Grantmaking policy

Purpose of this policy

The purpose of this policy is to set out the principles, criteria and processes that govern how the Stonehaven Charitable Trust makes grants and to outline the terms and conditions of any grant funding.

National grantmaking principles

The fund was set up from a legacy with the aims of supporting causes close to the donor’s heart. The donor wanted to support the following five national charities and the trustees will commit to making a grant in the region of £5,000 to each of the charities every year.

Alzheimer’s Research UK
Cerebra
MND Association
RNLI
Royal National Institute for the Blind

Regional grantmaking principles

Our strategy is to improve the life chances of vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people in West Yorkshire by funding work that provides access to nature, outdoor activities, wildlife conservation, and nature-based learning and wellbeing. We believe that connecting people to nature and the outdoors fosters personal growth, wellbeing, and long-term positive outcomes. The fund was set up from a legacy with the aims of supporting causes close to the donor’s heart: work that supports people to access nature and the environment.

Grantmaking criteria for regional grant funding

The following describes the specific types of organisations we wish to support with our current regional grant programme:

Activity that enhances life chances for children and young people through sustained engagement with nature, wildlife and the outdoor environment.
This activity is being delivered by registered charities working with children and young people in West Yorkshire communities, but especially with children and young people who are disadvantaged or isolated, for example due to poverty, disability, age or culture.
We want to support activity where local people have determined what is needed to address the issues facing them, this could be where children or young people are actively involved in running the activity or where you have carried out community consultations like surveys or drop ins.
We will only fund registered charities with a Charity Commission registration number that are based in West Yorkshire, with evidence of delivering impactful programmes for children and young people.
We will only consider applications from organisations with an annual income of under £2m, and in the case of over-subscription, we will prioritise smaller organisations.

Grantmaking outcomes

The following describes the outcomes we currently wish to achieve with our funding. Please note we want to fund projects and organisations that achieve all three outcomes, not just one of the three.

Currently our priority is to focus on supporting West Yorkshire-based registered
charities which deliver projects that benefit children and young people.

Enhance life chances. We will support projects and organisations that equip children and young people with skills, knowledge, and experiences that enhance their education, wellbeing, and personal development.
Access to nature & the outdoors. We will support projects and organisations that increase opportunities for children and young people to engage with nature, wildlife and the environment and be active outdoors, promoting environmental stewardship and good mental health.
Long-term Impact. We want to invest in well-managed and community-based organisations that provide sustained activity for children and young people. By this we mean programmes of activity over several weeks. We will only support trips where it is part of a programme and not a one-off event.

Please note, our definition of children and young people is ages 0 to 18 but extended to 25 where the young person has a disability.

The trustees will periodically review the priorities for support set out in this policy and may change them at any time.

Grantmaking process

The following is a summary of the application process:

Applicants complete and submit an online application form via our website. Applications are considered at three trustees’ meetings a year in March, July and November.
An internal due diligence and assessment process takes place on all eligible applications. We may arrange a visit, Zoom meeting or phone call to give us more understanding of the project and organisation.
The Board of the Stonehaven Trust meet to determine the allocation of the funds available based on how well applications meet the objectives for the fund.
The Board are willing to consider newly registered charities who do not yet have their first set of annual accounts completed, but we will need to see that the charity has a strong finance system in place, logging all current income and expenditure, as well as ideally having already received at least one other grant from another reputable grantmaking organisation.
If there are more applications than funds, then applications will need to be prioritised based on those that best evidence the following:
- Projects or organisations that target disadvantaged or underrepresented children and young people. You can use the latest Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) to describe disadvantage in you area, but you can add weight to your application by describing how your activity supports disadvantaged or underrepresented children and young people by local data and/or case studies of people you have helped.
- Projects or activity that demonstrate clear outcomes in learning, wellbeing, or community engagement.
- Activities that offer sustained activity over a period of time where the numbers of people supported is proportionate to their circumstances and needs.
- Projects that are working in areas of West Yorkshire that the Trust particularly wishes to support. Currently this includes projects in the Leeds or Wakefield local authority areas as the founder came from this part of West Yorkshire.
Applicants are informed of a decision via email and payment made to successful applicants.
Feedback on unsuccessful applicants will be given via email.
Stonehaven Charitable Trust may contact or visit a successful applicant to learn how their work is progressing.
We understand that sometimes projects don’t turn out as expected. We are open to learning and want our funding to be adaptable in such circumstances. This means an organisation must tell us about any significant changes to the grant so that we can discuss and agree to their plans.
Funded organisations submit an end of grant report. We do accept a copy of a report that you have already produced if it includes information about the activity this Trust has funded, for example, your Trustees Annual Report and Accounts.

