OUR FUNDING POLICY
The Wharfedale Foundation is a charitable trust that has its roots in the Christian tradition. We recognise a common practical vision of a better world with those of other faith traditions and none. We fund organisations and initiatives in Yorkshire and the Humber that bring communities together, support communities who feel marginalised and forgotten, or build bridges between communities. We fund organisations with an annual income that is at or below £300,000 by giving grants from £500 and up to £25,000.
As a funder we focus on the wider impact on communities and society, whilst also bringing together different communities. Therefore, the key question we will review in your application is:
- How will you bring people from different communities together to build social cohesion and create a stronger, fairer, less divided society?
If we are oversubscribed, we will also give weighting to smaller organisations during our assessments.
What we fund
Grants for not-for-profit organisations with income under £300,000 for projects in Yorkshire & Humber addressing divisions in society and bringing communities closer together.
Grants will be for up to £10,000 for organisations with an annual income of under £150,000. Grants will be for up to £25,000 for organisations with an annual income of under £300,000. We encourage applications particularly from smaller organisations.
We will fund projects/activities/core and development costs (including staff salaries, training, pilot projects, on-going services etc.) and are particularly keen to support organisations to be more sustainable.
Who can apply
We are open to applications from:
- Registered charities
- Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO)
- Charitable companies and Community Interest Companies (CIC). These must be limited by guarantee with at least 3 unrelated directors, no persons with significant control, and have an asset lock. They must also submit a full set of accounts (the abbreviated published accounts are not sufficient)
- Voluntary/community/faith organisations (with a constitution)
- Other non-profit organisations will be considered
The essentials you need:
- To be set up as an organisation with a governing document, e.g. a constitution or articles and memorandum and to be not-for-profit. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has advice on writing a governance document here.
- To have a bank account (though in some rare cases we will instead allow you to use a 3rd party to hold your funds instead).
- A set of financial accounts. Or alternatively, bank statements for the previous three months will be acceptable for new organisations without a full year’s accounts yet.
- Names of all your trustees or management committee members or directors.
- If you work with children or vulnerable adults we will need evidence of your safeguarding policies and procedures.
If you need further advice about these basics, contact one of the advisers listed at the bottom of this page.
What we won’t normally fund
- capital projects (eg buildings and land)
- general appeals
- applications from individuals
- heritage projects
- any application that is not based in Yorkshire or the Humber
- organisations with an annual income above £300,000
- organisations or projects which do not bring together disadvantaged and marginalised communities
WHEN CAN YOU APPLY:
We are now closed to further Expressions of Interest (EoI) for the 2025 funding round.
If your EoI fits our priorities for funding, we will invite you to complete a full application form. The link will be emailed to you by 30 June.
Full applications must be submitted by by 1 August 2025.
Funding decisions will be emailed to applicants in mid-September.
FURTHER ADVICE AND SUPPORT FOR YOUR ORGANISATION
You may be able to get free advice from one of these funding advisers to support your organisation in your local area
