How to apply for a grant

Browse our Grants

If you meet our basic eligibility requirements, check out our Funding programmes to see our current grant programmes, eligibility criteria for each grant programme and deadlines. We are continually working to develop and secure new funds for the benefit of local community organisations, so the grants we have available will change throughout the year.

The best way to find out what new grant funds are available is to check on this site or subscribe to the Community First monthly newsletter which promotes all new grants.

Application

This is your chance to tell us more about your project and why it meets the criteria for the grant programme. Each of our grant programmes have different criteria and an online application form you will need to complete; these can be found on the individual grant pages.

Review

Our Grants Team will review applications to carry out due diligence checks. We may contact you if more information is needed to support your application.

Decision

Our Grants Panel which is made up of a combination of board members/staff and independent experts will decide whether to give the project a grant or not, based on the proposal and our initial review. The panel will usually meet within 8 weeks of the grant programme’s application deadline.

Notification

If the proposal is approved by the panel, the grant is awarded. The outcome of your application will usually be emailed to you shortly after the panel meeting.

Applicants who are unsuccessful will be notified of this decision along with any available feedback that has been provided by the panel members. A number of our programmes are oversubscribed, so an unsuccessful application could simply be due to lack of available funding and is not reflective of the quality of your application.

Grants Awarded

If you are successful in your application and meet any conditions we have made, we will require a signed copy of the funding agreement and a recent bank statement before payment can be made. Once these are received, payment will then be made within 3 weeks, usually by BACS.

Your Project

You can now get going with your project. Make sure you look at our promotion guidelines to help share what you’re doing. All applicants are required to use the provided fund logos within any promotional literature, websites or media activities, and to give WCF and the grant as much coverage as you can. Likewise, we will be really happy to share your stories, images, quotes and outcomes through our impact reporting on this site, our social media channels and marketing materials. Please be sure to send us a testimonial saying what the grant has meant to your organisation and the communities you serve.

If you do encounter any problems delivering your project, please do tell us when they occur; it is much better to be transparent to give us a chance to help you find an alternative route if appropriate.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

Throughout the duration of the grant, we work with the organisations we fund to monitor and evaluate their work. This helps to ensure you achieve what you set out to do and helps us to provide evidence of impact when working to secure new funds. There will be a set deadline for you to send your monitoring report. We will send you a link to the monitoring form for your grant programme once you have had a chance to get your project up and running and it’s in progress.

For further information on any of our grant programmes or how to make an application please contact:

E: [email protected]