The Belforte Trust Grants for Animals Scheme

Grants of up to £10,000 for small animal charities and organisations

What do we fund?

Funding is available for a variety of projects that help animals live better lives. We will fund and support all animals, and related activities to protect them, that fall within our priority areas below:

  • Cats

  • Dogs

  • Other domestic pets:

    • Rabbits

    • Small rodents (including guinea pigs, hamsters etc)

  • British wildlife:

    • Including, but not exhaustive to, native British animals such as:

    • Birds

    • Deer

    • Squirrels

    • Foxes

    • Rodents

    • Badgers

    • Reptiles

    • Other mammals.

We do not award grants for birds (kept as pets), fish and amphibians (kept as pets) and so-called exotic pets which we do not feel should be kept as pets unless their support directly relates to issues caused as a result of abandonment.

Types of Activities we fund:

We are flexible on the type of support that each applicant requests, but this can include the following:

  • Capital costs (for new equipment, build, repairs or equipment renewals)

  • One-off costs (for specific actions or animals)

  • On-going costs (including core costs – such as running costs, veterinary bills, staffing etc)

  • Specific project costs (full or part contribution but minimum 25% contribution share - subject to our maximum grant limits)

Available Funding:

In order to help as many animals and animal organisations the current maximum grant per organisation per year is £10,000. The minimum grant available is £1000. We cannot accept applications outside of these amounts and they will not be considered. Please note the maximum grant available for running cost (for example, food, vet bills, general funds, medications etc.) is £5000. Grants above £5000 (up to the maximum of £10,000) are only available for capital build, equipment purchases and tangible items.

We will consider repeat funding, but new applications will need to be submitted and they will be considered along with other applicants.

Who Can Apply?

We welcome applications from the following:

  • Registered Charities and CIOs with active registration number

  • Non-profit organisations (registered as Company Limited by Guarantee or similar)

  • Volunteer groups that can demonstrate a proven track record of successful actions for animals

In order to apply and be eligible for grants from us, organisations must have an annual income across all income streams of less than £250,000 (last reporting period), with less than £500,000 in reserves, and be based or have representatives in the UK. If you are an organisation outside the UK we will consider on a case by case basis.

Applications from individuals who do not form part of one of the above groups will be assessed on a case by case basis.

How do I apply?

We appreciate that smaller charitable organisations and groups have limited resource, so we have made our application procedure as easy as possible, whilst still allowing us to make informed choices.

Please note - we will be looking for impact – how much impact will our grant make to your organisation and to the animals you work to protect.

All of our shortlisted applications will be contacted directly for further discussion about their work and the funding request.

Shortlisted applications will require two references of good standing, and must submit their accounts and annual budget. You will not require references at application stage.

We appreciate that smaller organisations may not be large enough to need to submit formal accounts and in these cases, overview budgets will be permitted.

We cannot accept applications other than on our application form, and only via our website.

If you are ready to apply and meet the eligibility criteria above, just follow these three simple steps:

  1. Check and complete our eligibility check list here

  2. Read the following information regarding reporting criteria and requirements here

  3. If you meet the eligibility criteria and agree to the reporting terms, complete our online application form here

When will I hear back?

We aim to review applications five times per year, on or around the following time each year:

  • 23rd January

  • 10th April

  • 12th June

  • 21st August

  • 30th October

Shortlisted applicants will be contacted with a target time of 14 days after these dates. If you are not successful you will be given a reason why. If the reason is ineligibility, then please do not reapply, for other reasons you are welcome to reapply but you will need to resubmit the form.

Please note, we will not automatically place unsuccessful applications into the next application period.