Funder Collaborations Fund – Backing ideas for bold transitions
Guidelines and application process
Aim
The purpose of the Funder Collaborations Fund is to enable the Foundation to participate strategically in collaborative initiatives that can amplify the impact of our grantmaking, research, influencing and investing activity.
We are committed to this Fund being transparent, accountable and effective. The size of the Fund will be £236,720 for 2026/27. This will be a responsive grantmaking programme, that we will share here through our website and in discussions with relevant colleagues. We will also report on it in the same way as we do our Main Grants programme in our Annual Report and Accounts.
Criteria
Eligibility will be restricted to grantmaking organisations, by which we mean registered charitable foundations and non-profit funders. Unlike our Main Grants programme, no turnover restrictions are proposed, reflecting the potential strategic value of collaboration with larger funders in areas such as learning, influence and profile.
The proposal has to be linked to one or more of the following three types of funder collaborations, which are based on definitions and examples provided by the Association of Charitable Foundations and its Funders Collaborative Hub:
Joint research – Collaborative evidence gathering and field analysis that informs our own work and has wider benefits to other groups and colleagues that we work with.
Pooled funding – Multiple funders contributing to a single pot with delegated decision-making.
Influencing policy or practice – Coordinated advocacy and sector leadership that helps to shift the dial on important issues, including those that can lead to systemic change.
You should also explain the ways in which working collaboratively adds value, including why this work could not be delivered as effectively through a single organisation.
The proposal has to show a clear alignment to the ambitions we have set out in our strategy.
The proposal has to demonstrate a connection with our grantmaking work and/or our investing work.
There is no minimum or maximum grant size. However, the total budget available through the Fund in 2026/27 is approximately £236,720. Applicants should ensure that requests are proportionate to the scale and expected impact of the proposed collaboration work.
Application process and decision making
To apply for the Fund, an applicant will need to:
Send in a short enquiry to our Senior Grants Manager, whose contact details can be accessed by clicking here. They will determine if follow up is required.
Follow up and pre-application support will be provided by the Director or the Senior Grants Manager, as needed.
Applications can only be made via our grantmaking applications portal. This can be accessed by clicking here.
The application process requires the following:
- Overview information of your organisation, which entails answering questions on a form.
- A proposal of no more than two pages of A4, using a minimum of font size 10, submitted as a PDF or Microsoft Word document, that covers:
- Overview of organisation applying and the collaboration, including the way(s) in which working collaboratively adds value, including why this work could not be delivered as effectively through a single organisation.
- How the proposal links to our strategy for 2025 to 2030
- The intended outcomes and impact of the funder collaboration
- A summary of the amount requested from John Ellerman Foundation, the total collaboration budget, and the timeline being worked to – including key outputs and dates.
Please note that where required, it is possible that the Senior Grants Manager or Director will write up this document on behalf of the applicant organisation. This will happen on occasions when the applicant organisation is making multiple applications or has pre-existing material that provides sufficient information for us to compile the information for the two sides of A4 quickly.