Organisations - Eligibility Criteria

We usually only consider applications from organisations which meet these criteria -

For Charities

1. Charities must be registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales and also be a Company Limited by Guarantee (or be a Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
2. The trustee board must comprise at least three non-family related trustees
3. Trustees must not be paid a salary by the organisation unless explicitly allowed in their Articles of Association.  Where this is the case, line management arrangements must be judged to be transparent and appropriate
4. Where staff and trustees are related or connected by marriage, civil partnership or similar relationships, line management arrangements must be judged to be explicit, transparent and appropriate
   
5. Charities that are set up primarily to support the mission of a school/cluster of schools (e.g. Friends of Community School charity) need to apply via our Grants to Schools schemes.
   
6. Organisations that are registered as companies and are awaiting charity registration with the Charity Commission may apply.
7. Faith-based organisations need to be able to adhere to our Faith-based Organisation Policy.

For Schools/Educational Establishments

1. We consider applications only from state funded primary, secondary or special schools within Lambeth (or which educate Lambeth-resident pupils) for activity that is not considered a statutory responsibility and which benefits low income Lambeth-resident pupils
2. We do not fund independent schools (or charities with direct links to independent schools) or Further Education Colleges or Universities (or charities with direct links to them)

Non-Charity Organisations (for example Social Enterprises/CICs)

1. Organisations must be a company limited by guarantee, a Community Interest Company limited by guarantee or a community benefit society.  We do not fund companies/CICs limited by shares, co-operatives or sole traders
2. Organisations applying for funding must demonstrate that the purpose for which they are requesting funding is wholly charitable
3. Where the organisation is simply a company limited by guarantee, the organisation’s company objects must be focused on charitable purposes
4. They should have evidence that their enterprise allocates at least 50% of income to goods or services with a charitable purpose (or for newer enterprises have a business plan which clearly demonstrates a realistic likelihood of this being achieved in the near future).  If the enterprise is a project of a larger charity, the charity does not need to have this percentage of traded income overall
5. There must be a board of at least three Directors
6. We are unlikely to fund ventures if the balance of power on the board does not rest in an unrelated (not members of the same family) majority who have no financial interest in the company
7. If Directors and employees are the same people, line management arrangements must be judged to be transparent and appropriate
8. This same point applies in cases where staff and Directors are related or connected by marriage or similar relationships
9. We are unlikely to fund social enterprise start-ups unless staff/directors/trustees have a demonstrable track record with the type of project in question
10. The Foundation will not fund core salary costs for a non-charity organisation, only costs for individuals working on a project which is purely charitable (which can include relevant line management costs and project related running costs)
11. Directors’ remuneration must be judged to be reasonable and remuneration arrangements should be transparent. Applicants will be expected to explain the basis on which remuneration has been calculated, including sector comparators
12. Organisations’ profits or assets must be solely tied to reinvestment into charitable purposes
13. We will not normally fund services which were previously run as public services and still considered to be a statutory obligation to provide. This is particularly applicable to CICs formed from former public sector services and now operating as mutuals owned by staff

If you require further clarification on any of this please contact our Grants Manager