Grant making principles
Our grant making policy
Our grant guidelines are a set of key principles that apply to all our grant making.
Additionally, all of our funds have their own eligibility criteria, and some of these funds may deviate slightly from our key principles.
We also have minimum eligibility requirements that organisations must meet.
Before making an application you should always read the guidelines specific to the fund.
Key principles
- All our grants are awarded in line with Point North’s charitable aims to fight poverty and enrich lives.
- We use Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to guide our grant making.
- Point North’s geographic focus is County Durham, the Tees Valley and the wider North East.
- We typically award grants to registered charities, social enterprises or organisations with charitable purposes that also have:
- A management committee/governance body with at least four independent and unrelated members.
- A bank or building society account in the group’s name, with a minimum of two unrelated cheque signatories.
- Appropriate governing documents such as a constitution, Memorandum and Articles of Association.
- When assessing grant applications, we will look for:
- Project and organisational management
- Evidence of need in the community
- Achievable goals
- Value for money
- An appropriate budget
- Financial probity
We take extreme care to assess all applications carefully and against the published criteria in a way that’s consistent and equitable.
- If you feel your application hasn’t been fairly assessed, you can appeal in writing.
- We screen and check for fraudulent activity throughout the application process and we might make additional checks before awarding a grant.
- If you are successful in your application, we will send you an offer letter and our standard set of terms and conditions, which must be accepted.
- We ask grant recipients to complete monitoring information to show the difference your project has made.
Unsuccessful applications
The most common reasons for an application to be rejected are:
The fund or programme is over-subscribed, and other applications are judged to be stronger or they more closely meet the criteria.
- You haven’t given us all of the essential information or documentation.
Other reasons an application might be rejected include:
- The application doesn’t demonstrate your ability to deliver the project.
- You haven’t been able to show how your project benefits the community.
- You haven’t been able to show that there is a need for the project.
- The value for money isn’t clear or isn’t adequate.
- Your organisation has high unrestricted reserves available.
- The management committee isn’t sufficiently representative of the community.
- Your organisation doesn’t have the right documents in place, such as a constitution, Charity Commission registration, CIC or company registration, or an appropriate Safeguarding Policy.
Useful reading
You might find it useful or interesting to read these additional articles or documents:
- Grant Making Approach: here we give more information on the strategy behind our grant making and explain more about SDGs.
- Minimum Eligibility Requirements: here we breakdown our minimum eligibility requirements for organisations applying for funding at Point North.
- IVAR Flexible Funder: here we explain how we aim to make it easier for you to apply for a grant and work with the team at Point North.
Appeals Policy
After grant applications have been assessed, we will let all applicants know the outcome. The exact timeframe for this will be detailed on the grant guidelines.
If your application is unsuccessful, we will tell you why.
If you feel your application wasn’t assessed fairly, that we haven’t properly considered the information you submitted or that our decision is based on inaccurate information, you can appeal in writing to the Head of Grants.
Your appeal must include evidence to support your belief that the decision was unfair, incorrect, or based on misinformation.
Email your Appeal to:
Send a letter to:
Appeal, Head of Grants, Point North, Victoria House, Whitfield Court, St John’s Road, Meadowfield Industrial Estate, Durham, DH7 8XL
Appeals Process
When you submit an Appeal, the Head of Grants will review the information you provide.
We might also send the Appeal and your application back to the original decision-maker for reassessment.
We may have some follow up questions or ask you for some more information. We then aim to respond to you within ten working days.
If your Appeal is successful, you’ll receive a grant offer letter and our standard terms and conditions.
If your Appeal is declined and you still disagree with the decision, you can appeal in writing to the Chief Executive of Point North.
The Chief Executive will review the whole process and all the decisions taken. They will then make a final decision. You can’t appeal again if the decision to decline funding is upheld.