Grants for Northern Ireland
Before you apply
- Are you a charity or waiting to be called forward by the Charity Commission (have received a password) ?
- Do you produce annual accounts (if over one year old)?
- Do you have a written set of rules?
- Do you have a bank account in the name of the group which requires at least two unrelated signatories?
- Does your project fall within the criteria?
Preference is given to organisations seeking funding for projects which fall within the Foundation’s target areas for giving which are:
running costs
capacity building
volunteer training and out of pocket expenses
Trustees will continue to review the Foundation’s grant making policy at regular intervals.
No grants are made to individuals, nor are grants made for capital building projects or for work that clearly falls under statutory responsibility. Please see What We Do Not Fund for a complete list of our exclusions.
The size of grant varies, but we prefer to give smaller grants to a larger number of projects. Small schemes are preferred because capacity and ambition are likley to be better matched and people are more likely to be stimulated to further effort. Applications will not normally be considered from organisations with an annual income of over £250,000 or with large reserves. Applicants should also be registered charities or be in the process of applying to be one.
The maximum grant available is £5,000 for one year. Multi-year grants are only made in exceptional circumstances. If an organisation has received a grant for three years in a row, it will not be eligible for a further grant until at least a year has elapsed since the end of the previous one.
The types of organisations / projects that we like to support
Those that are:
- trying to help communities to come together to work effectively on the issues that matter to them
- working in partnership with others to build trust and cohesive communitites
- providing advice and support
- trying to change attitudes and broaden horizons
People we would like the organisation/project to support
- Those suffering from poverty and financial crisis
- Those in or at risk poor physical or mental health
- Those in social, physical and cultural isolation
- Black, Asian and minority ethnic people
- Refugees
- Women including girls, especially those at risk of violence and abuse
- Children and young people aged 5 and over
- Those suffering discrimination
- Families needing support
- Homeless people
- Carers
- Adults with few or no educational qualifications
NOTE: Unsolicited applications that fall outside our policy criteria are not considered
Examples of grants awarded in 2022-2023
£2,495 to a womens's group for volunteer expenses, recognition event and consumables.
£5,000 to a residents association for welfare advice, volunteer buddy support and utilities
£3,290 to an educational centre for Welcome to Belfast project: tutor fee, volunteer and material costs.
£3,392 for sensory equipment for activities of a family support project
£3,000 towards health events for women & IT equipment.
£2,000 to a community playgroup for running costs.
£4,000 to a neurodiversity project for a wellbeing project, running costs and volunteer expenses.
£2,000 to a community forum for seasonal projects.
£5,000 to a language provision for English language tutor fee.
