Eligibility

• Can branches of national organisations apply?
• Can religious organisations apply?
• Can schools or local authority nurseries apply?
• Can we apply to the Fair Share Trust programme?
• Do we need to be a charity to apply?
• Do you fund overseas trips?
• How do you establish a group's annual income?
• Our organisation had an income over £250,000 last year, but some of this was from large grants for short-term projects. Our core costs are less than £250,000. Can we still apply?
• The project we are seeking funding for relates to one strand of our organisation's activities. We have a separate budget for this which is less than £250,000 a year, although our organization's combined income is larger than this. Can we apply?
• We've just had to pay out for some unexpected costs. Can we apply for a grant to cover the expenditure we incurred?
• What does 25% of a project's total costs mean?

Application

• Can I apply for more than one grant at a time?
• Do I need to send you our accounts?
• Where should I send my application?

After you have applied

• How long will it be before I get a decision?
• I haven't heard anything since you acknowledged receiving my application - should I ring you to find out what's happening?
• We no longer need a grant. What should I do?
• Will I be contacted for more information?

Re-applying

• Can I apply again for the same thing which you have given us a grant for before?
• I've had a grant from you before. How long must I wait before I can apply again?
• My application was rejected. Can I reapply?

When you have received a grant

• Do I need to send you a report?
• How is the grant paid?
• What if the project we needed the money for doesn't come off?
• What if we don't spend the whole amount?
• When do I have to spend the money?

Eligibility

• Can branches of national organisations apply?

  Yes, provided the branch has its own management committee and accounts.

• Can religious organisations apply?

  Yes, provided that the project for which funding is requested does not involve the advancement of religion and would not exclude anyone on the grounds of religion. We will consider this carefully when assessing your application.

• Can schools or local authority nurseries apply?

  Because we do not accept applications from organizations whose income exceeds £250,000 per year, we cannot accept applications from any local authority institutions, including schools. We will consider applications from Parent Teacher Associations, but only for projects which we do not consider to overlap with the local authority's statutory responsibilities.

• Can we apply to the Fair Share Trust programme?

  Unlike the others we run The Fair Share Trust is not an open grants programme. Please read the information about the Fair Share Trust on this website. If your organisation works in one of the neighbourhoods eligible to receive funds from the programme and you are interested in finding out more, then contact us on 0141 225 6670.

• Do we need to be a charity to apply?

  No, as long as you are a constituted not-for-profit group with charitable aims, you can apply. By having charitable aims, we mean broadly that your group aims to benefit the community which you are working in.

• Do you fund overseas trips?

  No. This policy now applies to all our grants programmes.

• How do you establish a group's annual income?

  We look at the income in the last full set of accounts or, if it is a new group, in their projection for the current year.

• Our organisation had an income over £250,000 last year, but some of this was from large grants for short-term projects. Our core costs are less than £250,000. Can we still apply?

  No. We only take into account the income of the organization as a whole.

• The project we are seeking funding for relates to one strand of our organisation's activities. We have a separate budget for this which is less than £250,000 a year, although our organization's combined income is larger than this. Can we apply?

  No. We only take into account the income of the organization as a whole.

• We've just had to pay out for some unexpected costs. Can we apply for a grant to cover the expenditure we incurred?

  No. We will not make grants retrospectively, i.e. for costs already incurred. You cannot apply for help with the costs of any activities that will take place before we give you a decision on your application. Bear in mind that it can take up to 3 months for a Main Grant (6 weeks for a Small Grant), for us to give you a decision on your application. Please apply in plenty of time to allow your application to be processed before your project takes place.

• What does 25% of a project's total costs mean?

  We only accept applications where the grant requested from us is for at least 25% of a project's total costs. In other words, the grant requested would contribute at least a quarter of the money needed to make the project happen. In effect, since our maximum grant size is £5,000, we will only make grants to projects costing £20,000 or less. For our purposes, the project must be a coherent programme of activity, piece of equipment, facility, development etc. which can stand alone to make a difference for your users or members and is not dependent on other new activities or equipment etc.

Application

• Can I apply for more than one grant at a time?

  You can apply for a grant from any of our grants programme.  However,  they should not be for the same project.

• Do I need to send you our accounts?

  Yes.  Accounts should be signed by an office bearer to confirm that they have been approved by the management committee/members. For small organisations, your accounts may be a simple list of income and expenditure showing the balance carried forward at the end of the year. If your latest accounts are still in draft form, then send them anyway together with your previous year's approved accounts. If you are a new organization which does not yet have accounts, you should send us a full projection of your income and expenditure for the year.

• Where should I send my application?

  To our Glasgow office: Empire House, 131 West Nile StreetAfter you have applied

• How long will it be before I get a decision?

  For Express Grants, up to 6 weeks. For Women's Fund for Scotland and Comic Relief, up to 4 months.

• I haven't heard anything since you acknowledged receiving my application - should I ring you to find out what's happening?

  It takes up to 6 weeks to give you a decision on an Express Grant application and up to 4 months for a Women's Fund for Scotland or Comic Relief Grant. Please bear these timescales in mind before you phone us. We would prefer to spend our time processing people's applications. For more information about what happens to your application see What is the Process?

• We no longer need a grant. What should I do?

  Just call us on 0141 341 4960 and let us know.

• Will I be contacted for more information?

  For grants between £2,000-£5,000, the person named on the application form will be telephoned for more information. For Express Grants, you should be prepared to be telephoned, but this is not always necessary. In some cases, the assessor will ask you to send us additional information.

Re-applying

• Can I apply again for the same thing which you have given us a grant for before?

  Applications from organisations that have previously received grants from the same grants programme may be treated as a lower priority by the Grants Committee if there is a lot of competition for the available funds.

• I've had a grant from you before. How long must I wait before I can apply again?

  Having received a Express or Women's Fund for Scotland/Comic Relief Grant, you may not reapply for that type of grant again for 8 months.

  My application was rejected. Can I reapply?

• Yes, if your application was eligible, but was unsuccessful, you can reapply at any time. You can apply for the same project, but please consider any feedback we gave you about why your original application was unsuccessful.

When you have received a grant

• Do I need to send you a report?

  Yes. We will send you a Completion Report with your cheque. You must complete this and send it to us when your project is over. You can also download a copy of the report form from the Current Grant Holders section of this website. You must use the Completion Report form, but we are also happy to receive any other reports, evaluation or photographs from your project.

• How is the grant paid?

  When you accept our grant offer and return our signed terms and conditions we will post you a cheque. However, in a few cases, we ask you to satisfy certain special conditions before the grant is paid.

• What if the project we needed the money for doesn't come off?

  You will need to return the money to us. Contact us to discuss this.

• What if we don't spend the whole amount?

  Send us a letter stating why there has been an underspend, how much remains unspent and what, if anything, you propose to do with the remaining money. We will contact you to discuss whether or not we require the unspent money to be repaid.

• When do I have to spend the money?

  All grants must be spent within 12 months.