Charitable purpose and objective

1.1. The Trustees will apply the funds of Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust their discretion and in accordance with the charitable purposes and objectives of the charity.  

1.2. The Trustees will consider the distribution of beneficial grants and decide in accordance with the charitable purposes and objectives. 

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Priorities for support

2.1. The number of beneficiaries that can be supported by the Trustees is necessarily limited to the amount of funds that are available for distribution each year. The Trustees have determined that the current priorities for funding are: 

Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust will prioritise its funding to small animal welfare charities based within the United Kingdom to support the care of animals in need and to promote the efficiency and the effective use of charitable resources of animal welfare charities, for the public benefit. 

2.2. The priorities for support will be reviewed by the Trustees every year and may be changed depending upon circumstances and the perceived effectiveness of the application of funds. Any change to these priorities must still fulfil the charitable purpose and objectives of the charity. 

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Principles applied in determining support

In awarding grants, the Trustees will apply the following principles; 

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3.1. The Trustees will consider any requests or known situations that are eligible for consideration:  

• Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust will prioritise smaller animal welfare charities, to support them in the efficiency and the effective use of their resources in furtherance of their charitable purpose for the public benefit. For the purposes of this clause; Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust defines small animal welfare charities, as organisations whose annual income is less that £1 million per annum and whose registered charitable purpose falls under the advancement of animal welfare and have been established for exclusively charitable purposes in accordance with the law of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland for the public benefit.  

• Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust will consider applications from registered United Kingdom animal welfare charities.  

• Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust will only consider charities who can demonstrate direct support for animal welfare. Grants will not be awarded for lobbying purposes. 

• Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust will consider awarding grants to UK registered animal welfare charities, where the grant request will be used for operational costs and or for capital projects that provide long term benefits for the charity in furtherance of the effective use of its resources for the public benefit. 

• Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust will only consider grant requests from UK animal welfare charities that have been registered for a period of 12 months or more. 

• Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust will only consider grant requests from registered animal welfare charities who can demonstrate up-to-date accounts, with a preference for charities with externally audited accounts, to ensure the grant allocated will be used solely in furtherance of their charitable purpose or, in advancing the efficiency of the charity in furtherance of its charitable purpose for the public benefit. 

• Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust will award grants up to £25,000 per beneficiary with exceptions allowed above this level based on a unanimous approval by the Board of Trustees. Each grant allocation and decision will be calculated on a case-by-case basis after assessing the needs of the charity. 

• Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust will not consider charities who spend more than 20% of their income on administration and or cannot justify the cost of the requested grant per animal helped. 

• Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust will not consider grant requests from individuals and or organisations that are not registered charities within the United Kingdom, under the following regulatory boards; The Charity Commission for England and Wales (CCEW), The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) or The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI). 

• Audrey Gilzean Animal Trust will not consider grant requests from charities with annual income of over £1 million.

 

3.2  Each request or situation will be considered on its own merits. Where situations have been previously considered (whether successful or not) any considerations and information reviewed to reach an earlier decision will be made available to the Trustees. 

 

3.3  The Trustees will read, consider and seek any clarifications or assurances that the Trustees consider necessary to ensure that the request or situation meets both the charitable purposes, and the priorities for support set out in this policy. 

 

3.4  The Trustees are content to work in partnership with other grant making bodies where funding of an entire project is beyond the scope of any single organisation. 

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Applicant and partner assessment

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4.1. The Trustees will carry out an assessment on any potential beneficiary to gain comfort to ensure: 

The identity of the beneficiary; 

That funds are applied in accordance with the charity’s charitable purpose; 

That funds are not knowingly used for: 

Money laundering in accordance with the operative Money Laundering regulations; 

Terrorist financing in accordance with the Terrorist Act 2000; 

Bribery in accordance with the 2010 Bribery Act. 

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4.2. In cases where the charity is not the only supporter of the work or project, and to protect its reputation, the Trustees may choose to extend any assessment beyond the proposed beneficiary and to include other partner supporting organisations. 

 

4.3. The Trustees will adopt a risk rated approach to assessment. Risk factors will include; the size of the grant; the geographical location in which the grant will be applied; the nature of the relationship between the charity and the applicant. 

 

4.4. Grant size will be an important risk factor and the larger the grant the greater will be the likely level of assessment undertaken. 

 

4.5. Where the proposed beneficiary is well known to the Trustees and the relationship has been long standing and well established, the level of assessment undertaken is likely to be reduced. 

 

4.6. The results of any assessment will not last indefinitely. In cases where beneficiaries are supported for a significant period of time, additional assessments will be undertaken on a change of circumstances that might impact the beneficiary, or in any case after a period of three years. 

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Administration

5.1. For smaller grants up to £500, requests may be made informally. Where specific needs or situations are known, grants may be made at the discretion of the Trustees without any form of request. 

5.2. For larger grants up to £25,000, Trustees should be confident: 

Of the purpose of the proposed grant including an understanding of the work and the way in which the grant will be managed and applied; 

Of the person(s) responsible for the management of the grant and for overseeing the work. 

5.3. With the agreement of the charity and the beneficiary, grants will be provided by means of an electronic banking transfer or a cheque. The charity’s normal payment authorisation process will be applied to any payments. 

5.4. Where the grant is for a specified project or purpose, and in situations where that purpose does not proceed or where any grant or part thereof remains unused, unused funds must be returned. 

5.5. Where formal written applications have been received, or other records maintained, these will be stored and subsequently disposed of in accordance with the charity’s privacy policy on data protection and prevailing Data Protection legislation. 

 

Decision making

6.1. The decision of the Trustees on whether to award a grant is final. 

6.2. The Trustees are not obliged to provide an explanation to applicants if their application is not successful.