Allen Lane Foundation

Open or will open again Addiction and substance misuse Age Aged 60+ Black and minority ethnic Communities Health promotion Health, wellbeing and sport Healthcare services Human rights and equality Medical conditions Offenders and ex-offenders People with disabilities Refugees and asylum seekers Un/Employed Victims and survivors Young people (13-25) Antrim & Newtownabbey Ards & North Down Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Belfast City Causeway Coast and Glens Derry City and Strabane England Fermanagh and Omagh Great Britain Lisburn and Castlereagh Mid and East Antrim Mid Ulster Newry, Mourne and Down Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland Scotland Wales Medium (up to £60,000) Micro (up to £1,000) Small (up to £10,000)

Track grant Notes

Overview

Aims

Their aims are to fund work within each of our funding programmes which:

will make a lasting difference to people’s lives rather than simply alleviating the symptoms or current problems;
is aimed at reducing isolation, stigma and discrimination, and;
encourages or enables groups that experience marginalisation and/or discrimination to share in the life of the whole community.

Funding

Over a typical year, they make around 130-150 grants, to a total value of between £720,000 and £800,000.
The total amount they can offer is up to £15,000. This can be over three years, two years, or a single grant.
However, most grants are for much less than this amount, with the average grant size being £5,000-£6,000.
They aim to help organisations to become sustainable, supporting running and core costs to enable them to have flexibility, security and longevity. They can contribute to project costs or salaries.
Six of their funding programmes are focused on funding for adults only.
The Young People’s Programme can support people aged approx 12-21 from across a broader range of backgrounds.
While recognising (and being willing to support) on-going, tried and tested projects, they are also particularly interested in unusual, imaginative or pioneering projects which have perhaps not yet caught the public imagination.

Eligibility

Size of organisation?

To make sure their grants have an impact, they only fund smaller organisations. If you work across a local area such as a village, estate or town, to be eligible you will need to have an income of less than around £100,000. At the other end of the spectrum, if you work across the whole of the UK you will need to have an income of less than around £250,000.

Type of organisation?

They fund organisations which are registered charities, and also other organisations which are not charities but which seek funding for a charitable project. (Such as constituted voluntary groups or Community Interest Companies for example.)

Geographical area?

They make grants across the United Kingdom. The only exception is that they do not fund work within Greater London. Organisations which have their offices in London are eligible provided the people who benefit from their work are not only in London.

Examples of some of their recent grants can be found here.

For FAQ's visit the website here

Programmes

Asylum seekers & refugees
- The Foundation has updated its criteria and will now only consider applications in this programme that are of benefit to women.
Gypsy, Roma & Traveller communities
- They are keen to support work that raises awareness of the issues Gypsy and Traveller communities face, and work to combat hate crime, stigma, discrimination and inequalities, including the lack of appropriate accommodation or other service provision.
- Due to high applicant numbers, they have only been making 2 or 3 grants per annum in this category.
Offenders & ex-offenders
- The Foundation has recently updated its criteria within this programme, to have a focus solely on women. They will now focus only on women affected by the criminal justice system; and also on people who are in prison for violence against women.
Older people
- The aim is to reduce loneliness and isolation, improve physical and mental wellbeing, help maintain independence and a quality of life for older people.
- Applicants can be care homes and projects can include befriending schemes and advice services.
People affected by violence or abuse
- Supporting projects aimed at education and the prevention of abuse, and the provision of practical alternatives to violence and conflict resolution.
People with mental health issues
- The focus iof the funding is on mental health charities that support people with moderate or severe mental health issues – rather than more general wellbeing or wellness projects.
Young People
- Recent updates to the guidance in this programme, are that the Foundation aims to focus on those children who are considered persistently absent from school, those leaving school with no qualifications, and children and young people in/leaving care.