Funding
Strategy and
Guidelines

1 June 2015 to 31 May 2018

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The Gannochy Trust Funding Strategy 2015 - 2018

The Gannochy Trust, founded in 1937 by Arthur Kinmond Bell (known as A K Bell) a whisky distiller and philanthropist, is an independent grant-making charitable trust which supports organisations working across Scotland but with a preference for Perth and its environs.

This is the Gannochy Trust’s Funding Strategy and Guidelines for 2015 to 2018. It has been developed with Trustees, staff, stakeholders and grantees. It has been informed by the external environment of challenging economic times which are having a serious impact on levels of disadvantage, social and health inequalities, poverty and employment opportunities (especially for young people).

Stakeholder meetings, on the one hand, described a very depressing picture of the funding environment in Scotland – uncertainty, cuts, endless applications and rejections, and reducing local authority support which philanthropic funding cannot fill. On the other hand, it was also inspirational: workers who are passionate about their jobs and putting young people first; and effective, well-run organisations who need time and space to develop new solutions to meet the challenges they face.

Over the next three years, a significant percentage of the Gannochy Trust’s funds will be made to smaller, community-led groups that are supporting children, young people and people who are disadvantaged or vulnerable.

As a funder, the Gannochy Trust aims to work in partnership with the people and organisations that will help them to meet their aims of:

  • Inspiring Young People (this is a Scotland wide fund)
  • Improving the Quality of Life for People (Perth and Kinross only)

We are seeking people and organisations that:

  • are passionate and inspiring and who want to make a difference to the lives of the people in our target groups –creating a culture of aspiration and achievement; developing talent; realising potential
  • can demonstrate a real understanding of the challenges facing the groups and communities that they support
  • can support positive change in people’s lives and communities
  • can bring stability to difficult and challenging situations
  • are responding creatively to difficult and challenging circumstances

What the Trust does not fund?

To ensure that you do not spend time and effort unduly, there are some things that we do not fund (see the list below). If you are in any doubt about whether your application is an exclusion please do not hesitate to contact the Trust Office for advice.

The following work, while worthy, is excluded from our current funding priorities:
General appeals / Endowment funds
Statutory bodies / Animal welfare charities
Work for the benefit of people outwith Scotland / General holidays
Work that has already taken place / Minibuses
Feasibility studies (unless initiated by the Trust) / Political or lobbying purposes
Waste disposal/landfill, pollution control and renewable energy projects
One off events/festivals/conferences which have no element of broader community engagement
Organisations/Charities
  • Individuals or organisations applying on behalf of individuals
  • With more than 12 months operating costs within their free or designated reserves
  • Umbrella organisations which do not provide a direct service to individuals
  • Charities which collect funds for onward distribution (unless the project has been initiated by the Trust)

Health
  • Hospitals and health authorities
  • Medical care, medical research or general medical equipment
  • Palliative care (except within Perth and Kinross which should be about enhancing and not providing core care)

Education
  • Universities, colleges, schools, student bodies, student unions and the independent education sector (unless the project has been initiated by the Trust)
  • Academic research
  • Pre-school groups, play schemes, after school clubs and parent-teacher associations
  • Individual students or support organisations for personal study, travel or for expeditions, whether in the UK or abroad

Faith-based organisations
  • Current Exclusions - projects which are solely for (1) the promotion of religion or (2) the building, restoration or conservation of places of worship. The Gannochy Trust considers that the maintenance and enhancement of faith-based buildings remains the responsibility of the organisation/charity unless it meets point 3 below.
The Trust will consider applications in respect of:
  1. Youth work and disadvantaged young people (Scotland-wide) – the Trust will consider projects which support and fulfil the criteria/outcomes within the Inspiring Young Peopletheme of our Grant-making Strategy.
  2. Outreach (Perth & Kinross-only) – projects supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable people of all ages which are in addition to the core support or outreach provided by faith-based organisations to the community through either services or facilities.
  3. Capital Projects (Perth & Kinross-only) – where the application is being made to provide or maintain a community/outreach space or facility which is available to all members of the local community, regardless of faith or age. Please note that if you wish to apply under this category you should contact the Trust Office in the first instance to complete a pre-application 2-page Project Summary for consideration by Trustees.
Any grant received in respect of the above would be restricted for the sole purpose identified within the application and should be easily identified within the charity’s annual accounts.

Who can we fund?

We can fund charities which are registered with OSCR, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. Charities that meet OSCR’s legal requirements, demonstrate to the public that their assets are properly accounted for and that the charity is being run effectively. If you are a Community or Village Hall and you are not a registered charity, please contact the Gannochy Trust office for guidance.

What will we fund?

The following two themes will be priorities for 2015 to 2018.

