Matrix Causes Fund

Overview

Overview

The Matrix Causes Fund provides support to organisations which promote access to justice (particularly for people trying to get support to meet their basic personal needs), equality of opportunity, or a sustainable environment.

Members of Matrix make monthly contributions to the Fund and a sub-committee considers applications for funding.  Other than in exceptional circumstances, the Causes Fund will only provide an organisation with one-off funds of up to £5,000, or funds of up to £3,000 a year for 3 years for a specific project which supplements the organisation’s core activities.

Funding Criteria

Applicants seeking funding from the MCF will need to show how they meet all of the following criteria:

1. The MCF will only provide support to organisations which promote any of the following:
   1. Access to justice (particularly for people trying to get support to meet their basic personal needs),
   2. Equality of opportunity
   3. A sustainable environment

Applications are particularly welcome from organisations whose focus is on supporting the needs of vulnerable persons such as prisoners, asylum seekers, people with mental health difficulties, people (particularly children) with disabilities, or women in refuges.

2. The MCF is only able to provide funding for organisations with charitable status. In exceptional circumstances MCF may be able to consider applications from organisations that are established for "charitable purposes" and are recognised by HMRC as an exempt charity.
3. The MCF will provide either:
   1. A one-off grant of £5,000, or
   2. Three grants paid over three years, each up to the value of £3,000. For the multi-year grants, funds will be released upon receipt of a grant report at the end of the year cycle.

With a view to benefiting as wide a range of organisations as possible, the MCF will not provide funding to an organisation it has already funded within a year of completion of any previously funded projects. For example, if you have received funding for a project in February 2023 and the project lasted for one year, you will not be eligible to reapply to the MCF until February 2025.

4. The MCF will only provide funding for specified items, services, or activities, not including staff salaries. The MCF may exceptionally cover salary costs for distinct projects where applicants demonstrate a clear funding need and that the project is separate from their normal activities which are covered by core funding.
5. If the specified items, services, or activities are not covered in their entirety by the funding from the MCF, the organisation must confirm that they have secured funding for the whole project from other sources. The MCF will not provide funds for an organisation's general or core expenditure, such as the managerial and general administrative costs associated with the day-to-day running of an organisation.
6. The MCF will fund the costs associated with things like publications, staff/volunteer training, publicity, events and equipment which can benefit many people and be long- lasting. The MCF will only fund the cost of printing for publications where there is a justifiable need for the materials to be printed rather than provided electronically, for example where the information is to be distributed in prisons. The MCF will only provide funds to cover costs (such as salary costs) for an organisation's direct service delivery to individual clients or members of the public where there are a large number of beneficiaries for whom the benefit is significant and long-term and may be cascaded to others. Organisations must explain why there is a need to provide the service in the way proposed.
7. Other than in exceptional circumstances, the MCF will not fund costs associated with international travel. The MCF will not provide funds to cover the costs of construction works or building materials. The MCF does not provide funds to support or replace statutory or other services generally provided by public bodies such as schools.
8. Organisations which receive funds from the MCF will be expected to report back on the outcome of the use of the funds and to acknowledge in their publicity material that they received money from the MCF. They will allow MCF to refer to the funding in its publicity material, such as on the MCF website.

Examples of previously funded projects are on the website.