Halton Foundation – Knights House Fund
About the Fund
The Knights House Charity was originally established in February 1875. In 1972 it was merged, with the permission of the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales, with the Charity of Richard Garnett, to be administered as one scheme.
The Knights House fund is one of a number of funds which comes under the umbrella of the Halton Foundation. The Halton Foundation was launched in February 2016 and aims to forge links between local community groups who need help, with local businesses who may be able to provide it. The partnership is led by Halton Chamber of Commerce, Halton Borough Council and Halton and St Helen’s Voluntary and Community Action (VCA). The Foundation’s grant making arm is administered by the Community Foundation for Merseyside.
Fund Criteria
Voluntary and community groups need to be able to evidence the requirement for their project and show how it will reduce the need, hardship or distress of their beneficiaries.
The fund aims to support projects that are alleviating poverty, responding to a basic lack of provision and relieving emotional and physical suffering.
Specific eligibility criteria
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Groups must be based in, and beneficiaries must be living in the Widnes area.
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The fund will not support core salaries or general running costs but will consider sessional worker costs and an element of full cost recovery as part of a specific project.
Examples of projects that may be funded
Activities for people with disabilities
Foodbanks
Self-help groups
Luncheon clubs
Projects to reduce social isolation for vulnerable groups
Debt advice sessions
Domestic violence project
Mental health initiatives
Amount Available
The amount you can apply for has not yet been confirmed. More information will be provided soon.
Community Foundations for Lancashire and Merseyside are a Real Living Wage employer therefore we encourage applications that include staff costs at the current Real Living Wage of £12.00p/h as a minimum.
The following items cannot be supported via the fund:
- Statutory organisations or work that is their responsibility
- Groups with less than 3 unrelated Director/Trustees, or fewer than 3 unrelated Committee Members for unregistered groups.
- National organizations that cannot demonstrate local governance and control of local finances
- Private Companies and Companies Limited by Shares
- Commercial ventures
- Purchase/maintenance of vehicles
- Activities that will have already taken place before we offer you a grant
- Politically connected or exclusively religious activities
- Projects for personal profit
- Organisations that are set up for the benefit of animals or plants: environmental groups that work with animals or the environment (such as city farms) are acceptable
- Groups comprising of members of the same family
- Debts and other liabilities
- Reclaimable VAT
- Travel outside UK
- Gifts or projects exclusively for the purpose of entertaining – social events can be funded where there is a clear community benefit
How to Apply?
An online application form can be completed via the “Apply Now” button below. You can attach supporting documents to your online application, or email them to us at applications@cflm.org.uk.
Documents which need to be included with your application:
- A copy of your governing document.
- A copy of your latest annual accounts or income/expenditure document.
- A copy of a recent bank statement for your group. If you do not have a bank account in place, you must be able to nominate another organisation to hold the funds (CVS, another local charity, church etc.).
- A list of your Trustees/Directors/Management Committee members. A minimum of three un-related must be in place.
- A copy of your current Safeguarding Policy. All applicants must ensure that they hold relevant policies and procedures in place to undertake activities, such as Criminal Records Bureau checks and/or a health and safety policy, depending on proposed activity. If unsure, we recommend taking advice from your local CVS.
If you have applied to us within the last 12 months and provided this information, we do not need you to send it again, although we may require a more recent bank statement.
Completed applications are considered by Community Foundation staff to check eligibility. You may be contacted for more information after applying and a decision-making panel will make recommendations based on the fund’s criteria and the budget available.