Ann Rylands Small Donations

Our areas of funding are:

• Improved quality of life for older people through health and care
• Improved quality of life for people with disabilities through health and care
• Improved quality of life for people with serious illness/chronic conditions through health and care
• Improved health and care for people needing palliative and end-of-life care
• Practical and emotional support to improve the health and care for people facing challenges with mental health

In our assessments, we review the overall work of the charity as well as the specific activities that align with our funding areas. We prioritise appeals from charities whose/that:

• Main charitable activities of the charity are health-based
• Give us confidence that they can deliver the work and services to their beneficiary group(s)
• Are medium-sized with income between £100,000 and £2m
• Are independent and do not receive a substantial proportion of income from government or local authority contracts
• Show that the work they deliver is high quality, needed and represents value for money. Grantees should involve stakeholders in the design of their programmes
• Can make a credible case for achieving the outcomes and impact by including quantitative and qualitative information in their application
• Are well run, with sound governance, safeguarding, and financial management. Staff and trustees should include experts in the charity’s field of work

When assessing your application, we will review the information on your charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register or equivalent. The Trust’s staff carry out assessments and make recommendations on the appeals that best meet the above priorities for consideration by the Trustees.

Applications will only be accepted from charities registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales or the equivalent regulator in other parts of the UK.

We do not consider grants:

• Outside our areas of funding
• To individuals or community groups which are not registered charities within the UK
• To charities that have been registered in the UK for less than 2 years
• To charities whose annual income – as stated on the Charity Commission website – is under £100,000
• To charities whose annual income – as stated on the Charity Commission website – exceeds £2 million
• To charities whose operational area – as stated on the Charity Commission website – is outside the UK
• To religious, faith-based, or belief organisations
• For village and community halls, uniformed groups (such as Scouts and Guides), grant-giving charities (i.e., those that give grants to others) and charities that are engaged in political activism
• Have submitted late accounts and/or annual returns to the Charity Commission or equivalent
• To charities with free reserves equivalent to 12 months or more of annual expenditure. Please see Definitions below
• To charities that have received funding from the Trust within the previous 12 months
• To community interest companies (CIC)
• For endowments, scholarships, school fees, etc.
• For one-off events (including performances, carnivals, festivals, conferences, holidays, respite breaks and residential trips)
• For feasibility studies or scoping work
• For medical research or medically-related research
• If the email address provided in the application is not for a member of staff/Trustee of the applicant charity. Applications from personal email addresses not affiliated with the charity (i.e. ‘[email protected]’) will not be accepted

While you can apply for core funding or a specific project, all grants under this programme are unrestricted with the exception of research. Research is not eligible for funding under this programme.

Jules Thorn (1899-1980) was born in Austria and emigrated to England in the early 1920s. Over the ensuing 60 years he created a substantial group of successful companies operating in the electronics sector. At its peak, Thorn Electrical Industries was one of the UK’s largest companies, employing over 100,000 people, including well-known names such as Thorn Lighting, Ferguson Radio, Radio Rentals, DER, Tricity and Kenwood.

Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust was founded in 1964. As a result of his endowment, the Trust has been able to commit many millions of pounds to a wide range of charitable causes in the health, care, and medical fields.

All applications must be submitted using the online application form, which can be assessed through our website. Charities should ensure the application provides all the requested information, as incomplete applications will not be considered.

If you have any accessibility issues using the online method to apply, please contact us. Charities are asked not to send applications by letter or email as these will not be considered.

The Trust receives many more eligible appeals than it can fund. We regularly refine our guidelines and eligibility criteria, but unfortunately, around two in three submissions are unsuccessful.

The most common reason for a negative response is that the applicant charity’s core work does not fit within the funding priorities set out under “What do we fund?”

As part of the application process applicants will be asked to include:

• a link to the charity’s most recent signed accounts on the Charity Commission website or equivalent. The most recent accounts should be signed by the Chair or other appropriate Trustee on both the Trustees’ Report and Balance Sheet. The accounts should also be signed by an independent auditor/examiner.
• a bank statement dated within the last 3 months that clearly shows the date, account name, sort code and account number.

We cannot consider applications without this supporting information. Incomplete applications will be rejected, and the charity will not be eligible to submit a new application for 12 months.

There are no specific deadlines for submitting applications. Appeals may be made whenever the online application system is open and will be considered by the Trustees as soon as possible, depending on the volume of applications.

Outcomes are communicated generally within three months of a submission. This could be shorter or longer depending on the volume of applications at the time.

Charities are eligible to submit no more than one application per organisation within 12 months.

The maximum award is £5,000. We advise applicants to apply for what they need, however, as a guide, our average grant under the scheme is between £2,000-£3,000.

The Trust will only accept applications directly from eligible charities. We will not accept applications submitted on their behalf by professional fundraisers or individuals.

When completing the online application form:

• section 2 of the form must provide contact details for the applicant’s charity
• contact details must be of an employee or Trustee of the charity who is aware of the application and can be contacted
• the application must be submitted by the applicant charity itself

Should an award be made, the method of payment is by electronic payment directly to the charity’s bank account. Applicants will be required to provide a copy of the most recent bank statement (not more than 3 months old) for the charity account to which they would want any payment to be made.

Provision of incorrect bank details may result in the loss of an award. The Trust bears no responsibility for payments made using incorrect bank details provided by charities. Charities should contact the Trust if an award is not received or has been lost due to incorrect details.

If successful, grant recipients must confirm receipt of the donation by email within two months of receiving the grant. If confirmation of receipt is not received by the Trust within this period, your charity will not be eligible to reapply in the future.

If you would like to include the Trust’s name as a funder in your annual accounts, please list the Trust as Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust. We are unable to provide our logo for any materials.

Outside of the annual accounts, we ask that the Trust not be listed on websites or in other materials.

There are no reporting requirements for awards made under this programme to minimise the workload for recipients. For the same reason, we ask charities not to add the Trust to circulation lists for events, newsletters, marketing materials, or other communications.

Charities are next eligible to apply to the Ann Rylands programme 12 months from the date funds were awarded to your charity.

Provided your charity meets all the eligibility criteria, you will next be eligible to do so in 12 months from the date the outcome is communicated via email.

Because of the high volume of applications we receive, we are unable to provide individual feedback on an application.

• The Trust defines free reserves as unrestricted reserves less fixed assets.

• Unrestricted reserves include all designated funds, regardless of purpose.

• Tangible assets are defined as the value of buildings and equipment used for charitable purposes less depreciation

If you have any questions regarding the Ann Rylands programme, please contact the Trust and we will respond as promptly as we can.

Given the high volume of applications to the programme, please do not contact us by phone.