Funding bodies

Paul Hamlyn Foundation
The Paul Hamlyn Foundation was founded for general charitable purposes in 1987 and is one of the largest grant awarding foundations in the UK.

Specific programmes supported by the Foundation are as follows:

• Arts – enabling people to experience and enjoy the arts
• Education and Learning – developing people's education and learning
• Social Justice – integrating marginalised young people at times of transition
• India – building capacity of NGOs in India.

Each programme offers potential funding opportunities via either Special Initiatives or Open Grants. Grant application processes and directives may differ between the four key areas. This CADQ resource focuses on the Education and Learning Programme.

Education and Learning Programme
The Education and Learning Programme supports innovation and:

"aims to achieve significant impact across a range of education themes or issues and foster the development and sharing of new practice, experiences between and within schools, local authorities and voluntary organisations."

further more, the Foundation states that:

"All grant applications must focus on achieving innovations and change in relation to our themes"

Open Grants within the Education and Learning Programme
The Open Grants Scheme appears is a rolling programme scheme with no closing dates. Applicants are advised of timescales with regard to the decision making process as the application is being processed.

Current themes:

• tackling school exclusion and truancy
• developing speaking and listening skills
• supplementary education.

Applications must be in relation to one or more of the schemes. You are also encouraged to focus on the following criteria in your application:

• innovation – radical (new ideas), incremental (adapting existing ideas)
• change and outcomes – have a positive impact; challenge organisations to reflect and (if necessary) change; policy and practice – potential to influence
• participation – work that enables participants to shape the direction and delivery of the project.

Who can apply?
Open Grant applications are open to formally constituted organisations (including local authorities and public bodies) but not individuals.

What a open grant funding may cover
At the discretion of the foundation funds are granted to help fund specific activities/projects and this may include some core running costs such as:

• staff salaries
• overheads (e.g. stationery, rent, rates).

Exclusions and exceptions to funding include:

• funding individuals
• retrospective funding, endowments
• organisations wishing to use funding to make grants
• websites
• publications and seminars (unless part of the wider project or proposal).

How to apply for an Open Grant
The application process is two stage (stage one is completed online):

1. Applicants must show that the proposal for which they seek funding fits with the themes and priorities of the Education and Learning Programme. Additionally it should meet with the criteria for change and outcomes, innovation and participation (see above)
2. The applicant provides more detailed information and works with staff from the Foundation to develop a proposal for either the programme committee or Board of Trustees.

You are advised to read the advice offered on the Information and Application pages.

Amount of funding available
The Foundation has no minimum or maximum grant size for Open Grants but would not expect to support full costs, i.e. the application should be in part funded by the applicant or another funder.

In the year 2008-2009 35 grants were made under the Education and Learning Open Grant Scheme ranging from £5,000-£300,000.

Timescales
By negotiation with the Foundation, grant periods are often around three years. If a longer period is requested an initial grant may be requested followed by further funding at a later date, subject to approval.

Special Initiatives within the Education and Learning Programme
Special Initiative Grants differ from open grants in that they:

• are targeted by the Foundation to meet a specific area of need
• applications for Special Initiatives cannot be made online like Open Grants as they are not open to all and often applicants are invited from specific organisations or sectors.

Funding for Special Initiatives usually lasts for several years and may include preliminary research, a main period of activity by funded organisations, project updates/briefings (link to 2010 briefing) followed by detailed evaluation at the projects conclusion.

Case study - funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation
It was through the Special Initiatives grant process that Ed Foster (in partnership with the University of Bradford and Bournemouth University) received funding for the HERE (Higher Education Retention and Engagement) project which forms part of the What works? Special Initiative.