Before you apply

Application guidance notes

We receive many more applications than we can fund.

We appreciate the time and energy it takes to write grant applications. With this in mind, we strongly recommend you read these guidance notes carefully before you apply.

The KCCF small grants programme will open for applications at 9am on 10th February and close at noon on the 24th February for non-profit organisations working across our social inclusion and health and wellbeing funding themes.

We will prioritise and only consider applications from non-profit organisations working in Wales, Northern Ireland, East Midlands, West Midlands, North East and the South East (for the avoidance of doubt, this excludes London). You can click here to view a map detailing the regions of the UK and clarify whether your project / activity would take place in one of our priority areas.

Any applications from organisations working outside the priority areas will only be considered if we have not previously funded a similar project or activity. Before applying, check out our ‘All Projects’ list and our ‘Current Projects’ map to see what we have supported.

When should you apply?

Applications are currently open.

In 2024/25, the small grants programme will open for applications as follows:

May: environment and countryside funding themes
August: education and heritage and conservation funding themes
February: social inclusion and health and wellbeing funding themes

We know that many applicants will feel that their project could fit in any of our six funding themes and encourage applicants to carefully consider the best fit for their project.

We seek to support organisations across the four nations – hence we may prioritise certain regions from time to time. This would be publicised on our website and social media before the application window opens.

How to apply

Review these guidance notes, our ‘guidance for grantees‘ page and our eligibility criteria in full
Complete the eligibility questionnaire
Submit an application via the online application form

Unless otherwise stated, all answers are limited to 50 words.

Please email us at contact@kccf.org.uk if you have any accessibility needs.

What we will support

As set out above, we support organisations delivering activity in any of our six funding themes: environment, countryside, environment, heritage and conservation, social inclusion and health and wellbeing. Any organisation seeking to submit an application for work addressing food waste or food poverty should not apply to the Small Grants Programme and apply instead to the Coronation Food Project grants programme.

You can learn more about the projects we support and see what we have funded in your area.

We aim to support organisations which complement, rather than duplicate, the work of other charities close to His Majesty and funded by KCCF including The King’s Foundation and the King’s Trust.

We will consider applications from organisations working across all four nations of the United Kingdom. We will also consider applications from organisations working across the Commonwealth and internationally who are UK registered.

We want to direct funding to where it is needed most. Applications from areas of deprivation, or those that can show how the project will benefit those most in need within an area of wealth disparity will be prioritised.

There will be space in the application form for you to demonstrate the level of need in the area your organisation serves.

This grant programme aims to award up to £15,000 over three years. Awards are limited to a maximum of £5,000 per year. The maximum amount you can apply for in total is £15,000 and the average annual award is £2,500.

What information will you need?

We ask for the following information in our online application form. Note that applicants can start their application, save their progress and resume at a later date. Please answer each question concisely, using bullet points where possible. Churches and other places of worship are asked to provide a short history and photograph via email to contact@kccf.org.uk.

Sections One and Two: Contact and Organisational Details

Basic contact information
Financial information – annual income and level of unrestricted free reserves as per last published accounts
Vision, mission and objectives of your organisation (100 words)

Section Three: Project Details

Amount of funding you would like to request – single or multi year?
Geographic area in which the project will take place. Specify any particular features of this area, for example if it is deprived according to the government indices of deprivation or in an area of wealth disparity
Project target start date and end date
What impact will our funding have? How many people would be directly or indirectly supported and / or what would be the positive impacts on the natural or built environment?

Section Four: About the Project

Provide a brief description of the project/activity and outline the main aim and objectives of the project / activity. (100 words)
How will you evidence the outcomes that this funding will contribute to?
List the outputs and outcomes of the project / activity (quantified where appropriate and possible):
- Outputs are services, products or facilities that would result from your project / activity, these are usually quantifiable.
- Outcomes are the changes, benefits or learning that would result from your project / activity. Many of these will be tangible but there may be some soft or intangible outcomes such as a change in attitude or confidence.
What risks could affect delivery of the project / activity and how do you propose to mitigate / manage them?
How does your organisation listen and respond to the voices of service users and / or the wider community in which you work?
Project costs and sources of funding / partnership funding. Please tell us whether the funding is confirmed or not.
Any other information which is pertinent to this application (100 words). You should use this section to explain any potential issues, such as any exceptional reason for consistent late regulatory reporting history or significant fluctuation in annual income. If further information is required, we will request this via email. There is no need for you to submit any additional information via email unless specifically requested to do so.

Section Five: Policies

We ask for your safeguarding policy, if you work with children or vulnerable adults. If available, we also ask that you upload a copy of your equity, diversity and inclusion policy.

Submission

You will then ‘Proceed to Review’. At this stage your application has not been submitted.

Please review your application in full
Scroll to the bottom of the screen
Press ‘Submit’. A message thanking you for your application will then appear on the screen.
After pressing ‘Submit’, please ensure that you have received email confirmation of submission of application, which will include an application ID and a copy of your application.

If you have not received an email confirming submission, then your application has not been successfully submitted and will not be considered.

Any technical issues with submission must be raised with KCCF via email or our Contact Us page before the application window closes in order to be resolved. You may also wish to refer to our Troubleshooting Guide.

Troubleshooting guide

Any issues raised after the application window closes will unfortunately not be resolved.

We therefore encourage applicants to submit their application in good time before the window closes.

Assessment

After you submit the full application form, you will receive a confirmation email and a copy of your application.

All applications are screened using a standardised process to confirm eligibility.

We will request more information, if required.

Applications are shortlisted by KCCF before being considered by a grants committee, where a funding recommendation is made.

Recommendations are passed to our trustees, and a final funding decision is made.

Once a decision has been reached, we will email you to confirm the outcome. If your application is successful, this will explain more about what happens next. If you are unsuccessful, you may reapply in one year.

FAQs

Pre-screening questionnaire

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Application guidance notes