EMPOWER
EMPOWERING YOU TO EMPOWER OTHERS
- CLOSED FOR APPLICATIONS
- Infrastructure Charities
- 1-2 Year Grants
- Maximum Award - £20,000
The EMPOWER programme is in place to support established infrastructure charities only, regional or subregional, that support voluntary & community groups. The charities main function must be to support other groups.
To be eligible for this fund, your group must be registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. If you are registered with another charity regulator in the UK/Ireland, it must show that you operate in Northern Ireland.
Applicants must have at least one year of annual returns published on Charity Commission NI website.
Applications must be strategic/transformational in nature. Projects must not duplicate activities supported by or the responsibility of government departments.
EMPOWER is now closed for applications. Check back in 2025!
Applicants must have a pre-application call with a member of the Grants Team prior to submitting an application. To book a call, please contact grants@halifaxfoundationni.org
TYPES OF COSTS CONSIDERED
- Research / Publication costs
- Capacity building
- Materials & Equipment
- Salary Contributions
- Overheads / Core costs
- Transport Costs
- Volunteer expenses
- Training / Tutor costs
- Activity costs
- Minor refurbishment
FLEXIBILITY COMMITMENT – We recognise that costs you need supported at the time of application may not be what you need throughout the lifetime of your grant. Should you be successful with your application, we would encourage you to speak to your grants officer should things change and we will endeavour to be as flexible as possible (Please note: You must receive confirmation of approval before changes are made.)
EMPOWER - ELIGIBILITY CHECK
Your groups needs to be a registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland or other charity regulator within the UK or Ireland. Your application must support people or groups from Northern Ireland.
We will not ask you to provide your accounts, as we can view then on the charity regulator website. Accounts must be uploaded within 10 months of your financial year end, as per charity commission guidelines. If you have not uploaded your accounts within this timeframe, your application cannot be considered.
In addition, you must follow the rules around the minimum number of Trustees/Board Members as set out in your governing document.
If you work with children, young people or vulnerable adults, you must have a safeguarding policy in place. For further information published by NSPCC, click here
You will not be able to submit an application if you do not have adequate insurance cover to
run your charity and activities contained in your application.
For guidance published by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, click here
We do not accept applications completed by a professional fundraising consultant. If you need support to complete this application, sign up for one of our monthly support sessions at grants@halifaxfoundationni.org
WHAT WE DON'T FUND
- Non registered charities or groups using the charitable status of a parent, umbrella or third-party
- Travel or activities outside of Northern Ireland
- Grant Making charities
- Individuals, including students
- Hospitals or medical centres
- Promotion of religion
- The environment
- Animal welfare
- Fundraising – sponsorship, events or staff
- Lost opportunity costs
- Capital and associated costs (e.g. Architecture fees)
- Bursaries, loans or business finance
- Endowment funds
- Charities in deficit (whether through authorised or unauthorised overdraft)
- Projects that are the responsibility of local government
BEFORE YOU START
You will need an electronic copy of the following documents to attach with your application:
- Your governing document (signed by an office bearer)
- A recent bank statement (within last 3 months) unredacted
- We will check the Charity Commission NI website for your accounts, so make sure they are up to date.
In the application form, we will be asking you questions about:
- Contact details of a main contact and your Chairperson
- The activities of your charity
- The funding you need, including details of your beneficiaries
- The budget
- Most recent financial information, including income, expenditure and reserves
JOURNEY OF AN APPLICATION
Scroll to the right to view the timeline.
The EMPOWER programme is coming in June 2024
The EMPOWER Programme is now CLOSED
Other Grants Programmes
Open to groups who are recently set up (within last 2 years). Groups must be registered with Charity Commission NI. It provides funding to support a charity to get started
This programme is open to registered charities with an income of under £500,000, supporting people in greatest need.
This programme is open to 2 or more registered charities with an income of under £500,000, who are coming together to tackle a social issue at a local level.
Open to registered charities with an income of £250,000 or under, supporting those in greatest need.
In addition to our range of funding opportunities, we are proud to offer our grantees a range of additional support programmes in partnership with our funder Lloyds Banking Group.
