Question 1

Who benefits from The George Fentham Birmingham Charity?

Accepted Answer

The Charity is a grant making Charity that provides relief to people who are long term residents of the City of Birmingham.

Question 2

Does the Charity award hardship grants to individuals living in the City of Birmingham?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 3

Where can I obtain an application form ?

Accepted Answer

Application forms can be downloaded from the following pages: Educational Grants Application Form and General Grants Application Form

Question 4

Can I email my application or submit it online?

Accepted Answer

Applications are accepted by post or email.

Question 5

What are the deadlines for applications?

Accepted Answer

General grant meetings are held in January, April, July and October. The deadline would be the last day of the prior month. So for example, the deadline for January is 31 December.

Education grants meetings are held in March, September and December. The deadline would be the last day of the prior month. So for example, the deadline for March is 28 February.

Question 6

What can I do if I don’t understand the guidelines for filling out the application form?

Accepted Answer

The secretary or administrator can be contacted on 0121 227 3705 from 9.15am – 5.15pm Monday to Friday or by email georgefentham@vwv.co.uk

Question 7

How soon will I know if my application has been successful or not?

Accepted Answer

You will normally find out if your application has been successful 1-2 weeks after the Trustees meet.

Question 8

How often do the Trustees meet to allocate grants?

Accepted Answer

The Trustees meet regularly throughout the year to allocate both the educational grants and the general grants.
Meetings for educational grants usually take place in September, December, and April of each year.
Meetings for general grants usually take place throughout the year.

Question 9

How often can I apply for a grant?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 10

Please clarify long term resident of the City of Birmingham?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 11

Can National Charities apply to the Charity for projects based in Birmingham?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 12

Please clarify the extent of the boundary of the City of Birmingham?

Accepted Answer

See our Area of benefit map.

Question 13

Can I apply to fund an existing project or does it have to be a new project?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 14

Can I apply for a grant on behalf of a non registered Charity?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 15

If my application for support is turned down, can I appeal?

Accepted Answer

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.