All applications to John Lyon’s Charity are submitted via the Online Grants Portal. Depending on the Grant Fund you are applying for, there is either a single-stage or two-stage application process.
Please find information for Stage One & Stage Two applications below:
- Single-Stage Applications
If you are applying for a grant under one of these Funds:
- School Holiday Activity Fund
- Capacity Building Micro Grants
- Refurbishment Fund: Small Grant
- Cultural Capital Fund (Arts & Schools)
Then there is a single stage application process.
All applications to John Lyon’s Charity are submitted via the Online Grants Portal
To apply, you will first need to create a login. You will be able to use your login to apply to any of the Charity’s Grant Funds.Applications for these Funds can be submitted at any time. Please note, applications to the School Holiday Activity Fund are subject to cut-offs ahead of each holiday period. If unsure, please click here to double check SHAF Application deadlines.
- Two-Stage Applications
If you are applying for a grant under one of these Funds:
- Open Programme
- Schools in Partnership
- Refurbishment Fund: Main Grant
Then there is a two stage application process.
Stage One: Proposal Process
All applications to John Lyon’s Charity are submitted via the Online Grants Portal. To apply, you will first need to create a login. You will be able to use your login to apply to any of the Charity’s Grant Funds.
Once you have created your login, you can upload an initial proposal letter. This should be approximately two sides of A4 in length with the following information:
- Information about your organisation
- A summary of the main purpose of your project
- Details of how much your project will cost in total
- How much you are requesting from the Charity
- The timescale of your project
- What you will spend the Charity’s contribution on
Guidelines for writing a Good Proposal Letter here.
During the assessment of your proposal, a member of the Grants Team will be in contact with you and may request a site visit. We may also send your proposal to one of our Advisers, or arrange for an Adviser to visit you to discuss your proposal in more detail. You can submit Stage One proposals at any time.
The Grants Team will be in touch once we have received your Stage One Proposal. If appropriate, the Grants Team will invite you to proceed to Stage Two in the application process.
Stage Two: Application Form
If your Stage One proposal is assessed positively, a member of the Grants Team will inform you that your proposal has been successful and send a link to the Stage Two application form. Please note, that the Stage Two application process only applies to Main Grants, Schools in Partnership and Bursary.
The application process will consist of three parts:
Part 1 – Application Form – This is accessible via the Grants Portal using the same login details used in Stage One
Part 2 – Project Budget – You will be able to download this form during the online application process. This should cover the whole cost of the project, including what has been requested from the Charity
Part 3 - Organisation Budget – You will be able to download this form during the online application process.
In some cases, you may be asked to submit a Departmental Budget.To complete the second stage application, you will also be asked for the following documents. Please note, the application will not be processed without the following:
- Annual Accounts (signed and audited – if applicable)
- Safeguarding Policy
- Equality and Diversity Policy
- Bank Statements - If you are applying to the Charity for the first time or you have not received a payment from then Charity in the last three years, the Charity requires you to submit a PDF version of your Bank Statement. It must clearly show your organisation’s name, bank account details and must be dated within the last 3 months. The Bank Statement must be sent via email to [email protected] at the same time or shortly after, submitting your online application. If you have received a payment from the Charity within the last three years and your bank details have not changed, you do not need to provide a NEW statement; we will use the bank statement we already hold on file. For frequently asked questions about bank statements please visit https://www.jlc.london/faq/.
- Job Description - (if the application is for a salary)
- Supporting documents - (optional)
- Time Frame
Applications are considered by the Trustee three times a year in March, June and November. You will be advised by the Grants Team when you should submit your application.
We strongly recommend that proposals be submitted at least six months in advance of a Trustee meeting to be considered. Each funding round has limited capacity so the earlier you can submit your proposal the more likely you are to receive funding when you want it.
Working in schools – We strongly recommend that schools or organisations seeking to work in schools around the academic year submit proposals by early November (at the latest) in order to be considered at the March Trustee meeting. If successful, the release of the grant would be in line with the beginning of the academic year.
Please note that it takes at least six months for the application process to be completed, so please bear in mind when your project is due to take place and apply in plenty of time. If you have any issues or questions regarding submitting an application, please email [email protected].
If you are at all unsure about your eligibility, please refer back to our Eligibility page.