OUR GRANT MAKING POLICY

1. THE OBJECTS OF THE CHARITY

1.1 Under the provisions of the Constitution of The Bishopthorpe Charitable Partners' Trust (“The Charity”), the trustees for the time being (the Trustees) apply the Charity's funds at their discretion in furtherance of the objects of the Charity.

1.2 The objects of the Charity are:

a) The advancement of education in religion;

b) The advancement of the religion of the Church of England and of the Christian religion generally;

c) The relief of those in need, by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage;

d) The provision of financial assistance for persons in need who are or have been engaged or employed within the Church of England or other Christian body or who are dependants of such persons; and

e) The furtherance of the work, mission, practical and spiritual needs of those persons who have, do or will hold the office of Archbishop and those who assist them in their ministry.

1.3 The Charity seeks to support individuals and organisations (both large and small) for purposes which help further its objects primarily by the provision of grants and other forms of financial support.

1.4 This policy sets out the Trustees' approach to applying the funds of the Charity in furtherance of its objects.

2. PRIORITIES FOR SUPPORT

2.1 The number of projects which can be supported is, of necessity, limited to the amount of total funds available for distribution in any year. The Trustees have determined that the Charity's priorities for funding support over the next four years will primarily be focused in the Northern Province:

• supporting the ministry of the Archbishop;

• supporting initiatives or projects that celebrate the faith stories of young people;

• supporting initiatives or projects that renew missionary and purpose; and

• supporting initiatives or projects that share resources for prayer and open up new pathways to Christ.

2.2 For the avoidance of doubt, all such grants made by the Charity, including within the areas for support set out above, shall be made for exclusively charitable purposes (within the meaning of the laws in England and Wales in force from time to time).

2.3 The priorities in this policy will be reviewed every three years (or more often if deemed appropriate by the Trustees), and may be changed in accordance with the Trustees' view of the most effective application of available funds at any point in time.

3. PRINCIPLES

3.1 In awarding grants, the Trustees will apply the following principles:

3.1.1 Applications from any region in the Northern Province will be eligible for consideration if they further the religious and spiritual mission of the Archbishop. All applications will be considered on merit alone.

3.1.2 All applications from previous recipients of grants or from previously unsuccessful applicants will be considered by the Trustees on their own merits. Although the Trustees will have regard to the outcome of the previous grant, any new application will in no way receive preferential or adverse consideration.

3.1.3 Grants will usually only be considered by applicants who are organisations:

(a) registered as charities with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Charity Commission) or the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR); and/or

(b) qualify as charities under the law of England and Wales but are not required to register with the Charity Commission;

(c ) recommended by the Archbishop for funding in furtherance of his mission and work in the Northern Province.

3.1.4 However, the Trustees will also consider proposals from non-charitable organisations provided the purposes of the application fall within the Charity's objects and this policy, and provided that they have been recommended by the Archbishop for funding in accordance with the priorities of the Northern Province.

3.1.5 The Trustees will also consider applications from individuals provided the purposes of the application fall within the Charity's objects and this policy, and provided that there are adequate safeguards in place to ensure proper use of funds, and provided that they are recommended by the Archbishop for funding in accordance with the needs of the Northern Province.

3.1.6 In all cases, the Charity's due diligence processes shall be followed.

3.2 The Charity will not normally support:

• applications from large international or domestic charities (i.e. those with an annual income in excess of £10 million or with £100+ million assets (or equivalent)); or

• charities dedicated to issues deemed by the Trustees to be already well funded.

3.3 The Charity is open to working in partnership with other organisations to fund initiatives beyond the financial scope of a single organisation.

3.4 The Charity will consider both restricted and unrestricted donations, and may offer support on single and multi-year basis.

4. GRANT CATEGORIES

4.1 To be eligible for consideration, applications should ordinarily fall within the Charity's grant making priorities as set out in paragraph 2.

4.2 However, the Trustees do reserve the right to support any other charitable project from time to time they deem to be of exceptional merit, notwithstanding that the project does not fall within the current priorities for support identified in paragraph 2.1. The Trustees shall consult with the Archbishop in the event that they propose to support projects or organisations outside of these parameters.

