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Important
These criteria are intended as a guide only; the trustees are not
obliged to apply all or indeed any of them. However, applications that
broadly meet these criteria are more likely to succeed than those that meet
few of them. Applications are considered on an individual basis and it is
perfectly possible for the trustees to favour an application meeting fewer
criteria than one which is passed over. The trustees decision is final.
Please also bear in mind that that we receive more applications than we can
meet and, however regretfully, we cannot help everybody.
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Who can benefit
Organisations compatible with the categories set out below
There is a strong preference for organisations registered as charities.
Others must show a clear charitable purpose and be properly constituted as a
non-profit making body.
Small innovatory projects with a good measure of self help or voluntary
input are preferred.
Geographical area
Technically, England and Wales, but with a clear preference for our core
area of the West of England, notably:
Somerset (especially West Somerset), Bristol, Cornwall, Dorset and Devon.
in addition the area included within Bristol Methodist District for
applications for Methodist causes. The District incorporates Gloucestershire
and Wiltshire north of Salisbury.
We are a comparatively small trust, and are forced to be selective.
Therefore, the further you are from our core area, the less likely you are to
be successful.
What is funded
The broad categories we are supporting at present (in decreasing order of
the amount awarded and averaged over the last three years) are:
Medical and Disablement (24%)
Youth and Children (19%)
The Disadvantaged (16%)
Methodism in the Specified Counties (13%)
Other Churches (10%)
Community Projects (9%)
The Environment (4%)
Other (5%)
What is not funded
No grants to individuals unless supported by a registered charity.
Large projects (over £500,000 and/or with more than £250,000 still to
raise).
General appeals by national charities.
Grants are not normally given for running expenses of a charity.
Typical grants awarded
We usually make one-off grants for a specific project or part of project.
A grant will not normally be paid until all the other funds needed for the
project have been raised and the project started (eg - building contract
signed). We tend not to come in at the early stages of fund-raising, as it
ties up funds for too long between the award and the payment criteria being
met.
Usual range of grants - £100 - £2,000
Typical grants - £500 or £1,000
Typical examples of grants paid in recent years:
£2,000 towards the purchase cost of land for use as a wildlife
sanctuary
£1,500 towards the refurbishment of a community swimming pool
£1,000 towards the cost of improvements to a village Methodist church
£1,000 towards the cost of provision of a skateboard park
£ 500 to a parish church towards a new community centre
£ 500 to a hospice towards the cost of new equipment
£ 500 to a trust providing drugs awareness education in schools
£ 500 towards training costs for a victim support group
£ 250 to a hospital radio station for equipment
£ 250 towards the cost of a gardening catalogue for sales of a disabled
work scheme
£ 100 towards the cost a students gap year expedition (through a
charity)
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