Becket Bulmer Fund

Herefordshire Community Foundation supports community-based work with a charitable purpose that improves the quality of life for people in our communities. Our grants support activities which benefit people who are disadvantaged due to poverty, disability, age, location or culture.

Most of our funding is within Herefordshire, but we sometimes support projects in neighbouring countries, and across England and Wales.

Becket Bulmer grants are mainly targeted at the following areas of community benefit across Herefordshire:

• cultural advancement, in particular the theatre, music and arts
• education of young people
• improvement of the environment
• support of people with a disability

Grants will not normally be made to fund the following types of activity:

• Animal welfare
• Arts projects with no community or charitable element
• Direct replacement of statutory funding
• Medical research
• Political groups or activities promoting political beliefs
• Religious groups seeking to influence people’s religious choices
• Sports projects with no community or charitable element
• General appeals

Your group does not have to be a registered charity but must have charitable aims. We expect an organisation to have the following as appropriate:

• A written constitution/set of rules that sets out the organisation’s purpose, and how it is managed.
• A list of those involved in running the organisation, including trustees if appropriate.
• A copy of your most recent annual accounts or financial records showing the balance of funds, income and expenditure. If you do not have financial records that cover a full year, you will need to provide what records you have currently.
• A bank account in the name of the organisation with at least two signatories, and original bank statements. Alternatively, if you belong to a small organisation that does not have a bank account, another charitable organisation could look after the funds for you. But you must provide written authorisation from the organisation that will do this.
• A safeguarding policy if your organisation works directly with children or vulnerable adults.
• An equal opportunities policy if your organisation employs staff.

Organisations set up as Community Interest Companies, or a recognised Social Enterprise must demonstrate that they have clear charitable purposes and that their work has a defined social benefit.

We do not give grants for promotion of any religion. However, faith based organisations may still be funded if the grant benefits the wider community and is not intended to influence people’s religious choices or promote a particular belief system.

We give priority to small, local organisations whose work benefits people in Herefordshire. However, national charities with a base in the area and a significant local presence can apply if the grant is for the benefit of local people.

We will only award funding for school-based activities that are outside the scope of statutory provision.