4.3 Grants can be used either to cover costs that are directly connected to carrying out the charitable activities that the Trustees have agreed to fund or to fund expenditure on the following:

• salary costs;

• capital expenditure, provided the applicant is able to demonstrate that the expenditure is essential to the charitable activities that the Trustees have agreed to fund and that any assets acquired using grant money will be used for similar purposes after the end of the proposed activities;

• contributions to the cost of overheads, provided that the applicant is able to demonstrate that such overhead costs are essential for, and directly linked to, the charitable activities that the Trustees have agreed to fund.

4.4 The Trustees will award grants to fund up to 100% of the cost of a proposal. However, the Trustees:

• will consider funding part of the cost of a proposal where the total cost is shared with one or more other funders; and

• encourage applicants to seek additional sources of funding for their proposal where they consider it appropriate.

4.5 If a grant covers part of the cost of a proposal, the Trustees may require the applicant to provide details of the other funder(s) and the funding that they have secured or applied for (including any loans or other commercial funding).

4.6 An award of funding does not guarantee the availability of any future funding.

5. GRANT AWARD PROCESS

5.1 All applications for grants should be made in the first instance to the secretary.

5.2 Applicants may be asked to complete a formal application form (to be completed in conjunction with this policy) or provide detailed information verbally about the support requested.

All applicants:

5.3 Before awarding a grant to an organisation or to an individual, the Trustees require that the applicant should:

• inform the Trustees of the purpose of the funding including details of any project, the way in which the grant will be used and how it will be managed effectively for its intended purpose (including, if relevant, who will oversee the grant's administration);

• provide adequate information regarding the identity and financial status of the applicant and/or of the status of the person(s) who will carry out the project/work (proportionate to the size of the grant and identity of the recipient) and to enable the Charity to undertake its due diligence on the applicant;

• give details of any other funding that has been awarded or that is being sought for the activities to be funded by the grant; and

• where the Trustees consider the funded activity to be high-risk, confirm that the recipient (whether an organisation or an individual) has and will be adequately insured;

• agree to the terms and conditions contained in a letter of grant or deed of grant between the Charity and the grant recipient.

6. ASSESSMENT PROCESS

6.1 All grant applications will be subject to initial assessment to ensure they meet the basic criteria for funding.

6.2 Applicants should note that, as with many other charitable trusts, the Charity always receives far more applications that it has funds to support. Even if a project fits within the criteria and priorities of the Charity and a detailed assessment has been made, the Charity may still be unable to provide a grant.

6.3 The Trustees will aim to inform applicants whether their application has been successful within 1 month of a Trustee meeting.

6.4 The Trustees will not be obliged to provide an explanation to the applicant should their application be unsuccessful.

7. MONITORING AND PUBLICATION

7.1 It is the policy of the Trustees to monitor the use and application of all grants made. To this end, before a grant in excess of £10,000 can be confirmed, conditions may be stipulated appropriate to the work to be carried out and progress will be assessed against agreed targets and/or milestones. If the grant is payable in instalments, then payment of subsequent grant instalments may be dependent on satisfactory progress having been demonstrated and the Trustees reserve the right to withdraw the grant on receipt of unsatisfactory progress reports.

7.2 Failure to submit reports at the time specified by the Trustees will also jeopardise the continuation of the Charity’s support. In addition to reports detailing progress, grant recipients will be expected to:

• provide a statement of how the grant has been spent for the year;

• provide details (where appropriate) of any other funds applied to the same project.

• permit monitoring visits by representatives of the Charity who may be expected during the period of a grant upon the Charity giving reasonable notice.

7.3 The Trustees also expect to receive copies of any published articles, papers or other outputs which may result from the project.

7.4 Following the conclusion of the project, the grant recipient will (where appropriate) be expected to submit a final report, normally within three months of the end of the grant, detailing fully the results and outputs from the project. The grant recipient should inform the Charity of any extenuating circumstances whereby the submission of the final report is delayed, to allow a mutually acceptable date for submission to be agreed.

7.5 The Trustees may require the grant recipient to publicise the Charity in any of its publications relating to the project/work funded by the grant in the manner stipulated by the Trustees at the time of making the grant.

INTERPRETATION

In this policy:

“Archbishop” means the Archbishop of York for the time being (unless the context necessarily refers to his predecessor(s) or successor(s)).

"Northern Province" means the Province of York of the Church of England.

As adopted: by the Trustees on 22 March 2024

To be reviewed: at least every three years

Date of next review: February 2027