THE FOYLE FOUNDATION MAIN GRANTS PROGRAMME
Grants of up to £75,000 are available to UK based charities which have a core remit of the Arts, Learning and/or Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and an annual turnover of over £150,000.
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o Application deadline: FRIDAY 31st JANUARY 2025. Please note that this is the final ever round of the Foundation’s Main Grants programme.
o Funder: The Foyle Foundation (founded 2000. Charity number 1081766. Total value of all grants awarded during the year ended 31 December 2023: £20,299,724, of which £7,926,299 was awarded as Main Grants).
o Who can apply: UK charities with an annual turnover of over £150,000 (charities with an annual income of under £150,000 are advised to apply to the Foundation’s Small Grants programme).
o Key words: Project Costs, Core Costs, Capital Costs, Equipment, Digital Services, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Knowledge, Learning, Museums, Libraries, Archives, Special Educational Needs, Disabled/Disabilities, Environmental Improvements, Improving Diversity and Access, United Kingdom.
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The Foyle Foundation will complete its grant giving programme in 2025, marking 25 years of giving to the fields of the Arts, Learning, Community Small Grants, State Schools Libraries and formerly Health. The current round of the Foundation’s Main Grants programme will be the final ever round of the scheme as it winds up its grant-making activities.
The Foundation’s Main Grants programme offers grants of up to £75,000 to UK registered charities with an annual income of over £150,000. The Foundation will consider applications for:
o Project revenue costs.
o Essential equipment and digital services.
o Core costs, which is aimed at those with no, or without significant, public funding, and/or
o Capital projects. Please note that the Foundation is now only accepting capital requests under £75K. The Foundation is unlikely to consider a request for building related costs if a lease is for less than 20 years. It does not fund feasibility studies and if RIBA stages apply, applicants must have reached at least RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Stage 3 before making a full capital application. Major infrastructure, services and equipment renewal projects will be eligible for consideration. The Foundation welcomes projects/proposals that help reduce fixed or variable costs to promote efficiency savings, or which enable the generation of higher income, or additional revenue streams. It also welcomes projects that promote environmental efficiency and reduce your carbon footprint or energy costs.
Organisations and projects that provide direct benefits and services to the general public (rather than special interest groups) will be favoured.
The Foundation will support projects/initiatives where applicants work in partnership on joint projects with other similar organisations. In such cases a lead organisation, to which any grant will be made, must be identified.
Charities must demonstrate ongoing financial viability over the next 12 months. If an applicant cannot demonstrate this, their application is likely to be declined.
Funding is available for:
1. Arts Funding Priorities
The Foundation seeks applications that make a strong artistic case for support in either the performing or visual arts. The Arts programme aims to help sustain the arts and to support projects that help to deliver an applicant’s artistic vision. The Foundation looks for value for money, long term benefit and sustainability in the projects it supports.
Typical areas of support include:
o Helping to make the arts more accessible by developing new and more diverse audiences.
o Encouraging new work and supporting young and emerging artists; skilled freelancers and independent practitioners, and/or
o Projects that encourage sustainability by reducing overheads or which help generate additional revenue. This might include environmental improvements to save energy and lower carbon emissions.
2. Learning Funding Priorities
The Foundation will support projects which facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and learning and which have a long-term strategic impact.
Key areas for support are:
o Libraries, museums and archives.
o Special educational needs (see below).
o Projects that encourage sustainability by reducing overheads or which help generate additional revenue. This might include environmental improvements to save energy and lower carbon emissions, and/or
o Projects and activities which increase access and widen the diversity of attenders/visitors.
Please note that citizenship, esteem-building, independent living, vocational skills training, life skills, mainstream early learning projects or playgroups/preschools will not generally be considered under the Main Grants Scheme.
Universities
For universities, the Foundation will consider supporting arts, museum, archive or special collection projects, which meet a clear public benefit. All University projects should enable general and not just specialist use, the majority of time, and not be limited to out of term use, or be relatively inaccessible by being sited in remote parts of university buildings or campuses where public access will be restricted. In all cases the Foundation will expect universities to be contributing to the project in financial and not just in-kind terms. Some grants may be offered on a matched funding basis.
3. Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND)
Dedicated educational charities catering for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) can be considered for educational/arts projects.
Applications are normally considered towards supporting children and young people with SEND from 0 to 25 years to reach their educational potential.
A list of all applicants that were awarded a Main Grant in 2022/23 is available on the Foundation’s website.
Funding is not available for:
o Academy Trusts.
o Citizenship, esteem-building, independent living, vocational skills training, life skills, early learning projects.
o Grant-making organisations.
o Feasibility Studies.
o Individuals.
o Investment in IT, with the exception of Special Educational Needs learning aids.
o Mainstream independent schools, excluding schools for pupils with special educational needs.
o Major school building projects.
o Parent Teacher Associations or Friends groups.
o Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum-related activities.
o Playgroups/preschools.
o Retrospective funding or funding for projects that have already started.
o Social and community welfare charities.
o Sports projects, or
o The start-up costs for new charities.
Further information, guidance and an online application form is available on the Foundation’s website. Please note that charities will need to create an account on the Foundation’s website before they can access the application form.
The final ever deadline for applications to the Foundation’s Main Grants programme is Friday 31st January 2025.