As an independent grant making trust, we provide grants to charitable organisations and educational establishments providing opportunities for young Londoners.
Our grants enable young people in London, particularly those from disadvantaged or low income backgrounds, to find and fulfil their potential.
Our criteria
To apply for funding, your organisation must be working to enhance the education of children and young people who meet our below criteria. Beneficiaries of your project must be:
- below the age of 25,
- come from low income or disadvantaged backgrounds and
- permanently reside in one of our named inner London boroughs.*
Your project must also address at least one of our six stated grant making priorities.
*We work across the 14 boroughs that make up inner London: Camden, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Westminster and the City of London.
Is my organisation eligible?
Find out if your organisation is eligible to apply for funding by taking our short quiz.
Take quizOur Multi-Step Application Process
We understand that applying for funding is time consuming, which is why we operate a two stage application process.
First Step – Eligibility. First, check your organisation's eligibility for a grant by using our Eligibility Quiz. Please also read our grant making priorities and feel free to contact us at hello@portaltrust.org if you have any further questions.
Second Step – Initial Enquiry. Complete and submit the first stage of your application by completing the online Initial Enquiry form (you will have access to this and a helpful Initial Enquiry Guidance Sheet after completing the quiz).
Third Step – Questions. If there are any aspects of your application that we don't quite understand or need a bit of clarification on, we will aim to contact you within four weeks.
Fourth Step – Stage Two. If the Grants Team believe that your project is a good fit for our funding, you may be invited to submit a second stage application.
Fifth Step – Introductions. The Grants Team will follow up on your second stage application and may want to arrange a visit to your organisation to better understand your proposal and your project's outcomes. It is also an excellent opportunity to introduce ourselves to each other and explain our work.
Sixth Step – Committee. The Grants Team will present your application to our Grants Committee for a decision.
How to Apply:
If you would like to apply, please take our eligibility quiz. If your organisation is eligible, you will be taken to our online application portal and can begin your application.
What we won't normally fund:
- Projects that do not meet our stated funding priorities
- General fund-raising campaigns or appeals
- Supplementary schools
- Youth and community groups
- Costs for equipment or salaries that are the statutory responsibility of education authorities
- Costs to substitute for the withdrawal or reduction of statutory funding
- Costs for work or activities that have already taken place prior to the grant application
- Costs already covered by core funding or other grants
- Capital costs, that are exclusively for the purchase, repair or furnishing of buildings, purchase of vehicles, computers, sports equipment or improvements to school grounds.
Please note, applying for funding is a competitive process and our grants budget is limited. Because of the high volume of applications received, good projects sometimes have to be refused, even if they meet one of our priorities. All applications are assessed on merit.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How much can we apply for?
We do not have a minimum or maximum grant amount that can be applied for. Sometimes we fund projects in their entirety, while other times we support a proportion of a projects’ costs and look for match funding. We recommend applicants look through our list of recent grants to better understand the types of projects we support.
Can you offer feedback if my application is declined?
Unfortunately, we’re unable to give feedback on unsuccessful applications due to the high number of applications we receive and the size of our grants team, who must prioritise reviewing applications. We endeavour to make our guidelines and website as clear as possible to help you to know if you are eligible and to be able to include all the information we need in your application to make an informed decision. Typical reasons for applications being declined include:
* Applying for work which similar organisations are delivering in the same area as you
* Applications that do not include vital information our Trustees would need to make an informed decision about your work and the impact it has
* Unclear applications that do not explain what you do, why it is needed and what difference you are making
* Financial - either our budget limitations, or the costing of the project
How long does it take for an application to be assessed?
It can take six months or longer for an application to progress from submitting a stage one application to receiving an award, depending on the time of year, the number of applications we receive and the grants budget available.
Our Grants Committee usually consider applications at three meetings per year, in March, June and October. We cannot guarantee that your application will be considered at any specific meeting and recommend applying around six months in advance, e.g. completing your first stage application in October for it to have a chance to be considered for the March Grants Committee.
With this in mind, Please ensure that you leave plenty of time before your project is due to start.
How likely is it that my application will be successful?
We do not publish success rates, as these vary year on year depending on the number of applications received and the grants budget available. Each application is assessed on its own merit, and we take into consideration how closely it meets our stated priorities for grant making.
Our application was turned down, how soon can we reapply?
Unsuccessful organisations must wait a minimum of 12 months from the date their application was declined before reapplying. Any additional applications received during these 12 months will not be considered.
If we are awarded a grant, how do we report our progress to you?
We use progress reports to find out how the work we are funding is going and understand how it's making progress towards our aims.
Your report will cover your projects progress towards the agreed outcomes, established with your organisation at the time of your application. Your progress make should reference to the agreed indicators, milestones and outcomes.
Once we have agreed funding, organisations are expected to provide both an interim and/or final report.
This is usually every twelve months, please remember that if you are awarded multi- year grants, payment of subsequent years will be dependent upon receiving a grant.
We will provide templates for your charity to complete, but we welcome additional information in support of your progress.
We know that reporting can be difficult, but our grants team are here to help please don’t hesitate to contact the grant team if you need to.
