This fund is now closed. Please sign up to our monthly grants ebulletin (opens in a new window) to stay up to date with our grants that are currently open.
The London Community Foundation is pleased to manage the Wimbledon Foundation Homelessness Fund (WFHF). This fund is a grants initiative which aims to build resilience of local homelessness organisations in Merton and Wandsworth by providing multi-year funding for core cost expenditure.
Strengthening local homelessness charities 2025-2027
The second round of the Wimbledon Foundation Homelessness Fund (WFHF) again aims to strengthen homelessness charities providing vital services in the boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth. We recognise that community-based homelessness organisations are subject experts in the field responding to increasingly complex needs and demand for services.
This fund offers strategic grants to help build organisational resilience and efficiency over the next three-years and contribute to the sustainability of homelessness prevention and support services.
There will be £480,000 of funding available over three years, £160,000 per year, and we envisage awarding 3 to 4 grants.
Wimbledon Foundation Homelessness Fund (WFHF) guidelines
If your organisation meets the core eligibility criteria, please read the WFHF guidelines below.
Eligibility
All applicants must:
- Be a Registered Charity, Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Company Limited by Guarantee, or Community Interest Company Limited by Guarantee.
- Have a primary organisational objective to address homelessness.
- Demonstrate expertise and significant experience of delivering services for people experiencing homelessness in the boroughs of Merton and/or Wandsworth.
Funding available
- Multi-year grants of up to £50,000 per year are available for up to three years.
- Funding is for core costs to ensure key services are maintained at your organisation and/or strategic development takes place to build resilience and sustainability.
- Funding requests should be proportionate to your organisation’s size and the extent of your existing services currently provided in Merton and Wandsworth. The amount requested in each year must not be more than 25% of an organisation’s annual income (or average income over the past three years).
- Organisations that received funding in the previous WFHF round are eligible to reapply and will be considered for funding alongside new applicants. Previous WFHF grantees may submit proposals for the same core costs funded in the prior round or for different core costs.
What we will fund
Feel free to tell us what you need most as an organisation. For example, a strategic grant could support a combination of the following core costs:
- Staff salaries, in full or part, for roles including - Case Workers, Centre Manager, Fundraisers, CEO, Office & Facilities Manager, Data Manager, Communications Manager etc.
- Training for staff, trustees and/or volunteers
- Contribution towards key organisational running costs including centre and/or office costs, e.g. rent and rates, lighting and heating, maintenance
- Funding for income generation and governance activities
- Business development
- IT equipment and systems development
- Development of a client and/or fundraising database
- Development of monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes
- Staff wellbeing initiatives and burnout prevention for all employees
These are some examples of the types of capacity building activities we would consider supporting. This is a flexible, strategic fund and we welcome your ideas.
Proposal activities, outputs, indicators and timelines
A separate ‘Activities and Outputs’ document should be downloaded from this page, with the fund guidelines and the online application form guidance (see links below and on the right of the screen).
The document explains about the activities, outputs, indicators and timelines you will need to complete to show what the core cost funding you are applying for aims to achieve. A table with examples of how to complete your activities, outputs, indicators and timelines is included in the document.
Application deadline is:
- Wednesday 9th October 2024 @ 5pm
- The Panel will meet in late November and decisions will be released by 13th December 2024. Core costs can therefore be funded from January 2025 onwards, and not before.
Please ensure that your completed application and supporting documents are submitted no later than the deadline given above.
Contact Details
If you have any questions about this fund, please contact Rich Horsnell on 020 7582 5117 or at applications@londoncf.org.uk