Videos

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

"We could not have carried out our project without your help and it will make a difference to so many!"

We manage a range of grant-making funds which are quick and easy to apply for, particularly if you are a small charity, community or voluntary group.

Our Funds change on a regular basis, so keep checking to see what's available. Or just sign up to Grant Alert (the pink box on the left) and we'll keep you posted!

If you need help, please call us on 01884 235887 or email grants@devoncf.com

********************************************************

We are currently open for Sport Relief Community Cash Applications with a deadline of 9th March 2012 at 5pm. 

********************************************************

What do we fund?

All our funds are here to help local groups, organisations and charities that work to address disadvantage and deprivation across the whole of Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. Your application will first be assessed against this.

Once we are sure that the purpose of the application is to do this, then we assess it against the individual fund(s) criteria.

To see a list of our funds and what they support please click here.

What don't we fund?

To see a full list of exclusions please click here.

We would like to highlight the following as particularly important:

We will not fund any project or organisation that we have funded before but not received the requested evaluation report.

We cannot fund multiple applications from the same Fund in a single year and generally we try not to fund the same organisation several times in a year in order to stretch our limited resources as far as possible.

How do you apply?

We only accept online applications because that way we can stay cost effective and make sure that as much as possible goes to grant-making and not to our overheads. The online form is easy and you can save and return to it as many times as you like without losing the information you have already entered.

Each fund has a deadline for completed applications and unfortunately we cannot assess applications received after these dates. Please note that your application is only complete when we have received your PART A, PART B and all supporting documents before the deadline date.

For a full set of guidelines to help you complete the application please click here and we strongly urge you to have these beside you as you complete the application form. If you have any old application forms, please don't use them, the forms may have changed and our guidelines may then prove confusing.

Apply online here.

If you want to apply for a specific fund please tell us which fund in the PART B of your application. Make sure that you have checked the criteria of that fund carefully and demonstrated how you meet those criteria in your application. If you think you may be eligible for more than one fund, then please say ‘ANY' in your PART B application and we will try and match you to the most suitable fund.

Unfortunately there are some funds where we cannot use this process. The funds below have their own application forms and guidance notes.

Comic Relief - click here for more information

Sport Relief Community Cash - click here for more information 

Devonian Fund for individuals - click here for more information

Exeter Positive Steps - click here for more information

Police Property Fund - click here for more information

How long will it take?

Our list of funds shows when they open and close throughout the year and when the deadlines are for each fund (click here for full list). We aim to have a final decision for you a month after the deadline for applications and we will email you to let you know the outcome of your application.

The bulk of our programmes make grants three times a year with the deadlines for applications being April 30^th , August 31^st, and December 31^st each year.

How much can you apply for?

Most of our funds offer small grants between £500 - £1,500. However, there are exceptions and for more information on these click here. Generally it is a good rule of thumb NOT to apply for the maximum and make your project budget fit; most of our funds have very few grants given at the top end of the scale.

How do we decide which grants to give?

Firstly your application is received here in the office and we do an initial assessment against the criteria above. Then the applications are sent to panels of volunteer Devon residents who have expertise in either their geographic area or a special knowledge of a specific issue. (For example applications to the Devonian Fund are assessed by occupational therapists.) The panellists give us their views and the decision to fund is based upon these and finally a minimum of two Devon Community Foundation Trustees give their approval.

Many of our funds are known as ‘donor directed'. These are funds where the donor has donated the money and retains the final decision about what grants to make. In these cases the donors work with a team member to assess applications and our Trustees approve the grants as usual.

If you would like to join a panel please send an email to sarah@devoncf.com as we are always looking for expertise to make our grant-giving as good as it can be.

What are your chances of success?

Last year groups applied for a total of £1,415,349 to support their projects, far more than we had available. We tried to make the funds stretch as far as possible, funding 65% of the cost of projects and 56% of the groups that applied. In many cases we do this by awarding part of what is requested to offer some help at least, even if we cannot afford to fund the whole amount. Due to the current economic climate this year we have less than half the funds we had available last year and so we are sorry to say that your chances of success are slimmer.

Please don't be disappointed if you are unsuccessful, we hope we have gone some way to explaining why this might be. We don't want to put you off, please do apply, it's our job to try and fund you.

Thank you for applying and good luck with your application

from the DCF team

Web design AB© 2012 Devon Community Foundation

Charity no: 1057923 A company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales. Company no: 3236918

Registered office: Ballard House, West Hoe Road, Plymouth. PL1 3AE