We know that often groups and organisations find it a challenge to access funding so we have tried hard to make our processes as accessible and transparent as possible. If you require further support please do get in touch and we will work with you to see how to make things easier for you. This could range from a video application to sourcing an alternative format.

The Woodsmith Foundation is a participant of the Yorkshire Common Application Form initiative (YCAF) which aims to make the application process for grant seekers easier and faster by many local funders asking the same questions, in the same format. The other YCAF participants can be reviewed at https://www.yorkshirefunders.org.uk/ycaf/

1. Apply early - The application window to apply for funding is clearly displayed on our
   apply now page for each grant round. This is always a minimum of 6 weeks and we
   do not close early even if we have high application numbers. However, we do ask
   that you apply as soon as you are able to as we do find we receive a large number of
   applications in the last 48hours before we close. Applying early means we can spend
   more time talking to you about your application, giving feedback if your project is not
   eligible and suggesting where more information may be needed.

2. Read the guidance – The guidance is there to help. It can assist you to understand
   what you can apply for and what we will, and will not, fund. You will also find key
   contact details and information on the process, such as when you will receive a
   decision on your application.

3. Call us – after reading the guidance if you have any questions please do not hesitate
   to give us a ring. We are happy to discuss your ideas. Even if we cannot support you,
   we may be able to refer you on to someone who can or for further support.

4. Don’t worry about the big words! – We won’t mark you on your grammar or
   spelling. We have provided a maximum word count in our applications but do not
   feel you need to hit this. Sometimes you can say as much in 5 sentences as 50. What
   we want to understand is the what, where, why, who and how. What you think your
   community needs, where will you be working, why is your project needed, who will
   benefit and how you will do it? Try not to use terminology and acronyms that
   someone outside your organisation would not understand. A good check is to pass
   your application to someone who does not know your organisation or work and see
   if they can understand what you do and what you are asking for funding for.

5. AI – Use of new modern technologies like AI can help with writing an application.
   However if you use AI ensure you check that all the wording is in your voice, explains
   why we should support your organisation and what you do that is unique to you. We
   want to understand your view on why our support is needed to benefit the people and the communities you serve and nobody knows the answer to that better than
   you. We do see similar phrasing and wording being used time and
   time again which could disadvantage you. AI is useful to help reduce a lot of words to
   the word count but please do use AI cautiously and check thoroughly everything it
   writes for you.

6. Have more to tell us? – Do you have some photos you think would help us
   understand your application better, or an evaluation you have created of a previous
   project you are now looking to change or extend? Add them to the online form if it’s
   for a Community Grant, or for other grants send them to us by email at grants@woodsmithfoundation.org.uk

1. Eligibility – When we receive an application the first thing we do is run through these key questions:-

   a) Is your project in our area of benefit: the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, the old borough of Scarborough, or the North Yorks Moors National Park?

   b) Does your project fit the Woodsmith Foundation's priority of increasing opportunities and tackling disadvantage?

   c) Have you asked for funding under the maximum allowed for this grant round?

   d) Can you confirm you are not applying for costs that are being funded by another organisation?

   e) Does your group or organisation have at least three people on your board or committee who are not related and at least two unrelated bank signatories?

   f) Have you checked the grant guidance to ensure you are not applying for something which we cannot fund?

   g) Have you read the full grant guidance thoroughly and consider your organisation and project is eligible for this grant round? 

   Only once all of these questions are answered would we accept an application. For Community Grants this is part of the online application process however for other rounds we do not have an online eligibility check currently so these checks are done manually. 

   If you are applying for a grant to support an individual as part of the Young and Talented grant round we will run through our eligibility questions on the phone before advising whether to apply.

   On top of this the grant team will check if you have previously received funding from the Woodsmith Foundation and if your monitoring information has been returned. If it hasn’t we will contact you to say your application is on hold until we receive this. If we do not receive it by the date of the next panel meeting we will reject the application.

2. Due Diligence – Once we know you are eligible, your application is passed to one of our independent assessors. They will complete due diligence checks on your organisation. These will include but not be limited to;

   a) Submitted information – They will read the documents you have sent with your application including quotes, accounts and constitution. They are checking for possible risks, good practice and whether you are a going concern. Please note that we do not have a limit for the amount of reserves we would like to see you hold. We check if you are adhering to your reserves policy and seek to understand if reserves are either too high or very low.

   b) Charity Commission and Companies House – If you are a Registered Charity, CIO, CIC or not for profit limited company they will check if your information is up to date and compliant on the regulators website.

   c) Social media, search engines and website searches - To understand your online presence and if this aligns with your charitable objectives and what you are requesting funding for. It is not a requirement that you have a website or social media.

   d) Local knowledge - We have a local presence through our staff and trustees and we use their knowledge about organisations and projects.

   e) Funder Knowledge - 360 Giving has information on grants provided to organisations and individuals by a number of funders. We may use this information together with our relationships with other funders to enhance our understanding of your organisation. We may, if necessary, ask for a reference from other funders.

