Grant Giving Policy

1. Purpose of the Policy

1.1 The purpose of this policy document is to set out the principles, criteria and processes that guide the trustees when they make grants in furtherance of The John Preston Trust’s objects.

2. Introduction

2.1 The John Preston Trust (JPT) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) Registered No. SC052051

2.2 Our charitable purposes as defined by Section7(2) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 are

  • the advancement of education
  • the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science

2.3 The JPT’s principal objectives are to advance education, learning, skills and development opportunities through the provision of grants, funds or donations to individual young people between the age of 16 and 30 yrs or other charitable organisations working with young people in the creative arts within our designated geographical area(s) and within our designated areas of the creative arts.

2.4 These designated geographical areas and designated areas of the creative arts as set out in Appendix 1 of this Policy and published on the JPT website, are subject to annual review by the trustees who may add or amend as they determine.

2.5 The term creative arts is used to include any of the following:

  • Visual Arts (drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, video & film);
  • Performing Arts (music, singing and drama);
  • Written Arts (literature, poetry and creative writing,);
  • Design Arts (graphics, illustration).

3. Governance

3.1 The JPT is governed by a board of trustees who are responsible for ensuring all the JPT activities are for public benefit and in furtherance of its charitable objects. The trustees also have responsibility for governance of its grant-giving activities which it does through:

  • Grant-giving principles which ensure that decisions are ultimately made by the JPT’s trustees.
  • Grant-giving criteria which set out the beneficiaries, geographical coverage and activities the trustees wish to support in furtherance of the JPT’s charitable objectives.
  • Grant-giving processes which set out how decisions are made when awarding grants from the JPT funds.

3.2 The trustees will set-aside an annual budget for grant giving which will be reviewed annually along its criteria for grant-giving to ensure appropriate allocation.

3.3 A grant is defined as any financial assistance, donation, award, or contribution the JPT makes from its funds to support individuals and registered charities involved in the creative arts.

3.4 In fulfilment of their duty, the trustees must declare the nature and extent of any interest, direct or indirect, which could, or could be seen to, prevent them from making a grant decision only in the best interests of the Fund.

3.5 Situations in which a conflict of interest may arise include where: (a) a Trustee (or a person connected to them) stands to benefit from a grant from the JPT; or (b) a Trustee has a duty of loyalty to a third party that conflicts with their duty to the JPT, any such conflict of interest must be declared and managed by the Trustees in accordance with the Foundation’s articles of association and Conflict of Interests policy.

4. Grant-giving Principles

4.1 The principles which underpin the trustees’ governance of the JPT’s grant-giving are as follows:

  • The trustees have ultimate collective responsibility for all grant-giving decisions in line with the JPT’s charitable purposes;
  • Trustees may assign certain decision-making responsibilities to a sub-committee, one or more Board members and delegated decisions will be subject to scrutiny and review from time to time;
  • Trustees reserve the right to apply conditions to any grant;
  • Trustees also reserve the right not to approve any recommendation or nomination if they (or those acting with their delegated authority) determine that the resulting grant would not be charitable, or would conflict with the JPT’s stated policies or would harm the JPT’s reputation;
  • The trustees may award grants of up to 100% of the amount applied for;
  • The minimum grant the JPT will provide in normal circumstances will be £300 and the maximum will be £5000;

5. Grant-giving Criteria

5.1 The JPT’s criteria for applications from individuals and other charitable organisations are published on the JPT website and the current criteria areset out in Appendix 1 of this policy. The goal is to make grants to young individuals and organisations that support creativity in young people that will have significant impact on their artistic or personal development.

5.2 Trustees are particularly keen to support young people who can demonstrate commitment to and enthusiasm for their artistic discipline coupled with ability and promise but who may be held back from pursuing their goals by their financial situation.

5.3 Trustees expect that grants to other charitable organisations will only support existing or proposed activities that directly involve young people who meet our current eligibility criteria and where the proposal has potential to achieve a substantial impact for the beneficiaries with the emphasis on quality and effectiveness.

5.4 Where a grant covers part of the cost of a proposal, the trustees may require the applicant to provide details of the other funder(s) and the funding that they have secured or applied for.

