WORLD DEVELOPMENT - APPLICATION GUIDELINES

NUTRITION - MAIN GRANTS

Before following these Application Guidelines, please visit the Nutrition page to ensure that your work aligns with TWF’s Main Grant funding priorities and that you meet the eligibility criteria for a Main Grant. We are not able to consider applications that do not fit this guidance. 

If you have previously had funding from TWF please contact us before making a new application. If you have previously had a grant application rejected, please wait at least 24 months before submitting another application.

The first stage of making an application is to submit a concept note. In the initial stages of an application, we are most interested to understand the capabilities of the organisations involved and how the proposed area of work fits in with our priorities, rather than a detailed description of a project or initiative. Following on from this, successful candidates will be invited to have a phone call and/or to submit a full proposal.

GRANT SIZE AND DURATION

Grants will usually be for a total of up to £100,000 over 2-3 years. We are happy for any grant we provide to be a contribution towards the total programme budget, rather than the whole amount.

HOW TO APPLY FOR FUNDING 

Please email your concept note to applications@waterloofoundation.org.uk. We are unable to assess applications sent to any other email address. Please note that we aim to acknowledge all applications within 7 days of receipt. If we have not acknowledged your application within 14 days, please contact us via info@waterloofoundation.org.uk or on 02920 838980 to ensure that it has arrived safely.  

We don’t have an application form template, so you are free to formulate the initial concept note as you wish.  However, please follow these guidelines: 

• Limit the concept note to two sides of A4. Don’t include additional attachments or photos; we can ask for these later on. 
• At the very top of your application, please list the following information- this section does not count against your two-page limit): 
  • Your organisation’s name and postal address, registration status, annual income and expenditure over the last three years and main funding sources, website address;
  • Contact details for the application; 
  • State clearly that you are applying under our World Development Nutrition Main Grants Programme; 
  • Provide a project title
  • State how you heard about this particular funding programme; 
  • Supply the name of a referee and briefly explain how they know your organisation and how they meet the eligibility criteria if you are applying as an organisation based outside of the UK (see the Frequently Asked Questions below for more guidance on this). 

The concept note should include information on:

• Organisation: Please tell us: 
  • What is the unique offering that your organisation provides and how can this be applied to help reduce micronutrient deficiencies in low-income contexts?  
  • What capacity does your organisation/a partner organisation have to deliver the proposed work in the target geography?
  • Are there any gaps in your current skills/approach/capacity? Do you have existing strategies to bridge this gap? Would you be interested in learning about partnership opportunities?  
    
    
• Barriers/Challenge
  • Please provide an analysis of the specific issue you are looking to address in the targeted context. What evidence is there to underpin this analysis? 
  • What is the broader strategic context of your work, what major challenges exist and how will the proposed work contribute to accelerating progress in this area?
    
    
• Proposed work: 
  • Please refer to the Nutrition page and specify which of TWF’s priority areas (it can be multiple) your proposal aligns with. 
  • Please outline with a high-level summary how you envisage tackling the identified problem and explain how it differs from what is currently being done by others. 
  • Please give a rough indication of the level of funding needed to tackle the problem in the way described
  • How does this build on your own or others’ earlier work?
  • If you haven’t engaged in addressing the identified problem before, please indicate why you are now looking to incorporate this in your work.
    
    
• Sustainability and scale-up 
  • What are the potential health and nutrition impacts beyond the duration of the proposed work? 
  • What strategies will you adopt for this potential to be reached? 
  • What additional support (financial/partnerships/etc) would be needed to deliver these strategies in order to achieve the long-term health and nutrition impacts described above?      

If your concept note is of interest to us we will follow it up with a phone call and/or an email request for additional information.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

Are there specific deadlines? 

We currently have no specific deadlines in our World Development fund by which applications need to be received. We will continue to accept applications all year round. 

What are the timescales for applications to be reviewed? 

We aim to undertake a first review of all new applications within 2-3 months of submission.  If your funding application is unsuccessful, we will let you know as soon as we can after this first review.  If we are able to take your funding application forward, we will contact you to discuss it further and in some cases request that you submit a full proposal.  Following this process it typically takes between six and eight months from taking your application forwards for a final decision to be made, so please consider this when submitting an application. 

Can I apply if I am from outside the UK? 

We prioritise providing funding support to UK-based charities, many of whom work in close partnership with NGOs based in the countries in which they operate.  We are happy to consider providing support to help local NGO partners to set and achieve their own objectives (where needed), as part of a grant to support project delivery. 
 
If you are an organisation based outside of the UK you must send us contact details for a named person who is not affiliated with your organisation, who would not benefit from a grant awarded to your organisation, who is willing to provide us with a reference and who is able to comment with experience and expertise on your organisation and your work.  This must be someone who:

• Works for an international NGO with offices in the UK 
• Works for an organisation that the Foundation has previously given a grant to 
• Works for an organisation with offices in the UK, which is a current or former donor to your organisation 
• Works for an academic institution, think tank or as an independent consultant who is based in the UK, and which has evaluated your organisation. 

Ideally, the person you provide as a reference will have visited your organisation and be able to provide first-hand feedback on the quality of your work. Please state the name, contact details and your relationship to the referee (e.g. past funder) at the beginning of your application. For non-UK organisations, only applications with references will be considered. 

My last application to the Main Grants Programme was unsuccessful. Can I reapply? 

You are welcome to reapply, but only after 24 months from the date of your last application.

I’ve read all the above, and can’t find the answer to my question. How do I contact you?

Please send us an email with your enquiry at  info@waterloofoundation.org.uk and we will respond to you as soon as we can. If your query is more urgent, please call the office on 02920 838980.