[WiLT] Trudor Trust - for small under resourced groups - no set deadlines

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Tudor Trust - Latest Guidelines

The Tudor Trust knows that solutions to the difficulties people face
are seldom straightforward or immediate. They are therefore interested
in encouraging people to use their own skills and abilities as a
resource for change; to find new ways of tackling deep-rooted problems
or to cope with and move on from difficult situations. They recognise
that this may take time so, if appropriate, they can commit funding
over a sustained period.

As an independent grant maker, an important part of their role is to
support work which is untried, which has uncertain outcomes and which
may be difficult to fund. However, they are not preoccupied with
innovation and understand that there is a place for well-founded,
practical work which seeks to bring normality and wellbeing into
difficult places and situations.

They are most interested in helping smaller, under-resourced
organisations which offer direct services and which involve the people
they work with in their planning. The groups they fund don't have to
be registered charities; they can also make grants to other groups as
long as they can show them how they would use their grant for
charitable purposes.

Tudor aims to be a helpful and flexible funder and they want to
respond imaginatively to organisations' real concerns and priorities.
Organisations dealing with complex issues are seldom themselves
straightforward and so they hope to engage with the groups they
support in a variety of ways, offering grants, loans, advice and
development support. There is no maximum or minimum grant amount.
Grants can take the form of core funding (including salaries and
running costs), development funding, project grants or capital grants
for buildings or equipment. As they want to fund work which engages
with the reality and complexity of people and their problems, they
look to support organisations working across sectors and boundaries
(whether actual or perceived).

They usually make grants over one, two or three years but may work
alongside organisations for a longer period. However as they are keen
to support a range of organisations, including those which are new to
us, their funding cannot continue indefinitely.

They want to offer high levels of support and engagement when this
will be helpful and appropriate. Their two-stage application process
gives them more time to focus on working creatively with applicants
who reach the second stage. Through constructive dialogue and
increased understanding they hope to give applicants the opportunity
to think about their options and develop proposals which focus on the
real needs of their organisations, and the people they are working
with.

Tudor's focus is on smaller groups, led by people of vision, which are
committed to growth, progression and development. Some of the other
characteristics they are looking for when they make grants include:
* Organisations which are embedded in and have developed out of their
community - whether the local area or a 'community of interest'
* Organisations providing direct services to marginalised people
* A focus on building stronger communities by overcoming isolation and
fragmentation and encouraging inclusion, connection and integration
* High levels of user involvement, and an emphasis on self-help where
this is appropriate
* Work which addresses complex and multi-stranded, often difficult,
problems in unusual or imaginative ways
* Organisations which are thoughtful in their use of resources and
which foster community resilience in the face of environmental,
economic or social change
* Organisations and people who know what difference they want to make
and have the energy and vision to make it happen
* They can only consider making a capital grant for new premises or
for building improvements if the organisations using the building
display some of these key characteristics. Good buildings which
contribute positively to their environment are important, but they are
most interested in what goes on inside the building and the difference
building improvements would make to your work.

They are more likely to fund groups with an annual turnover of less
than £1 million.

They aim to make around 350 grants a year but receive thousands of
applications. This is why they have a two-stage application process.
They know that putting together a full funding application places
heavy demands on your time and resources, so we ask all applicants to
complete a brief first-stage proposal instead. They estimate that only
around one in ten applicants will go through to this second stage.

Full Guidelines including exceptions are available on
Website: http://www.tudortrust.org.uk
The Tudor Trust, 7 Ladbroke Grove, London W11 3BD
Tel: 020 7727 8522