The 1989 Willan Charitable Trust

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To download the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust application form click "apply offline" above, on the left.

About the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust

The 1989 Willan Charitable Trust is a registered charity (number 802749) which aims to distribute approximately £500,000 each year to good causes, primarily in the North East of England.

Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland supports the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust’s grant making in the North East region, receiving and vetting applications for the trustees.

What is funding available for?

About the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust

The 1989 Willan Charitable Trust is a registered charity (number 802749) which aims to distribute approximately £500,000 each year to good causes, primarily in the North East of England.

Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland supports the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust’s grant making in the North East region, receiving and vetting applications for the trustees.

What is funding available for?

The 1989 Willan Charitable Trust will fund charitable activities benefiting residents of Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and Teesside.

Priority will be given to those which:

1. ease social deprivation

and/or

2. enrich the fabric of the local community and the quality of life of individuals within that community.

Grants are available to support organisations’ core costs, as well as discreet projects, and will generally range from £500 to £10,000.

Examples of projects that the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust will fund include:

• Projects that meet the needs of communities experiencing high levels of deprivation.
• Self-help initiatives that improve local quality of life.
• Services for young people that address educational needs or offer diversion from crime and anti-social behaviour.
• Projects assisting local communities affected by crime and anti-social behaviour
• Art projects that help tackle deprivation or improve local quality of life.
• The work of youth organisations and, in particular, the Sea Cadets, Scouts, Guides, Boys’ Brigades and other uniformed organisations. Grants here will not generally exceed £1,500.
• Projects that draw on the region’s rich maritime tradition to deliver improvements in local quality of life or address deprivation.
• Gap year voluntary work through Project Trust. Grants are limited to a maximum of £500 towards expenses in undertaking a voluntary placement. Applicants must normally reside in the North East region.

The Trustees wish to prioritise projects for which Willan funding will represent a significant contribution to delivery of the project

Who can apply?

Applications are welcomed from registered charities, exempted or excepted organisations, based in, or benefiting, residents of Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and Teesside.

Other organisations and community groups may not apply, unless they are working in partnership with a registered charity, which will act as the lead organisation and apply on their behalf.

The trustees tend to weight their support towards local charitable organisations, including those operating as branches of national charities. The Trustees preference is for charities with expenditure of less than £1m in the North East.

Applications from national charities are welcomed, but only for projects that solely benefit the North East. Applicants should provide evidence that they are well placed to meet identified needs within the region, indicating why support from local funders is essential.

Applicants with more than six months’ running costs in reserve will not usually be considered for a grant, unless the application demonstrates that funding the project from reserves will reduce them to an imprudent level.

Willan grants are for a maximum of one year, although continuation funding will be considered on an annual basis. However, the trustees will not normally consider more than three applications in any six-year period.

Please note that grants will NOT be available to fund:

• statutory organisations, including schools or activities eligible for public funding
• trips abroad
• individuals, except Project Trust applications from residents of the benefit area
• projects focused on: heritage and the environment, religion and the promotion of faith, scientific and/or medical research

unless these address deprivation and/or enrich local communities, improving local quality of life.

Applicants that do not provide feedback on previous awards from the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust within the required timescale will not generally be considered for further funding.

How do we apply for a grant?

Applicants must complete the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust application form which can be downloaded via the "apply offline" button at the top of the page. This application form should be submitted by email together with all supporting documentation, as set out in the guidelines. If you do not have an email account, application forms may be submitted by post.

The application must include the following:

• Contact details for the applicant organisation
• A brief description of the applicant organisation, its track record and current activities
• Charity number or HMRC number if an exempted organisation, such as a Church, to evidence registration for tax purposes
• Details of the activities for which funding is sought and why they are needed
• A budget for the activities and details of any funding from other sources, stating if secured or unsecured
• Details of the charity’s bank account and a copy of the most recent bank statement. The name of the account should be the name of your group and you should include the address of your bank, your sort code (six numbers) and account number (eight numbers).

Applicants should also submit a copy of their most recent accounts if not already held on the Charity Commission website. For partnerships, details of the lead charity must be provided together with the most recent accounts or financial statements for the smaller, non-registered group itself.

The trustees meet in March, June, September and December. Applications will generally be considered at the next scheduled meeting, provided they are received by the 15th of the preceding month. However, applicants are encouraged to submit their applications as early as possible to ensure they are considered at the next available meeting.

All applicants to the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust are contacted with the outcome of their application. If you do not hear from us within three months from the date of your application please contact us for advice. Currently payment is by cheque.

Applications and supporting documents should be submitted by email to:

general@communityfoundation.org.uk

In exceptional circumstances, applications may be submitted by post. Envelopes should be marked ‘1989 Willan Charitable Trust’ and sent to:

Community Foundation
Philanthropy House
Woodbine Road
Gosforth
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE3 1DD

Please note: The above guidelines are for the guidance of those seeking support from the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust only. The trustees may make grants outside of the stated parameters, where they consider there is a compelling case to do so.