FAQs for grant holders

Payment release and reporting

I’ve just been awarded a grant from you. What happens now?

Your award email and Grant Welcome Pack will explain everything you need to know now that you’ve been awarded a grant. These documents outline any conditions for release of your grant payments, how to provide your organisation’s bank details so that we can pay your grant, and how we’ll ask you to keep in touch with us during your grant period.

It is important to read these documents in full and retain copies of these for future reference, as well as our grant terms and conditions to which you agreed in your application form.

I’m not sure when my next payment is due. Can you let me know?

We will e-mail the project contact person we hold on our records around 2 months before the date your next payment is due, to remind you of this and the paperwork/information we need for its release. Please tell us about any changes to contact details as they occur so that we can ensure we send reminder e-mails to the right person.

My next payment is due soon but I won’t be able to send my paperwork in time. Is this OK?

We will not be able to release your next payment until we have received and accepted your end of year paperwork or completed your end of year phone call (if applicable). If you think there will be a long delay before you can provide the information we’ve asked for, i.e. more than a few weeks, please tell us in advance and explain the reason(s) for this. Please note that overdue paperwork may affect the release of future payments.

I’ve received your e-mail about my end of year paperwork, which says that you may be in touch to arrange a progress visit or phone call. What can I expect during one of these?

A progress visit provides an opportunity for us to find out how you’re getting on, learn more about your work and to see if there’s any additional support you need from us. We’re interested to know about the activities you’ve been delivering and your future plans. If you have a grant which is for a specific salary or the costs of (running) a facility, we normally ask to meet with the postholder or to be able to visit the premises. If appropriate, we may also ask to see your work in action. A progress visit normally lasts no more than 1.5 hours and, as far as possible, we’ll try to flag up any key questions we might have in advance.

In some cases, and at present due to the Covid pandemic, we will carry out a progress phone call instead of a visit. During this call we’ll normally cover the same areas outlined above.

I need to let you know about a change to the work you are funding. How should I do this?

We would ask that you let us know in advance of any significant changes to your organisation or the work we are funding. Examples of the types of change we’d like to know about include: any change to your organisation’s legal status; a change in post holder or the hours of a post, if we are funding a specific salary; any serious financial or governance issue facing your organisation; any significant underspend in our funds. Your Grant Terms and Conditions include full details. You can either contact your Funding Officer or email funding@therobertsontrust.org.uk to let us know.

Applying again

I already have a grant from The Robertson Trust. Can I apply for more funding?

You can only hold one revenue grant from us at a time. If you wish to apply for further revenue funding, the earliest you can do so is 6 months before the end of your grant period. If successful, we would not release any funds before your existing grant ends and you’ve sent us your End of Grant Report.

It is possible to hold a revenue grant and a capital grant from us at the same time. If you have a revenue grant already and need capital funding for a vehicle, or, if you have a capital grant and need revenue funding, please use our Funding checker  to see which of our funds you might be able to access.

My grant from The Robertson Trust is coming to an end soon. When can I reapply?

If you have a revenue grant, you can reapply for further revenue funding from 6 months before the end of your grant period. If successful, we would not release any funds before your existing grant ends and you’ve sent us your End of Grant Report.

If you have a Community Vehicle or Community Building capital grant from us, you can hold a revenue grant at the same time. If you wish to reapply for further Community Vehicle funding once your current grant ends, we recommend that you call us first to discuss. Our Community Building fund is now closed.

I applied for five years’ funding but only received three. When can I reapply?

You can reapply for funding once your existing grant ends and you’ve sent us your End of Grant Report (if applicable).

I recently applied to The Robertson Trust but was unsuccessful. Can I reapply?

Your decision email explains how soon you can reapply. If the reason we didn’t award you funding was something we think you can address, you may be able to reapply once you have been able to do so.

Other questions

We’ve had some funding from you and I’d like to publicise/acknowledge the Trust’s support. How do I do this?

We have developed a Communications Toolkit which provides useful tips and practical advice for raising the profile of your organisation and also includes details of how to refer to the Trust in your communications. See the page Talking about your funding.

Another funder/auditor has asked for written confirmation of your support. Can you provide this?

Our award e-mail and Grant Welcome Pack is confirmation of our funding and should be used for this purpose. If you no longer have your award e-mail, please let us know and we will re-send you a copy.

We have our annual conference/AGM/event coming up and would like to invite someone from the Trust. Who should we contact?

We are unfortunately not often able to attend annual conferences or AGMs. You can send invitations for events relevant to the work we have funded, or are funding, either directly to your Funding Officer or to funding@therobertsontrust.org.uk however please bear in mind that we may not be able to attend.