67 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AR Telephone: 020 7580 8343 Fax: 020 7636 7005 Website: www.rafbf.org.uk RAF Benevolent Fund. Registered Charity No. 1081009 (Main Fund) and in Scotland No. SCO38109 External Grants Guidelines Page Number 1 OUR EXTERNAL GRANTS PROGRAMME 2 2 ABOUT THE RAF BENEVOLENT FUND 2 3 HOW CAN WE HELP YOUR ORGANISATION 2 4 WHO CAN APPLY 3 5 HOW MUCH CAN YOU APPLY FOR 3 6 EXTERNAL GRANTS PROGRAMME AIM 3 7 WHAT WE CAN FUND 3 8 WHAT WE WON T FUND 4 9 CAPITAL GRANTS 4 10 GRANT OUTCOMES 4/5 11 HOW TO APPLY 5 12 WHAT TO SEND WITH YOUR APPLICATION 5 13 WHERE TO GET HELP AND ADVICE 5 14 WHAT HAPPENS NEXT 5/6 15 WITHDRAWING AN APPLICATION 6 16 SENDING US YOUR APPLICATION 6 17 DATA PROTECTION ACT 1988 7 Page 1 of 7
WELCOME TO OUR EXTERNAL GRANTS PROGRAMME 1. Please take time to read these guidance notes carefully. They explain who can apply, the kinds of things we will fund, how to apply, what you need to send with your application form and what happens when we receive your application. If you have any queries please do contact us on externalgrantsofficer@rafbf.org.uk or call to speak to the grants team on 0207 307 3358. 2. The RAF Benevolent Fund operates an open grants programme enabling applicants to apply at any time during the year. We will consider grant requests for running costs and capital projects. ABOUT THE RAF BENEVOLENT FUND 3. The RAF Benevolent Fund is the RAF s the leading welfare charity. Through our individual benevolence programme we help members of the RAF Family deal with a wide range of issues: from childcare and relationship difficulties to injury and disability, and from financial hardship and debt to illness and bereavement. As part of this work we can provide grants to other charities and organisations that also provide tangible assistance to members of the RAF Family. HOW CAN WE HELP YOUR ORGANISATION? 4. We fund charitable organisations whose focus is on the military community and who deliver services or projects to members of the RAF Family. The Fund will consider making a retrospective grant to cover the period of your last published Annual Accounts. WHO CAN APPLY? 5. In order to ensure that the Fund s benevolence is being spent appropriately, there are some principles that are applied in considering the case. These are: The assistance given is demonstrably of benefit of the RAF Family. A grant will only be awarded on the basis of real need and strong evidence. The assistance given provides additional support for members of the RAF Family, rather than just a contribution to general expenses. The grant is not simply a transfer the Fund s reserves to the reserves of another charity. The Fund is recognised by the receiving charity/organisation in an appropriate manner. 6. If your charity/organisation meets our principles above, you can apply to the External Grants Programme if you meet the following eligibility criteria: Your charity or organisation is a member of the Confederation of Service Charities (COBSEO) or a component of the Armed Forces. If not a member of COBSEO, you are a registered charity or have charitable aims that specifically provide for the RAF Family. Page 2 of 7
Your income does not generally exceed 15 million per annum. HOW MUCH CAN YOU APPLY FOR? 7. Unless your charity/organisation has a specific contract with the RAF Benevolent Fund, the maximum award for running costs or a capital grant or a combination of the two that can be made is 25,000. 8. The Fund s grant will ordinarily be a contribution to the costs attributable to RAF Family members. THE AIM OF THE EXTERNAL GRANTS PROGRAMME 9. The aim of our External Grants Programme is to help member of the RAF Family who will fall into one of the following categories: Serving personnel and their dependents. Personnel in transition. Young veterans and their dependents. Older veterans and their dependents. 10. To be considered for a grant, you need to show how you will provide for at least one of the above groups. THE MAIN GRANTS PROGRAMME CAN FUND A WIDE RANGE OF PROJECTS, SCHEMES OR ACTIVITIES 11. Here are just a few examples of charities/organisations that have benefited from an External Grant: Alzheimer s Society, Combat Stress, Gatehouse, Mutual Support, National Gulf Veterans & Families Association, RAF Widows Association, Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League, SSAFA, The Not Forgotten Association, Erskine, Broughton House, Community Housing Therapy, Home Farm Trust, Homes in Zimbabwe, Royal Star and Garter Homes, The Queen Alexandra Hospital Home, Veterans Aid, Vitalise and substantial support to various projects for the serving RAF. 12. Within the constraints of the groups identified above, here are some of the things that a grant could be spent on: Sheltered/Supported Housing (including nursing/respite care). Children/Young People Welfare Services. Residential Care Services (elderly and mentally/physically disabled). Counselling & Therapeutic Community Services. Youth Organisations. Medical & Rehabilitation Services. Employment Services. Advice / Information Services (financial and medical). Equipment. 13. This list is not exhaustive but gives an indication of the range of activities that have attracted funding. Page 3 of 7
WHAT WE DON T FUND 14. We will not generally fund: Memorials. Start-up costs. Group or individual visits to Service memorials or graves. Activities that the state has a legal obligation to provide. Endowments. Loans, interest payments or debts. Fundraising activities for your charity/organisation or any other group or activity. Contingency costs. PR/Marketing costs. CAPITAL GRANTS 15. The RAF Benevolent Fund does make some capital grants and can do so in conjunction with a grant for running costs. However the Trustees of the RAF Benevolent Fund have stated that priority will be given to projects or activities that directly support the ongoing work of charities in delivering direct services and benefits to current and ex-raf personnel and their families. In light of this, it is unlikely that substantial capital grants will be available. Finally, a capital grant can only be applied for once in a three year period. 16. If you are not sure whether your project is something we can fund, please call on 0207 307 3358. We will be very happy to advise you whether a grant would be available for your project. GRANT OUTCOMES 17. In order to be successful in your grant application, we must be assured that our funding of your organisation s project/services will make a real difference to the people you serve and to that end we will ask you to tell us about the outcomes (i.e. differences the grant will make to your beneficiaries) that you expect to see from the grant you are applying for. 18. For further information about outcomes to assist you when completing your application form please see Charities Evaluation Services website on www.ces-vol.org.uk helpful for full details about terminology and explanations of terms. NOTE: The key to understanding outcomes is to focus not on what has been provided or purchased with the grant but rather upon the longer term benefits to the end beneficiaries that will flow from the provision or purchase. 19. We have given some examples following as this may assist you further: Were the RAF Benevolent Fund to fund new equipment within a residential home the output may be the number of users using the equipment or the number of times the equipment was used over a period. The outcomes might be measures of the improvement in the quality of life of the individual beneficiaries as measured for example through better integration into the community (increased mobility), reduced isolation or better rehabilitation results. Measures could include direct questions to staff and users, feedback from professionals working with the users or anecdotal evidence from either staff or visitors. Page 4 of 7
