Trusts and Foundations

Grant giving institutions are organisations that exist, or have specifically created a sub-section, to award grants against set criteria. Grant giving institutions have varying breadth of criteria and come in different forms. This area of fundraising includes trusts, foundations and settlements established through private or corporate wealth, as well as statutory bodies. This income is mostly restricted, and applications require substantial evidence of outcomes to be highly effective.

Steps to creating a successful fundraising application:

  • Do some initial research to find suitable organisations to apply to. One great way of finding funding suitable for you is via online funding directories, Bucks Funding Search and Grantway. Funding Directories are online search databases that are used to search for grant opportunities using keywords to identify the most suitable ones for an organisation or project.  Download our guide for information on other funding directories that may be able to help you find a funder that is a good fit for your work.
  • Create a budget plan – download our guide to creating a budget
  • Plan ahead as many funders consider applications on a 3 monthly or 6 monthly cycle.

For more help with applying for grants, download our Top Ten Tips for Writing a Funding Application  and our guide to writing a funding application.

If you would like more support with finding funding or how to plan a successful funding bid, please book a free support session.

Have a look at FAQs on Trusts and Foundations:

Are there any upcoming events that might help with funding applications?

Hearing directly from funders,  getting unique insights, and asking questions specific to your project can be a great way to get that extra information to help strengthen your funding application. Alternatively, it could save you wasted time and effort in applying to a funder that is not a good match.

Community Impact Bucks hosts Meet the Funder events through the year. To book your free place visit our events page and sign up to our Community Impact Bucks membership to be the first to hear about new opportunities

Do you offer mentoring?

We know that fundraising for a small charity can sometimes be a lonely and frustrating place. To support you in this crucial activity, we have introduced the Trust Fundraising mentoring programme.

To find out more, visit our Fundraising Mentoring page.

Are there any useful tools?

A  great way of finding funding suitable for you is via free online grant finders, Bucks Funding Search and Grantway. Bucks Funding Search and Grantway are searchable databases of funding opportunities. They are easy to use, allow you to tailor your searches, are regularly updated and allow you sign up for email updates direct to your inbox.

There are other directories and databases you can use.  Some are free like Charity Excellence Framework and others you may have to pay for such as Funding Central and DSC.  Download our guide for information on other funding directories that may be able to help you find a funder that is a good fit for your work.

The next step in your funding journey is being able to write strong funding applications.  These training sessions and resources will help you to succeed:

How do I measure the impact of my charity?

Demonstrating the difference you make is critical for charities and voluntary organisations to be able to secure funding and support as well as motivate staff and volunteers.

Find further information on how you can measure your impact our key resources page.

How can I get funding for core costs for my charity?

Some funders will specifically support core costs as part or all of a funding application, but this tends to be the minority. Remember to include an appropriate amount of running costs (full cost recovery) in your applications for projects to build financial sustainability.

Several useful resources can help you with this:

Unrestricted donations can be used to support core costs, whether individual, corporate or from some of the neighbourhood opportunities in your local supermarket or lottery.

Where can I find public sector tender opportunities?

With government at all levels increasingly contracting rather than giving grants to the voluntary sector you may want to consider public sector contract opportunities. This introduction from NCVO is a good starting point and the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Guide. Places to search for opportunities are listed below.

Sources of Income
Bucks Funding Search
Grantway Funding Search
Local Funding Opportunities
Fundraising Mentoring