Money Matters, Homes Matter, Families Matter

We make grants to registered UK charities (including those in Northern Ireland) which offer financial and / or housing related support to:

• survivors of domestic abuse
• older people

If you think your charity might fit the above criteria please see the funding guidelines for detailed information about the types of work we will support.

• Grants Programmes

  We operate the following grants programmes which are open to applicants who fit our funding guidelines:

  • Small Grants Programme - this offers grants of up to £5,000 to registered charities with incomes of under £500,000.

  Charities wishing to apply to the Foundation must be registered with one of the following:

  • the Charity Commission for England and Wales
  • the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
  • HM Revenue & Customs - for charities in Northern Ireland
  • HM Revenue & Customs - for those charities with a turnover of under £5,000
• Exclusions

  We will not fund the following under either programme:

  • Applications which do not fit the funding guidelines or comply with the information on this website
  • Charities which are not registered as above
  • Individuals
  • Charities with incomes exceeding £10m in respect of the Investor Programme
  • Charities with incomes exceeding £500,000 in respect of the Small Grants Programme
  • Charities with 'unrestricted reserves' which exceed 50% of annual expenditure, as shown their accounts
  • Charities which are in significant debt as shown in their accounts
  • Promotion of religion or politics
  • Overseas travel and work outside of the UK
  • Charities which have received a grant or donation from the Foundation or Nationwide Building Society within the past 12 months
  • Charities which have been declined by us under the same grant programme within the past 12 months

• Diversity

  We welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of race, colour, gender, sexuality, religion, national origin, age, disability or any other circumstance. All applications which fit the Foundation's guidelines are considered equally on grounds of merit

• Use of The Nationwide Foundation Name and Logo

  The Nationwide Foundation is happy for charities which we support to use our name and logo on any of their literature or on their websites.

  However, as part of the grant terms, we require all charities to request permission in writing for all uses of our logo, in advance. You can email these to us.

  Please note that the Nationwide Foundation is a separate organisation from the Nationwide Building Society. Any acknowledgement of our support should therefore refer to the Foundation.

  Press coverage

  Press coverage can be a great way for charities to raise the profile of their work with the following benefits:

  • To promote services which they provide to potential beneficiaries
  • To attract volunteers / future Trustees
  • To attract future donations.

  Coverage can be obtained in national press; regional, daily and evening newspapers; local weekly newspapers; specialist publications e.g. voluntary sector magazines. You might also wish to consider radio and TV coverage.

  If you would like a quote, or help from the Foundation in developing a press release please telephone us.

  Writing a Press Release:

  A press release should ideally not exceed one page of A4. You should consider your story carefully including what your message is, who your target audience is and importantly, what makes it newsworthy e.g. what relevant current affairs event you might be able to link it with. A press release should include the following headings and sections:

  • Name of Organisation
  • Embargo Date - when you want the news released
  • Headline - to catch a journalist's attention (although they may re-write it later)
  • First Paragraph - This will sum up your story in a couple of sentences
  • Second paragraph - This will provide more detail on the story e.g. who, what, where, when, how, why
  • Third paragraph - This may give quotes from your organisation and/or others about the story (we would be happy to provide you with a quote if the story relates to work which we are supporting)
  • End - state this at the end of the story
  • Notes for editors - this is where you can provide additional, brief, information about your organisation and the story
  • Contact details for your organisation and someone who will be able to assist a journalist both in and out of office hours.

  You should email the press release to journalists (whose addresses are available on their publication's websites) putting the headline in the subject bar and the message in the body of the email (do not send it as an attachment as these can be blocked). Be aware of publication deadlines, which will also be on their websites. You should telephone journalists before you send the email so they will be aware of its arrival, and you should telephone them afterwards to offer to discuss the story in more detail. It can be helpful to offer photographs to accompany your story and have case studies prepared to enhance it.

  For professional advice on developing your communications you may wish to contact the Media Trust or The Centre.

• How your information will be used by the Foundation

  The Nationwide Foundation processes personal data in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998, and uses such personal data and other information which you provide as part of the process of assessing grant applications, and monitoring and evaluating the progress of work funded. Information may also be shared with other grant providers and assessed or monitored by external agencies appointed by the Foundation e.g. accountants, external evaluators and statutory agencies such as the Charity Commission. It will not be used for any additional purposes or disclosed to third parties without your permission, except for the following purposes:

  • determining, preventing or detecting crime
  • ensuring that no applicant is receiving multiple grants
  • as part of our external auditing requirements

  Fraud

  The Nationwide Foundation takes grant fraud very seriously as fraudulent applications divert funding away from legitimate charitable causes.

  The information provided by you may be made available to other agencies for the purposes of preventing or detecting crime. Any misleading statements given at any stage during the application process may render the application invalid and you may be liable to return any monies already paid out. We will take the appropriate action against any applicants who commit or attempt to commit fraud, which may include reporting to the police.

  Retention of Application Forms

  It is the Foundation's policy to retain applications for one year after they have been declined or, when an application has been successful, it will be retained for three years after the active period of grant.

The Nationwide Foundation is a registered charity (no 1065552) and has limited liability being a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (no. 3451979). Registered office address: Nationwide House, Pipers Way, Swindon, SN38 1NW.
Site updated: February 2010