Were the RAF Benevolent Fund to fund a Citizen s Advice Bureau to provide advice on benefits and entitlements the output may be the numbers receiving advice or the measurable increase in income for those individuals receiving the advice. The outcomes may be around an improvement in quality of life and disposable income leading to reduced poverty and less stress on those individual beneficiaries. Measurement could be via a wide range of measures including questionnaires/phone surveys of beneficiaries, evidence of a reduction in court activity for debt or repossession (if case relates to rent / mortgage arrears) or evidence of less marital breakdown or family breakup. We accept that some of the evidence may well be anecdotal. HOW TO APPLY 20. Once you have read these guidelines and decided that it is appropriate for your charity/organisation to make a grant application, please contact the External Grants Officer who will email you an application form or download it from the Website. The form asks for information about your organisation, what you are applying for and your project budget. The form also gives us important information which we use for monitoring who benefits from our grants. 21. We will not process incomplete applications and may return them with a request for any missing information. 22. If you have any queries about what to send with your application form, please see paragraph 23 below. The guidance notes in this pack and on the form will help you answer the. If you still have questions, please call us on 0207 307 3358. WHAT TO SEND WITH YOUR APPLICATION 23. If you do not send all the information we require, we cannot process your application. For registered charities in England and Wales your charity registration number and a copy of your Annual Report and Accounts applicable to the year for which you are making a grant. For charities registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland your latest annual accounts, or a statement of income and expenditure, signed by a senior member of your governing body. If your organisation has been running for less than 15 months you should send a 12 month financial projection for the year when you will spend the grant. For voluntary or community organisations, companies limited by guarantee, or un-registered charities (or exempt or exempted charity registered with HM Revenue and Customs) a copy of your constitution, set of rules or other governing document (for a company, your memorandum and articles of association) and your latest annual accounts, or a statement of income and expenditure, signed by a senior member of your governing body. If your organisation has been running for less than 15 months you should send a 12 month financial projection for the year when you will spend the grant. WHERE TO GET HELP AND ADVICE 24. Call us with any questions you may have on 0207 307 3358. Page 5 of 7
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? 25. When we receive your completed application, we will send you an acknowledgement via email. If your application is incomplete, we will request that you send us the missing information. We will not assess your application until it is fully complete. We will then assess: Whether your services, project, scheme or activity fits within our principles and eligibility criteria. Will the RAF Family benefit from the grant. If the services provided, project, scheme or activity is well organised and planned. Whether the costs were justified or the budget is appropriate, realistic and an efficient use of funds. What your organisation, or other funders of your organisation, are contributing to the activity. This can be in cash, in kind, or both. 26. As part of the assessment of your application, we may contact you for more information about your organisation or the proposed service or activity. 27. We will write to let you know the outcome of your application within eight to 12 weeks. If successful our letter will tell you how much the grant is, what it is for and when it will be paid. All grants are paid by BACS. WITHDRAWING AN APPLICATION 28. If for any reason you need to withdraw your application, you may do so at any time by first calling us on 0207 307 3358 and then sending us a letter signed by the main contact for your application. COMPLIMENTS AND COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES AND FEEDBACK FORM 29. Should you have any issues please do speak to the External Grants Officer on 0207 307 3358 or e-mail externalgrantsofficer@rafbf.org.uk. Formal complaints may be made in writing to the Director of Welfare and Policy. 30. Should you have any comments on what we could do to improve our processes or indeed any feedback around our grant making programme please email them to externalgrantsoffice@rafbf.org.uk. SENDING US YOUR APPLICATION FORM ELECTRONICALLY AND BY POST 31. Please send your completed and signed application form to: The External Grants Officer, RAF Benevolent Fund, 67 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AR. Please also e-mail us a Word copy (not PDF) of your application to: externalgrantsofficer@rafbf.org.uk. We will acknowledge receipt of your application. 32. We have a maximum mailbox limit of 5 megabytes (the completed form itself is just over one megabyte) for any single email which should be enough if you are emailing this application form as a word document. Larger documents or emails with multiple attachments may not be accepted, but might appear to you to have been sent. We recommend you attach a read receipt to your email. We are happy to receive zip files and PDF documents. If you do not hear from us within three working days of sending your email, please contact us. Page 6 of 7
DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998 33. By sending us an application you give your explicit consent for us to use data relating to your organisation for the purposes outlined here. The RAF Benevolent Fund complies with the Data Protection Act 1998. Information on the use of personal data by the RAF Benevolent Fund is available from The Director of Strategy and Finance, RAF Benevolent Fund, 67 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AR. Page 7 of 7