3. Assessment – Once your application has passed due diligence we check if it aligns with the guidance for the grant round. This is when we start to explore your project and understand the what, where, why, who and how. What you think your community needs, why it’s needed and how you will do it. The assessor will come back to you with any further questions should they have them.

4. Assessor meeting – Once all the assessments have been completed and the round is closed the assessors will meet with the person managing the grant round (Chief Executive or Grant Officer) and explain their findings and thoughts. A recommendation is then made to the trustee panel.

5. Panel Meeting – A panel meeting is held with the Chief Executive, Grant Officer and Trustees to go over the assessor’s findings and make the final decisions. For larger grants these may be done as part of the quarterly board meetings. More information on when this will happen will be in the guidance document for each grant round.

We believe we have a good understanding of what the trustees are interested in supporting
and have tried to make this clear in the guidance. However, we also encourage people to call
us in advance of putting in an application so we can give you a view on how your application
may be viewed by the trustees who will make the final funding decision. We feel taking this
approach cuts down on wasted time for both those applying and us.

Community Grants 2024 information:

Rejection breakdown:-

• 6 withdrew their application. 2 of these went on to reapply and were successful after
  conversations and feedback from the Grant Officer or Chief Executive.

• 19 Failed Due diligence. This could have been their governance structure was not
  eligible, they were outside of our area of benefit or simply did not reply to our
  assessors emails and phone calls asking for more information to make an informed
  recommendation to the board.

• 2 had a high level of free reserves which could have been used towards this request.

• 6 had a lack of evidence of need within our area of benefit. This may be because they
  were a national organisation without local staff on the ground, or because they did
  not serve a marginalised or disadvantaged community. It may be that they were to
  benefit a community where there was a low percentage of need when comparing to
  other applications.

• 1 had a large number of previous grants from the foundation so was not prioritised
  at this time.

Many of the organisations who received a rejection could have avoided spending time on
an application that was going to be rejected by reading the grant guidance and a call to
the Foundation team to check. We always encourage a phone call to discuss your
application before you spend time completing it.

Young and Talented 2024 information:

All enquiries for a Young and Talented grants begin with a conversation with the Chief Executive
before we recommend applying. This does mean very few application forms we receive go
on to be rejected as we have already ascertained whether the young person is eligible or
not.

Expressions of Interest for Catalyst Grants 2024:

We received 28 Expressions of Interest alongside many more initial enquiries. Again we
encourage you to call us in the first instance to manage the demand and your time. It takes longer to
make a decision on EOIs as they require a full proposal to be reviewed at a board meeting so decisions may spread across calendar years. We award approximately 6-10 large Catalyst each year and 90% of the full proposals considered by the board have been funded.

All applications that are rejected, for all grant rounds, receive written feedback and the letter you receive will invite you to have a conversation with us if you would like more information. The trustees
decisions are final and we do not accept appeals, but a conversation might help you develop
a future application that is a better fit for the Woodsmith Foundation.

If you need some extra help finding funding, developing your project idea and budget or
writing a good application your local infrastructure support organisation will be able to help.
They have a wide range of other support offers that can help your organisation develop or
grow including governance advice, trustee training, recruitment and management of
volunteers, social media and marketing training and much more.

More information can be found at:
Former Borough of Scarborough and North Yorkshire Moors National Park -
www.communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk

Borough of Redcar and Cleveland -
https://mvda.info/ delivering Enhance Redcar and Cleveland

We now provide all new grant holders with information on how best to share the good
news, what to do if things change and monitoring information. A copy of this document can
be found here :-

You can download our logos here. Please read the Grant Holder Pack to understand which one you will require. We do have other formats including EPS and PNG please email if you require these grants@woodsmithfoundation.org.uk 

• Primary Logo

• Secondary Logo

• White Logo

We welcome feedback on how we are doing at the Woodsmith Foundation – the good and
the bad. You will have an opportunity to give us feedback in your monitoring form when you
complete your grant. If you would like to give us feedback at any other point in the process
please do send it to grants@woodsmithfoundation.org.uk