Powerhouse Grant-Giving

Criteria to apply for a grant

1. The size of group’s income (£5,000 – £750,000); where several organisations are making a joint bid, the size criterion applies to the total group income

2. Status: charity / community interest company / community group that has at least three trustees or committee members who are not related to each other

3. Previous grant recipients may apply provided the new project meets the current year theme; performance against previous KPIs will be taken into account in assessing applications

4. The group should have a bank account in its own name with at least two unrelated signatories, open for three months or more, and audited accounts available for the most recent financial year (if not yet available, submit management accounts or income/expenditure document)

5. Priority will be given to those organisations based within the grant area

6. Encouragement is given for organisations to work together to make joint applications for a joint project

7. Not an individual

8. Minimum one year of operation: if constituted for less than one year but have been active for longer please demonstrate activity; where a number of organisations are making a joint bid at least one organisation to have a minimum one year of operation, but not all

9. Applications from individuals, for profit companies, public bodies or statutory organisations (including parish/town councils) are not eligible

10. Reserves: minimum of one month of running costs or explain why this is not possible; explain why if reserves are more than 12 months

11. Funds cannot be awarded to cover costs already paid for

12. Applicants should be open to people of all religions and political affiliations, and must not proselytise

Small grants of up to £500 may be available for organisations and/or projects outside these criteria at the discretion of the Grants Panel.

Project criteria

• At least 90% of the beneficiaries of the project must live in The Didcot Garden Town area of influence (see map above)

• The project must be aligned to the annual grant theme

• The application should be for:

  • the creation, or extension of a project, or programme of events in line with the annual theme where impact can be demonstrated

  • The beneficiaries must be people (not one individual or animals)

Those bids invited to the final Grants Panel will be asked for an itemised, costed project budget indicating how the grant will be used, and details of where other funds have been secured (where appropriate) must be provided.

While impact may take longer to achieve the significant proportion of the project implementation should be completed by December 2024.

Process

The Didcot Powerhouse Fund is aware that applying for grants can be a time-consuming process for organisations, and potentially frustrating when no grant is then available. So the process of grant application is in two stages:

In stage 1 organisations are invited to complete a short online form that is their Expression of Interest which are reviewed by the Grants Panel. A small number of Expressions of Interest will then be invited to complete a full bid application and present to the Grants Panel in stage 2, the final round.