How to apply

It's important to read our funding guidelines in full. Your work will need to fit under one of our priority areas, and work towards at least one of our impact goals in that area. We often receive applications for work that has no relation to our priorities, which are never successful.

Note: We're only able to accept one application per organisation each year. If you submit an application that is unsuccessful, please wait at least 12 months before applying to us again.

If you’re thinking about applying, we encourage you to book a short conversation with one of our grant managers. We know communicating with funders can sometimes be daunting, but we're here to help. And we know that people who speak to us find it valuable.

Organisations that speak to us first are more likely to be successful when they apply because they better understand the aims of our work. And if your work doesn’t fit, our team will tell you – saving you valuable time in filling out an application form.

To book a call visit the funding priority page that best fits your idea or proposal. You'll be asked to take a short eligibility quiz first. If your query is simple (e.g. less than 50 words) and can be answered over email, drop us a line.

If you decide to apply for funding, we’ll need you to complete an expression of interest via our website. You can find the form here.

Before doing this you'll need to complete a short quiz to ensure you meet our eligibility criteria. This should only take a few minutes.

You can download a preview of our application form here - but you must use our online portal to apply.

We make decisions on a rolling basis. Our grant managers will read your expression of interest to see if it fits our priorities and discuss it alongside other applications to decide if it should be shortlisted.

We’ll look carefully at what we already fund in a priority area when we make shortlisting decisions so as not to duplicate work. If we already invest a lot in one area (such as a campaign on a particular issue) we'll take that into consideration.

You can expect an initial decision on whether your application has been shortlisted within two months. If you're shortlisted, you’ll be invited to complete a second stage application form. This includes more information about your governance, finances and partnerships for the work. You’ll need to upload some supporting documents, including your latest set of annual accounts and your constitution/governing documents.

A final decision on second-stage applications usually takes three to four months after application. Some grants, including those over £250k, will need to go to our trustees for a final decision. Your grant manager will let you know if this is likely to apply to you when you meet.

After you’ve sent us your second stage application, we’ll meet with you to discuss your work. This will help us make a final decision about whether a funding award is the right next step.

We’ll talk about the context for your work, what you want to do and what you hope it will result in - as well as more details about your proposal and budget. We'll also discuss your organisation, including your governance and staffing, finances and the policies you have in place.

We'll aim to contact you on the same day as our final decision making meeting to let you know the outcome of your application.

If you've been successful, your new grants manager will meet with you to explain the different ways we can support you as a funded partner. We’ll talk you through any events and meetings that may be helpful to you, including connecting you to other groups we fund.

Your grant manager will also cover how we approach learning and evaluation – find out more about here.

Our grant managers are there to support groups we work with throughout the duration of their grants with us.