Supporting Resilience Fund: New offer for grant holders

Small Grant Holders can now apply for up to £10,000 in additional funding to strengthen organisational and staff resilience.

This Funder Plus offer has been shaped by feedback from grant holders and learning from our monitoring and consultancy support. 

Through our Plus Fund pilot last year, we were also able to build a deeper understanding of the pressures organisations face around growing financial uncertainty, capacity and staff wellbeing. This pilot, which influenced the Supporting Resilience Fund, provided funding for activities focused on: 

  • Training for senior management on effective leadership and decision-making 

  • Board training to support the development of new social enterprises 

  • CRM systems to enable effective client management and data capture for resource planning 

  • Developing and embedding new business plans and organisational strategies 

  • Staff wellbeing initiatives, first aid and safety training 

What is the Supporting Resilience Fund?

  • Funding of between £2,000 - £10,000, for one year, is available to grant holders with an income of between £100,000 and £500,000 to undertake work which contributes to organisational and staff resilience.

What could the fund support? 

The fund can support a wide range of activity aimed at strengthening your organisation’s foundations, including:

  • Leadership, governance and strategic planning 

  • Financial planning, systems and infrastructure 

  • Organisational development and sustainability planning 

  • Staff and volunteer wellbeing, particularly in high-pressure or trauma-informed environments 

 

How to apply

We are very aware of the time and resources organisations dedicate to raising funds and we are trying to make this process more streamlined.  

We are therefore operating a two-stage process for applying. This will strengthen applications and reduce the number of unsuccessful requests.

When you have identified a potential area of work you would like to have funding for, please email us at funderplus@therobertsontrust.org.uk, with a very brief description of the type of work you would like to undertake (one or two sentences).

For example:

  • We would like to apply for funding to send a manager on a leadership course to strengthen our leadership team and develop a succession plan for when our CEO retires.
  • We would like to send two new members of our senior management team on strategic planning and organisational development training to help with long term succession planning.
  • Our staff are experiencing increasing levels of conflict and threat of physical harm, and we would like funding to send staff on self-defence and upgrade our building security.
  • We would like to explore implementing flexible working practices to support staff wellbeing and would like to carry out a business planning exercise to explore how we can re-align our services to create opportunities for greater flexibility and revise our HR policies and contracts to support flexible working model.
  • Provide training for our Board on their strategic role and develop skills on financial planning and forecasting.
  • Improve insulation in our building to reduce heat loss, reduce energy cost and emissions.
  • Install efficient outdoor lighting to reduce energy costs and improve safety of building.

You can read the full guidance here. 

Below are some of the key areas where charities often experience challenges, alongside practical resources to help:

Poor governance can lead to unclear decision-making, power struggles, and organisational conflict. Strengthening governance structures is essential for stability and trust.  

Resources:  

  • Building Financial Resilience Looking to boost your charity’s financial health? This tool will match you with the guidance your charity needs  

  • GovernanceWiki designed to demystify governance and make it more accessible. The platform offers clear, up-to-date guidance on a wide range of topics including legal obligations, board responsibilities, compliance, and risk management.  

Burnout is a growing concern in the charity sector, especially where resources are stretched. Proactive strategies can protect staff wellbeing, reduce staff absences and improve retention.  

Resources:  

  • Free wellness action plan template | Mind The Wellness Action Plan developed by Mind are an easy and practical way of helping both individuals and employers understand mental health at work  

Effective resource planning ensures that people, finances, and assets are allocated efficiently, reducing stress and improving sustainability.  

Resources:  

Regular health checks help charities identify gaps in governance, finance, and operations, ensuring compliance and best practice.  

Resources:  

Lorna Wallace
Lorna Wallace