Small Grants Programme
How to complete the Online Application Form
These guidance notes will help you complete some of the key questions in the
online application form for the Small Grants Programme.
Before commencing your online application please make sure you have read the
Programme Guidelines and have met the eligibility criteria for this Fund.
We also recommend that you print these guidance notes and read in full before
starting your online application.
The Online Application Process
1. When you apply online you will need to firstly complete a registration page. Please read the
instructions carefully, tick to say you agree and have understood the criteria for applying,
enter your e-mail address and click on the “Send e-mail and continue” button. Once you
have done this we will send you an e-mail with a link to complete your online application
form.
2. To start your application, please click on the link within the email. Check your SPAM folder
if you do not receive the email within 10 minutes.
3. There are help notes available as you go through the online application form and you can
save your application at any point and come back to complete it at any time before the
closing date.
4. You also need to submit all the requested supporting documents by uploading them at the
end of your application form.
5. When you have completed your application and uploaded all the supporting documents you
can use the SUBMIT button to submit your application.
6. You will receive a message to confirm that your application has been submitted
successfully.
7. A confirmation email will also be sent to you with an attached PDF copy of your completed
application.
Tips when completing the Online Application Form
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It’s a good idea to draft your responses before answering the questions online.
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You can hover over the
symbol next to each question for help on how to answer that
question.
Some questions include text to provide additional help on how to respond.
Text boxes/fields marked with a red line need completing – without an answer you will
not be able to submit your online application form.
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As you answer each question remember to save your progress periodically by clicking
on the “Save Application” link on the right hand side, to prevent losing your work in case
of any internet issues.
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When you have finished completing your online application form, at the end of the page
you will see 3 buttons. Use the:
o
“Attachments” button to upload any documents required.
o
“Save as Draft” button to save your progress
o
“Submit” button to submit your application.
Guidance notes to help answer the application questions
Section 1: About your organisation
Organisation Name and Contact Details
Provide details of your organisation name as it appears on your governing document. Please
include contact details and a website address and any social media accounts you use.
Main Contact Person
Provide details for the main person who we should contact in relation to this application. We
may need to call you to discuss your application, so please ensure that we have the correct
contact details, preferably a mobile number and email.
Using the selection buttons you can indicate where correspondence relating to the grant should
be directed. If you wish correspondence to be directed to an alternative address, un-tick the
option “Use organisations address for correspondence” and you will be presented with
additional address fields.
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Organisation start date
Tell us the month and year that your group was set up or formally established.
What type of organisation are you?
You do not need to be a registered charity to apply, but we do need to know more about the
“status” of your organisation. Please select all types of organisation which apply. If you are a
registered charity please supply your charity number, if you are a registered company please
provide your company number. If you check ‘other’ please specify what type of organisation
you are.
About Your Governance
A) What does your membership clause state- as shown in your governing document? B)
What does your dissolution clause state – as shown in your governing document?
Every governing document should have a clause outlining who can join the group. We do not
generally support community groups that have a closed membership policy, unless that policy
is directly linked to the requirements of the group (e.g., disabilities). Some funds cannot support
groups that do not have a complete open membership policy; this includes requiring other
members to vote to include new members. Please enter your membership clause exactly as
found in your governing document.
Every governing document should have a dissolution clause, which clearly states what will
happen to the assets of the organisation should it cease to exist (this includes fixed assets,
tangible assets and cash). If your organisation does not have a charitable dissolution clause
(i.e., one that states the assets will be passed on to another charitable organisation) this will not
result in the application being rejected, but may result in some special conditions being set on
any grant awarded.
C) Are any of the signatories on your organisation’s banking arrangements related? D)
Are any of your Trustees related to employees of the organisation? If yes, please
provide details.
Please tell us if any of the Trustees are related, either by blood, marriage or through a partner.
We are only interested in close relatives (e.g., mother / father, grandmother / grandfather,
brother / sister, aunt / uncle, cousin). Good practice shows that, wherever possible, Trustees or
members of a management Committee should not be related.
Please tell us if any of the Trustees are related to employees, either by blood, marriage or
through a partner. We are only interested in close relatives (e.g., mother / father, grandmother /
grandfather, brother / sister, aunt / uncle, cousin).
Please describe briefly the overall aims of your organisation and the activities or
services your organisation provides
Please tell us about your group’s aims and objectives and give a short description of what your
organisation does at the moment. Tell us about the services you provide, how often you meet
and the community or individuals that use your services.
