FAQs

On this page:

  1. Who benefits from The George Fentham Birmingham Charity?
  2. Does the Charity award hardship grants to individuals living in the City of Birmingham?
  3. Where can I obtain an application form from?
  4. Can I email my application or submit it online?
  5. What are the deadlines for applications?
  6. What can I do if I don’t understand the guidelines for filling out the application form?
  7. How soon will I know if my application has been successful or not?
  8. How often do the Trustees meet to allocate grants?
  9. How often can I apply for a grant?
  10. Please clarify long term resident of the City of Birmingham?
  11. Can National Charities apply to the Charity for projects based in Birmingham?
  12. Please clarify the extent of the boundary to the City of Birmingham?
  13. Can I apply to fund an existing project or does it have to be a new project?
  14. Can I apply for a grant on behalf of a non registered Charity?
  15. If my application for support is turned down, can I appeal?

1. Who benefits from The George Fentham Birmingham Charity?

The Charity is a grant making Charity that provides relief to people who are long term residents of the City of Birmingham.
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2. Does the Charity award hardship grants to individuals living in the City of Birmingham?

No the Charity does not give hardship grants to individuals. The Charity gives educational grants to individuals under the age of 25 to help with educational expenses such as living expenses, travel expenses, books or laptops needed for study.

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3. Where can I obtain an application form from?

Application forms can be downloaded from these pages:

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4. Can I email my application or submit it online?

Applications are accepted by post or email.
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5. What are the deadlines for applications?

As the meeting dates for general grants vary each year, applications are normally accepted up to 1 week prior to any scheduled meeting. For educational grants, deadlines for the receipt of applications are advertised here http://www.georgefenthamcharity.org.uk/educational-grants/who-can-apply meetings are usually held 3 times a year
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6. What can I do if I don’t understand the guidelines for filling out the application form?

The secretary or administrator can be contacted on 0121 227 3705 from 9.15am – 5.15pm Monday to Friday.
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7. How soon will I know if my application has been successful or not?

You will normally find out if your application has been successful 1-2 weeks after the Trustees meet.
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8. How often do the Trustees meet to allocate grants?

The Trustees meet regularly a year to allocate both the educational grants and the general grants.

Meetings for educational grants usually take place September, December and April of each year.

Meetings for general grants usually take place throughout the year.
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9. How often can I apply for a grant?

The Trustees will only allocate one grant to an individual (educational grant) or organisation (general grant) per calendar year.  Individuals and organisations can apply each year to the Charity.
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10. Please clarify long term resident of the City of Birmingham?

The Trustees consider an individual who has been resident in the City of Birmingham for more than 3 years (not just for the purposes of tertiary education) to be a long term resident of the City.
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11. Can National Charities apply to the Charity for projects based in Birmingham?

Applications are accepted from National Charities – to be successful the grant provided must be solely for the use and benefit of individuals residing in the City of Birmingham. The onus is on the organisation applying to satisfy the Trustees with regard to this.
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12. Please clarify the extent of the boundary to the City of Birmingham?

See our Area of benefit map.
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13. Can I apply to fund an existing project or does it have to be a new project?

The Trustees will consider funding either of the above.  If the application relates to an existing project the Trustees will require clarification as to where the funding prior to the application has come from.
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14. Can I apply for a grant on behalf of a non registered Charity?

The Trustees allocate grants to charities registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, but do also make grants to charities that are not required to register with the Charity Commission. Applications by non charitable organisations will not be considered.
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15. If my application for support is turned down, can I appeal?

The Charity does not operate an appeals process. If your application is turned down this will most likely be because you are not eligible under the terms of the Scheme of the Charity or that there are insufficient resources available to meet all grant applications.