The Leathersellers’ Small Grants Programme 2024-25 will open for applications at 10am next Tuesday 6 May 2025.

The rolling programme aims to recognises the crucial services small charities provide to local communities across the UK.

The Small Grants Programme offers one-off grants up to £5,000 to registered charities and Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) operating in the UK. There is a maximum of 40 applications per round, and the online application form will automatically close once 40 submissions have been received.

40 Applications Limit

Due to high demand, the 40 application limit is often reached within an hour of opening (ie. if the application window opens at 10am, this may occur before 11am). As a result, and in order to help eligible groups prepare their application, the Leathersellers’ Foundation has made their offline Word application form available for those interested to draft their applications ahead of the round opening.

There are 8 application windows throughout the year; each window closes when 40 applications have been received. Further information on future applications windows is available on the Foundation’s website (linked for your convenience), under the Process and Key Dates heading.

Offline Application Form

DOWNLOAD LINK: OFFLINE WORD APPLICATION FORM

The Leathersellers’ Foundation strongly suggests that organisations interested in applying draft their application using the offline Word version of the form (linked). If you start the application online and the maximum submissions are reached, you will be unable to submit and your answers will not be saved.

Eligibility

Applications from Community Interest Companies (CICs) will not be considered.

Charities and SCIOs must meet the following criteria:

deliver activities to meet an identified need for vulnerable members of the community
have a planned expenditure of under £200,000 during the financial year in which you are applying for funding
demonstrate financial need; due to overwhelming demand from charities with high financial need, the Foundation is unlikely to be able to prioritise applications from organisations holding more than 6 months’ free or unrestricted reserves
have at least one year’s published accounts

The following is not funded:

capital projects
medical research
hospices
services that charge participants for access, irrespective of a person’s ability to pay

Making a Good Application

The Leathersellers’ Foundation has produced the following guidance for making an application:

We want to fund excellent organisations and people, where activities improve the lives of others.

We have designed our application form to only ask for what we need in order to gather a clear picture of your work. On reading your application, we should understand:

- what need you are aiming to address in your local community
- what difference you make in people’s lives and how you do it
- how you know you are making a difference (evidenced outcomes)

We are looking for organisations that:

- understand the needs of their local community
- are open and transparent about their work and finances
- work in partnership with others

Why do we ask for your Safeguarding Policy?

Your safeguarding policy tells us how your organisation keeps your beneficiaries, staff, and volunteers safe. We expect your approach and processes to be proportional and if you are providing 1 to 1 services or working with children/ vulnerable members of the community, we would expect your policy to be publicly available and to include:

- appropriate, current legislation
- clear steps on what to do if a risk is identified, with relevant leadership and trustee contact details
- whistleblowing guidance
- details of safer recruitment practices
- signature and date, with a scheduled review date (ideally annually)