Factors taken into consideration when trustees consider applications

Local Charities and Churches:

 1. We are a small family Trust. Apart from Flagship Projects, our standard grants at the bi-annual meetings average between £500 and £2,000. Applications asking for higher amounts are unlikely to be looked on favourably.

2. It is essential that applicants take note of the Foundation’s remit, i.e. to support charities working in the Swansea area. National organisations are not excluded but must identify work they do in this area and specify how any donation will be used locally.

3. As a small Foundation, we sympathise with other small organisations which lack the resources for major fundraising campaigns. Our donation policy tends to favour such organisations. We do naturally scrutinise all requests very carefully for any trace of fraudulent applications.

4. Because grants are small, we prefer to support specific work/need of an organisation rather than contribute towards salary costs. Having said that, we acknowledge, of course, that it takes people to deliver projects.

5. The Trustees have a strong preference to give grants where work is self-sustaining or includes an element of self-help. Organisations that ask their beneficiaries to contribute, involve and educate others will stand a better chance of obtaining a grant.

6. Organisations re-applying less than 12 months after a grant has been awarded are unlikely to be successful. This simply reflects the fact that we have far more applications than we can satisfy. At the same time, we like to build links with organisations over a period of time to help with ongoing projects and new development opportunities.

7. Approximately nine months after receiving a donations, we ask organisations to complete an electronic evaluation form to identify if and how the funding has taken forward the work of the organisation. This also allows the Trustees to find out how many beneficiaries have been helped and by this means gauge the “value for money” that the grant has provided.

International Charities:

1. We are a small family trust. Our standard international grant is £1,000. If your request is for less than £1,000 that is not a problem but applicants asking for much more are unlikely to be successful.

2. Due to the volume of applications, we usually have to put a cut-off on further applications from about 10 weeks before each meeting. It is important therefore to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

3. As a small foundation we sympathise with other small organisations who lack the resources for major fundraising campaigns. Our donation policy tends to favour such organisations. We do naturally scrutinise all applications very carefully for any trace of fraudulent applications.

4. However, larger charities are definitely not excluded. They are often in a position to undertake projects that would not be feasible for smaller organisations. In such circumstances, bigger charities will be supported.

5. The trustees tend not to support high profile disasters where there is a lot of media coverage and public fundraising. On the other hand, we are very sympathetic to the many 'hidden emergencies' that are often equally catastrophic but have little or no publicity.

6. Whilst recognising that real need exists in even the wealthiest of countries, our policy tends to avoid giving grants to developed countries, including Eastern Europe and to BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). The emphasis is therefore towards Africa, poorer parts of Latin America and the Caribbean and the poorer countries of Asia.

7. The trustees have a strong preference to give grants where work is self-sustaining. Organisations that ask their beneficiaries to involve and educate other needy people will stand a better chance of obtaining a grant.

8. Organisations re-applying within 12 months of receipt of their last grant are unlikely to be successful. This simply reflects the fact we have far more applications than we can satisfy. Where the number of applications materially exceeds funds likely to be available for distribution at the next meeting, we may impose an early cut-off. In such circumstances we will write to you explaining this has happened and invite you to reapply for the next meeting.

9. Approximately nine months after receiving a donations, we ask organisations to complete an electronic evaluation form to identify if and how the funding has taken forward the work of the organisation. This also allows the Trustees to find out how many beneficiaries have been helped and by this means gauge the “value for money” that the grant has provided.