The objects of the Charity are to apply the income of the trust fund to such charity or charities or for such charitable purposes as the Trustees in their discretion may from time to time determine. The area of benefit is within the County of Norfolk and the former Waveney District of Suffolk. National charities are not usually eligible to apply for grants even if their project is based in the area of benefit.

The Trustees generally meet 4 times each year. Grant requests may be made at any time and will be considered as soon as possible, but due to the volume of requests for funding this may not be the next meeting.

As well as organisations which are registered with the Charity Commission (i.e. charities including Charitable Incorporated Organisations), applications will be accepted from local churches which are excepted charities, and which are listed on their denomination’s website. Applications will also be accepted in respect of charitable projects from educational establishments (schools, academies etc) which are listed on the Gov UK Schools website.

Other organisations which are not registered with the Charity Commission should provide a written reference for their organisation from an individual who is unconnected with its running or management, using the form provided (www.geoffreywatling. org.uk/docs/gwreference.pdf). The referee should give details of who they are and how they consider themselves qualified to comment on the application. They should also confirm how they know the applicant organisation and provide their opinion on the work being done and the charitable project for which funding is sought.

Grants are not available to individuals.

Grants are only available to charitable companies, including Community Interest Companies, not to private or trading companies operating commercially, or to the trading arm of a charitable company.

The Trustees will not consider grant applications from organisations which have not submitted their annual accounts or annual returns to the Charity Commission and/or to Companies House. Please therefore ensure that your returns are not overdue.

Applications may be for capital works, projects or revenue costs of a fixed duration. Applications towards a specific project or programme of work are likely to be looked on more favourably by the Trustees than those that focus mainly on core organisational costs. Applications for salary costs are rarely funded.

The grant application form is the document that will be reviewed by the Trustees, therefore please keep the information on the form as simple as possible and avoid the use of abbreviations, technical terms and jargon. We no longer accept paper applications; all requests for funding must be submitted via our online application process on our website (https://geoffreywatling.org.uk/htm/apply.php). If you are unable to complete an online application, please contact the Charity for advice (enquiries@geoffreywatling.org.uk).

Each application is taken as a stand-alone case. Rarely will the Trustees consider funding projects in full. Normally applications will be offered partial funding, so it is important to state what other sources of funding you have in place and/or funding you have applied for. Whilst there is no upper limit on the size of grant awarded, applications of more than £30,000 are very unlikely to be awarded due to the large number of requests that the Charity receives.

Any grants offered will not be paid to the applicant until the project for which funding is sought is fully funded and can commence. The Trustees expect any grant paid will be spent or legally committed within a maximum of 12 months after payment. Until a grant has been spent or legally committed the Trustees reserve the right to withdraw the grant in whole or part.

In the event of a successful application, the Charity will also require an end of grant monitoring report and evidence as to how the money has been spent. This can be submitted online on our website (https://geoffreywatling.org.uk/monitoring/) or you can request a Word version of our monitoring report by contacting the Charity.

The Trustees welcome all grant applications that conform to these guidelines, which are reviewed by the Trustees annually.

The Application Form should be completed by a Trustee or other authorised person on behalf of your organisation.

Applications should be submitted via our website, and we no longer accept paper applications. The application is straightforward and is spread over a number of pages. You can save your partially completed application at any point, and return later to complete it, but please remember to press submit when you have finished your application. You will not be able to go back in and edit it once submitted.

As you complete the form you will be asked for:

• The registered charity number, this includes CICs and CIOs
• The general objectives of your charity.
• The charity’s income for the past 12 months as set out in your most recent set of accounts or financial statement or on the Charity Commission’s website.
• Name and contact details including both a phone number and an email address.
• A comment concerning the economic viability and sustainability of your organisation and the project.
• Details of match funding already secured from other funders or information abou .
funders who have been approached – we need names and amounts requested.
• Total cost of the project and the amount you are asking the Charity for
• Bank accounts details: account number, sort code and the name on the account.

In addition, please describe any other methods of fundraising are you using for the proposed project. The Trustees wish to see that you are actively pursuing all appropriate sources of funding. Explain who else you have applied to and when a decision is expected.

You will also be asked to upload the following documents, but please keep it brief and relevant to your actual project. Please do not upload videos, ZIP or condensed files:

• The most recent set of accounts of the applicant organisation, unless these are readily available on the Charity Commission or another website you signpost us to.
• A copy of your ‘reserves policy’, which the Charity Commission asks all charities to agree. We need to see that (a) you don’t already have the necessary funds for your project, and (b) your organisation is financially viable.
• Any additional information about the proposal, such as the reason it is needed, and a summary of or reference to any evidence for it.
• A detailed budget for the project, with any relevant copies of quotations/estimates.
• Any relevant recent publicity material which may support your application. Please do not upload videos or large media files as the website cannot accept these.

Receipt of applications will normally be acknowledged within 14 working days; at which time you will be given an indication of when the application is likely to be considered by the Trustees. You may also be asked for further information before the Trustees consider your request. Please answer any such requests promptly.

Once an application has been considered, the decision of the Trustees which is final, will normally be notified to the applicant within 10 working days of the meeting. Whether the application is successful or not, applicants are expected to wait a minimum of 2 years from the date of that decision notification before applying again.

In the event of a successful application to the Trustees, applicants are encouraged to publicise their funding from The Geoffrey Watling Charity. A copy of the Charity logo may be used and is available on request. The Trustees request that any publicity or press release regarding the project include an acknowledgement of the grant from The Geoffrey Watling Charity.

The Charity issues press releases advising of grants given and will list details of recent grants made on its website. The Charity may link the applicant’s website to its own website.

The Charity may issue press releases advising of grants given and will list details of recent grants made on its website. The Charity may link the applicant’s website to its own website.

Last reviewed May 2025