What’s important to us
A short guide to the key criteria and what we're looking for when we consider funding applications and make decisions.
We consider a number of key criteria when assessing applications across our available Funds.
In the first instance, applications should meet basic eligibility requirements and fit with one or more of our areas of interest, as set out in Who and what we fund.
In addition, we are most interested in funding organisations that can demonstrate how their work focuses on:
- Poverty and trauma: by showing that they recognise the challenges people in their community are facing in their lives related to poverty and trauma, as well as how their organisation’s work will respond to this and support them.
This is one of the most important considerations to us as a funder and will influence the level of funding that we are able to offer. In addition, we are interested in organisations that can demonstrate how their work focuses on:
- Community: by showing how they engage their community in the organisation, for example on the Board or through volunteering; and that they listen to their community and respond to their needs.
- Collaboration: by showing that they are aware of other groups and services in their area and are linked in with them.
- Relationships: by showing that their work clearly has a relational focus and that this is reflected in their policies and governance, for example how they involve members or participants and that they apply a rights-based approach in their work (i.e. that they treat people with fairness, dignity and respect).
Being proportionate
We don’t expect every application to be able to demonstrate all these characteristics and qualities. However, where our levels of funding increase, so does our interest in the extent to which these four areas converge. While we take a number of different factors into consideration, we may require you to demonstrate a greater combination of them in order to potentially be awarded:
- Higher levels of funding - within the limitations of the type of grant being applied for
- Longer-term funding - up to a maximum of five years
- Unrestricted funding - to use the grant in any way to further your objectives