GrantRadar

Community Foundation North East (serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland)

The Platten Family Fund

Grants of £1,000 to £10,000 for charitable organisations providing STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) activities, training in STEM subjects including vocational and similar trades, or projects celebrating STEM heritage, for people in North East England. Applications go to the donors quarterly, with deadlines on the last day of September, December, March and June; the call stays open until an unspecified future date. Staffing costs must be well justified and should not be a large part of the budget.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£1,000 – £10,000
Deadline
74 days left
31 December
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Charitable organisations providing STEM activities, training or heritage work that benefits people in North East England (County Durham, Tees Valley, Gateshead, Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland)
  • The Community Foundation's general rules apply: a governing document, a board of at least three unrelated people with equal control, a bank account in the organisation's name with two unrelated signatories, approved accounts showing income, expenditure and reserves, adult and child safeguarding policies, no overdue monitoring, and the work must be legally charitable
  • The foundation focuses on organisations with income up to £1 million
  • The page says 'charitable organisations'; whether CICs qualify is not stated, so ask the fund manager

What it funds

  • STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities, training in STEM subjects (which can include vocational-based and similar trades), and celebrating STEM heritage, for the benefit of people living in the North East of England
  • The fund was set up in 2014 by a Blyth-based family to support education and training, particularly around engineering; it previously funded employability support but has refocused on STEM
  • Staffing costs can be requested but must be well justified and not make up a significant portion of the budget

What it will not fund

  • Employability support that is not STEM-related (the fund has refocused away from this)
  • Staffing costs making up a significant portion of the grant budget
  • Contributions to general appeals or circulars
  • Advancement of religion
  • Advancement of animal welfare
  • Grant-making by other organisations (necessary goods for a service, e.g. food parcels, can be funded)
  • Activities primarily intended to help a public body meet its statutory obligations
  • Activities that have already taken place
  • Privately owned and profit-distributing companies or partnerships

How to apply

  1. Optionally contact the fund manager, Ross Wilson (rpw@communityfoundation.org.uk, 0191 222 0945), to discuss your project
  2. Register on the Community Foundation grantee portal (allow up to two working days for registration to be approved)
  3. Complete the online organisation application for the Platten Family Fund and upload the supporting documents
  4. Submit by the next quarterly deadline (31 December 2026)

Deadlines are the last day of September, December, March and June; applications then go to the donors for consideration. 30 September 2026 is also a deadline.

The call remains rolling until an as-yet unspecified future date.

Have ready

  • Most recent financial statements approved by your governing body, no more than 22 months old (new organisations: management accounts or a cashflow forecast)
  • Governing document (constitution, rules, or memorandum and articles)
  • Bank statement dated within the last 3 months showing bank name, account name, number and sort code
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures (children and adults)

CICs and other non-charity social enterprises must also upload a CIC36 and business plan; local groups using an umbrella body's safeguarding policy upload that policy and the foundation's umbrella declaration.

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