This guidance applies to writing both small (£10,000 and under) and large grant applications.
You should use the questions set out below as headings to structure your application.
You can use this Word document template if you wish.
Please aim for your written application to be no more than six pages.
a) What is the purpose of your application?
Begin your application with a short summary statement that clearly sets out what funding from JRRT would enable you to do, over what timescale, at what cost, and to what end. Essentially, this is your top-line pitch. It is important that you succinctly articulate what your campaign is trying to achieve and the resources you need to do it.
b) State (up to) three main outcomes you are seeking in your campaign
Be clear about the change you want to make eg addressing an unjust law, policy or power that you believe needs to be challenged.
We understand that to achieve an overall impact on some issues may be a long-term endeavour. JRRT funds initiatives where there are likely to be tangible outcomes as a result of grant.
Outcomes tell us what changes you want to see from your campaign. Reviewing these on completion helps assess if you have succeeded in achieving your goals. Outcomes are distinct from outputs which are the more immediate results of your activities.
Read more about the distinctions between outcomes and outputs.
c) Who are you?
JRRT funds a broad mix of applicants: established organisations, small organisations with one or two staff, and start-ups. It is important not to presume that JRRT knows about you or your organisation, even if you have applied before.
Please briefly describe:
- the overall financial position – including overall annual income or projected income for the year(s) in which the grant is sought and the relevant financial year
- capacity (eg number of paid staff or volunteers)
- the legal status of your organisation (ie whether a registered company, unincorporated association, etc)
- governance arrangements (ie Board/Advisory group or other management)
key individuals involved (ie project staff and, where relevant, other key staff or Board/Advisory group members).
d) What do you want to do and how will you achieve this?
This is the core of your application and you should use it to “put flesh on the bones” of your summary. Please include the following:
Why? (Overall relevance and strategic fit)
Tell us why the issue is important, what changes you want and explain the overall need for and objectives of the project. This should take into account the relevance of the initiative in the context of JRRT’s priorities.
Why now? (Political opportunity)
You should set out the start date for the grant and how long you expect it to take. Explain the timescale for your campaign, including any key moments that will provide either an opportunity or a possible challenge. For example, if your campaign concerns legislative change, then consider the timetabling of the legislation involved and any events which may affect it or which you may wish to influence.
With reference to the political context, you should explain why this campaign needs to be fought now. It is important to demonstrate an imperative behind your application to show that it needs to happen now.
Why you? (Efficacy of applicant)
Tell us about the knowledge, skills and experience available for conducting this campaign, including, where relevant, any established track record, expertise, or other indicators of experience which make you well placed to deliver this work.
How? (Efficacy of approach and potential for impact)
Tell us how you intend to conduct your campaign and the approach you will use at key points to further your goals. Explain how you will influence relevant stakeholders, such as supporters, the media, politicians, partner organisations or government to create the changes required to deliver your proposed outcomes. It is important to think about likely pathways to change – this might be described as your ‘theory of change’ and gives us an indication of your assumptions and proposed tactics for making change happen.
e) Why JRRT?
It is important to make the case for coming to the JRRT as opposed to other funders. Remember, JRRT is not a charitable trust. Although we do fund some charities, we do not accept unsolicited applications from charities, or for work which can be funded from charitable sources.
You should set out briefly how the values and concerns of the Trust are reflected in your campaign outcomes and why you are unable to source funds for your proposed work elsewhere.
f) Campaign Budget
Please provide a breakdown of the budget for your campaign using our budget template. This will be uploaded separately on our online application portal, so you do not need to combine this with your written application document.
Ask for the amount required, but be realistic.
Direct costs: JRRT will pay all the direct costs of a project. These should be broken down as follows on the template:
- Staffing costs, to include employer costs, eg NI and pension contributions
- Day rate posts/consultants
- Direct support costs attributable to your project, such as report print/production, venue hire for events, travel costs and project expenses
Overheads/Indirect costs: These are costs that are not directly attributable to a project but support the organisation’s overall ability to deliver the project, for example, office facilities/rent and administrative support. The proportion claimed should be linked to how much of your organisation’s work this project accounts for. The budget template will calculate this for you.
Contingencies: You should not include any unallocated or contingency amounts in your budget; instead ensure all amounts are clearly allocated to a specific budget line.
Inflation: Applicants applying for grants with a period of more than 12 months should ensure they consider the potential impact of inflation on their budget allocations, and build it in to their calculations where necessary. Applicants are encouraged to use the monthly Office of National Statistics CPIH publications to assist with this.
Income from other funding sources: In developing your budget, identify any existing income sources which will contribute to the costs. There is a separate column in the budget template for you to include these amounts.
If you have no other source of funds, you may enter zero or leave this column on the template blank.
Where you have, or anticipate, income towards the costs please identify in the notes column whether this is:
- Income secured: funding already available towards the costs of your project.
- Income anticipated: pending funding applications or anticipated income from other known funding streams.
The budget template will calculate the total amount of funding to be requested from JRRT automatically. This should match the ‘ask’ in your written application.
We provide two worked examples to help you build your budget:
- Worked example with no funding from other sources
- Worked example where a JRRT grant will be supplemented by other funding
Please note: if your application is successful, we will require you to have an organisational bank account into which we will deposit the grant funding. You may need to consider a hosting arrangement for your project should you not have access to an organisational bank account. We can provide advice if required. Be aware that setting up an organisational bank account can be a lengthy process and that waiting until after your grant application is successful to set up an account may result in delays to your funding being released.