accounts.
Organisations that operate primarily outside the UK or for the benefit of non-UK residents.
Places of worship seeking funds for restoration or upgrade of facilities.
Museums, historical or heritage organisations.
Funding of palliative care.
Animal welfare organisations whose primary purpose is not conservation of the environment except for those that help the survival of wild species in the UK.
Students requesting a grant for tertiary education or a gap year.
Educational organisations based outside the Derbyshire region – although the trustees may choose to do so.
Bodies affiliated to or a local "branch" of a national organisation, unless they have a separate charitable number and receive no financial support from the national charity. Applicants will be asked to make a declaration confirming this when they complete our on-line application form.
Funding approach
What size grants do you give? Applicants to our Small Grants programme can receive one-off grants in the range £500 to £2,500. We do provide larger grants, which can be spread over several years, but these are made proactively and we do not accept unsolicited applications to this programme.
When are applications considered? There will generally be two Small Grant funding rounds each year in March and August. The Trustees will determine the focus for each funding round at least one month in advance of the opening date. Meetings of the Trustees are usually held four times a year in the second or third week of January, May, July and October. Decisions will be made at the May meeting regarding Small Grant applications submitted in March and at the October meeting regarding Small Grant applications submitted in August.
Who is eligible for a grant? Charitable organisations based in the UK that are registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland are eligible to apply for a grant. Any educational institution is also eligible to apply for a grant whether or not it is a registered charity. The Trustees will generally only fund organisations which have at least one full set of Accounts following charity registration. The Trustees prefer to support smaller charities since modest donations are capable of providing potentially greater benefit in such cases. Consequently, it is unlikely that organisations with an annual income in excess of £750,000 will be provided with a grant under the small grants programme. As stated above, the trustees will only support bodies affiliated to a national organisation provided it has a separate charity number and receives no direct financial support. The trustees do not make grants to charities outside the UK.
What do you fund? The Trustees are happy to contribute to core operating costs from their Small Grants programme rather than to a specific project where the funding will be legally “restricted” or to capital expenditure - applications in these latter categories are, however, not excluded.
How do I apply? All applications to our Small Grants programme must be submitted using the electronic application form which can be accessed from our website. We do not require any additional supporting documents. We generally will not accept applications submitted in hard-copy or by email. The Trustees are unlikely to approve grants to applications with incomplete or inconsistent financial information.
How do I know if my application has been successful? The Trust has limited funds available and therefore the Trustees much regret that they are unable to help every eligible organisation that applies for a grant. We will contact successful applicants as soon as possible following the meeting at which their proposal has been considered. We generally do not contact unsuccessful applicants as we are a small organisation with limited administrative resources. Although we are always happy to respond to enquiries or queries, the Foundation does not generally provide feedback on why an application was unsuccessful. If you do not hear from us by the end of the month in which the meeting took place, it will normally mean that your application has not been successful.
How frequently can we apply? The Trustees will not provide multiple grants to the same charity in a 12 month period. Organisations that have submitted an unsuccessful application should wait for 12 months before submitting a further application.
What do I do if I have any questions or need guidance on submitting an application? You should contact the Secretary on secretary@woodroffebenton.org.uk or by using the contact form on our website.