I’m an existing grant holder
Congratulations! We are excited about working with you to support you in delivering the valuable work outlined in your grant application.
To help you get the most out of this funding opportunity, we have created a quick guide to the key actions you will need to take and the responsibilities you have as a grant holder. On this page you will find information about managing your grant, the requirements we have of you as a grant holder, and a glossary of key terms.
The funding team is here to provide information and support throughout the duration of your grant, so if you have any questions, please contact your Grant Manager. We are happy to help!
Managing Your Grant
Please do not start your project until you have:
- Provided us with a firm start date and milestones for the project which are defined as the main activity points in your delivery plan (e.g. the first meeting of a steering group). This is done via a Starting Certificate, which we will send to you for completion.
- Met any pre-start conditions set out by our funding committee. Any pre-start conditions will be outlined in your grant offer email and in your Grant Agreement.
- Returned your signed Grant Agreement to us – this must be signed by a representative of the Trust who has appropriate authority under the Trust Standing Financial Instructions. Your Finance Team will be able to guide you.
- Set up a cost centre with your Trust finance contact.
- Informed or consulted (as appropriate) relevant teams at the Trust, for example the Medical Equipment (MEIG) or Health Content teams.
- Gained ethics approval (if this is relevant to your project).
Unless otherwise agreed with your Grant Manager, all our grant funding is paid in arrears (see section below).
Ensuring a timely start to your project
As part of your grant application process, you provided us with a project start date. To ensure the most efficient use of our funding, funded projects must commence within 6 months of your confirmed start date. If there are circumstances beyond your control which will affect your start date, please contact us to arrange an alternative start date. If your project has not started within 6 months of the funding committee’s approval, your grant may be withdrawn. Please note that once you submit a Starting Certificate (the form you complete to confirm your project’s start date) it can take up to two weeks for you to receive your Grant Agreement. Please factor this into your project timeline.
Unless agreed in advance with your Grant Manager (only applicable in certain circumstances) our grant funding is paid in arrears, which means the Trust needs to cover any expenditure upfront. All expenditure needs to be charged to the cost centre specifically set up for your grant. We will ask you to report on your expenditure through requesting a Finance Report along with a Narrative Report (usually every six months), so that we can review this in line with your project budget. Once we have approved the expenditure, we will ask you to raise an invoice so that we can reimburse the Trust according to the agreed payment schedule.
At various points throughout the duration of your grant, you will need the input and support of your Finance Lead or Manager. Therefore, it is important to identify the relevant finance contact within the Trust before starting your project. You may also want to inform the Finance Manager for your clinical directorate, so they are aware of the grant.
The key finance tasks involved in managing your grant are:
- Setting up of a cost centre before you start your project – all expenditure (including equipment, staff costs, any consultancy costs) must go through this dedicated cost centre. This is critical – if expenditure does not go through a dedicated cost centre, it is difficult for your Finance team to generate the required reports, and we may not be able to reimburse the Trust. If your grant includes any equipment, please make a note of the PO number and use the dedicated cost centre when you place the order via Procurement or Medical Equipment (MEIG) team.
- Completion of interim and final grant finance reports (we provide templates and will send reminders).
- Raising invoices for grant instalments when required.
- Tracking expenditure throughout the duration of your grant – the Charity does not have visibility of this.
From experience, these processes work more smoothly when your finance colleagues are aware of exactly what is expected of them in advance.
Remember – the Finance Lead for your project will need to set up a specific cost centre before you start so that any expenditure against the project can be easily tracked. They will also need to complete the finance report that accompanies each narrative report at the various project reporting points.
If your project includes building costs or large equipment purchases, your Grant Agreement may specify that these can be claimed by providing an invoice for the actual cost with evidence of the purchase. Your Grant Manager can advise further on this.
If your project is a research project and requires ethics approval, this must be obtained before you start your project. This will be a condition of your grant, and you will not be able to proceed or receive your grant funding until approval is confirmed. We understand that due to the nature of research grants, you may need to undertake some work to obtain ethics approval. Please talk to your Grant Manager if you have any questions about this.
The key tasks you are responsible for once your project has started are:
- Reporting on your grant.
- Managing the invoicing process.
- Sharing exciting case studies and ‘breaking news’ on an ad hoc basis.
- Appropriate use of logos and branding using our toolkit.
- When your grant is approved, we will share additional, grant specific information with you regarding restricted income requirements.
The key tasks are explained in more detail below.
You will find a reporting schedule for your grant in your Grant Agreement. As the grant holder, you are responsible for the submission of both the Narrative and Financial Reports (see finance section above) for your grant. You will receive automated links from us in separate emails for both your Narrative Report and Finance Report at least two weeks in advance of your reporting date.
It is your responsibility to forward the finance report link to the relevant finance colleague to complete and ensure that it is returned to us within the agreed timeline. It is important that these reports are submitted in a timely fashion and with the required level of detail. In your application, you will have provided details of key milestones for your project, which you will need to update us on in your report.
If a report is not received within two months of the reporting deadline, we may close your grant and reallocate the money towards other funding opportunities.
If you think that your report will be delayed, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can make alternative arrangements.
We understand that sometimes timeframes and projects change, with good reason. If you need to change your project plan, deliverables, or timeframes, please email your Grant Manager (named in your Grant Agreement) to request this. You will be sent a simple Variation Form to fill out. Depending on the changes required, you may need input from your finance colleagues. Your Grant Manager will then review it and make a decision.
We recognise that this will be a function performed by your finance colleagues, but it is your responsibility to ensure they are aware of this process and the relevant timeframes.
As mentioned in the finance section above, unless agreed otherwise, grant funding is paid in arrears and your finance colleagues will need to complete a finance report and raise any associated invoices to enable us to pay you your grant.
