Standard Grant Application Process

CHANGE TO ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA – INCOME MUST BE UNDER £1MILLION

As of 5.00pm on Friday 8th April 2011, in order for organisations to be eligible to apply, they must have an income of less than £1million in the previous 12 months.  For registered charities with a Headquarters based outside Northern Ireland, the income of their Northern Ireland operation will be the figure used to assess eligibility.

The Trustees have taken this decision as there have been an increasing number of applications to the Foundation which makes the decision process more difficult.  Also the Trustees are keen to ensure they stay in line with the overall aim of the Foundation, ‘to support underfunded charities that enable people, especially disadvantaged or people with special needs, to play a fuller role in the community.’

There has been no change to the level of grant issued, with the average grant remaining between £3,000-£4,000.

This new eligibility will stay in place for the foreseeable future.

Application Documents

Please download and read ALL the following documents before submitting your application. An Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded free from Adobe's website.

* Note to Mac users: MS Word or OpenOffice should be used to complete the application form

Application Process

Requesting an Application Form
Discussing the Application
Completing the Application Form
Assessment
The Outcome
Successful Applications
Evaluation
Making a Further Application

Requesting an Application Pack

Request an application pack from our office or alternatively it can be downloaded from this website. The guidelines detail the areas we fund, while the Advice on Completing the Application Form takes you through the form question by question.

It is important to consider the guidelines carefully before completing the application form. We will be more than happy to assist you with any aspect of the process.

We can only accept requests for funding on our official application form.

An application pack is available by contacting:

Caroline Fulton - Administrative Officer
T: 028 9032 3000
F: 028 9032 3200
E: info@lloydstsbfoundationni.org

Discussing the Application

We welcome the opportunity to discuss projects with applicants before submission to the Trustees. This will help to ensure that the project is within the criteria and provides an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have about the application process.  Should you wish to discuss a project via telephone please contact the office on 028 9032 3000.

Alternatively, should you wish to come into the office to discuss an application, we provide one-to-one Application Information Sessions. If you wish to book a slot, contact the office on 028 9032 3000.

The next available dates for a one-to-one Pre-Application Information Session* are:

Thursday 15th March 2012 - Half hour slots available between10am and 11.30am  

Thursday 29th March 2012 - Half hour slots available between10am and 11.30am

*Pre-Application Information Sessions are primarily to support organisations who have previously been made unsuccessful or who are applying for the first time.

Completing the Application Form

The application must be TYPED. If you wish we can E-mail the application pack to you or alternatively you may download it from this website.  The application form and enclosed documentation must be posted or hand delivered as there are a number of signatures that are required. E-mailed and Faxed forms will not be accepted.

Please remember to enclose a copy of the following documents with your application:

  • Annual Report or signed Minutes of the AGM
  • Signed independently examined and signed accounts for the last financial year
  • HM Revenue and Customs Letter of Recognition
  • Constitution, signed by at least two office bearers
  • List of Office Bearers
  • In the case of applications for salaries, a job description and personnel specification

Failure to do so will result in your application being an administration error and it will not go forward for assessment.

Assessment

Your application will then be assessed.

As part of the assessment process you may receive a telephone call, or a member of our staff may visit your organisation. We will usually ring first to make arrangements with the person who submitted the application.

It is helpful if you retain a copy of your application, so you can answer any questions and discuss your project with us.

Not all applicants will receive a telephone call or visit.

The Outcome

The final decision is made by the Trustees at the quarterly Board Meeting. You will be informed of the decision by letter within one week of the meeting taking place.

At this stage there are four possible outcomes, the application may be:

1) Successful - You will be informed by letter within 1 weeks of the decision. We will then require signed Terms and Conditions before we will issue your group with a cheque.

2) Unsuccessful - You will be informed by letter within 1 weeks. You may have a worthwhile project, however, too often it is the case that 'demand exceeds supply'. You may re-apply after a period of one year.

3) Conditional Offer - Where the grant is towards a project which requires further funding, a conditional offer may be made. We will need proof of additional funding received by your group before the grant can be issued.

4) Administration Error - If an application is not correctly completed, or there are a number of documents missing, the application will not be assessed, however, it will not be rejected, the application pack will be sent back and the group is free to re-apply in the next quarter.

If you have not heard from us within four weeks please contact us.

Successful Applications

If you are successful, you will receive a copy of Terms and Conditions which must be signed by the Chairperson and returned to the Foundation before a cheque will be raised.

Evaluation

1) Forms - Each successful applicant will need to download and complete an Evaluation Form within 12 months from receipt of the grant. This will inform us how our funding has been of benefit to your organisation.

2) Visits - We visit a number of projects that we have funded. Unfortunately, we cannot visit all projects. This provides an opportunity for you to discuss the project with us and address any problems that have arisen. We will be in touch with you to arrange a suitable time to visit.

Download a Standard Grant Evaluation Form

Making a Further Application

You must leave a period of at least one year between applications.

However, if you have received three years consecutive funding you must leave at least two years before re-applying.