FAQs

Where does the Foundation’s money come from?

In 1958 the Foundation was permanently endowed with a majority stake (79.2%) in a privately-owned holding company called Wittington Investments Limited.  Wittington holds a diverse portfolio of investments, of which the largest is Associated British Foods (ABF), a publicly quoted company – Wittington owns 54.5% of ABF.  Other investments include hotels (including The Grand Hotel in Brighton), property and retail interests (such as Fortnum & Mason).  Donations have grown year on year which is a direct result of the success of the business and the fact that the business is predominantly owned by a charity enables it to take a long-term view, which in turn creates sustainable income for the Foundation to donate across the UK.

How does the Foundation determine how much money it can give away?

The charitable donations made through the Foundation are related to the success of the investments held by Wittington – the business has continued to grow and therefore the donations to charity have also grown. The Foundation spends the income it receives every year and now gives away over £70 million annually to UK charities.

Who are the Trustees?

The Trustees are all Weston family members; they are lineal descendants of the founder and highly engaged with the work and activities of the Foundation, bringing a range of experience and knowledge – click here for further information.

How often do the Trustees meet?

The Trustees make decisions all year round on grant applications – they have an ongoing review process which takes place weekly for Regular Grants (those under £100,000) which are considered in order of receipt to be fair to all.  They also have eight meetings per year to review Major Grant applications (£100,000 and above) and these agendas are carefully planned in advance to ensure they are fairly balanced throughout the year.  Meetings also include guest speakers to keep the Trustees up-to-date and well informed about issues affecting the charity sector and the Trustees also visit charities regularly.

Are you connected to the Canadian funder westonfoundation.org?

WestonFoundation.org is a Canadian charity that provides funding to educational and conservation projects. Whilst there is some overlap in terms of Trustee membership, the two organisations are managed separately and fund in different countries.

What is the Foundation's commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion?

Since it was established in 1958, the Foundation has been committed to meeting need within the UK. As society has changed, so too has the Foundation’s grant-making and ways of working.  Click here for information about the Foundation’s commitment to DEI.

How does the Foundation's Board of Trustees reflect the Foundation's commitment to diversity?

The Trustees are all from one family as per the founder’s wishes set out in the Foundation’s deeds and articles. To ensure they are fully informed and connected, our Trustees take an active hands-on approaching by meeting charities across the sector on a regular basis.

Do I have to be a registered charity to apply?

The Garfield Weston Foundation is only able to support organisations that are one of the following:

• UK registered charities
• Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs)
• Schools, universities or registered educational charities that are exempt under Charity Commission guidelines
• Scout and Girl Guide groups that are excepted charities under Charity Commission guidelines
• Faith based organisations that are exempt under the Charity Commission guidelines
• Housing associations registered on the government’s List of Registered Providers
• Museums, galleries and other institutions of national importance that are exempt under Charity Commission guidelines

All of the above organisations must be based and deliver their work in the UK. If you do not fall under one of these categories, unfortunately you are ineligible to apply for funding. Nevertheless, we wish you all the best with your work and thank you for your interest.

If you are uncertain, take our eligibility quiz to see if your organisation is eligible for funding.

How much can I apply for?

How much you can apply for depends on a number of factors including: how much you need to raise; the scale of your project; and, how much your organisation has raised already.  Whether you are applying for revenue / unrestricted core costs, project / specific activities or capital costs, the Foundation tends not to support more than 10% of the total budget. The Trustees expect an organisation to have secured around half the funding required before applying to us.  Please note we are unlikely to fund charities where their annual spend, or budget/project is less than £10,000.

We encourage organisation to develop a sustainable funding base so that they are not overly reliant on one funder.  Our Trustees therefore will consider a grant towards your costs but are unlikely to fund the total costs of a project or a large proportion of your total expenditure.

Our Trustees are experienced grant-makers and will use their judgement as to what amount of funding they feel is appropriate and are able to grant to a charity.  You therefore do not have to specify an amount in your application unless you wish to do so – simply outline the cost of your work/project, what funds are secured so far and what the current shortfall is.

How much can I apply for Capital project?

