Welcome!
To Thomas Deane Trust
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Thomas Deane Trust is a small family-run charity supporting organisations by making grants for projects that chime with the interests of the founders. But don't even think about applying to us for money until you've read and understood:
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Four themes
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Four ways of working
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One approach: outcomes funding
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Ten reasons why we probably won't fund you
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We are currently closed for applications!
Round Two closed mid-September 2019. Just in time for a pandemic to start disrupting everyone's lives. Normal service at Thomas Deane Trust was totally impossible, and we're only now just emerging, blinking in the sunlight (cue prisoners' release music by Verdi and Beethoven). Details of Round Two projects and grantholders will be updated just as soon as we can.
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We're hoping the next funding round (Round Three) will open early(ish) next year. Rounds are open for only a limited period – follow us on Twitter (@ThomasDeaneTrst) and keep checking here to make sure you don’t miss a deadline.
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But we hope to be open again real soon!!
Rounding up our rounds
What’s been happening to Thomas Deane Trust applicants and grantees? Here’s a brief shake-down of what’s occurring over our first three funding rounds.
Round One
Grantees are busy working away at their projects. In between collecting multiplying awards, of course.
Some grantees owe us reports on progress so far. We really look forward to finding out how they’re doing, what they’re learning, and we’ll be in touch with them shortly.
Round Two
Round Two closed mid-September and we’re currently assessing the bids: a highly rewarding, if challenging, activity. Applicants should read the detail here and here
Round Three is hardly even a twinkle in our eye as yet. What will be the criteria? We absolutely don’t know, yet. But there will be loads of info here to help you as the round opens.
All the latest
Visit us regularly, and find out the latest info on our grants and applications.
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Views, opinions, thoughts and ideas expressed in this section are just us thinking out loud. While we certainly won’t deliberately mislead you, do not place any particular reliance on what we say here – we reserve the right to change our minds.
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16 Aug 2019
More guidance for you
We want to help improve transparency and openness in funding. So we’re now including answers to general queries on our funding criteria. Head over to Insider Info – further guidance. First up: funding CICs; funding project expansion.
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24 July 2019
More help for you
Following the success of our first round of funding, we’ve updated, clarified and enlarged our guidance for applicants. All so’s you can write better, clearer, more hit-the-nail-on-the-head applications. We’re looking forward to reading them all (but not, obvs, until the round opens).
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24 July 2019
First grants awarded!
We’re pleased and proud to announce five grants were awarded in our first round of applications. Debt advice revisioned, bereavement support through photography. Men, singing. And more. Check it all out here.
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12 February 2019
How much?
Not surprisingly, a popular question among potential applicants is what size grants are we likely to make. To be honest, we really don’t know: it all depends what applications we receive and how we think we can best spend our assets.
In arithmetical terms, it’s easy. We’ve got about £425k to give out; and four themes and three years to share it between. Suppose we wanted to fund two projects per theme per year, that’s, um, an average of £17,700 a grant. And further suppose that we thought it reasonable to fund a few projects with no more than, say, a quarter of the average; and one, maybe two, others on twice the average, that would give a range of £4,400 to £35,000.
But, then, what if we saw one stonking project that was right up our street, and that really, really needed £100k from us? It wouldn’t make any sense for us to turn it down. Would it?
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