First Utility Foundation
Overview
There are two categories of financial grants available:
- General Support grants: These grants specifically cover an organisation’s core costs.
- Flagship grants: These larger scale grants contribute to a specific initiative or project.
Eligibility
The Trustees are specifically looking for projects which:
- Change the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable families and children for the better
- Improve the quality of life of older people
- Make life better for people with disabilities
All applicant organisations must as a minimum:
- Be managed and delivered by a UK-registered charity (preferably with a turnover between £50k and £5m)
- Reach vulnerable individuals and families
- Have transparent plans and budgets
- Have available documentation as specified in the application form including two years of externally audited accounts.
Special consideration will also be given to projects which can demonstrate that:
- They have a track record helping vulnerable communities to create a new and better future
- They are delivering or pioneering solutions to help the vulnerable – challenging the status quo
- They are helping beneficiaries to spend less
- There is an opportunity for the Foundation’s grant to leverage in further funding from other donors
- At least 30% of the project funding is being secured from other sources
- Consideration has been given to opportunities that engage First Utility’s corporate resources and make use of the non-financial support available
- A clear plan is in place for the organisation’s project’s long term sustainability – or indeed an exit strategy depending on the situation
General Support grants (for core costs) are valued at between £3,000 and £10,000 per annum. Flagship grants are valued at up to £20,000 per annum. Amounts awarded depend on the amount requested, the scale of the project in question and the resources available within the Foundation. The final decision is made by the Board of Trustees.
Full cost recovery means securing funding for all of the costs involved in running a project. This means that you can request funding for direct project costs and for a proportionate share of your organisation’s overheads.