Seven Friends Foundation

Overview

How much can you apply for

They are open to applications for grants of a value between £300 and £3000. They would usually expect to award a larger number of small grants under £1000.

The types of causes they support

They want to support those organisations and causes that are unpopular or do not receive widespread public attention. This could be due to negative focus within the media; due to difficulty in accessing statutory, voluntary and institutional funding; due to the cause being seen as politically controversial; or because the issue is not typically seen as a charitable cause. Examples of these types of causes or groups may be:

• Asylum seekers and refugees
• Migrant communities
• Offenders and ex-offenders
• People experiencing violence or abuse
• Sex workers
• Trafficking and modern slavery
• Dependency or Addiction
• LGBT+
• Sexual and reproductive health

They know that unpopularity can be very subjective and this list is not exclusive. For example, mental health has become a much more popularised and publicised cause in recent years, but there may be a lack of progress in improving mental health support within the examples of the marginalised groups listed above.

They encourage anyone who believes their cause meets these criteria to apply and explain why you believe it does.

The types of organisations they fund

They only fund smaller organisations, by which they would usually mean organisations with an average annual income of under £300,000.

They fund organisations which are registered charities, and also other organisations which are not charities but which seek funding for charitable work. If you are not a registered charity please explain why in your application. Organisations not registered as charities may be asked to provide additional evidence and commitments around governance and safeguarding.

They award grants to organisations that work anywhere within the United Kingdom, with a preference to those located in areas of deprivation.

The type of activity they fund

Long term impact and improvement is important to them. They look to support organisations to undertake work and projects which are sustainable beyond the period of funding.

They encourage applicants to be open and transparent about the costs of what they are looking to fund and understand the need to fund ‘overheads’, ‘core costs’ or ‘administrative costs’ where they improve the sustainability and long-term success of an organisation.

They encourage applications from organisations that work together and can demonstrate how their work improves collaboration across the sector.

They want to improve the skills within charitable organisations and are open to funding training and development opportunities within an organisation.