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Are you part of a larger regional or national organisation?
Tell us if you are part of a larger regional or national organisation. If you are not, then leave
blank.
Staffing and volunteers
Tell us how many full and part time staff your organisation employs. If applicable let us know
how many members and volunteers your organisation has. Your Management Committee may
be known as your Trustee Board/Trustees.
Average Income over the Last 3 Accounting Years
Please provide details of your organisation’s average income over the last three years. To
calculate this: - add up the total income of your organisation in your last three complete
financial years - then divide by three. If you have been in existence for less than three years
please let us know the average income over the lifetime of your group.
What are your current unrestricted reserves?
Tell us if you have unrestricted reserves and why these cannot be used for this project.
How many hours (per week) on average is your organisation available to the
public?
We need to know this as there may be certain funds that we can approach to fund your
application.
Section 2 - About Your Grant Application
Project name
If your project has a specific name please enter this here.
Project funding start / end dates
Please enter the project start and end dates. Successful applicants will have a maximum period
of 12 months from the date of award to spend the grant. Your project start date should not be
before you receive notification about the outcome of your application.
Which area (estate, town, village borough) do most of the people who benefit
come from
Which area or localised region do most of the people who will benefit from the project live.
Please provide a postcode which represents the closest geographical area where
your project will take place.
Please provide the postcode where most of your beneficiaries reside, if there are multiple
places please just pick one. If it is too difficult to distinguish please provide the postcode of your
organisation.
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Which local authority will the activity take place in?
Please select the area from the drop down list.
Describe what you would you like to do with your grant?
Please describe your project /activity and how it meets the grant criteria. Please also tell us
about what you need the money for. If you are planning to buy equipment, tell us what you want
to buy and what benefit it will have i.e. what you will use it for. If you are applying for on-going
activities or new work, what will you be doing? i.e. describe the activities and services.
Does your project involve Improvements to buildings or Land? If Yes please
complete this question.
Who owns the building/land? Has the owner given you permission? Do you require planning
and any other regulations approval? If your organisation leases the building or land, when does
the lease expire?
What needs and disadvantage will your project address and what opportunities
will you create?
We are interested in understanding more about the need for the project or activity. Have you
undertaken any surveys, had feedback from current users, identified a gap in provision etc? Is
it because there is nothing else in the area? Has it been set up in response to local demand?
Who is it that will benefit?
What positive changes would this grant make to your organisation and the lives
of people who use your service?
Please explain what will change for whom? This is your opportunity to explain your expected
outcomes. An outcome describes the benefits or changes that will happen as a result of your
work i.e. the impact your work is having.
Please tell us about your organisation's experience of helping people and the
impact of your previous work; you may also want to tell us about the people
involved in your project and why you are confident in their ability to make the
project succeed.
Please explain how you will measure and report on the positive changes made?
How will you measure the benefits? You might have informal discussions with users, do
questionnaires or gather people together in one place. You need to tell us how you will monitor
and report on this project through the life of the grant. We suggest, for instance, that you keep
a log of users of your services, participants on your courses, enquiries you deal with etc.
How do you see this project/activity progressing after this funding comes to an
end or do you see this as a one off project/activity?
Some activities are one-off projects that never take place again. You might be looking at
running a pilot project that, if successful, you will organise again at a later date. You may also
be asking for funding to support work you have been doing for several years. All of these
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activities are eligible, just tell us more here. Evidence may be required e.g., photographs,
comments and views of people involved in the activity.
Section 3 – Impact
Monitoring and evaluating our grants enables us to better understand the impact of our
grantmaking. It helps us to understand community need, enables us to learn from our
grantmaking and inform future strategies, and also enables us to show donors the impact of
their funding and hopefully encourage further donations.
Which category best describes the impact your project will have?
Select a category from the drop down list which best describes the impact that your project will
have. In the example below the project will make an impact on “Improve Life Skills, education,
employability and enterprise.
Select a primary outcome for your project or activity
Select a primary outcome for your project that best describes what you wish to achieve.
Select a second outcome for your project or activity
Now select a second outcome for your project that best describes what you wish to achieve.
Select a third outcome for your project or activity
Now select a third outcome for your project that best describes what you wish to achieve.
How many people will benefit from this funding?
Please estimate how many people will directly benefit from the funded activities. We realise that
you cannot give exact figures but please estimate as accurately as possible.
