When applying for funding, organisations should bear in mind the following principles that steer the Charity’s grant-giving.
- Our approach
- John Lyon’s Charity is signed up to the IVAR open and trusted grant-making initiative. You can find ‘Our Commitments’ here.
- The Charity’s grant-giving is “faith blind” and inclusive; all organisations associated with John Lyon’s Charity must be inclusive and non-discriminatory
- John Lyon’s Charity is committed to “grant-making by walking around”: we will come and visit your organisation to get to know you and understand the work that you do
- The Charity seeks to maximise opportunities to support the development of organisations through its grant-giving, providing pathways to capacity building where appropriate
- We are a London Living Wage employer and funder and seek to share this approach with funded organisations
- We publish our grants on 360 Giving on an annual basis to provide transparency.
- Organisations
- Organisations should seek partnerships with other local groups where relevant and seek to work cooperatively within existing communities
- Organisations funded by the Charity must have the correct, up to date safeguarding policies and procedures in place
- Faith organisations need to demonstrate an approach that benefits the wider community
- Salaries supported by the Charity must be paid at London Living Wage and organisations should strive to incorporate this ethos across all of its staff and operations
- Youth clubs should have, or be working towards, the London Youth Quality Mark
- Supplementary schools should have, or be working towards, the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education Quality Standard
- Organisations that seek to work with schools on music projects should demonstrate that they have a relationship with the Music Hub of that particular area
- Organisations must be members of the Young People’s Foundation in the area in which they work
- Organisations should consider the ethical and environmental implications of the activities they are delivering.
- Projects
- Projects must work with children and young people aged 0-25 or their families. In cases of special needs or disability the age may extend to 30
- Projects must always be mindful of the wider community and the context in which they operate
- Projects must be of high quality and seek to inspire children and young people beyond their everyday experiences
- Projects must enhance the ability of traditionally under-represented groups to access programmes, activities and educational opportunities
- Counselling and psychotherapy projects that support children and young people must provide evidence of membership of the appropriate professional bodies and provide clinical supervision to practitioners.
- Schools
- Projects in schools should seek to engage parents as much as possible with their child’s learning and within the school community
- Schools are expected to show ownership of and commitment to a project
- Faith schools need to have an open admissions policy.