Garfield Weston Foundation

Aims/priorities: The funding is for organisations working in the areas of welfare, youth, community, arts, faith, environment, education, health, and museums and heritage.

Grants can be used for capital, revenue (unrestricted core costs) or project work:

  • Capital costs - for tangible things, such as a building project, repairs, equipment etc.
  • Revenue/unrestricted core costs - towards the general running costs of the organisation. The grants are typically unrestricted and can be used towards costs such as general salaries (but not a specific position or job), rent, programme costs etc.
  • Project costs - for a very specific project or activity and would include all the costs involved in delivering the project, including staff costs and a reasonable percentage of overheads if relevant.
  • Projects should fall within at least one of the following categories:
  • Arts - Support for a wide range of organisations (from small community theatre groups to national arts galleries) that engage with a variety of audiences and that can demonstrate their impact and quality.
  • Community - A large volume of grants are made every year to community projects, many of which rely on the time and goodwill of volunteers. The majority of projects tend to be relatively small compared to other categories due to their local grass-roots nature, and correspondingly the grants made tend to be smaller in comparison. Typical projects supported include revenue grants for volunteering schemes and capital grants for the restoration of village halls and community centres and for facilities to support community life.
  • Education - Grants to support education, from small local projects such as reading schemes and after school clubs, to major institutions such as universities.
  • Environment - Grants to support a range of environment projects ranging from organisations that raise public awareness of, and find solutions to, specific issues such as sustainable fishing, in addition to charities that undertake active conservation work.
  • Faith - Grants to support simple but practical projects that enable religious buildings to be used for an inclusive range of charitable purposes by their local communities. Capital grants include funds towards the installation of basic amenities such as lavatories and kitchen facilities and for restoration works to historic church buildings.
  • Health - Grants range from specialist care homes and hospices, charities specialising in the treatment and support for specific illnesses, to translational research focusing on medical breakthroughs that will benefit generations now and in the future.
  • Museums and Heritage - Grants to support organisations that conserve and interpret the nation’s heritage for future generations, ensuring it is accessible and available to all.
  • Welfare - Grants for charities that work with a variety of causes and groups including the elderly, homeless, disability and special needs and those in the criminal justice system. Grants made reflect a charity’s size and the nature of the work or project being undertaken.
  • Youth - Grants for charities that consistently demonstrate the commitment of volunteers and professionals across the country to support and inspire young people to achieve their potential. This includes small local groups, such as girl guides and youth clubs to larger national youth development charities.

Who can apply? The following organisations working in the areas of welfare, youth, community, arts, faith, environment, education, health, and museums and heritage can apply:

  • UK registered charities working in the UK.
  • Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs).
  • Schools, universities or registered educational charities that are either exempt under Charity Commission guidelines or are registered charities.
  • Faith-based organisations that are either exempt under the Charity Commission guidelines or are registered charities.
  • Housing associations.
  • Museums and galleries.

Grant amount: The Foundation offers two levels of funding, which can be used towards capital, revenue or project costs:

  • Regular Grants of up to £100,000.
  • Major Grants of £100,000 and above. (When awarding major grants, the Foundation typically expects the project and organisation's overall annual income to be in excess of £1 million.)

Application process: The guidelines and an online application form can be found on the Foundation's website. Groups should read the guidelines before starting the application process.

Deadline: There are no deadlines. It takes around four months from the time an application is received to notification of a decision.

Contact information: Tel 020 7399 6565 Email cmolloy@garfieldweston.org

Website address: garfieldweston.org