Application guidance notes

What areas do we support?

Our primary interests are in the UK’s cultural life, education, the natural environment and enabling people who are disadvantaged to participate more fully in society.

We welcome your suggestions about how we can help your organisation. We are particularly interested in hearing about how the work you are proposing:

• Addresses a significant gap in provision
• Develops or strengthens good practice
• Challenges convention or takes a risk in order to address a difficult issue
• Tests out new ideas or practices
• Takes an enterprising approach to achieving your aims
• Sets out to influence policy or change behaviour more widely
  

What type of funding do we offer?

At Esmée Fairbairn we are happy to consider requests to fund core costs or project costs. These may include running costs such as staff salaries and overheads but generally not equipment costs.

New and emerging organisations may apply and we are willing to help finance the early stages of developing a convincing new idea in order to test its feasibility and give it the best possible chance of success.

We occasionally fund research where we consider it is likely to have a practical impact.

If you ask for our assistance, you should tell us how much you need. The average Esmée Fairbairn grant is worth about £50,000, but we are happy to consider requests for less or more money.

How will we evaluate your application?

We receive many more applications than we can support. Therefore, we have to be selective.

As part of our selection process, we look to support work that has the best chance of achieving its objectives or will leave behind knowledge and experience that could benefit others.

Every application for support is different and we examine each according to the likelihood of it making a difference in the applicant organisation’s area of work. Depending on the nature of your application, these are some of the criteria we will apply:

• How strong are your ideas and how well equipped are your people to carry them out?
• How well do you understand the issues you are addressing and what is your track record?
• Do you have a clear plan or idea and the capacity to deliver it?
• What difference would help from us make to your work?
• Does your work have the potential to be applied more widely or can it influence the work of others?
• Would receiving our support make you more likely to attract help and engagement from others?
• How would your organisation be stronger by the end of the grant and how developed are your long-term plans for sustainability?

We can only fund work that is legally charitable. You do not have to be a registered charity to apply, but your constitution must allow you to carry out the work you propose.

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