We have included on this page the questions which crop up most regularly from potential applicants.

How can I find out if my organisation’s postcode is in the most deprived 15%/50% of the Index of Multiple Deprivation?

  • Englandhttp://dclgapps.communities.gov.uk/imd/iod_index.html . You will see a 2019 map and a 2015 map. On the top right hand corner, switch off  the 2015 map so that you are left only with the 2019 map on screen.  On the vertical bar, choose the ‘select location’ icon and type your postcode into the box.  Your ranking will be shown in the second paragraph that starts "in 2019 this LSOA is ranked..." For rural areas, your postcode should register under 16,000 and for urban areas, under 4,950.
  • Scotlandhttp://simd.scot/2016/#/simd2016/BTTTFTT/9/-4.0000/55.9000/. On the Map Chooser box, on the left of the screen, select 2020, then underneath on the Area Finder, type in your postcode.  Click on the map marker.  In the box on the right hand side of the screen, your Index ranking will be shown (SIMD overall rank). 1 is the most deprived ward and 6,976 the least deprived.  For urban areas your rank should be below 1,046 and for rural areas below 3,485.  NB: as you move over the map, the ranks change, so be sure to click on your map marker.
  • Northern Irelandhttps://deprivation.nisra.gov.uk/  Type your postcode into the ‘enter a postcode’ box in the middle of the page. For projects in Belfast, Derry/Londonderry, Portadown and Lurgan your ward should be ranked under 135, and for all other areas under 446.
  • Waleshttps://wimd.gov.wales/ . Enter your postcode in the  box.  Click on your area as shown on the map and your local ranking will be shown on a scale at the bottom.  There are 1,909 wards in Wales: for urban projects, your ward rank should be below 286 and for rural projects under 955.

My organisation’s postcode is not in the most deprived 15%/50% on the IMD but the areas we work in are. Can I still apply?

If the majority of your work takes place in areas in the bottom 15%/50% then we can consider an application from you.  You will need to supply up to six full representative postcodes from the areas you are delivering your work in. These must be postcodes for public buildings such as community centres, GP surgeries, libraries, post offices etc. 

  • If applying for a Major Grant: you can put these additional postcodes in your answer to question B2 on the application form:  ‘Please tell us about the community or local areas where your organisation works.’
  • If applying for a Small Grant: you can put these additional postcodes in your answer to question B3 on the application form:  ‘Describe your local area in your own words, explaining the everyday pluses and minuses for local people living here’ .

When describing your local area,  we want a grassroots description of the neighbourhood rather than a description that is focussed in making the case for deprivation and which is loaded with statistics. We want to hear about the whole community, not just the  issues affecting your service users. Please see the helpnotes on the online form for additional help.

When is the deadline for the next Grants Committee Meeting?

Major Grants: We do not have deadlines, preferring to operate a rolling scheme, so that you can apply at any time during the year. The Grants Committee Meetings take place in January, April, July and October. Please allow 12-15 weeks for the entire two-stage application process, though this may take longer. Please bear with us, we are a very small team and we endeavour to process applications as speedily as possible. Download the Major Grants Funding Guidelines for details.

We cannot guarantee that any application will go to a particular meeting: it depends on the number of applications already being considered, the time we need to make an assessment of your application and the amount of funds available for the meeting.

Small Grants: you can apply at any time during the year and receive a final decision 8 weeks after we receive your application. Decisions are made outside the Grants Committee Meetings timetable.

Can I meet you to tell you about our project before I make an application? Can I send you an exploratory letter giving the details so you can comment?

We are sorry, but we simply do not have the staffing resources and time to do this. You can check your project's eligibility by completing the online eligibility quiz on our website. 

What is your average grant?

We expect you to apply within the limits of the various programmes:

  • Major Grants: between £10,000 and £50,000 for a single year. Multi-year grants are between £10,000 up to £100,000 over 3-years and no more than £50k can be applied for in any given year over a 3 year periodYou can only apply for 50% of the cost of a salary or total annual running costs. You do not have to secured the remaining 50% but we will want to know you have a feasible plan for raising the rest of the funds.   Ideally, you should not plan to cover all the remaining amount from your unrestricted reserves.  We want you to create a broad portfolio of funders so you are not over-reliant on Trusthouse (or any other funder) for essential costs.
  • Small Grants: between £2,000 and £10,000 for one year only. You cannot apply for more than 50% of the total cost of the work/salary/running costs you are seeking from us.

We do not really have an ‘average’ grant,  each application is considered in accordance to its financial need. 

We were set up last year and don’t have annual accounts yet: can we apply?

No, we are sorry we only consider applications from organisations which have at least 1 year’s annual accounts.

We are a CIC (or other not for profit organisation): can we apply?

No, we do not accept applications from CICs.

We accept applications from registered charities, social enterprises, co-operative or community benefit societies and voluntary organisations (which have a constitution and bank account). If you don’t have a registration number from a regulatory authority, there is a question on the application form asking you to confirm your organisation is resident in the UK for tax purposes. We require this to comply with financial reporting standards. If you cannot confirm this statement, we are not able to consider your application.

How soon can we apply after an unsuccessful application?

You cannot apply until twelve months after the date of the letter informing you the application was not successful.

How soon can we apply again after receiving a grant?

Your current grant must have completed and you must have submitted your final report. Major Grants: no further applications can be made for two years after the completion of the grant. Small Grants: you can re-apply for a further two years. No further applications can be made after the completion of a third grant

I can’t upload the accounts and/or budget on the on-line application

You can only upload documents which have one of the following suffices: .xlsx, .xls, .doc, .docx, .jpeg, .pdf.  Your document may be too large. Please try uploading a smaller version (for example, if you have an Annual Report with many photos in it, just upload the accounts section).

Can I send you more information through the post as there are plans and a business strategy I think you’d find interesting/helpful? Or I’d like to send last year’s accounts as well as this year’s?

No. Once we have read your application we might request more information, but any additional details sent through with the on-line application will be ignored as this would be unfair to other applicants who have followed the process. Please do not ‘tack on’ additional pages to the budget or accounts about your area, outcomes, project etc as we will not read them: you must answer the questions on the application form fully.

I registered with your on-line system, started and saved an application but now your system does not recognise me

We are sorry, but unfortunately this probably means that you entered your email address (the user name) incorrectly when you registered.  Unless you can think what error you might have made in the address, your application has been lost. We cannot retrieve applications which have been lost in this way. We have noticed that this problem can sometimes also arise if one application is saved and worked on from different computers.

I realise I’ve made a mistake on the application I sent

Please send a letter (no more than 1 side of A4) explaining the error and giving the correct information.

Will you visit my organisation? We’d like to show you what we do

We will only make assessment visits to organisations which are selected for inclusion on the Grants Committee agenda. We are sorry we don’t have the staffing resources and time to visit everyone.

How soon will I hear about my application?

If you correctly submit your on-line application, you will receive an automatic email confirming receipt. Please refer to the Funding Guidelines for the relevant programme for details of when you can expect to hear the outcome of your application.