Tips for completing your grant application form
We are a new charitable trust, set up with funds from a legacy and we want to make the application process to us a positive experience for you and your organisation.
As a member of Yorkshire Funders, we are using the Yorkshire Common Application Form (YCAF) which has been adopted by a number of funders across the region so that over time grant seekers will find they are completing the same form, in the same format in order to save charities time and energy when it comes to applying for grants. The YCAF was developed in partnership with a group of local charities and funding advisors so that you should find it relatively easy and not too time consuming to complete.
Read all the Who We Give To and How To Apply information on our website and then complete the Eligibility Checker to ensure that your charity and your work meet our criteria. After our first grants are awarded in summer 2025, we will add case studies to our website to show who and what we have funded.
Take your time writing your application and aim to submit it well in advance of the next deadline listed on the How to Apply page of our website. You can save your application and come back to it as you need, so don’t feel you have to complete it all in one session. Our Chair will review and assess each application as it comes in and it is always preferable to be able to read a few applications and carry out due diligence checks each week, rather than having to manage dozens of applications in just a few days. The more applications that are received in the earlier part of each window between meetings the better as the Chair will also want to carry out visits and Zoom/telephone calls to find out further information on some applicants.
Make sure you complete all sections of the application form which have a red asterix and if you are not completing a question, think, would it be helpful for the trustees if I did include information?
Don’t worry if you miss a meeting deadline as we operate a rolling grant programme and you can apply for the next meeting.
Make sure you get across your passion and the importance of your charity and its work for your beneficiaries so that you stand out from the crowd. What makes your charity and its work unique? Are you the only organisation doing this work in a particular geographical area, with a certain age of young people and in a distinctive way? Can you tell us the outcomes that are likely to be achieved from the work and how it will foster long term personal growth and well-being? Do you have key partnerships and other community organisations that you work with?​
Application questions
YCAF Questions 1 – 6: Make sure all your contact details are correct and all the boxes have been filled in.
YCAF Question 7: Let us know if you have any communication needs or need the YCAF in another format. It maybe that you have a disability, such as reduced eyesight or dyslexia, and want to share this with us so that when we read your application we understand why there maybe some inaccuracies.
YCAF Question 8: Your organisation must be a Registered Charity or a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) in order to apply to the Stonehaven Charitable Trust.
YCAF Question 10: Make sure your Charity Commission number is typed correctly.
YCAF Questions 11 – 19: We may know nothing about your charity and your work apart from what is in your application to us so don’t assume that we know things that you aren’t telling us. Be concise and don’t use jargon, but make sure you provide as much information as possible within the word count listed for each question. When you read through your application before submitting it, think to yourself, is this absolutely clear and easy to understand for someone who is new to the organisation?
Additional advice for YCAF Questions 11 – 19: Explain why the timing of the next Trust meeting which you are applying for fits well with your project or funding needs. We want to fund charities which really need the grant in the next few months and where our funds will have a significant impact for the charity.
YCAF Questions 20 & 21: If your funding request is for running costs for the current or next calendar year, put a start date of the 1st of the month after the meeting which you are applying for and the end date as the end of the last month in your financial year.
YCAF Question 22: Although our grants vary in size from £1,000 - £10,000, we will be working to a fixed budget at each meeting and it is likely that we will only be able to give out a few larger grants in the range of £5,000 - £10,000 so think carefully about how much you are asking for and why this amount? Our Chair will aim to talk to most applicants which are shortlisted for each meeting and this can be discussed.
YCAF Question 24: Make sure your figures add up and in the Description boxes you provide details, e.g. If the request is for a team member’s salary, what is their hourly pay rate and how many months will a potential grant from us cover? Do you need to include National Insurance and pension costs?
YCAF Questions 25 – 28: These can be an estimated figures and are to give us an understanding of your charity’s current financial situation. If you have much more than your normal reserves level and are holding funds for a particular project then tell us about this, or if you have very low reserves and are waiting to hear on a number of other applications or funding streams to come to fruition, provide details. For Question 28, the figure should be the amount of money which you currently hold and is not restricted to a particular project or charity cost.
YCAF Question 29: As safeguarding is increasingly important for all charities, please include as much detail as possible. Do you have a Safeguarding Lead and a Deputy and who are they? Who do you use for your safeguarding training and how regularly is training done? Do you have any safeguarding partners and use them for the creation and updates to your safeguarding policy?
YCAF Questions 33 – 36: Ensure all the bank details are correct and match with the bank statement which you send with the application form.Declaration & Accompanying Documents: When you submit your application form, ensure you have also submitted the following documents
- Your organisation’s most recent, audited/examined statement of accounts.
- A copy of a recent bank statement.
- A copy of your constitution or governing document.
- A copy of your organisation’s Safeguarding Policy if your work involves children and young people or vulnerable adults.
- If you wish, include photos and any additional documents you feel show the work you do.
You will receive an email confirmation from the Stonehaven Charitable Trust once you have submitted your application via the online link on the website. If you need any additional support or guidance, don’t hesitate to contact our Chair, Kay Mellor at stonehaventrust@outlook.com. We wish you the best of luck with your application!