Although the general rule for Capital projects is to apply for up to  10% of the total costs, for Capital projects that benefit local communities (e.g. repairs and refurbishments of village halls, community centres, places of worship, schools etc) they will typically receive under £30,000 regardless of project size.

The Trustees also expect that you have raised approximately half of the costs before applying and can demonstrate significant local fundraising as this shows that the  project is valued by the community.

We recommend looking at our most recent annual accounts for an indication of grant size for similar size and scale of organisation and projects.

I want to apply for a Major Grant - what do I do?

If you are considering applying for a Major Grant (£100,000 and over), please start by sending a one page summary to our Grants Assistant, Ciara Molloy at cmolloy@garfieldweston.org outlining what you are raising funds for, the total cost and fundraising target.  We can then give you bespoke guidance on whether you are eligible and what any next steps may be.  Please note if you are applying for £100,000 or more we typically expect your project and/or annual income to be in excess of £1 million.  Please do not apply for a Major Grant through our website.

What do you fund?

The Foundation is a flexible and responsive funder that supports a wide range of organisations. Our Case Studies will give you a flavour of what we support. You may also want to refer to the list of our current grant holders. Our latest Annual Report also lists every grant made along with the amount in our last financial year.

What kinds of grants does the Foundation make?

The types of grant we make, whatever their size, tend to fall into one of three categories – Capital (i.e. buildings and equipment), Revenue / unrestricted core costs and Project / specific activity costs.  The most important thing is that you apply for what you need most as this will be your priority and therefore the most compelling for our Trustees.

Do you fund salaries?

The Foundation will make a general contribution to salaries through Project or Revenue/core cost grants, however please note that we do not make grants for a specific job or particular member of staff within your organisation – the Trustees prefer to support staff salaries as part of general overheads and not individual posts.

Can I apply for an unrestricted grant? Is this the same as ‘core costs’?

Yes and yes…..The Trustees appreciate how difficult it is to fund-raise and they have always considered applications for Revenue/unrestricted core costs. Please refer to our guidelines for what we expect to see in an application for an Revenue/unrestricted core costs.

I work for an educational institution - can I apply for core costs?

While the Foundation does support educational institutions (including schools, colleges, universities and conservatoires), eligible projects are either major capital developments or, in smaller number of cases, for targeted work outside the formal educational activity of the organisation.  While we appreciate Covid-19 has created huge challenges, we are not able to support core costs within education as it is our hope and expectation these these institutions are either funded through statutory sources or run as self-financing businesses, with income from sources such as student fees, courses and research activity underpinning the main operation.  We advise therefore that you do not proceed with an application.  We appreciate that this may be disappointing but hope you understand that as a private philanthropic funder it is not possible for us to support every good and important cause, even when we appreciate the value.  Nonetheless we wish you all the best for your work and for the future.

Can we make more than one application at a time?

No, to be fair to our large number of applicants,  The Foundation will accept only one application at any time from charities.

If you have applied before then you will only be able to apply again once 12 months have passed from the date of your previous decision letter that was sent to you. Additionally if you were awarded a grant, then that project should have been completed and you will have submitted your end of grant report before another application will be considered.

My organisation's annual income is less than £5,000 and so we are not able to register as a charity. Are we able to apply to the Foundation?

Unfortunately we are only able to accept applications from Registered Charities, CIOs and a small number of other organisations which are exempt under Charity Commission guidelines. In our experience the majority of small community organisations (with annual income under £5,000) are successful in securing the support from their local community. You may wish to talk to your local Community Foundation for advice on where else to seek support.

We are a Northern Ireland organisation waiting to be called forward by the Northern Ireland Charity Commission to register as a charity, can we still apply?

Please note that, unless your organisation is registered with the Northern Ireland Charity Commission with a relevant charity number, we are unable to accept an application for funding.  If you are currently waiting for your charity registration, we look forward to receiving an application from you once you have your registration number and send our good wishes for your work in the meantime.

Do you have application deadlines?

Applications for Regular Grants (under £100,000) are reviewed by our Trustees on a regular basis and are dealt with in order of receipt. There are no deadlines that applicants need to worry about meeting. Applicants for a Major Grant (£100,000 and over) will be advised which Board meeting they are to apply to if invited to do so following their initial letter and subsequent phone call with either our Director or one of our Grants Managers.

