Facts and Figures
Beneficiaries
Half of all funding distributed in the past four years has supported youthwork projects with a quarter going to family support/children’s charities and the remainder being split between community initiatives and projects supporting children and young people with disabilities.
Areas of Deprivation
One of the key criteria of the Trust’s funding policy is addressing urban and rural deprivation. It is no surprise, therefore, that over 90% of grants are awarded to charities working in the top 20% most deprived wards in our beneficial area (as measured by the Indices of Multiple Deprivation).
Average Grant Size
All grants requesting more than £5k are considered at one of three Trustee meetings each year. The average grant size at these meetings is close to £30k with the small grant average just over £2,700.
Rejection Rate
Although funding requests to Trustee meetings typically exceed the funds available by a factor of 3:1 (e.g. a total of £1m is requested but only £350k is available), 75% of applicants receive a grant.
Small Grants
For grants of less than £5k, it takes an average of three weeks for applicants to receive a funding decision. These grants are typically for one-off projects or specific revenue needs.
Admin Costs
Over the past four years, the Trust has spent an average of 7% of all grants paid on management and administration.
Investment Policy
The aim of the Trust’s Investment Policy is to maintain the real value of the capital whilst providing sustainable returns to distribute as grants. In deciding the amount to be spent on grant-making and operations each year, Trustees use as a guide an amount that is 3.5% of the total value (on a trailing 13 quarter average) of the investment portfolio.