Environment Application Guidelines

Every year we receive more funding applications under our Environment Fund than we are able to support with grants. We are therefore only able to support the strongest applications which follow our application guidelines and clearly meet our funding criteria.

Details of the funding priorities in our Environment programme can be found here. Please read through this information and make sure you are eligible to apply before submitting an application. For more information about the organisations we fund and our funding priorities, please see the Environment Fund sections of the Foundation’s annual reports here.

If you have previously had funding from TWF please contact us before making a new application.

How to apply for funding

We don’t have an application form, so you are free to formulate your proposal as you wish. However, when applying to the Environment Fund, please follow these guidelines:

Limit the proposal to approximately 2-3 sides of A4, and send it as an attachment to an email to applications@waterloofoundation.org.uk. Applications sent anywhere else will not be counted.
State that you are applying under our Environment programme, and state which programme you are applying to – Marine or Tropical Rainforests. Please also let us know how you heard about this particular funding programme.
Supply basic information on your organisation – name, address, aim, charitable status, annual income and expenditure, website address and contact details.
Provide the title of your project.
Briefly describe the project or purpose for which you are seeking funding. You must outline how this meets the priorities of the programme you are applying to.
Briefly outline the anticipated project outcomes and how these will be measured, including any post-implementation studies you plan to undertake.
Please provide a brief outline of the need for this particular intervention. Do reference any statistics, data or research that you use as justification.
Provide brief project details such as cost, timescales and activities. We don’t need to see the full project plan or budget at this stage.
Provide evidence that your previous projects have led to successful outcomes and sustained impact.
If you are an organisation based outside of the UK you must provide us with a reference for your work (see FAQs for details).

We may ask at a later stage to see a full copy of the supporting data and evaluation.

Deadlines

Each year we have 2 deadlines per programme for applications to our Environment Fund. We aim to process all the applications we receive within 6 months of the deadline date.

Marine

The 2 deadlines for applications to our Marine programme fall on the following dates every year:

1st March
1st September

Tropical Rainforests

The 2 deadlines for applications to our Tropical Rainforests programme fall on the following dates every year:

1st November
1st June

Environment Applications FAQs

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 your funding application is able to be taken forward to be reviewed in more detail, we will then contact you to discuss it further. It usually takes around 6 months between the submission of an application and a decision to provide a grant, so please consider this when submitting an application.

Who can apply for funding?

We prioritise providing funding support to UK-based charities, many of whom work in close partnership with smaller local NGOs based in the countries in which they operate.

Can I apply if I am from outside the UK?

If you are an organisation based outside of the UK you must send us contact details for a named person who is willing to provide us with a reference for your work. This must be someone who:
– Works for an international NGO with offices in the UK
– Works for an organisation that the Foundation has previously given a grant to
– Works for an organisation with offices in the UK, which has been a current or former donor to your organisation
– Works for an academic institution, think tank or as an independent consultant who is based in the UK, and which has evaluated your organisation.

Ideally, the person you provide as a reference will have visited your organisation and be able to provide feedback on the quality of your work. Please state the name, contact details and your relationship to the referee (i.e. past funder) at the beginning of your application. Only applications with references will be considered.

What size of grants does TWF provide?

We will consider providing one off and multi-annual grants (usually for up to five years). The majority of our grants in this programme will be for a total of £100,000 – £150,000 spread over multiple years. We often contribute to programmes co-funded by other grant-giving organisations, and look favourably on applications with match funding already secured.

Can I submit more than one proposal, or apply under both Marine and Tropical Rainforests at the same time?

We will only consider one application per organisation at any one time. We therefore recommend that you chose your strongest project proposal and only submit that one.

What type of grants does TWF provide?

The majority of our grants support projects or programmes, however we will consider all kinds of funding if appropriate. If you would like to apply for a grant that is predominantly for core costs or unrestricted funding, you will need to provide a strong explanation for why this type of funding is appropriate and why your organisation fits within our funding priorities. Grants of this type are more likely to be awarded to organisations which we have previously supported with a grant, and which are invited to apply for this type of funding support.

Are there any types of projects you don’t support?

Please see the Marine and Tropical Rainforest pages for more information.

What happens if I am offered a grant?

If you are offered a grant by us, we will discuss with you the process for receiving the grant and our requirements for monitoring and reporting back on the grant. We will ask that you complete and return to us a Terms and Conditions form. Once this is received, we will arrange for the grant to be paid into your account via a bank transfer.

If the grant offer is for two or more years, we will require you to send an annual monitoring report before issuing each further yearly instalment. If the grant offer is for a single year, or at the end of a multiple-year grant, we will ask that you provide a final report when the grant is spent.

In between reports, we ask that you keep us up-to-date with any significant happenings or changes, to either the project/programme we are contributing towards, or to your organisation as a whole. It is important to us that you do keep in touch with us, as we are genuinely interested in how your work and the grant is progressing. You can easily keep in touch with us through email, phone and video calls and in-person meetings.

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.

General application guidelines

TWF accepts requests for funding under each of our Grant Programmes. Each of our Grant Programmes has specific requirements or deadlines which you must follow if submitting an application for funding. Please read the guidelines on the relevant pages before submitting a funding application.

All applications must be sent to applications@waterloofoundation.org.uk in order to be eligible.

Should you wish to view the Terms and Conditions you will be asked to sign and agree prior to making an application please click here.

We will not consider applications for grants in the following areas:

the promotion of religious or political causes
general appeals or circulars.

For further information on our application guidelines please also look at our general Frequently Asked Questions.