How long does the whole process take?

If you apply online you will receive an immediate email acknowledgement letting you know that we have received your application. You should then allow up to four months for a final outcome – this is due to the volume of applications we receive and because we take great care in reviewing each one individually.

If you apply in the post, you should receive an acknowledgement letter within four weeks, after which it will take up to four months to receive a decision.

Our application is urgent - what should I do?

The Foundation reviews applications in order of receipt in order to be fair – you should allow up to four months from the date of your acknowledgement letter / email as we receive thousands of requests every year. In exceptional circumstances it is possible for our Trustees to review an application more quickly, however it is important that there is a legitimate reason why this might be the case – we aim to be fair and are therefore not able to ‘queue-jump’ everyone!

What happens to my application?

When we receive your application we check to see that all the information we need has been included – if so, it is logged onto our database and you are sent an acknowledgement email immediately if you applied online, or a letter within four weeks if your application was submitted via the post. If your application is not complete then we will contact you to ask for additional details.

Once you have received an acknowledgement there will be no further contact from us until we write to you with a decision (unless we have additional questions for clarification, in which case we will let you know). Please allow up to four months from the date of your acknowledgement letter / email to receiving notice of an outcome, this is because we receive thousands of applications a year and they are reviewed in order of receipt in order to be fair to everyone. Although it will “go quiet” at this stage, you are not forgotten!

How long should my application be?

We do not have a rigid application form but we expect applicants to be able to include all the necessary information within 10 sides of A4. This is to include a fundraising plan and budget. Please read our guidelines for detailed information on what we require in a funding proposal.

My application has been declined - can I get some feedback?

Unfortunately we’re unable to give feedback on unsuccessful applications due to the high number of applications we receive and the size of our grants team who have to prioritise their time for reviewing applications. We endeavor to make our guidelines and website as clear as possible to help you to know if you are eligible and to be able to include all the information we need in your application to make an informed decision. Typical reasons for applications being declined include:

• applying for work which is being delivered by similar organisations in the same area as you.
• poor applications that do not include vital information we need for our Trustees to make an informed decision about your work and the impact is has. Please read our guidelines clearly and remember to include a fundraising plan and budget for your work – these are two crucial pieces of information that are typically omitted from applications.
• unclear applications that do not explain what you do, why it is needed and what difference you are making.
• financial – if your organisation has relatively large cash reserves or your work appears expensive, please provide an explanation.

I’ve been declined - when can I apply again?

We are unable to accept another application until a full calendar year has passed since the date of our letter conveying the outcome of your previous application.

Our project has finished but we have a funding gap to fill. Can we apply?

The Foundation does not offer retrospective funding, therefore we are unable to accept applications for projects or activities that have already been completed.

Please note that our application process may take up to 4 months. Therefore, if you believe the project or activity that you are seeking funding for will have completed before this time passes, then it will not be possible for the Foundation to consider an application for that particular project.

Should we apply for a specific project or for an unrestricted grant?

Whether you need help with a Capital project, Revenue / unrestricted core costs or a Project / specific activity, the important thing is that you apply for what you need most as this will be your priority and therefore the most compelling for our Trustees.

If we apply for too much funding, will we get nothing?

No, if your requested sum is larger than the Trustees think is appropriate, they may grant a smaller amount to help your work in the expectation that additional funding will be sought from other sources.

You request our annual accounts but our charity's annual income is so small that we are not required to produce audited accounts. What shall we send you?

If your organisation is required to produce audited accounts or
independently examined accounts you will need to submit a copy of these with your proposal.

If your organisation is not required to produce audited or
independently examined accounts, then please submit your
last years’ worth of management accounts or your financial return to the Charity Commission.

I have been contacted by the grants team asking for additional information. What do you mean by a fundraising plan?

Our Application Guidelines provide an example of what a clear fundraising plan looks like.  We need to know how you are planning on funding your work and where you think the money will come from. If your project has the potential to generate earned income, we will expect to see an estimated figure. We expect to see which other Trusts and Foundations you are approaching in addition to any other funding sources e.g. individual and corporate donors, events, local authority grants etc.

