Rayne Foundation

Objectives of Fund

The Foundation's objective is to contribute to lasting social change by funding creative and collaborative approaches that build and test solutions to some of society’s most difficult challenges. The aim is to support organisations that think differently and enable innovation. This could be through introducing new methods, ideas, or products to improve services and systems.

The funding is for charitable and not-for-profit organisations across the UK for projects that fall within the foundation's chosen areas of special interest:

• Quality of life for older people and their carers.
• Mental health of children and young people.
• Opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers.

Value Notes

Grants are typically £10,000 to £30,000 per year for up to three years and can be used to fund project and salary costs.

The Foundation will consider applications for core costs, but prefers to do so when it has an established relationship with the applicant, usually through previous project funding.

Match Funding Restrictions

Match funding is required as the Foundation is unlikely to fund a project in full.

Who Can Apply

Voluntary, statutory and not-for-profit organisations (including CICs and CIOs) can apply.

Organisations should be able to demonstrate:

• Why the funding is needed.
• How the funding will be used to unlock and overcome barriers.
• That they are committing funding and/or support in kind from its own resources proportionate to its capacity.
  

Statutory organisations will need to consider how a grant will enable transformation over and above delivering statutory obligations.

For-profit organisations will need to show that charitable funding is necessary to enable transformative change.

Statutory and for-profit organisations will be expected to work collaboratively with the voluntary sector.

Location

United Kingdom

Restrictions

The following are not eligible for funding:

• Work outside of the Foundation's priority areas for funding.
• Organisations and work that do not meet the Foundation's funding criteria.
• Day-to-day running costs of local organisations or buildings.
• Capital, equipment or vehicle appeal.
• Medical research.
• Work exclusively focused on campaigning and lobbying.
• Retrospective funding.
• Endowments.
• Individual use.
• Organisations working or based outside the UK.
• Organisations who have applied and been rejected in the past 12 months.

Eligible Expenditure

The Rayne Foundation's open grants programme is focused exclusively on its three areas of special interest.

Children and young people’s improved mental health and wellbeing – the Foundation prioritises work that:

• Supports early childhood (0-5 years including the perinatal period) with family/carer interventions that aim to reduce the impact of early childhood trauma.
• Supports the care-experienced, those on the edge of care, or leaving care, with interventions that prioritise improved mental health and wellbeing.

Refugees and asylum seekers – the Foundation prioritises work that:

• Creates significant new opportunities relating to employability, entrepreneurial endeavours and personal development for refugees and asylum seekers
• Supports the mental health of survivors of torture
• Open to arts and creative endeavours which actively encourage building community between migrants and the wider community.

Older people and their carers – the Foundation prioritises work that:

• Is driven by collaboration in a particular place.
• Connects the dots of care provision for people drawing on care in later life and their carers.
• Increases agency, voice and visibility of people in later life and their carers.
• Embeds and sustains creativity and the arts in the delivery of care.

As well as being within one of its three priority areas, the proposed work must meet the following essential criteria:

• Approaches issues differently and enables innovation.
• Has potential for wider application beyond the funded proposal.
• Is informed by direct delivery and has a clear, positive impact on people’s lives.
• Can demonstrate match-funding contributions to the project.

And ideally the following three desirable criteria:

• Enables and encourages collaboration between sectors and silos.
• Develops best practice and captures learnings to share with others.
• Adds to sector expertise and leadership.

How To Apply

Applications can be submitted at any time as this is a rolling, open grants programme with no deadlines.

There is a two-stage application process:

• Applicants must first complete the online expression of interest form on the Foundation's website.
• Successful expressions of interest will then be invited to complete a full application.

A typical grant application takes 4–6 months to complete.