Invoices should only be raised following a request from the Charity (we will issue an Invite to Invoice email) after conditions are met, and in line with the agreed payment schedule unless agreed otherwise. Instalment amounts may be amended depending on the rate of spend on a project as covered by the Grant Agreement.
If you or your team have any questions regarding payment, please contact us in advance of any payment deadlines.
Fundraising and Communications
Much of the funding provided by our three Charities is fundraised income. Some of this is restricted to specific projects, most often the funds donated by high-net-worth individuals, trusts/foundations, or legacies.
Some of the income is unrestricted and can be used for any project relating to the named Charity. This is usually generated by our public fundraising teams through events, campaigns such as Christmas appeals and through regular and one-off giving by individuals.
We want to work closely with our grant holders to enable our fundraising teams to communicate the impact of donations and raise even more money to support the Trust.
Requirements for:
To enable this, we require all grant holders to:
Share exciting case studies and ‘breaking news’ on an ad hoc basis – we like to hear about the progress of funded projects. If something happens and you want to share it with us outside of the reporting process, we will be delighted to hear about it.
Make appropriate use of logos and branding using our toolkit – we provide a selection of logos and branding with guidance. This includes mentioning the Charity funding whenever you are sharing the project publicly or Trust-wide.
When your grant is approved, we will share additional, grant specific information regarding any restricted income requirements. This is in case restricted income is secured (or might be secured) during the lifetime of your grant.
In some circumstances our fundraising team may need to raise funds specifically for your project – or the donations we have already received may be restricted to fund your grant.
In this case, there may be additional ways you can help. This will be proportionate to the size of your grant and your Grant Manager will discuss expectations with you. The list below is not compulsory, but this type of activity enables us to raise even more money to fund projects across the Trust.
Project information
- 1-2-1 meetings to discuss project details: including at the start, yearly and ad-hoc times as needed.
- Occasionally providing clarity or detail on your grant reports.
- Reading and offering feedback on the donor-facing reports we produce to check they are accurate. If any information in your reports is confidential (e.g. research findings pre-publication) do flag this.
Donor engagement
- Attending and speaking at external fundraising events.
- Hospital tours for small groups of donors.
- Accompanying fundraisers to 1-2-1 high-value donor meetings to present your project.
- Support with the creation of gifts, video messages or other short-form content to thank and acknowledge the support of donors.
Fundraising team engagement
- Presenting your project at internal fundraising meetings.
- In a select few cases, involvement in conversations about how to recognise significant philanthropic gifts (e.g. via naming, via a plaque or other means of public display) and facilitating the installation of agreed recognition
Supporting communications and media
- Engagement with press, e.g. providing quotes and reviewing a press release for accuracy. A swift turnaround is often needed. Some projects will also have a proactive media plan.
- Involvement in video/ photo content creation.
- Sharing relevant stories about the impact of your work on staff/patients, and supporting the team to facilitate the creation and sign off for story related content. This may include putting us in contact with a patient and/or their family (as appropriate, to be discussed with you).
- Your Grant Manager will keep you informed and help coordinate any interactions with our fundraising and communications colleagues.
- You may also want to make the Trust’s communications team aware of your project. They can help you manage any reputational risks and share your project both internally and externally.
Impact stories
As well as the data we capture in our grant reporting, it’s important for us to capture stories that bring to life the difference this grant is making. What difference has this funding made for the patients you reach; what difference has this funding made for your team? This information means we can talk about the great work you’re doing and helps us to fundraise to support more impactful work.
As part of your reporting, you will need to provide us with an outline of an impact story during the lifetime of your grant. Linked guidance is provided during the application process, but if you need further help or information, please contact your Grant Manager. You may also be contacted by members of our communications or fundraising team to explore your stories further.
Glossary
Starting Certificate – This is an electronic form that will be issued by the Charity, once your grant has been approved by our Funding Committee and we have received approval from your Head of Service and Finance Lead. You will need to provide a start date for your project (which must be within 6 months of our funding decision) and the key milestones for your work.
Grant Agreement – The Grant Agreement is the legally binding contract between the Charity and the grant holder that outlines the terms and conditions of your grant. It specifies the amount of funding awarded, the objectives, timelines, budget, reporting requirements and schedule as well as the payment schedule.
Funding Committee – This is an integral part of our grant making governance structure. Applications are assessed by the Funding Manager and then taken to the Funding Committee for each Charity for a final decision to be made. The Committee is made up of healthcare specialists and senior members of the Trust and each Charity.
Trust Standing Financial Instructions – This is a Trust document that outlines the key finance processes and rules that Trust staff need to follow.
Finance Report – Finance Reports are a key part of our grant monitoring process and need to be completed by your Finance Lead. A template for completion will be issued at agreed intervals throughout the lifetime of your grant. This report must be completed within 2 months – failure to do so may result in your grant being frozen or cancelled. As our grants are paid in arrears, the Finance Report should detail the expenditure for the required period. Once we have approved your Finance Report, we will release your grant payment.
Narrative Report – Narrative Reports are important documents that allow you to tell us how your work is progressing and flag any issues or questions. This report will be requested at agreed periods over the lifetime of your grant and must be completed within 2 months of that request – failure to do so may result in your grant being frozen or cancelled. Like the Finance Report, Narrative Reports are often linked to the release of grant payments.
Variation Form – If at any time over the lifetime of your grant you wish to make a change to the agreed delivery timeline of your project, and have agreed this with your Grant Manager, you will be issued a Variation Form to complete. This will ask you to detail the reason(s) for the changes (such as an extension in the delivery time for the work due to unforeseen delays) and the new agreed timeline. If you have any questions regarding a grant variation, please speak to your Grant Manager.