The Syder Foundation

The Syder Foundation Grants

A family foundation in Berkshire funding capital projects and equipment only — never programmes, operational costs or salaries. Two streams: around 20 large grants a year to registered charities in Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey or Buckinghamshire, and small awards of £2,000 restricted to charities in Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire or Oxfordshire. Applications are two sides of A4 plus accounts, emailed, and assessed monthly with no deadlines. Only registered charities qualify: CICs, community benefit groups and community amateur sports clubs are all explicitly out.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: Amount not specified; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Light; short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

Registered charities only
The Foundation publishes a four-step eligibility checklist: you must be a registered charity; the charity must be based within Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey or Buckinghamshire; if applying for a small grant of under £2,000 the charity must be in Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire or Oxfordshire specifically, while large grants carry no additional location restriction within the six counties; and the application must be for a capital build or renovation project, or items of equipment
If the answer to any of those is no, the Foundation asks you not to apply
Large grants focus on regional charities in Berkshire, Hampshire and the surrounding counties, and national charities are unlikely to be funded
Unsuccessful applicants should wait 24 months before re-applying; successful recipients should wait 12 months

What it funds

Capital projects — a build or renovation — or items of equipment
Nothing else: the Foundation donates exclusively to capital projects or items of equipment

What it will not fund

Programmes and operational costs, including salaries, for both large and small grants
Organisations that are not registered charities — Community Benefit Groups, Community Interest Companies and Community Amateur Sports Clubs are named as ineligible
Charities based outside Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey or Buckinghamshire
Small grant applications under £2,000 from charities outside Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire or Oxfordshire

national charities are unlikely to be funded

allow 24 months before re-applying after an unsuccessful application, and 12 months after a successful one

How to apply

Work through the Foundation's four-step eligibility checklist on its website before doing anything else
Write an application on no more than two sides of A4
Include your charity's most recent income and expenditure, your annual cost of raising funds, and the impact of the intended project
Email the application with a copy of your latest accounts to the Foundation

email is the preferred method — only use the PO Box if asked to

there are no application deadlines and applications are assessed monthly; there is no need to ask when the next meeting is

Have ready

An application of no more than two sides of A4
A copy of your latest annual accounts
Your charity's most recent income and expenditure
Your annual cost of raising funds
A statement of the impact of the intended project

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