Inspiring Young People (across Scotland)

Target Group: /
  • children and young people (under 25 years of age)

Geographic Area: /
  • this is a Scotland wide theme

The outcomes that we hope to achieve with our funding are: /
  • Positive change in the lives of young people
  • Raising aspirations and realising full potential
  • Developing talent
  • Enhancing social, personal and leadership skills
  • Developing training, skills and knowledge to increase employability
  • Developing young leaders
  • Increased participation as active citizens

The type of organisation that we want to work with: / We particularly wish to receive applications from community led groups and organisations who can:
  • Deliver the outcomes above
  • Listen to and respond to young people
  • Create a culture of aspiration and achievement
  • Put young people at the heart of their organisationin design, leading and learning
  • Demonstrate a strong long-term relationship between adults and young people
Applications should have a strong focus on supporting and empowering young people in communities that are experiencing economic or social disadvantage.

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Improving the Quality of Life for people in

Perth and Kinross

In addition to the Inspiring Young People theme(see page 3), we will fund the following strands within the current local authority area of Perth and Kinross:

Funding Strands / Supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable people / Making Perth and Kinross a better place to live and work / Increasing the availability or quality of facilities for wide community use
Target Group: / People of all ages who are disadvantaged and/or vulnerable within Perth and Kinross / Residents of Perth and Kinross / Local communities within Perth and Kinross
The outcomes that we hope to achieve with our funding are: /
  • Positive change
  • Raising aspirations and realising full potential
  • Developing talent
  • Enhancing social, personal and leadership skills
  • Developing training, skills and knowledge to increase employability
  • Increased participation as active citizens
  • Providing advice, support, mentoring or advocacy
/
  • Increased participation in sport, recreation, culture and heritage
/
  • Communities have more sustainable services and facilities that reflect their local priorities

The type of organisation that we want to work with: / Organisations that are focussed on overcoming isolation and fragmentation and encouraging inclusion and integration with a strong focus on supporting and empowering people. / Community led organisations which support positive change who can demonstrate that they listen to and are responsive to their community/community of interest. / Organisations that are or seek to be embedded in their local community and able to make connections – village halls, church halls, community centres and facilities aimed at community provision, recreation, sport and arts.

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In addition to the 2 main themes, the Trust will create a new innovative annual award called the Angel’s Share.

The Angel’s Share

The Angel’s Share is the amount of whisky which evaporates from the casks during maturation – for this purpose we are estimating 2%. This would equate to £70,000 per annum based on the Trust’s projected £3.5m grant-making. However, this may increase from time to time at the Trustees’ discretion.
Each year, a number of organisations that are currently in receipt of Gannochy Trust funding will be invited to apply for an annual one-off grant called The Angel’s Share. This will be a ‘seed, change or pump priming’ fund to enable organisations to explore and develop new ideas or solutions; be more entrepreneurial; attempt the untried or unproven; innovate or test new models of working.

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What kind of grants do we make?

The majority of applications will be for one year; however, the Trust will consider applications for up to 3 years. A commitment for longer than three years will only be considered for those organisations that can clearly demonstrate learning, effectiveness and impact and the characteristics that we have listed.

It is unlikely that the Trust will fully fund organisations, projects and activities, therefore, we will expect you to provide details in your application of potential match funding.

The Trust will consider a contribution to core costs for those organis-ations that meet our criteria.

How much can I apply for?

You should apply for the amount that you need. Over the past year, we have awarded grants ranging from£1,500 to a £200,000 capital grant. To provide a level of guidance, we have indicated the average award that is likely to be made under each grant category which is considerably less than the maximum that can be applied for. The majority of our grants will come under the Small Grant Scheme.

We expect organisations to be developing a sustainable funding base which does not rely on any one funder.

As a general rule, the Trust will not make donations which exceed:

Revenue / Capital
  • 50% of the salary costs of one member of staff
  • More than 50% of the total project costs
/
  • Normally 10 to 25% dependent on the scale of the total project costs.
  • We would expect applicants to have at least 40% of project costs secured before submitting an application

Please note: the Trust’s definition of ‘Capital’ is the improvement of an asset – a new construction, expansion, renovation or replacement.

The following levels of funding are available within the different grant schemes.

Small Grant Scheme / P&K / Scotland
Level of Grant / Up to £10,000 per annum or £25,000 over three years / √ / √
Average Grant Size / £5,000 per annum
Main Grant Scheme
Level of Grant / Up to £30,000 per annum or £75,000 over three years / √ / √
Average Grant Size / £15,000 per annum
Major Grant Scheme
Level of Grant / Over £30,000 per annum up to a maximum of £120,000 over three years / √ / X
Average Grant Size / £40,000 per annum
Capital Grant Scheme
Level of Grant / Small (£10K), Main (£30K) and Major(£30K+) Grants are available for Capital Projects within Perth and Kinross only / √ / X
Total Annual Budget / By their very nature, the number of these grants will vary from year to year as will the monetary amounts approved by the Trustees. Taken over a number of years, the Trustees envisage committing an average of £1m per annum to capital projects.

