Concerns have been expressed for charities in need of financial support after a second foundation in a week announced it was pausing its grants programme.
The Schroder Charity Trust announced that it would stop its funding programme, which offered one-off grants of up to £5,000, after seeing its applications increase “to an unsustainable level”.
City Bridge Foundation also announced this week that it would close its rolling grants programmes for a year due to an “unprecedented surge” in demand.
Dan Corry, chief executive of think tank New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), expressed concern about the effect such closures could have on charities that need funding and urged grantmakers to consider other options.
Corry: ‘Funders could look at alternative approaches’
Corry told Civil Society: “At NPC we are seeing a trend among funders closing or pausing their grantmaking during a time of increased demand.
“Individually they may have good reasons for doing so, but collectively it is creating challenges for charities, particularly around cash flow as grant decisions are being delayed.
“Instead, funders could look at alternative approaches such as recruiting more staff to deal with increased demand or carrying on a lower level of business as usual grantmaking whilst undergoing a strategy review to ensure that much needed funding is still available.”
One in 14 applications successful
In a statement on its website, the Schroder Charity Trust said its grants programme’s temporary closure would allow it to review its “strategy for 2025 and beyond”.
“The Schroder Charity Trust has been providing one-off grants of up to £5,000 towards a broad range of charitable purposes for a significant period,” it reads.
“However, in recent years the volume of applications has increased to an unsustainable level.
“Our recent analysis has identified that the current success rate for grant applications is approximately one in 14.
“Recognising that the majority of applicants are investing time and resources into proposals that are ultimately unsuccessful, and also reflecting on the impact this has on our own small team, we do not deem the current grants programme to be effective.
“We have therefore decided to take some time to consider how best to operate in the future.”
Smaller charities ‘less able to pivot’
Jo Jeffery, a freelance consultant in the charitable sector, said the increase in demand for funding from charities could be due to a decline in their statutory income.
“Charities are looking to trusts and foundations to help services to be maintained,” she said.
“What we are also seeing more often is that trusts and foundations will open a grant window with a specific timescale, and then will have to close early because of the volume of applications.
“If you’re a sole fundraiser at a charity managing many income streams, your ability to pivot to meet changing grant deadlines is going to be severely limited by how much time you’ve got, sadly affecting smaller charities disproportionately.”
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