(3 minute read)
Published: 1 November 2024
Written by: Beth Barker, Grants Officer
I can’t believe it’s been a whole six months since I started at John Ellerman Foundation! What a whirlwind it’s been, but I’m feeling really thankful and settled.
Thank you to the team, grant-holders, applicants and Trustees, who have all been so welcoming. Having joined from the National Lottery Community Fund, which is a much bigger organisation, I must admit that it’s naturally taken time to adjust. Now, working in a small team at the Foundation, I’m enjoying seeing the way in which each individual's contribution can be more impactful. That sense of ownership has been incredibly motivating.
One thing I really like about the Foundation is that we value relationships, including with the organisations we fund and those applying to us. Although our grants team is small, we prioritise keeping updated, listening and responding to stakeholders. We also convene and connect grant-holders from time to time and participate in various initiatives such as the Foundation Practice Rating, IVAR’s Open and Trusting programme, and the DEI Data Standard.
In 2021, as part of our response to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on our applicants and grant-holders, we removed the need for grant-holders to wait for one year after their grant came to an end before applying to us again. More recently, we have made a further change to this rule. Our updated guidelines now state that current grant-holders can reapply up to three months before their grant end date. We have done this because we believe in being responsive and listening. We noticed a significant increase in the number of grant-holders asking to reapply before their grant-end date, to avoid a gap in funding, and felt the need to act on this. We hope that this change will give organisations greater assurance and flexibility in a difficult funding landscape. It is worth noting that applications will be considered in the same way as others and it’s important to not expect that Trustees and staff know the history of your work. I usually say that it’s helpful to imagine it’s your first application to us and to keep in mind that there is no certainty that the application will be successful.
Since 2020, we have been reviewing our funding guidelines on an annual basis to ensure they are the best possible description of what we are looking for from applicants. In October 2024, we published our latest review of our guidelines to our website. You can access our funding guidelines by clicking here. This year the changes are minimal and are mostly around clarifying the application process. All of the information in the guidelines is also shared on specific pages of our website, including the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of our website which can be accessed by clicking here and answers the questions we get asked most.
If you’ve seen our latest Annual Report for 2023/24, which can be accessed by clicking here, you may have noticed that the number of applications we received increased, up to 462 applications on our main grants programme, from 357 the year before in 2022/23. We have seen similar increases over a number of years now, and as our budget has remained broadly steady, this means that our success rates are falling. We’re aware of the impact that this will be having on applicants and are considering this as part of the planning for our next strategy.
Looking ahead, I’m excited to continue to learn, listen and be values-led. I’m grateful to all my colleagues, Trustees and grant-holders at the Foundation for their hard work, support and dedication. Hopefully, this time next year I can give you a roundup of some of the other achievements and challenges we will no doubt hit along the way! Until then, take care.