What sort of work do you fund?

Our funding guidelines give more information about the type of work that we support. The guidelines don't detail the particular types of work that we fund as we don't have specific grant programmes. The Trust wishes to support a broad range of organisations working in different fields of charitable activity. The Trustees are however, most interested in funding direct service delivery to people in Scotland in need of this support. The Trust does not usually support the work of umbrella groups and forums where there is no direct service delivery. We also do not tend to fund capacity building work either for individuals or for voluntary organisations themselves.

What don't you fund?

Again, this information is given in our guidelines. The Trust has tried to keep to a minimum the activities that it will not fund as we wish to attract a broad range of application. If you are not sure if your application is likely to be considered then get in touch and talk to us. In 2007 the Trustees decided that they would no longer fund charities whose primary object is to provide a counselling, advocacy, advice and/or information service. The Trust also rarely funds working taking place outwith Scotland.

Can I speak to someone about the application that I wish to make?

We are happy to communicate with potential applicants by phone or e-mail and give the best advice that we can to help you make your application to the Trust. However, we cannot write your application for you and we cannot guarantee success!

Can we apply for core funding?

We will consider applications for core, project and capital funding. Requests can be for the continuation of existing work or for a new development.

Do you award grants over a number of years?

We make one-off grants and also revenue grants for an initial period of up to three years which may then be extended for a further two.

How much can we ask for? Do you have a maximum level of grant?

There is no maximum or minimum grant amount although we rarely award donations of less than £500 or more than £100,000. Our average revenue donation is around £10,000 per annum and capital donations are usually a maximum of 10% of total capital costs. Please note as a general rule we do not make donations which exceed one third of the salary cost of one member of staff. For a smaller project with no salary costs the Trust is unlikely to make a donation in excess of one third of the total project costs. The Robertson Trust is extremely unlikely to fully fund your request, we tend to be one of a number of funders providing support.

Our recent grant application to The Robertson Trust has been turned down. Can we re-apply?

If you have been turned down by the Trust then we ask you to wait for 12 months before you come back to us. We suggest that you talk to us before making a second application so that we can give you any support and advice required.

We have had a grant from The Robertson Trust before; can we reapply for a different area of work?

You can apply to us again once our support for a previous area of work has ended - usually 12 months after the date of the final payment of our grant. You must also have sent us an End of Grant Report on this donation.

We are coming towards the end of a three year donation from the Trust, can we reapply for funding to continue this work?

The Trust will consider a donation for a further two years although this is likely to be at a reduced level and only approved for charities that have performed well over the previous three years and provided good quality reports to the Trust. We will continue requests for continuation funding when you have six months left of your final year's donation. Before coming for continuation funding we suggest that you speak to a member of the Assessment Team.

How often do the Trustees meet and do you have deadlines for applications for each meeting?

The Trustees meet 6 times a year usually in May, early August, September, November, early February and late March. We do not have deadlines for applications as we prefer you to submit them when you are ready. We do try and turn applications around quickly and you would rarely have to wait more than three months for an answer. If you are close to being ready to submit an application then you may ring the Trust's office and we will give you the best advice we can on the timetable for future meetings.