Funding for organisations

To help us process your application smoothly, please provide the following:

• A full month’s bank statement dated within the last three months. This should show your account name, account number, and sort code. We use this to confirm your organisation has its own bank account and that the details are correct. It should be your day-to-day operating account. If you’d like to blank out individuals’ names, that’s absolutely fine – just keep dates, amounts, and descriptions visible.

• Your most recent accounts. If you don’t have a full set for the last financial year, audited management accounts or an income and expenditure spreadsheet are also acceptable.

• Your governing document (only if you’re not registered with the Charity Commission). This needs to include your charitable objects and a dissolution clause.

• Your Safeguarding Policy (if applicable), reviewed or established within the last three years. We’d expect this to include details of your DBS policy and how concerns or incidents are reported.

• Estimates or quotes to support the amount you’re requesting. For goods, services, or one-off costs of £750 or more, please include quotes.

When you send us your supporting documents, here’s what we look for:

• Your latest accounts – We review these to understand your organisation’s financial health and sustainability.

• Charity registration checks – If you’re a registered charity, we confirm your accounts and annual returns are up to date and filed on time.

• Bank account verification – We check that your organisation has its own account with normal activity and safeguards in place for payments.

• References – We may contact your referee and ask them to complete a short form about your organisation and project.

• Your governing document – We ensure it includes clear charitable objectives and a dissolution clause.

• Safeguarding – If you work with children or vulnerable adults, we check that you have a current safeguarding policy in place.

• Previous grants – If you’ve received funding from us before, we confirm that monitoring and evaluation reports have been completed. If not, we’ll ask for these before progressing.

This process helps us make fair, informed decisions and ensures funding goes where it can make the greatest impact.

Your referee should be a professional who is not directly involved with your group or benefiting from it. They need to know your organisation well enough to confirm its stability and capability. It’s important that they have read your application and understand the project you’re applying for funding for, so they can confidently vouch for you.

If you’re finding it difficult to complete your application online, please don’t worry – we’re here to help. Our friendly grants team can offer support by email, over the phone, or even in person if that would make things easier for you.

We can assist anyone who has limited or no access to a computer or the internet, and we’re also here for those who may have a disability that makes applying online challenging. For example, if you have sight difficulties, you might find it easier to complete a Word version of our application form instead. Just let us know, and we’ll provide this for you.

Please contact our grants team on 01303 814 500 and we’ll make sure you get the help you need.

No – we only fund projects and activities planned for the future. Unfortunately, we cannot provide funding for work that has already taken place.

If you’re unsure whether your project qualifies, please check our eligibility guidance or contact our Grants Team – we’re happy to help you before you apply.

Around two-thirds of our funds have their own decision-making panels, facilitated by Kent Community Foundation. These panels may represent family funds, corporate funds, or statutory funds, and they meet at different times – sometimes annually, sometimes more frequently – either in person, virtually, or by email.

Decisions on the remaining funds are made by Kent Community Foundation’s Grants Committee. We call these our discretionary funds, as the Foundation has more influence over these decisions.

Wherever possible, we aim to involve external experts and people with lived experience in the decision-making process. This is a key priority for us over the next three years, as we continue to make funding decisions that reflect the needs and voices of our communities.

The time it takes to hear back depends on the route your application follows:

• Micro route – Once we have everything we need to assess your application, we aim to give you a decision within eight weeks.

• General route – After we have all the required information, decisions usually take four to six months.

• Annual route – These applications remain live for up to twelve months, and decisions can be made at any point during that time.

• Other ad hoc funds – Timelines vary and will be advised when you apply.

We’ll always keep you updated and are here to answer any questions along the way. If you’re unsure which route applies to you, please contact our Grants Team for guidance.

Once your application has been approved and the award announcement has gone out, we aim to make payment within about one month.

Our team works hard to process grants as quickly as possible, so you can start delivering your project without delay. If you have any questions about timelines or need confirmation, please contact our Grants Team – we’re here to help.

We know how much effort goes into applying for funding, so we want to be transparent. Around 1 in 4 applications we receive is unsuccessful. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as:

• The application doesn’t meet our eligibility criteria

• The proposal needs more detail or clarity

• There are simply not enough funds available at the time

If your application isn’t successful, you can ask us for feedback. While we can’t provide feedback as standard, we’re happy to share guidance if you request it – and we’ll do our best to help you strengthen future applications.

1. Complete our eligibility checker.

2. Explore current funding opportunities

3. Find out which grants are open for applications and whether they’re a good fit for your organisation.

4. Read our guidance carefully

5. Each fund has its own criteria, so it’s important to understand what’s required before you apply.

6. Reach out if you need support

7. We’re happy to talk through your ideas or suggest ways to strengthen your application.

8. Start your application

9. Once you’re ready, you can apply online. We’ll keep you updated throughout the process.