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Whilst some trusts continue to be secretive about their work, more and more information is available about trusts on a national basis. In general, trusts recognise that it is in their interests to provide accurate information about their policies if they wish to reduce the number of inappropriate applications they receive and continue to attract applications which interest them and fall within their guidelines.

Most trusts produce reports about their work and  or guidelines for applicants. Trusts also produce Annual Reports which give an annual picture of the trust’s financial status as well as their previous year’s grant-giving pattern. It is important to obtain as much information as possible about a trust before applying to ensure you make your application in the correct way.

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The Charity Commission maintain a public Register of Charities on a computerised database which can be examined at any of their three offices (see below).

The Register contains key particulars of all registered charities - the governing document, most up-to-date accounts (with details of grants made), the latest correspondent details etc.

Copies of extracts from the Register, and of governing documents and accounts, can be purchased for a small fee.

Helpline Tel. No: 0870 333 0123

20 Kings Parade, Queens Dock, Liverpool L3 4DQ

Tel: 0151 703 1500, Fax: 0151 703 1555

St Albans House, 57-60 Haymarket, London SW1Y 40X

Tel: 020 7210 4665, Fax:020 7210 4545

Woodfield House, Tangier, Taunton, Somerset TAI 4BL

Tel: 01823 345 000, Fax: 01823 345 003

Extracts from the Register are available on the Internet, www.charitycommission.gov.uk however information on charitable trusts can be misleading. For example, the area of operation is based on the charity’s governing document however, in practice, a charity may only operate in a small part of that area.

Another example is the charity’s objects, which describe what the charity has been legally set up to achieve rather than the activities carried out in order to achieve these objects. Financial information, such as annual return history and expenditure has recently been added to the site.

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There are a number of national directories with information on charitable trusts (some are also available on CD-ROM). Councils for Voluntary Service, Rural Community Councils and reference libraries should have the most up-to-date copies of the printed directories.

This is the most comprehensive listing of grant-making trusts nationwide and is published every two years by the Charities Aid Foundation.

Directory of Social Change, Tel: 020 7209 5151 / Fax: 020 7209 5049 Email: info@dsc.org.uk

A Guide to the Major Trusts

(3 Volumes)

These volumes are published every two years by the Directory of Social Change.

Avaivable from Directory of Social Change, Tel: 020 7209 5151 / Fax: 020 7209 5049 / Email: info@dsc.org.uk

series are also available on CD-ROM and as a subscription based database on the web.

Contact the Directory of Social Change for details.

www.dsc.org.uk

DSC produce a huge range of publications, including:­

• Arts Funding Guide

• Environmental Funding Guide

• European Union Funding

• Guide to Local Trusts in the North of England

• Schools Funding Guide

• Sports Funding Guide

• Youth Funding Guide

• Guide to Grants for Individuals In Need

• Educational Grants Directory

• Complete Fundraising Handbook

All of the above are available from DSC (as above).

There are many other publications about fundraising which your CVS or RCC may have available for reference.

An increasing number of funding information is available either through subscription based email services and or websites. More and more funders have their own website's where grant guidelines and application forms can be downloaded.

FINE sends out regular bulletins by email, containing details of funding sources, relevant to the voluntary sector in the North East of England.

Please contact the office to find out more about this service or click here for more information.

Voluntary organisations and community groups, both locally and nationally, who do similar work to you may already have applied to charitable trusts and therefore will have done some research on which trusts give to your sort of organisation. Some groups are not willing to give out information on who they approached but their annual report will usually contain a list of donors.

If you are a local organisation which is linked into a national network of similar groups, then your head office may be able to offer advice. It is also important to ensure that you are not applying to the same trusts as your national or regional offices.

Applications from a head office and local branches considered at the same Trustees’ meetings will suggest a poor level of communication and co-ordination which reflects badly on both applications.

Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS) and Rural Community Councils (RCCs) are registered charities which operate in a specific geographical area to support the work of voluntary and community groups in that area.

Some CVS and RCCs have dedicated funding advisers and reference libraries of funding information. Most have the computer package Funderfinder, a database of thousands of charitable trusts.

Contact your local CVS or RCC to find out what help they can give you with raising funds: - Contact details can be found on the LDA's link page.

Groups outside the North East of England should contact the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (tel: 0114 278 6636) to find their nearest CVS or contact Action for Communities in Rural England (tel:01285 653 477) to find their nearest RCC.

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