GrantRadar

Cambridgeshire Community Foundation

Olive and Jesse Palmer Fund

The Olive and Jesse Palmer Fund, run by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, gives grants of up to £5,000 to non-profit organisations in Peterborough that help local young people with learning disabilities access positive activities and opportunities to develop their full potential. It uses the Foundation's quarterly rounds and general application form; the Foundation's minimum grant for organisations is £1,500. Past awards include sensory equipment, a disability-inclusive music centre, Special Olympics swimming costs and a speech therapy group for toddlers with Down's Syndrome.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £5,000
Closes in
14 days left
1 November
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Non-profit, community-focused organisations working in Peterborough
  • They must be legally registered if income is over £5,000
  • Eligible types: registered, exempt and excepted charities; CIOs; religious organisations if the project benefits the wider community and has no religious content; parish and town councils, village halls and PCCs; CICs, social enterprises and companies limited by guarantee (these must have been running for at least one year, and further CIC/social enterprise guidance applies); co-operatives and community benefit societies; schools; and sports clubs that are CASCs, affiliated to a national governing body or have income under £5,000
  • National organisations can apply if the funding is restricted to the area
  • The organisation needs three independent, unconnected management committee members and two unconnected cheque signatories

What it funds

  • Projects in Peterborough that help local young people with learning disabilities to access positive activities and opportunities to develop their full potential

The Foundation can fund project-related salaries, vehicle rental and capital items; examples from this fund include sensory toys and equipment with SEN staff costs, specialist equipment for a community music centre used by disabled people, pool hire, coaching and competition fees, and setting up a speech therapy group.

What it will not fund

  • Organisation types not on the Foundation's eligible list, or projects that are not charitable in focus
  • Activities or projects that have already taken place
  • Sponsored events or fundraising activities
  • Debt or loans
  • Grant-making bodies or activities (usually)
  • Improvements to land or buildings not open to the general public at convenient hours
  • Projects promoting political activities or lobbying
  • The practice of religion or projects that actively promote religion or a belief system
  • Animal welfare projects
  • Overseas travel
  • Statutory obligations or activities that replace government funding

How to apply

  1. Read the Foundation's application guidance and check your organisation and project are eligible
  2. Prepare the required documents (see documents list)
  3. Complete the online application form linked from the fund page (the current winter-round form), naming the Olive and Jesse Palmer Fund as your preferred fund, and upload your documents
  4. Submit by 11:59am on the round deadline (next: 1 November 2026, winter round)
  5. Answer any follow-up assessment call from the Grants Team; applications then go to an internal panel and the fund panel
  6. If successful, return the signed grant offer letter (two signatures) to receive payment

The form can be saved and returned to via an emailed link, but it is lost if not submitted by the end of the round it was started in.

The Foundation strongly recommends only one application per round across its funds.

Deadlines are 1 February, 1 May, 1 August and 1 November, at 11:59am (midday, not midnight).

Have ready

  • Signed governing document (constitution or articles) confirming not-for-profit status and with a dissolution clause passing assets to similar charitable organisations
  • Accounts for the past year (small unincorporated groups may give an income and expenditure statement; groups under a year old a list of income and expenditure to date)
  • Bank statement or paying-in slip from the last 3 months showing bank name and logo, account name, sort code and account number (no screenshots)
  • Names of three independent, unconnected management committee members/trustees/directors and two unconnected cheque signatories
  • Three quotes for any capital item or equipment costing over £500
  • CIC 36 form (CICs registered in the last 12 months) or latest CIC 34 report (CICs registered over 12 months)
  • FCA registration form or latest AR30 (co-operatives and community benefit societies)
  • Evidence of a long-term lease if seeking funding for land or a building you do not own

Documents must be submitted with the application by the deadline; if you sent a full set in the last two years you need not resend them unless things have changed. You must confirm you have safeguarding and equality policies, but they need n…

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