Helping charities in the North East of England to thrive.

When the Greggs Foundation was set up back in 1987, the intention was to share our success with the communities who had supported us. Our North East Core Funding Grant was created to support charitable organisations in the area that helps the communities most deprived and excluded members. We offer grants of up to £15,000 a year – sometimes for as many as three years – to help cover their core running costs. This financial support helps these organisations to grow and do more good for the people they serve. Today, Greggs plc is one of only a handful of national businesses headquartered in the North East of England which is why we’ve chosen to continue focusing our efforts here. Please read the following guidelines to see if your organisation may be eligible for support.

Organisations may only apply once every 12 months.

Programme timetable:

Please see our section on grants deadlines for details of our quarterly deadlines.

Who do we support?

The programme tends to support organisations that work in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the North East of England  in the counties of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and Teesside, or organisations that support otherwise disadvantaged people, particularly those that support the following priority groups:

• People with disabilities
• Homeless people
• Voluntary carers
• Older and isolated people

If you represent a generic community organisation, i.e, doesn’t support people with a specific identified disadvantage, the organisation must benefit people who live in a disadvantaged area. We will calculate the level of disadvantage using indices of deprivation and if your local area doesn’t fall within the most disadvantaged ten per cent of areas as a minimum it is unlikely to be considered.

What do we mean by core revenue funding?

North East Core Funding provides core revenue costs of organisations rather than project costs or positions. We prefer to fund existing work with a proven track record, rather than new work. Any core costs can be considered where you can demonstrate that the grant will improve the capacity of your organisation to provide a great service. We can consider the following costs:

• Contributions towards bills, i.e, electricity, gas, rent, rates
• Contributions towards core salaries (managers or administrators rather than project workers or sessional staff)
• HMRC costs relating to the core salaries only

Why do we support core running costs?

We know through consultation with the sector that core running costs are the most difficult area of your budget to secure. We are motivated by helping organisations to be more sustainable, diversify their income streams and offer better quality services to all of their beneficiaries. We therefore look for organisations that can demonstrate the following outcomes if successful with a grant

• 90 per cent or more of our applicants become more sustainable as a result of a North East Core Funding Grant
• 50 per cent or more of our successful applicants report improved diversity of income streams
• 50 per cent or more report improved services and improved beneficiary numbers

How much can we can give?

We can give up to £15,000 per annum for up to three years, resulting in a maximum grant size of £45,000.

What sort of organisation do we fund?

Any not for profit organisation can apply. They must be based in and delivering activities in a defined local area. Regional, i.e North East based organisations are less likely to be considered and we are unable to consider national organisations, branches of national organisations, or federations of national organisations.

Smaller organisations with fewer employees are prioritised. We are unable to consider organisations with a turnover in excess of £300,000.

We are more likely to support organisations in need than those in a healthy cash position. We will not consider organisations with more than six months running costs in free reserves. Organisations that are well managed, but with a clear financial need are more likely to be considered.

What are our chances of success?

The programme is highly competetive, with around 1 in 5 eligible applications being successful. We meet to discuss grants once per quarter and typically have considerably more requests for funding than we can support. It is important to read the guidance notes fully and if you think you might be eligible, call our grants manager on 0191 2127813 for a preliminary discussion.

How do we apply?

Before you apply, please contact our grants manager, Justine Massingham on 0191 2127813. She will help to make sure your application is eligible before submitting it for consideration by the trustees.

To apply, please send us an application on no more than three sides of A4. You must include answers to the following points within your application and it is helpful to include the question as subtitles in the application.

• Full contact details including telephone number and email address
• What your organisation does
• Who you are helping and how
• Details of the skills and experience of your staff and management committee
• Details of links with other organisations
• The amount of money requested for what purpose (if you are apply for a salary contribution please include a full breakdown of salary costs including additional ‘on costs’ of NI and pensions)
• The difference the grant will make to the organisation
• Where the majority of your current income comes from and how long you expect to have it
• Details of pending grant applications and their expected decision date

Once you have completed your application, please submit it with a copy of your latest audited accounts, an income and expenditure forecast (budget) for the current financial year and a full breakdown of the costs you have applied for. Send your completed application to:

Justine Massingham
Greggs Foundation
Greggs House
Quorum Business Park
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE12 8BU

Excluded items:

We are unable to consider applications from any of the following:

• Animal charities
• Friends of associations
• Branches or federations of national charities
• Larger organisations with a greater capacity to fundraise
• Uniformed groups such as scouts, guides and sea cadets
• Sports clubs and associations

We are also unable to provide funding for any of the following:

• Overseas travel
• Curricular activities that take place during the school day
• Religious promotion
• Research grants
• Repayment of loans
• Purchase of vehicles
• Equipment for hospitals
• Major capital projects