Primary Beneficiary - Select a single option to represent the primary beneficiary
group for this grant
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From the drop down list, please click on the one group that best reflects the majority of the
beneficiaries of your project; this will then be entered in the selection box. On doing this you will
then be presented with a series of check boxes, tick any other relevant groups that will be
affected. Please don’t tick them all if they don’t apply, just think about who the beneficiaries will
be.
Primary ethnic group - select a single option to represent the primary ethnic
group for this grant
From the drop down list, please select one ethnic group that best reflects the majority of the
beneficiaries of your project and enter it in the box provided. Then, using the check boxes, tick
any other ethnic groups that will be affected. Please don’t tick them all if they don’t apply, just
think about who the primary groups will be.
Primary issue - select a single option to represent the primary issue that will be
addressed by this grant
From the drop down list the primary issue that will be addressed by this grant. Then, using the
check boxes indicate any other issues that will be addressed.
Please indicate the primary age group that will benefit from this grant
Please enter in the text box / dropdown the age group that represents the majority of the
beneficiaries of your project. Then, using the remaining check boxes indicate any other age
groups that will benefit.
Section 4 - Project Budget
What is the total cost of the project?
If you are asking us to fund some of your running costs, for instance, what is the total you need
for running costs each year? If you are asking us to contribute towards an event, project or
activity, what are the total costs?
How much has been raised so far?
If you are not asking us to fund the full costs, how much have you raised already? This should
include confirmed amounts only. If you are waiting for a decision on a grant, please do not
include it.
How much money are you applying for?
Please tell us how much you are applying for.
Budget breakdown
Here you itemise the costs that will be incurred in running your project against the headings
listed below:
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Staff costs
Publicity Costs
Capital Costs
volunteer costs
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Office, overhead, premises costs
Operational/activity costs
Other costs
You do not have to put a cost against each heading if it does not apply.
There are two cost boxes for each heading, one for the total cost and one for the amount you
are Requesting. The cost breakdown box allows you to enter the details for that heading.
Please provide a full cost breakdown under each heading as shown in the example below.
In this example below the request for funding is £1,500 for 2 trainers for 15 hours per week
each for a 10-week project. The total cost of the project is £2,250.
If you are applying to us for the total cost of the project then the Requested Amount and Total
Cost figures would be the same
Other Funding for this Project
Are you seeking other funding for this project? Please answer Yes or No.
Please provide details of the other funding you are seeking for this Project including who you
have applied to, the amount applied for and decision.
Bank Details
Please provide the details of your Organisation's Bank Account details. (These will be used to
make any grant payments if you are successful).
Independent Referee Details
This should be someone who knows about your group, but who is not on the committee, a
volunteer or a user of your services. Please provide contact details.
Supporting Documents
Please make sure you upload the requested documents and information before submitting your
application. This will speed up the application process as we won't be able to process your
application without these. The documents we require are listed below:
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Governing Document (or set of Rules)
Latest Bank Statement
List of Trustees or Management Committee (showing roles)
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Latest Financial Accounts
Copy of quotes.
If you do not have the required documents available electronically we cannot accept your
application online.
How to attach supporting documents
1. Click on the “Attachments” button at the bottom of the application form. This will open
several grey shaded boxes which will list the document you will need to attach. Click on a grey
shaded box.
2. Name your attachment, choose a file from your computer and then click “Upload”.
3. Your attachment is successful if the colour of the box has changed to a dark grey (as in the
example below).
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Declaration
This section must be completed by the person submitting the application form and must be a
serving officer of the Management Committee (the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary or Treasurer).
Please provide the name and position of the person submitting the application and they must
confirm that they are authorised to submit the application on behalf of the organisation.
Submitting your Application
When you have completed the application form please ensure that you save and then click on
the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page. You will receive a confirmation message similar
to the one below.
You will also receive an email message with a pdf copy of your completed application form.
Please Note: If you have not completed all of the required fields (shown by a red line) you will
not be able to submit your form. Incomplete fields will be highlighted in red; once these are
completed you will be able to submit your application form.
Once your application is submitted you will no longer be able to access and edit it using
your unique application link.
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Need more help?
Please contact CDCF if you need help with your application or have any queries about the
Fund.
If you have any issues with accessibility please contact us to discuss what other options are
available for completing this form.
County Durham Community Foundation
Victoria House
Whitfield Court
St Johns Road
Meadowfield Industrial Estate
Durham
DH7 8XL
Tel:
E-mail:
0191 378 6340
[email protected]
www.cdcf.org.uk
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