Frequently Asked Questions

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No – our funding is available for both charities and constituted community groups. We will consider applications for individuals if they are made and supported through a charity or constituted community group in exceptional circumstances.

We are a new charity with limited resources and have decided to focus our funding initially on smaller organisations, and on certain legal entities (registered charities and constituted community groups).

As our program of fund giving evolves, we will monitor and review to see if there is scope to work with other organisations.

We have tried to make our Helping Hand grant criteria as unrestricted as possible because we recognise the diverse opportunities which exist in our local communities.

Strathleven Foundation Trustees will prioritise applications which contribute to one or more of the following:

• The prevention or relief of poverty 
• The advancement of education 
• The advancement of health 
• The advancement of citizenship or community development 
• The advancement of arts, culture, heritage, and science 
• The advancement of public participation in sport 
• The promotion of equality and diversity 
• The advancement of environmental protection or improvement.

The Trustees will decide which applications should receive a grant based on consideration of exclusions, financial and legal due diligence of the organisation, our priorities, and our other funding commitments.

Our grant giving specifically covers the Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven area. If your charity or community group is based outside our Area of Benefit but supports services for people within it, then we can still consider your application on a case-by-case basis. 

We can only provide funding for one-off projects or revenue funding no longer than two years.

Our Helping Hand grant is available from £250 - £2000 

Yes. We would however require evidence of how you would obtain the additional funding – either through match funding or another fund. 

We are restricting our funding to one successful grant application per calendar year from the date of the award.

If a previous application was unsuccessful, and the reasons we gave you in your decision letter can be addressed, then you may be able to apply again in the same calendar year.

It is important to be as detailed as you can when filling in the application. Our Trustees will want as much information as possible to make best use of our funding:

• Itemise how much the project will cost - how did you arrive at that amount.
• Show a quote if you have one.
• Explain how you will make up any shortfall – e.g. funding, membership fees, other grant applications, personal donations etc.
• Evidence of your constitution/charity status.
• Emphasise the benefits of the project – health, wellbeing, diversity, friendship, community, inclusivity etc. and how this will benefit the local community.

You will receive an email/letter from us within 10 working days to confirm receipt. If we need more information from you, we will ask for it as soon as we can.

Yes. You can contact us at cathrine.hope@strathlevenfoundation.org.uk and we will get back to you as soon as we can to help you through the process.

We are a very small team so bear with us if you don’t hear back from us straight away.

If you have been successful, we will send you our “Conditions of Acceptance” letter to sign and send back. This sets out what we expect of your organisation in making the award.

Once we receive a signed copy, we will arrange payment with you directly.

If you have been unsuccessful, we will outline our reasons and if you feel they don’t apply, or you can address them quickly, you can contact us at cathrine.hope@strathlevenfoundation.org.uk to discuss.

Our Trustees will consider the applications when they meet up every 12 weeks so you should hear back by then.

If we need more information from you, we will request it as soon as possible to minimise the time you need to wait for a decision.