Strategic Partnerships

The Trust has developed strategic partnerships with a number of organisations at local or national level to target a particular community or sector, or to tackle a specific issue. We look forward to developing our relationship with these organisations to create mutually agreed ways of working to benefit the purposes of the partnership. These strategic partnerships will change from time to time and new partnerships will be developed but they are currently:

Strategic Partnerships
Perth and Kinross / Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust
Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust
Live Active Leisure
Horsecross Arts Ltd
Perth Festival of the Arts
National Organisations / *Scouts Scotland
*Guide Association Scotland

*The Trust receives many requests from Scout and Guide units and as a result the Trust makes a single donation each year to the Scottish Headquarters for them to disburse. For any capital projects, the Trust requires a letter of support from Headquarters.

When can I apply and how long will it take?

We aim to deal with your application as efficiently and effectively as possible. The Gannochy Trustees meet at least 4 times per annum to consider applications. We assess applications on a rolling basis so there are no deadlines and you can submit an application at any time.

We aim to acknowledge your application by email within a week of receiving it and we would expect to notify you of the decision within three months. However, complex applications may mean that we have to glean more information from you which could either mean a detailed telephone conversation or occasionally a visit.

What we are looking for when we assess your application?

A significant percentage of the Gannochy Trust’s funds will be made to smaller, community-led groups that are supporting children, young people and people who are disadvantaged or vulnerable.

The organisations that are most likely to be funded will be able to demonstrate that they are:

  • Well led and forward looking
  • clear about the changes they want to make for the people they work with
  • sensitive to the challenges facing the groups and communities that they support
  • supporting positive change in people’s lives and communities
  • listening and responding

We are not seeking applications which appear ‘polished’, rather we are seeking applications from passionate and inspiring people who aim to make a difference to our target groups.

How likely am I to receive a grant?

The Gannochy Trust expects to receive a much greater number of eligible applications than we can realistically fund with our finite resources. Although held internally, the Trust has set clear budgets for each element of the programme. Where possible, we will attempt to give you feedback if your application is unsuccessful, but often it is simply due to the volume of applications. Trustees have to make some difficult decisionswhich will mean it is likely that many excellent applications will not be successful.

Making an application

If you would like to make an application please send us:

1.A completed Organisation Information Sheet. You can download this from our website.

2.A completed Application Form. Please make sure that you complete all of the questions contained within the application. This will ensure that we understand your organisation, the context in which your organisation is working and what you hope to achieve with our funding. Guidance on the information that we are looking for under each section is contained in the Guidance Noteswhich can also be found on our website.

3.A completed Revenue and Capital Budget Template. Guidance on the template is contained in the Guidance Notes which can be found on our website.

4.A copy of your most recent signed annual accounts. The Trust recognises that if you are a new and emerging organisation you may not have the documentation and records of established organisations. If your organisation is in this position, please send a copy of your constitution or governing document together with a photocopy of a recent bank statement and a projected cash flow statement for the first year.

5.A job descriptionwhether this is a new or existing post.

6.Relevant evaluations or business planswhich support your application. For a capital project this should include plans (preferably A4) and fully costed specifications.

7.Capital Projects – step process in respect of Main or MajorCapital Projects.

  • Pre-Application – completion of a 2-page Project Summary for initial consideration and feedback by Trustees.
  • Application – full application and the undernoted additional information required:
  • Information on the current title or lease of the building and any plans regarding the future of the title.
  • Information/evidence of how the local community would benefit from the project and the groups/numbers involved.
  • Justification and/or evidence that such additional or new community space is required and not available elsewhere, and is not to the detriment of other community venues or facilities.
  • Plans (preferably A4) and fully costed specifications of the proposed works.

Why do we ask for Key Outcomes and what does it mean?

In the application form we will ask you to identify up to three key outcomes about the changes or differences you hope to achieve (or make progress towards achieving) as a result of the work that we fund. We will also ask you to identify up to three key targets under each outcome about the activities or services that you will deliver in order to make the outcome happen. The reasons for this are that it:

  • helps you to express in tangible ways the impact of your work
  • enables the Trust to understand and evaluate what we will be funding, and it
  • provides us with an agreed frameworkwithin which we can each monitor your progress.

If you receive a grant what are our expectations?

An award of a grant from the Gannochy Trust will be on the understanding that you have agreed to a number of terms and conditions, the details of whichwill be sent to you with confirmation of your award.