Tudor Trust, Grants for smaller, community led-groups; Closing 31st March 2022

Current Status

Open for Applications

Maximum value:

Discretionary

Objectives of Fund

The Trust funds a wide range of organisations working to support positive change in people’s lives and in their communities around the UK. It does not have any specific funding programmes to advance any particular agenda, but it is keen to work with organisations that have a real understanding of the challenges facing the communities they support and a clear sense of the difference they seek to make through their work.

Value Notes

There is no maximum or minimum level of grant, although it is unusual for a grant of less than £10,000 to be made. Grants are usually for one, two or three years.

Funding is sometimes available over a longer period, usually by making a further grant following on from the original one.

Advice and development support for organisations is also available from the Trust.

The Trust currently funds around one in eight applications.

Who Can Apply

Applications are invited from charitable organisations with a constitution and a bank account, including registered charities, unincorporated associations, community interest companies, and community benefit societies. Organisations should be working directly with people in the UK who are on the edges of mainstream society and have limited access to resources and opportunities.

Eligible organisations must have an annual income of less than £1 million.

The Trust is looking to fund organisations that:

• Display positive organisational characteristics:
  • Encourage and develop positive social connections and relationships.
  • Are embedded in their community and can identify and channel the potential within that community.
  • Have vision, energy and commitment and are reflective and open to change.
  • Want to make a step change in the way they work but need support to do this.
  • Listen to and are responsive to their users and give users a voice.
  • Offer longer-term engagement and support.
  • Make good use of the resources they have.
• Address marginalisation:
  • Engage with a marginalised community or engage with a particularly marginalised group of people or ‘community of interest’.
  • Provide direct support to individuals who are in real need.
  • Are rooted in overlooked and neglected areas where funding is hard to come by.
  • Affect the lives of marginalised people and communities in a positive way.
• Make a difference:
  • Generate a ripple effect – a wider impact beyond the immediate beneficiaries of the work.
  • Display new thinking or demonstrate best practice: offer an exemplar others can learn from.
  • Are interested in reflecting on their work and are generous in sharing their findings with others.

Restrictions

Funding is not available for the following:

• Individuals, or organisations applying on behalf of individuals.
• Larger charities (both national and local) with an income of more than £1 million.
• Statutory bodies.
• Hospitals, health authorities or hospices.
• Medical care, medical equipment or medical research.
• Universities, colleges or schools.
• Academic research, scholarships or bursaries.
• Nurseries, playgroups or crèches.
• Arts, culture, heritage, sports and leisure (unless used as a route to more holistic engagement and support, beyond the immediate benefit to the individual).
• Uniformed youth groups.
• One-off holidays, residentials, trips, exhibitions, conferences, events etc.
• Community transport schemes.
• Basic needs support such as food banks, meal provision, baby banks and hygiene banks (unless there is also wider holistic engagement and support)
• Animal charities.
• The promotion of religion.
• Routine repairs and minor improvements to community buildings (community centres, church halls, village halls etc).
• Landscaping or equipment for playgrounds, parks or recreation areas.
• Sports and leisure (where there isn’t a strong social welfare focus).
• The restoration or conservation of buildings or habitats.
• Work outside the UK.
• The promotion of philanthropy and endowment appeals.
• Retrospective funding.

Organisations that have previously been refused funding by the Trust should not reapply until at least 12 months after the date of the refusal letter.

Organisations can normally only have one grant at a time from Tudor, so should not apply for a further grant if they are already a grant holder.

Eligible Expenditure

In April 2021 the Trust launched new funding guidelines for 2021/22:

It announced: ‘There are no fundamental changes: we still focus our funding on smaller community-led groups that support people at the margins of society, and the information we need to see in a first-stage proposal remains largely unchanged. We have however taken the opportunity to give some additional guidance to applicants who are having to work in very different ways due to the coronavirus pandemic and who are operating in a climate of uncertainty.’

Other changes include:

• More emphasis on Tudor as a ‘core funder’ – in 2020 92% of its grants, by value, went towards core funding.
• Organisation size – larger organisations (with income over £1 million) will no longer be eligible to apply.
• Social change/campaigning/advocacy work – it is interested in supporting ‘organisations which challenge injustice and inequality in their communities and wider society, particularly where this work is rooted in the lived experience of those they work with’.
• Guidance on reserves – more guidance is available within the guidelines on the Trust’s position on unrestricted reserves, whether at a low or high level.
• More guidance on answering the five application questions.

The Trust wants to support work that develops and promotes the social connections and relationships which make such an important contribution to the wellbeing and quality of life of individuals, and which strengthens communities. It is also interested in supporting organisations which challenge injustice and inequality in their communities and wider society, particularly where this work is rooted in the lived experience of those they work with.

And during time of challenge and uncertainty it is keen to support organisations which have the ability to flex and adapt, imagining new ways of doing things while holding true to their values.

Grants can be used for the following:

• Core organisational costs, such as salaries, overheads and day-to-day running costs.
• Project grants (However this is increasingly unusual as the Trust’s focus is on the whole organisation, which means that it doesn’t usually make sense for it to fund time-limited, contained projects.)
• Capital grants for buildings or equipment.

How To Apply

Important 2022 Update:

• The Tudor Trust announced at the end of January 2022 that it is closing to new applications from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. Groups who have not applied previously may not apply during this period.
• Groups who want to apply BEFORE the Trust closes must submit their applications by 31 March 2022.
• The Trust will publish updated funding guidelines on 1 April 2023. This will draw on the work they are carrying out over the year.

The full announcement can be found on Tudor Trust’s website

Applications should be made online. There is a two-stage process:

• Applicants should create an account, then fill in a brief online form and upload their cover letter, answers to the five application questions (see funding guidelines) and a copy of their latest annual accounts.
• Those who are successful at this initial stage will go through to the second stage, which involves an in-depth conversation, via phone or Zoom with one of the Trust’s grant managers.

Applications can be made at any time and are assessed on a rolling basis.