Why have I been asked to supply my organisation's bank details with my application?

In 2019 the Foundation will be phasing out the payment of grants by cheque and will be making electronic grant payments directly into grantees’ bank accounts.  We strive to make applying to the Foundation as straightforward as possible and so, by asking for your bank details upfront, we aim to reduce the need for you to have to send anything else to us and can make your grant payment promptly, in the event that your application is successful.

How long will you store our bank details and how long will you keep them?

Your organisation’s bank details will be kept securely on our database which is maintained on a robust, secure server.  In line with General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) best practice, we will delete your bank details if your application is unsuccessful.  If however your application is successful we will retain your bank details securely for audit purposes.

You've asked for a Building Society roll number. What is that?

Whilst most standard UK bank accounts have an eight digit bank account number and a six digit sort code, some Building Society accounts may also have what’s referred to as a ‘roll number’ – a reference code with letters and numbers.  You will only need to supply this to us if your organisation banks with a Building Society.

I have submitted an application and am waiting to hear the outcome but wasn't asked to supply my bank details. Does this mean that my organisation won't receive a grant?

Not at all!  As of 1st April 2019 we will be asking all applicants for their bank details. If you submitted an application to us prior to that date and are successful, your grant will be paid via a cheque.

If a grant is going to be paid automatically into our bank account, how will we know whether or not our application was successful?

We will continue to send letters to all applicants letting them know the outcome of their application.  Successful applicants will be sent a letter letting them know that they are to receive a grant and how much that grant is for.  Their grant payment will be sent to their organisation’s bank account within the following 10 days.

If we are successful, when will our grant start?

If you are awarded a grant, you will receive a copy of our Grant Terms & Conditions along with your grant letter.  The date that appears on your grant letter is the date that your grant period starts.

Am I able to log in to my account using my smartphone or tablet?

Yes you can, however please note that we do not have an app for this and so functionality may be limited on your device.

How do I apply online?

Applying online is easy. You simply create an account and submit all the information we require. For help creating an account read this. Go to How to Apply to learn more.

I want to access my online account but have forgotten/lost my password.

This is quick and easy to resolve. Go to the Apply Here page and select the ‘forgot my password’ link. You will be asked to enter the email address associated with your account – you will then be emailed a link which will enable you to reset your password and login again.

I have been asked to submit further information to assist the review of my application. How do I do this?

Occasionally we require additional information from our applicants. If you applied online we will send an email to the address associated with your online account, outlining what we need and a link to where you need to upload this information to. Please put the information in a word document or PDF so you can easily upload it to your account. If you applied in the post, then please post us the information or email it to admin@garfieldweston.org

My grant period is coming to an end. How do I submit my end of grant report?

If you applied online then you can upload your report through your online account. You can access your online account from our website and upload your report in the ‘requirement’ section, please click here for further information on how to upload your report. If you applied in the post, please send your end of grant report in the post to our offices or by email to admin@garfieldweston.org  Please do not combine an end of grant report with a new application.

I have been awarded a pledge - What do I need to do?

In some instances the Foundation may offer a grant to be paid when specific conditions have been met (for example when your organisation has raised a certain level of funds). You will receive a Pledge Letter which will outline what the conditions are and a Pledge Release Form. When you believe the conditions have been met, fill in the release form – if you applied online, please upload this form through your online account. If you submitted a postal application please print the form and send it in the post to our usual address. Payment will only be made if the Foundation is satisfied that the conditions have been met satisfactorily and your organisation is in a position to spend the money within 12 months.

I have received a letter with an FF reference, what does this mean?

In some instances the Trustees of the Foundation may write to you to express their interest in your project, but would however like you to be a bit further along with your with some aspects of your plans. There will be specific conditions that the Trustees would like to see before reconsidering your application (for example when your organisation has raised a certain level of funds). You will receive a further progress form which will outline what you need to send back to us once you have met the conditions in the letter.

When you believe the conditions have been met, fill in the form and send it back to us. If you applied online, please upload this form through your online account. If you submitted a postal application please print the form and send it in the post to our usual address. The Trustees will only be able to reconsider the application once they are satisfied that the conditions have been met satisfactorily and have confidence that the project is likely to go ahead.