Pilkington Charities’ Fund
About the Fund
Since July 2025, following the transfer of trust assets, the Pilkington Charities Fund is now managed by the Community Foundation.
The Pilkington Charities Fund supports organisations helping people in Merseyside affected by poverty, old age or ill health with the aspiration to achieve improvements to the lives of residents in Merseyside through the advancement of health, supporting disability services and the prevention or relief of poverty. Raising awareness of health issues and removing the stigma sometimes associated with health problems is also an important aim.
The Community Foundation for Merseyside recognises the funding challenges faced by many charities and is therefore pleased to confirm that this fund is able to offer both project and core costs funding. Please note that this fund is looking to support well-established organisations therefore to be eligible you must have been operating for at least 3 years at the point of application.
Fund Criteria
Prevention and relief of Poverty
Raising awareness of health issues
Removing stigma associated with health problems
Specific eligibility criteria
- The fund is currently available for community organisations, including charities, CICs limited by guarantee, and constituted community groups.
- The organisation must have been operating for at least 3 years at the point of application.
- Grant requests should be proportional to your income levels demonstrated in recent accounts. i.e. the amount applied for should not exceed 50% of your annual income levels.
- We will continually assess the overall impact and success of your project and the overall impact the Foundation is achieving. Applicants will be expected to complete end of grant reporting and may be approached to host a visit from Community Foundation staff and stakeholders.
The entire Liverpool City Region is covered (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral), with particular priority in St. Helens.
Examples of the sorts of provision that may be funded
Financial / debt management advice and education
Social inclusion initiatives for older people
Projects and services developing resilience, e.g. teaching methods and techniques to equip people with the skills necessary to prevent health issues and focus on wellbeing
Salary costs for staff, support workers, counsellors or similar
Contributions to running costs
Amount Available
Grants of up to £20,000 to support core service/project delivery for organisations with a proven track record and outcomes.
Community Foundations for Lancashire and Merseyside are a Real Living Wage employer and we also encourage applications that include staff costs at the current Real Living Wage of £12.60p/h as a minimum and take into account future increases within budget calculations.
What cannot be funded?
- Organisations established for less than 3 years
- Statutory organisations or work that is their responsibility
- CIC’s limited by Shares
- Organisations with less than 3 unrelated Trustees/Directors/Management Committee members
- National organisations that cannot demonstrate local delivery and impact within Merseyside
- Commercial ventures/Projects for personal profit
- Costs already incurred before we offer you a grant
- Politically connected or exclusively religious activities
- Organisations that are established for the sole benefit of animals or plants
- Debts and other liabilities
- Reclaimable VAT
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.
If the “Apply Now” button is not available, please check the fund’s opening and close date at the top of the page before contacting us.
Documents which need to be included with your application:
- A signed and dated copy of the group’s rules or constitution
- A list of your current Trustees/Directors/Management Committee members
- A copy of the group’s latest annual accounts or income/expenditure document
- A copy of a recent bank statement for your group
- A signed and dated copy of the group’s current Safeguarding Policy. All applicants must ensure they hold relevant policies and procedures in place to undertake activities, such as DBS checks and/or a health and safety policy, depending on proposed activity.
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. You should expect to hear the outcome of your application within 2 weeks of the panel meeting which will be held in October 2025.