Grant Size and Duration

We aim to offer one off grants between £1,000 and £10,000 and will have a set budget for each grant meeting so we need to ensure that a range of grant sizes are awarded in order to support a number of charities at each meeting.
The maximum amount of £10,000 is only likely to be awarded to a couple of applicants at each meeting.
Funding can cover project and organisational running costs, including staffing, resources, and operational expenses, as well as capital costs for outdoor equipment or building/facility projects.

Safeguarding

The Stonehaven Charitable Trust recognises that it has a duty to put in place safeguards to protect children and vulnerable adults according to legislation regarding beneficiaries, trustees, and volunteers and has a separate policy which is reviewed annually.

All grant recipients need to understand and be aware of this duty and must, where relevant, have in place a safeguarding policy. The policy must be in line with current legislation and best practice and contain procedures for dealing with issues of concern or abuse and be working towards the reduction of risk.

What we cannot fund

The following is a list of our general exclusions for funding:

For-profit organisations such as sole traders, companies limited by shares, private companies where there is no charitable benefit.
Other not for profit organisations that are not registered charities with a Charity Commission registration number.
Organisations whose head office/administration address is not in West Yorkshire.
Organisations with more than £2m income.
Public bodies to carry out their statutory obligations.
Work that has already been carried out – we do not fund retrospectively.
Work for the advancement of a religious doctrine; mission, proselytising, or promotion of the beliefs of a particular faith. Applications can be accepted from faith-based organisations provided that the grant benefits the wider community and is open to all regardless of faith and to those of no faith.
Outdoor sports activities such as football, rugby, tennis and cricket.
Political promotion including political party activity.
Organisations whose core purpose is grantmaking.
General appeals or sponsorship.
Work where the main beneficiaries are animals.

Evaluation and Reporting

Funded projects will be required to provide updates on progress, outcomes, and impact. We will work closely with grantees to support ongoing learning and improvement, ensuring that each programme delivers measurable benefits to children and young people.

Terms and conditions of any grant funding

The grant will be spent on the purpose approved by Stonehaven Charitable Trust.
It is a condition of any grant award that the organisations receiving the funding publicly acknowledge the award. Stonehaven would expect its logo, available to download from their website, to be used to support this.
All grant funds provided by Stonehaven Charitable Trust must be used solely for charitable purposes.
The grant will be paid to the charity’s bank account only if it has received a recent bank statement/letter no older than twelve months and the charity’s address, sort code and account number can be seen on the document.
The official start date of the grant is the date at which the grant is awarded, or a later date as determined by the organisation.
Organisations will inform us of any material change to the project/proposal or their organisation, none of which will be made without our agreement. They must inform us of any material changes, even if they have not yet drawn down the funding.
Material change shall mean any significant change to the grant’s expenditure, the grant’s outcomes, any serious financial or governance issue facing their organisation, or any safeguarding issue with the organisation and/or the organisation’s staff. If they are not sure whether the issue or change which has arisen is a material change, please err on the side of caution and speak with us.
Organisations will inform us of any serious incident report the organisation makes to the Charity Commission during the lifetime of our grant or any serious incidents that meet this threshold if they are not regulated by the Charity Commission.
Organisations will return the Grant Outcomes Form or a similar report which includes information about the activity our grant has funded within 12 months of the grant being awarded.
Organisations will keep accurate and comprehensive financial records of the spending associated with our funding and submit these with their progress report at the end of each agreed reporting period.
We may ask to visit an organisation to see the activity funded during the life of our funding.
Any part of the grant that is not required for the purpose approved will be refunded to us.
We reserve the right to withhold a grant or require repayment if:
1. The work undertaken is not the work for which the funding was approved and where we have not approved these changes.
2. Their organisation becomes insolvent or goes into administration, receivership or liquidation and the funding has not been used for its intended purpose.
3. We find that any false information is supplied to the Trust deliberately.