Background
The Forte Charitable Foundation was previously known as the Trusthouse Charitable Foundation. The name was changed in June 2025 to honour the legacy of the founder, Lord Charles Forte, in preparation of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the charity’s founding.
Objectives of Fund
The funding is for charitable and not-for-profit organisations who focus on family support. This may further include:
- Early intervention
- Families coping with addiction
- Prisoners’ families
The work needs to address the challenges of local communities in areas of extreme deprivation within the UK.
Preference is for frontline organisations working directly with people in need.
Value Notes
Grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 for a single year are available.
Multi-year grants are between £10,000 and up to £100,000 over three years. No more than £50,000 can be applied for in any given year over a three-year period.
Applications may be for up to 50% of the cost of a salary or total annual running costs
Who Can Apply
Applications are accepted from:
- Registered charities
- Social enterprises not structured as CICs
- Co-operative or community benefit societies
- Voluntary organisations with a constitution and bank account.
Applicants should be small to medium sized local organisations with a demonstrable track record of success working to address local issues in communities of extreme urban deprivation and deprived rural districts
To be eligible, applicants must:
- Have a total annual income up to £500,000.
- Have a postcode, or their project area, must be ranked within the most deprived 15% of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) for urban areas or within the most deprived 50% for rural areas.
The preference is for frontline organisations working directly with families in need.
Regional branches of national organisations that are structured as legal entities in their own right (eg, they have their own their own charity number and bank account) may apply.
Restrictions
The following are not eligible for funding:
- Community Interest Companies (CICs).
- Campaigning, fundraising.
- Organisational development or capacity building.
- Work which represents a significant shift away from the existing core aims and track record of an organisation.
- Organisations whose postcode is not within the IMD deprivation limits set out in the funding guidelines
- Newly established organisations with no previous annual account
- Individuals, whether direct or through a third party
- Charities or NGOs registered outside the UK
- Statutory services including state schools, local or national authorities, prisons, NHS hospitals or services
- Universities, further education colleges and independent schools
- Organisations with an annual income over £500,000
- Hospices
- Organisations with primarily an environmental aim
- Grant making organisations or umbrella organisations
- Organisations that have applied to unsuccessfully within the previous 12 months
- Organisations which have made their annual returns to the Charity Commission or Companies House late within the past three years
- Organisations which have not reviewed their safeguarding policy and/or held formal safeguarding training/refresher sessions within the past 12 months.
- Capital projects
- Set up costs for new organisations
- Projects outside the UK
- Animal welfare
- Environment and conservation
- Medical research
- Feasibility studies
- One-off events
- PR and awareness raising; fundraising salaries, events, initiatives or websites
- Non-secular activities
- Projects primarily concerned with the production of films, podcasts or other media
- Adventure Playgrounds, Baby Banks and Disability charities
Eligible Expenditure
The funding supports revenue costs including core costs, salaries, running and project costs.
Location
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
How To Apply
The guidance notes and application form are available on the Trust’s website.
There is a two-stage application process:
- The first step is to complete the online Major Grants form, also known as a Stage 1 application.
- Successful applicants will be invited to submit a full applicatin.
There are no deadlines. Applications can be submitted throughout the year, for consideration at one of the quarterly grants committee meetings held in January, April, July and October. Applications need to be received a minimum of three months prior to the meeting.