Advice to Applicants

Lady MacRobert recognised that new occasions teach new duties and therefore The MacRobert Trust Deed gives wide discretionary powers to the Trustees. The Trust is reactive so, with very few exceptions, grants are made only in response to applications made through the correct channels. 
The Trustees reconsider their policy and practice of grant giving every five years. The beneficial area is United Kingdom-wide, but preference is given to organisations in Scotland. Grants are normally made only to a recognised Scottish Charity or a recognised charity outside Scotland.

Trust's Categories of Interest

Currently, the major categories under which the Trustees consider support are:

• Science and Technology
• Youth
• Services and Sea
• Ex-Servicemen’s Hospital and Homes
• Education
• Disabled and Handicapped
• Community Welfare

The Minor Categories are:

• Agriculture and Horticulture
• Arts and Music
• Medical Care
• Tarland and Deeside

The Trustees look for clear, realistic and attainable aims. Grants vary, but most lie between £5,000 and £10,000. Occasionally the Trustees make a recurring grant of up to three years.
Even though an application may fall within one or more of the categories, applicants should note that this does not signify that a grant will be made. There is a limit to the finite funds available and, invariably, categories are substantially over subscribed. The Trustees reserve their right to exercise their discretion at all times, particularly when oversubscription applies.
The Trustees recognise the need to assist voluntary organisations which need funds to complement those already received from central government and local authority sources. However, this is not to say that The Trust makes a grant where statutory bodies fail to provide.
The Trustees also recognise that it is often difficult to raise core/revenue funding; thus they are prepared to consider core/revenue grants where appropriate, but projects will always attract favour. The Trustees also recognise that, at present, experiment and innovation are much more difficult to fund and The Trust’s role in funding them is, therefore, the more significant.

What The Trust does not support

As a broad guide, grants are not normally provided for:

• Religious organisations (but attention will be given to youth/community services provided by them, or projects of general benefit to the whole community).
• Organisations based outside the United Kingdom.
• Individuals.
• Endowment or memorial funds.
• General appeals or mailshots.
• Conservation.
• Work with animals.
• Political organisations.
• Student bodies as opposed to universities.
• Fee-paying schools, apart from an Educational Grants Scheme for children who are at, or who need to attend, a Scottish independent secondary school and for which a grant application is made through the Head Teacher.
• Expeditions, except those made under the auspices of recognised bodies such as the British Schools Exploring Society (BSES).
• Community and village halls other than those local to Tarland and Deeside.
• Retrospective grants.
• Departments within a University, unless the appeal gains the support of, and is channelled through, the principal.

For details about the application procedure, please see how to apply for a grant

Time-bars

• Unsuccessful applicants must pause for at least one year from the time of being notified before reapplying for a grant.

• Successful applicants must pause for at least two years from the time of receiving a grant before reapplying. In the case of a two or three-year recurring grant, the time-bar applies from the time of receiving the last instalment.

Additional Guidance and Feedback

From time-to-time, additional guidance and feedback can be useful for applicants.  The following are provided for this purposes:

• The Trust continues to receive applications that are not from registered charities or organisations with charitable status.  This is contrary to our Guidelines and wastes everyone’s time, particularly the application signatory who may have spent considerable effort in compiling the paperwork.

• Applicants sometimes fail to complete Part C2, preferring instead to refer to copious attached documents.  Again, this is wasted effort, since applications of this nature will not generally be taken forward.  There are many other worthy causes that require urgent support.  The Trust will expect you to explain what you need and state the justification for the requirement at Part C2.  Referral to other documents more often than not places this burden upon the reader.

• Many applications are received unsigned.  They are not progressed in this form and will be returned.

• Given the deadlines in force, considerable time can pass before applications reach the final assessment stages.  Financial circumstances can change significantly in this time and some requirements are even met from other sources.  The Trust is always delighted to hear this, but it is vital that the latest funding situation is provided at regular intervals.  Funds are always tight, so what you no longer need may then be directed elsewhere.  Withdrawn applications do not normally face a time-bar.

• Some applicants ask if the purpose of the application can be changed, often quite late in the assessment process.  More often than not, the answer will be no.  This will be because applications are always judged and prioritised against many others which may then need to take precedence.  If the requirement changes early in the process, it is always worth asking whether the thrust of the application can change, particularly if the change is minor.

• Above all, it is important to maintain a process of dialogue.  The Trust has only a small charity staff and they are dealing with hundreds of worthy applications each year.  If the staff have to work hard to obtain the latest information from you, particularly recent reports and accounts, then you will understand that interest might wane.

• Incorrectly stamped applications are occasionally received which necessitate collection from a Post Office some 5 miles away and the payment of the extra cost incurred.  Please ensure that the correct amount of postage is applied, bearing in mind the size and weight of the documents.
  
  

Data Protection Act 1998

To comply with this Act, the Trust requires the applicant's consent to use personal data supplied by the applicant in the processing and review of a grant application. This includes transfer to and use by such individuals and organisations as the Trust deems appropriate. The Trust requires further assurance that personal data about any other individual is supplied to the Trust with his/her consent. A signature on the Application Form confirms this assent and assurance.