WASH – Small Grants

Before following these Application Guidelines, please visit the WASH page to ensure that your work aligns with TWF’s funding priorities and that you meet the eligibility criteria for a Small Grant. We are not able to consider applications that do not fit this guidance.

If you have previously had funding from TWF please contact us before making a new application. If you have previously had a grant application rejected, please wait at least 24 months before submitting another application.

The first stage of making an application is to submit a concept note. Following on from this, successful candidates will be invited to have a phone call and/or to submit a full proposal.

Grant size and duration

Grant applications for up to £10,000 in total will be considered for work to be delivered over one to two years. We are happy for any grant we provide to be a contribution towards a larger programme budget.

We will consider applications from organisations with an annual income of less than £20,000 or that are newly established within the last 2 years; but in these cases we can only consider applications below £5,000.

Applicants’ requests should always be in keeping with their organisation’s annual income; we do not usually provide grants which total more than 25% of an organisation’s annual income.

Small grants are usually provided as a one-off donation, and successful applicants should not expect ongoing support. In exceptional circumstances some organisations may be invited to reapply.

How to apply for funding

Please email your concept note to applications@waterloofoundation.org.uk. We are unable to assess applications sent to any other email address. Please note that we aim to acknowledge all applications within 7 days of receipt. If we have not acknowledged your application within 14 days, please contact us via info@waterloofoundation.org.uk or on 02920 838980 to ensure that it has arrived safely. 

We don’t have an application form template, so you are free to formulate the initial concept note as you wish.  However, please follow these guidelines:

Limit the concept note to two sides of A4. Don’t include additional attachments or photos; we can ask for these later on.
At the very top of your application, please list the following information- this section does not count against your two-page limit):
- Your organisation’s name and postal address, registration status, annual income and expenditure over the last three years and main funding sources, website address;
- Contact details for the application;
- State clearly that you are applying under our World Development WASH Small Grants Programme;
- Provide a project title
- State how you heard about this particular funding programme;

The concept note should include information on:

Organisation: Please tell us:
- What is the unique offering that your organisation provides and how can this be applied to help increase access to WASH services and to improve hygiene practices in low-income contexts?
- What is/are the main goal/s your organisation is looking to achieve in 5-10 years’ time, and what key difficulties do you see at present that could prevent you from achieving this?
- How are questions of sustainability incorporated within your approach? How could this be improved?
- What capacity does your organisation/a partner organisation have to deliver the proposed work in the target geography?
- What experience does your organisation have in his area of work and what have been your major achievements? If this is a new area for you please describe why you are looking to incorporate it within your organisation’s work.
- Are there any gaps in your current skills/approach/capacity? Do you have existing strategies to bridge this gap? Would you be interested in learning about partnership opportunities?
Barriers/Challenge
- Please provide an analysis of the specific issue you are looking to address in the targeted context. What evidence is there to underpin this analysis?
- Does your work look to contribute to broader change that is needed within your area of work?
Proposed work:
- Please refer to the WASH page and specify which of TWF’s priority areas (it can be multiple) your proposal aligns with.
- Describe the project or purpose for which you are seeking funding, including brief details of planned activities, timescale and expected start date
- Briefly outline what you expect to achieve through the planned work and describe how you will measure this.
- What is the approximate expected total cost of the proposed work, how much are you requesting from The Waterloo Foundation? If additional funding is needed please state the amounts that have been secured (or are being sought) and from where.
- Briefly describe how the impacts of the planned work will be sustained beyond the duration of the funded work. Are any plans in place to be able to monitor this?

If your concept note is of interest to us we will follow it up with a request for a phone call and/or an email request for additional information.

WASH Small Grant Applications FAQs

Are there specific deadlines?

We currently have no specific deadlines in our World Development fund by which applications need to be received. We will continue to accept applications all year round.

What are the timescales for applications to be reviewed?

We aim to undertake a first review of all new applications within 2-3 months of submission.  If your funding application is unsuccessful, we will let you know as soon as we can after this first review.  If we are able to take your funding application forward, we will contact you to discuss it further and in some cases request that you submit a full proposal.  Following this process it can take up to four months from taking your application forwards for a final decision to be made, so please consider this when submitting an application.

Can I apply if I am from outside the UK?

At present, we do not accept applications to our Small Grants Programme from organisations based outside the UK. We will, however, consider applications by UK-based organisations working in close partnership with local in-country organisations.

My last application to the Small Grants Programme was unsuccessful. Can I reapply?

You are welcome to reapply, but only after 24 months from the date of your last application.  

I’ve read all the above, and can’t find the answer to my question. How do I contact you?

Please send us an email with your enquiry to info@waterloofoundation.org.uk and we will try to respond to you within a few days. If your query is more urgent, please call the office on 02920 838980.