The William Dudley Trust

We support and welcome applications from charities that are based within the boundaries of the City of Birmingham, benefiting the residents of Birmingham and established to alleviate need, hardship and distress. Our total budget in 2025 for Grants  to Charity is approximately £8000.

A. Eligibility and current priorities

• The William Dudley Trust supports applications from charities that are based within the boundaries of the City of Birmingham, benefiting residents of Birmingham and established to alleviate need, hardship and distress.
• Grants are usually made for specific purposes rather than a general contribution to funds.
• You may apply for up to £1000.
  

• Trustees’ current priority is to support Birmingham-based local charities that have an annual turnover of £100,000 or less. These charities should be working to alleviate need, hardship and distress for residents of Birmingham.
• Trustees welcome applications from smaller charities [turnover £5000 or under] that are not registered with the Charity Commission as long as they are registered with HMRC (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs) as a charity for tax purposes.
• Trustees particularly welcome applications from local charities that work with older people - those who are frail, housebound, experiencing ill health, poverty, disability or disadvantage.
• Favourable consideration is given to charities in which a large proportion of the work is undertaken by volunteers rather than paid staff.
  
• The Trustees pay particular attention to applications that demonstrate long-term benefits for their clients (e.g. towards meeting costs of training volunteers; or the costs of equipment such as lifting gear for disabled or elderly people), rather than the costs of a one-off event.
  
• Trustees accept applications from registered charities with a turnover of under £250,000, but please note the current priorities above.
• Re-applications are welcomed but please do not re-apply in the same 12 month period, especially if your group has been funded.

B. What we do not fund

To reduce time and resources wasted on inappropriate applications, you are advised to note that Trustees do not fund the following:

• applications from charities with a turnover in excess of £250,000
• charities not based in Birmingham, or not carrying out charitible work within Birmingham
• general appeals from national charities
• small contributions to large appeals for vehicles or buildings
• holidays and outings
• animal charities
• medical research
• grants to individuals

C. How to apply

1. All applications should be made via an application form, available to download here. Application letters are not accepted.
2. All applications should be accompanied by a copy of your most recent examined or audited accounts, or an internal financial statement that shows income and expenditure. If you do not send any accounts your application will be rejected.
3. It may help your application if you also enclose:                                                                                                                                               - An explanation if your unrestricted reserves are larger than your annual income                                                                     - An annual report or other information about your work. This should include the names of your management               committee, trustees or directors                                                                                                                                                                       - A copy of a bank statement for all accounts. Please do not send originals.                                                                                     - A confirmation that your charity has appropriate policies on child protection or protection of vulnerable adults         if your application relates to either of these groups                                                                                                                                 - A confirmation that your charity has an appropriate volunteer policy if you are applying for volunteer expenses                                                                                                                                            
4. Forms and accompanying accounts can either be submitted electronically to the Trust's email address, info@williamdudleytrust.org, or posted to The William Dudley Trust, PO Box 17077, Birmingham B2 2NF
5. Note that to keep its running costs low the Trust does not acknowledge receipt of applications. If you would like to confirm that your application has been received by the Trust's administrator please email the Trust 28 days after sending the grant application.

D. Trustee decisions

Applications are considered twice a year at a meeting of the Board of Trustees.

Closing dates for 2025 are as follows:

• For consideration at the June meeting - 9 May 2025
• For consideration at the November meeting - 10 October 2025

Any applications received after the closing date will be considered at the next grant-awarding meeting, i.e. late applications received for the Trustees' June meeting will be considered in November. Late applications received for the Trustees' November meeting will be considered the following June.

Successful applicants will receive a letter stating the Trustees' decision and the grant amount payable.

Unsuccessful applicants will not receive a response unless a stamped self-addressed envelope for this purpose was supplied with the application.

E. How to acknowledge your grant

Please acknowledge the support of the William Dudley Trust publicly, and share the news of your project and our funding. We encourage you to do this during your project and afterwards, to celebrate what you have achieved. You can share our website address www.williamdudleytrust.org and download our logo here.

Recent examples of funding provided by the William Dudley Trust have included:

• Helping to purchase boxing equipment
• Covering the costs of buying food at a local food bank
• Funding the costs of online training for a charity's volunteers
• Helping towards the costs of an outreach worker's salary
• Assisting with the purchase of a clay kiln
  
• Funding DIY skills training for women
• Assisting with the costs of a mental health project
• Helping with the costs of hiring a theatre for a local theatre company

If you require any further information, please contact the Trust's Administrator.

info@williamdudleytrust.org