Deadline: 12-Apr-21
The Matrix has announced a call for proposals for the Matrix Causes Fund to provide support to organisations that promote access to justice (particularly for people trying to get support to meet their basic personal needs), or promote equality of opportunity, or promote a sustainable environment.
The Matrix Causes Fund is a charitable fund administered by Matrix. Since 2003 they have committed over £1million to national and international charitable causes. Matrix Causes Fund is a restricted fund under the auspices of Prism the Gift Fund, UK charity no. 1099682. Members and staff alike make monthly contributions to the Fund and a sub-committee considers applications for support.
Focus Area
- Applications are particularly welcome from organisations whose focus is on supporting the needs of vulnerable persons such as prisoners, asylum seekers, people with mental health difficulties, people (particularly children) with disabilities, or women in refuges.
Funding Information
- The Fund will only provide an organisation with one-off funds of up to £5,000, or funds of up to £3,000 a year for 3 years.
Funding Criteria
Applicants seeking funding from the MCF will need to show how they meet all of the following criteria:
- The MCF will only provide support to organisations that promote access to justice (particularly for people trying to get support to meet their basic personal needs), or promote equality of opportunity, or promote a sustainable environment. Applications are particularly welcome from organisations whose focus is on supporting the needs of vulnerable persons such as prisoners, asylum seekers, people with mental health difficulties, people (particularly children) with disabilities, or women in refuges.
- The Matrix Causes Fund is a restricted fund under the auspices of Prism the Gift Fund, UK charity no. 1099682. Consequently, MCF are only able to provide funding for organisations with charitable status. In exceptional circumstances MCF may be able to consider applications from organisations that are established for “charitable purposes” and are recognised by HMRC as an exempt charity.
- The MCF will only provide an organisation with one-off funds of up to £5,000, or funds of up to £3,000 a year for 3 years. Where funding is over more than one year, the funds will be released a year at a time when satisfactory use of the previous money has been shown through completion of an annual progress report. With a view to benefiting as wide a range of organisations as possible, the MCFwill not provide funding to an organisation it has already fundedwithin a year of completion of any previously funded projects. For example, if you have received funding for a project in February 2018 and the project lasted for one year, you will not be eligible to reapply to the MCF until February 2020.
- The MCF will only provide funds for identifiable items or activities. The MCF may exceptionally cover salary costs for distinct projects where applicants demonstrate a clear funding need and that the project is separate from their normal activities which are covered by core funding.
- Where the amount to be provided by the MCF is not the whole cost of the item or activity, the MCF money will only be released when the rest of the cost has been secured by the organisation. The MCF will not provide funds for an organisation’s general or core expenditure. ‘Core costs’ include the managerial and general administrative costs associated with the day-to-day running of an organisation.
- The MCF will fund the costs associated with things like publications, staff/volunteer training, publicity, events and equipment which can benefit many people and be long-lasting. The MCFwill only provide funds to cover costs(such as salary costs) for an organisation’s direct service delivery to individual clients or members of the public where there are a large number of beneficiaries for whom the benefit is significant and long-term and maybe cascaded to others. Organisations must explain why there is a need to provide the service in the way proposed.
- Other than in exceptional circumstances, the MCF will not fund costs associated with international travel. The MCF will not provide funds to cover the costs of construction works or building materials. The MCF does not provide funds to support or replace statutory or other services generally provided by public bodies such as schools.
- Organisations which receive funds from the MCF will be expected to report back on the outcome of the use of the funds and to acknowledge in their publicity material that they received money from the MCF. They will allow Matrix to refer in its publicity material to the funding in question.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications are particularly welcome from organisations whose focus is on supporting the needs of vulnerable persons such as prisoners, asylum seekers, people with mental health difficulties, people (particularly children) with disabilities, or women in refuges.
- Funding for charitable organisations not registered as a charity in the UK.
- The Matrix Causes Fund may be able to consider applications from organisations that are not registered as a charity in the UK.
For more information, visit https://www.matrixlaw.co.uk/csr/matrix-causes-fund/