5.5 The trustees will not support grant requests they do not consider to be in line with the JPT’s purpose which include:

  • Contributions to general appeals or circulars;
  • Religious activity which is not for wider public benefit;
  • Public bodies to carry out their statutory obligations;
  • Privately owned and profit-distributing companies or limited partnerships.

5.6 The trustees accept that they may, on some occasions, make grants outside published criteria but that in all such cases the activity supported will be charitable in law.

5.7 To ensure the JPT’s resources are used solely to further its charitable objectives, and to enable it to report on the impact of its grants, trustees normally expect that all offers of larger grants will include one or more measurable objectives agreed at the beginning of the funding period.

6. Grant-giving Processes

6.1 The number of applications which can be supported by the JPT is, by necessity, limited to the amount of funds available for distribution in line with the JPT’s policy for general reserves.

6.2 Trustees aim for the JPT’s grant-giving processes to be transparent and to address the interests of applicants.

6.3 All external grant applications must be submitted through the JPT’s online application portal on the JPT website.

6.4 All applications received will be acknowledged.

6.5 Applications will then go through a three-stage process as follows:

  • Technical assessment of the application to determine whether the applicant meets the eligibility criteria and the purpose of the grant meets the JPT’s criteria for support. Requests not shortlisted are rejected;
  • Review of eligible applications by a fund advisor, an assessment panel, or persons acting with the delegated authority of the Board. These recommendations to be reviewed by the trustees. Grants not recommended are rejected
  • Decision by the Trustees on which applications will be funded, subject to agreed JPT terms and conditions.

6.6 All applications from individuals must include the name of someone who knows the applicant in a formal capacity (i.e.not a family member, friend or neighbour), such as a teacher, tutor, employer, associate or someone who has worked with the applicant and who has provided a letter in support of the application.

6.7 In addition to responding to external grant requests, the trustees may at their discretion invite or commission proposals, or provide funding in collaboration with others or by combining fund contributions, where doing so would meet the JPT’s strategy and priorities for its funds.

6.8 If an applicant is awarded a grant the trustees will provide a letter of offer setting out the terms and conditions of the grant which the applicant must sign to indicate they accept the terms and conditions.

6.9 The trustees will take steps to monitor the use of the grant and verify that the grant is used for the purposes that have been agreed. Arrangements for monitoring will vary according to the nature of the grant but the trustees will always seek to ensure that all monitoring arrangements are appropriate and proportionate.

6.10 Recommendations to approve high-risk and unusual grants of any type are not delegated and must be referred to the Board. Examples include where:

  • there is a question as to whether the grant would be for a charitable purpose;
  • there are risks around an organisation’s long-term liquidity or solvency;
  • the grant is for an exceptionally large sum, or for a type of organisation, activity or area of benefit not usually supported;
  • one or more trustees or staff have a conflict of interest;
  • there is a risk of damage to the JPT’s reputation; or
  • there is a potential conflict with the JPT’s policies.

6.11 Grants will usually be made as a single payment in advance via bank transfer. In certain cases, larger grants may be paid in instalments at agreed break points and subject to satisfactory progress reports.

6.12 The decision of the trustees on all matters pertaining to the award of grants is final. There is no right of appeal.

7. Variations to this policy

7.1 The Board of trustees may vary the terms of this policy from time to time.

Appendix 1

The John Preston Trust
Eligibility and Selection Criteria for Grant Applications 2023-25

Beneficiaries

Young people between the ages of 16 and 30 yrs actively engaged in the creative arts

Designated Geographical Areas

Applicants must reside within the boundaries of Edinburgh & the Lothians (City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian)

Designated Areas of the Creative Arts

Music

  • performance;
  • composition;
  • arranging;
  • production;
  • music business.

Visual Arts

  • Painting;
  • drawing;
  • illustration;
  • sculpture;
  • photography;
  • film & video.

Selection Criteria

Applicants will be expected to be able to demonstrate:

  • commitment to and enthusiasm for their artistic discipline;
  • ability or promise in their artistic discipline;
  • being held back from pursuing their goals by their financial situation.