Environmental and Sustainability

Identifying and supporting funding recipients:

• All applicants are encouraged to contact our officers (hct@groundwork.org.uk or 01895 839 916) before applying so that we can understand your organisation and work, discuss your application and advise where and how best to apply.

• We will prioritise funding for local, smaller organisations. Larger, national organisations must demonstrate a local delivery capability in our target area, or partnership with local organisations, or a specific skill or capability not otherwise accessible to the local community. [The Foundation for Social Improvement refers to small charities as those with an income of less than £1.5m. The NCVO defines micro charities as those with an income under £10,000 and small charities as those with an income under £100,000.]

• For micro-organisations (see above definition) we may provide specific volunteer skills-based support from Heathrow colleagues to develop your project proposal if required – this is called the HCT Advocate scheme. HCT Advocates work alongside applicants who require additional support during the application process in order to give them the best chance of a successful funding bid and ensure a level playing field for all applicants in the review process.

• Our priority is to learn alongside groups we support. We ask grantees to send feedback. This enables us to understand evolving needs and issues in the areas that we support; we also carry out an annual survey of needs.

• We operate targeted, open calls for funding – i.e. we have defined things we want to achieve with the funding (see the priorities listed in our Strategy), and have specific deadlines for applications, but we do not limit who can apply (other than by geographic location of beneficiaries and by reference to the specific funding criteria set out in this document). We monitor levels of applications and success rates and adjust our communications strategy accordingly to ensure maximum accessibility.

What and who we will fund:

• Heathrow Community Trust won’t award a grant for general running costs, appeals in support of an individual person (whether health or education related), commercial sponsorship, private for-profit companies, third party advertising or political campaigning.

• Heathrow Community Trust generally do not fund residential trips for young people since such trips do not represent value for money in terms of effecting a long-term impact on young people in terms of increased resilience, improved employability or raised aspirations. However, Heathrow Community Trust would support such costs if they formed part of a clear programme which involved interventions before and after the trip to embed impact.

• School Gardens - If it is intended to allow access to the school garden by the wider local community as part of a project addressing environmental education (e.g. growing food, or educating about sustainable energy for example), then such projects could apply to our Environment & Sustainability Grant Programme for funding. We will not at this time be funding school gardens under any of our other funding programmes.

• Projects must be focused on at least one of the themes of the individual Grant programme to which you are applying (see below). It is not necessary to cover all of the criteria for a grant programme in a single application and it may be better to focus on a single theme which you can demonstrate well.

• Location - Your project must take place in one (or more) of the following local boroughs - Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Richmond, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Slough, South Bucks, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Exception – Heathrow Active People Initiative (HAPi) and Matched Funding schemes - While our other grant streams focus on the local boroughs, we will accept bids for any UK borough under these grant stream. Both schemes are only open for application to Heathrow Airport employees. We will only accept Matched Funding applications for events that have taken place no more than 4 months prior to the panel meeting. • Heathrow Community Trust will support Heathrow colleagues participating in a sponsored fundraising event or other fundraising activity with a matched fund donation of 50% of the funds raised by the individual, to a total value of £250. You can apply for funds under the scheme up to three times a year, whether as an applicant or as part of a group. We recommend that you submit your application after you have completed your fundraising. We will only accept Matched Funding applications for events that have taken place no more than 4 months prior to the panel meeting.

• The application process is open to local authorities, schools, charities, community groups, social enterprises and not for profit companies subject to the specific eligibility criteria below. Community groups could be a youth club, resident’s association, charity, or even a group of like-minded neighbours. Groups should have a constitution and a bank account in the name of their organisation. For new or less formal groups, you may need to work in partnership with another organisation that could hold the funds for you and provide other guidance and support.