Applications
 
Grants

New partners may apply for grants of between £100,000 and £200,000 per grant year.  Different funding limits may apply to existing partners. 
 
We are happy to consider applications for a contribution towards the total cost of a project, rather than the full project budget.
 
Grant periods vary but are usually between one and three years.
 
The James Percy Foundation mainly awards project-specific grants.
 
Our application process is as follows:

  1. Contact us to discuss funding opportunities.
  2. Submission of a concept note by potential partners who meet our Grant-Selection Criteria. 
  3. Due diligence review.
  4. Submission of a full project proposal. 
  5. Field visit by one or more members of our grant-selection committee to assess the potential partner’s ability to implement programmes, its in-country presence and gain an understanding of the project context. This step has been temporarily suspended - see below.
  6. Trustee review and decision.  

Members of our grant-selection committee will be happy to assist and provide guidance to applicants throughout the application process.
 
We may decide to end the grant-selection process at any time if we feel that the potential partner and/or project do not meet our grant-selection criteria. 
 
We aim to find partners that are highly competent and to establish long-term relationships.
 
Reporting requirements
 
The Charity’s partners are asked to submit interim and annual reports to update the trustees on project implementation, progress against targets and any changes to the project. 
 
In addition, one or more members of the Grant-Selection Committee may perform one or more field visits during project implementation and give the trustees a first-hand report on the project’s progress. The James Percy Foundation views field visits as an important opportunity to build relationships with our partner organisations and foster open, trusting and responsive partnerships.
 
Upon completion of a project, grantees are asked to submit a completion report to help the trustees understand the impact of the work funded by the Charity and the Charity to learn and improve as a grant-making foundation. All completion reports are fed back to the trustees, and common themes arising from such reports are identified and reviewed

Temporary COVID-19 related measures
 
The trustees understand that the COVID-19 pandemic and the steps taken to prevent its spread will have a significant impact on project beneficiaries and the Charity’s existing and potential grantees. They have therefore agreed to make the following temporary changes to the grant application process and to the obligations placed on its existing grantees. 
         
With regards to new grant applications:

The trustees have agreed to temporarily suspend the requirement for a pre-approval field visit. When safe international travel resumes, field visits will be conducted for projects approved during this period. The trustees’ ongoing support of any such projects will be subject to the outcome of these field visits.

The trustees understand that it may be difficult to provide an accurate timeline for project implementation and will take this into consideration when reviewing proposals. 

With regards to COVID-19 specific projects:

As the Charity does not fund emergency work and due to the length of the Charity’s application process, the Charity will not consider grants for COVID-19 specific projects. However, the trustees will consider requests from its current grantees to incorporate COVID-19-related activities into ongoing projects.
 
With regards to ongoing projects:

  1. The Charity’s main priority at this time is to ensure that the work it supports does no harm. Grantees should therefore protect themselves, their colleagues, partners and beneficiaries, without worrying about the consequences to the grant from the Charity. The trustees have agreed to trust the Charity’s grantees to use their judgment with regards to the appropriateness of continuing certain activities at this time (e.g. awareness raising events, travel). The Charity will be fully understanding if grantees decide to postpone potentially risky activities - even if these precautionary steps are not required by the relevant local or national authorities. The trustees realise that this may have an impact on beneficiary numbers, expenditure and the grantees’ ability to meet the targets set out in the project proposal.
  2. Although the partnership agreement requires grantees to inform the Charity before making significant changes to their projects, the trustees have agreed to waive that requirement for changes made due to COVID-19. Grantees should notify the Charity whenever possible.
  3. The trustees understand that it may be difficult for grantees to meet their reporting requirements. If that is the case, grantees should contact the Operations Manager to explore possibilities.
  4. As the postponement of activities may result in underspends, the trustees will consider requests for no-cost extensions.

Other:
The trustees continue to reflect on other measures that could be implemented in order to support its existing and potential grantees at this time.



James Percy Foundation
Registered with the Charity Commission 1144494