Types of grant

In general, the Trust aims to ‘make a difference’; it does not support individuals or very small and narrowly specialised activities and, equally, it tries to avoid unfocussed causes. Charities considered for grants will be notified and asked to complete an 'Account Summary' form taking various information from their latest Annual Accounts.

In approved cases, the trustees will provide one of the following four types of grant support:

One Off Grants - Grants made on a one off basis will be approved approximately every four months, and awarded to start up costs, core costs or for a specific project for which applicants have requested support. This could include a contribution towards a building/refurbishment project, purchase of specialist equipment or other similar capital expenditure, or assistance with running costs.

Conditionally Renewable Grants - Applications for annual support are not encouraged, but conditionally renewable grants might be awarded in exceptional circumstances for up to three years, following which support may be withdrawn to enable resources to be devoted to other projects.

Grants can be towards start-up costs, or for a specific item in the applicant’s budget such as a salary, core costs or towards the costs of a particular project. Such grants are subject to satisfactory annual progress reports and only released at the trustees’ sole discretion.

Annual Subscriptions – A proportion of the trustees' annual spend is currently set aside to pay annual subscriptions, predominantly to charities operating in Sussex. Charities added or removed from this list of payments will be notified accordingly, and all payments are subject to satisfactory annual progress reports and submission of annual accounts prior to being released at the trustees’ sole discretion.

Large Grants (over £10,000) - Large grants are approved by the full board of trustees twice a year (normally April and October), and are typically agreed upon when the trustees have a deep understanding and/or a close relationship with the charity, which may have developed over a period of several years.