Grant Application Guidelines

Please read the following information thoroughly before proceeding to the application at the bottom of this page.

Charitable Purpose 

a) The advancement of the arts, heritage and culture, including (but not restricted to) promoting, developing and ensuring the practice and enjoyment of the arts, including music, the visual arts, theatre and literature, as the directors in their absolute and uncontrolled discretion think fit; and
b) Without prejudice to the foregoing generality, the charity will have a particular (but not exclusive) focus on Scottish organisations and individuals resident in Scotland.

Activities which fall within our charitable purposes include the following:

  • Visual arts, meaning works of art created to be appreciated by sight, such as painting, sculpture, and film-making;

  • Performing arts, meaning creative activity performed in front of an audience, such as music, drama, theatre, and dance;

  • Literature;

  • Heritage, where there is a significant element of the Arts included.   

What we fund

  • Charities registered in the UK,

  • Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIOs),

  • Public sector organisations,

  • Other ‘not for profit’ organisations, including:

    • Voluntary or unincorporated associations (applicants must have a written constitution and a bank account in the name of the entity),

    • Companies limited by guarantee (applicants must demonstrate clear public benefit objectives),

    • Community Interest Companies (CICs),

    • Trusts

    • Co-operatives (defined as an entity run by its members for the benefit of its members or the benefit of their community, with a bank account in its own name).

  • Individuals are funded only through one of the following means:

    • Bursaries, scholarships and similar schemes arranged directly with institutions,

    • the Beatrice Huntington Award for Cellists,

    • any other specific award schemes run by The William Syson Foundation (the “Foundation”).

What we do not fund

  • Activities which do not fulfil our charitable purposes,

  • Requests from individuals that do not relate to either the Beatrice Huntington Award for Cellists or a specific award scheme for individuals run by the Foundation,

  • Organisations registered outside the UK,

  • Projects and activities which incorporate the promotion of political or religious beliefs,

  • Requests for salaried posts where there is a requirement for the post holder to be of a particular faith or none,

  • The standalone purchase costs of buildings and/or land,

  • Capital work on buildings not owned by the applicant or on which the applicant does not have a long-term lease,

  • Any retrospective costs already incurred by the applicant,

  • Applications from organisations who have received funding from us over a sustained period of 3 consecutive years. Such organisations are requested to take a break of at least one year before re-applying to us.

Types of funding

  • Small Grants (up to £5,000);

  • Large Grants (from £5,001);

  • Proactive grants programme;

  • Scholarship or bursary funding via specific institutions;

  • Award schemes for individuals

Small and Large Grants  

Revenue funding:  Applications can be submitted for support for expenses associated with the delivery of services. These might include: salaries or sessional staff costs; project costs (for example activity costs, volunteer expenses and transport); core (running) costs such as rent, heating and lighting.

Capital funding:  Applications may be made for capital projects.  These must show how the project will improve or enhance the services provided, increase usage of the facility or benefit the client group in line with our charitable purposes. The applicant organisation must either own the assets or hold a long-term lease. 

Proactive grants programme

A specific sum may be allocated to a single or multi-year programme with a defined aim identified by the Foundation. Grants are made to organisations or individuals selected by the directors.  Applications are not accepted.  

Scholarship/bursary funding

The Foundation accepts applications from organisations requesting contributions to bursary funds for small-scale support (e.g.: for attendees of short courses). Under any such programme funded by the Foundation, the successful institution would nominate the recipient or recipients to benefit. Applications directly from individuals are therefore not accepted.

Currently the Foundation is not accepting applications for formal scholarship programmes or bursary funds towards large-scale support (e.g.: for attendees of multi-year courses).

Award schemes for individuals

  •  The Beatrice Huntington Awards for Cellists

Annual Junior (12-17yo) and Senior (18-25yo) awards of £5,000 each to cellists resident in Scotland. Awards may be used to fund travel, purchasing instruments, tuition and other purposes.  An interview will be required (see below). Previous winners of the award are not eligible to apply.

  • Other individual funding schemes

We accept applications from individuals seeking support for the delivery of Arts projects to schools and the community, and for short courses relating to the subsequent delivery of Arts projects to schools and the community.  (Note: we do not accept applications for support for full-time University or Conservatoire fees).

Making an Application

Deadlines for application submission

Applications are considered at meetings held throughout the year. There is no deadline for submissions, but applicants should be aware that it may take up to 4 months to receive a decision.

The Beatrice Huntington Awards are open for applications in October and November.  The Awards are judged in February/March of the following year.

Completing the application form

This is your opportunity to grab our attention and tell us why your activity or project is worth supporting! Use the boxes on the application form to tell us what you do, what you propose to do, why it is important, how you plan to deliver it, and what ‘success’ looks like to you. Consider asking someone from outside your organisation to review the form before you submit it, to see whether your answers are clear.

We felt it would be useful to show some of the main reasons why we have to contact applicants for further information:

  • All text must be visible in the space provided. Some software applications may allow these boxes to be enlarged or use a scroll function: do not use these features.

  • The submitted accounts are usually many months old, so we request an update on the current financial strength of the organisation. Is the organisation breaking even / making a surplus / operating a deficit?

  • Details of the Reserves Policy are requested, and the current level of reserves. Are there restricted / designated funds? If so - what for? If there is no reserves policy please provide an explanation as to why not. There is no maximum or minimum level of reserves, but we are interested in your plans to spend them (if high) or replenish them (if low).

  • Safeguarding policies are often out of date, or don’t refer to current Scottish legislation or the need for PVG membership (where applicable)

  • No mention of Covid contingency plans, in case projects have to be altered due to new restrictions

  • Applications from individuals which fail to clarify the school or community benefit of the project

  • Budgets can be unclear, overly complicated, or buried in other supporting literature. Budgets are requested to be attached separately and should include both expenditure and income sources. Applicants should refer to our template to see what information should be included.

  • When applying for funding for a particular project, we are interested to know the start/end dates of the project, estimates of numbers of beneficiaries, and so on.

Declaration by applicants

When submitting an application form, applicants are confirming that they have read our Terms and Conditions and are able to comply with various requirements. Please read the Declaration on the application form carefully before submitting.

Supporting documentation

There is a list of required supporting documentation on the application form.  The correct documents must be sent with the application form: note that incomplete applications may be delayed or not assessed.  Please read this carefully as this is the most common reason for applications to be delayed.  

Please check/use our Budget Template to see what information we require in your Budget.

Applicants should bear in mind that the Foundation receives many applications. Supporting literature is useful but may not be read in detail. All essential information should be contained in the application form, budget and accounts. 

Interviews

Interviews may be held as part of the assessment process for awards to individuals.

  • For Safeguarding purposes (see separate Safeguarding Policy), all interviews will be conducted by a minimum of two representatives of the Foundation.

  • Interviewees under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian/other adult with responsibility.

  • Interviewees aged 18 or over may bring an appropriate companion to the interview. 

Feedback requests

The Foundation’s policy is to not provide feedback regarding applications. 

Post-grant Monitoring:

Successful applicants for all grants must supply a written report of the project or activity within 1 year of the grant being awarded, together with any other information reasonably requested by the Foundation relating to the project or activity. This may include copies of receipts or other proofs of purchase, where appropriate. General details are contained in the Terms and Conditions. The Grant Award Letter sent with the grant outlines any specific monitoring requests.

Privacy Notice:

The William Syson Foundation is the Controller of your personal information. We are committed to safeguarding the personal information of our applicants, grantees, website visitors, trustees and staff. We will use the information that we collect about you lawfully and in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our Privacy Notice on our website provides full details and is updated as required.