The February Foundation is an independent grant-making charity with broad-ranging charitable objectives. Grants tend to be made under the following broad headings:
o Education (the majority of the Foundation’s grant funding tends to be made for educational causes. These can include the arts, culture and heritage projects).
o Healthcare and patient support
o End-of-life care, and
o Other categories.
Applications are encouraged from UK registered charities, particularly:
o Charities that are for the benefit of persons no longer physically or mentally able to help themselves.
o Charities that are for the benefit of persons who are making an effort to improve their lives.
o Charities that have a long-term beneficial impact on the future of individuals, groups of individuals, or organisations.
o Charities that protect the environment.
o Charities whose charitable objectives are aligned with those of the Foundation, and
o Small or minority charities where small grants will have a significant impact.
Grants, which can cover capital, project and core costs, generally tend to be around the £5,000 mark with the occasional higher award. Around 1 in 5 applications are successful. The Foundation may require an element of matched funding for some projects.
The Foundation has recently reviewed eligibility exclusions and have agreed that the following organisations are not eligible to apply for grants from the 2022/23 financial year onwards:
o Animal charities (except those involving therapy or sport for the disabled).
o Charities which are party-politically driven.
o Charities with a commercial bias for a particular product or company.
o Charities with an aggressive religious bias.
o Child care.
o Citizens’ Advice Bureaux.
o Community Centres.
o Community Interest Companies (CICs).
o Education, including adult/further, higher, primary and secondary education.
o Special Educational Needs.
o Housing associations.
o Individuals.
o Medical research.
o Military charities (including those for veterans).
o Minibuses.
o NHS Trusts (or charities which support them).
o Non-departmental government bodies.
o Outdoor activity centres.
o Overseas projects.
o Scouts, Guides, Brownies, Cubs, and similar organisations.
o Single-faith organisations.
o Sports clubs, unless only for the mentally or physically disabled.
o Village halls, and
o Youth clubs and youth centres.
Further information is available on the Foundation’s website. Please note that the Foundation does not have an application form.
Applications should be made by email using the email address provided below and should include:
o Details and budget of the proposed project.
o How many people would benefit, and how those benefits might be measured (not just financially).
o Full accounts for the most recent completed financial year and, if not contained in the accounts, the full cost of raising voluntary income, and
o What the estimated cost of raising funds for the project is.
Hospices are required to provide the following additional information:
o Admin (non-clinical, non-fundraising) costs, represented as a percentage of the total project cost.
o Day hospice capacity utilisation, represented as a percentage of the total project cost.
o Home care hours delivered.
o In-patient bed occupancy.
o Latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating, and
o Total fundraising cost, including trading, represented as a percentage of the total project cost
Applications may be made at any time and are reviewed on a monthly basis by the Foundation.
Contact details for the Foundation, as listed in its Charity Commission entry, are:
Richard Pierce-Saunderson
The February Foundation
79 Cromwell Road
Norwich
Norfolk
NR7 8XJ
Tel: 01379 388200
Email: rps(at)thefebruaryfoundation.org
