Powerhouse Grant-Giving

Grant criteria & Annual Grant Theme

The theme for grants in 2025 is “Local support for those who need it most.”

Specifically projects that will help to create a resilient and more inclusive community where people of all ages and backgrounds can thrive and collectively address challenges such as isolation, disadvantage of poor physical or mental health. Find out more about the grants we have awarded before, here.

Key Dates & Timings

Stage 1 - This year, the Powerhouse Fund will open for Expressions of Interest on Monday 2nd December 2024 and will close at Midday on Friday 10th January 2025. There will be a useful grant applicant webinar from 1pm-2pm on Monday 9th December to assist with the process of making a grant application. Please register your place for the webinar here.

Stage 2 - The Powerhouse grants panel will shortlist grant applicants and invite them to present their project to the Grants Panel. Unsuccessful and successful applicants will be duly notified.

Stage 3 - Successful grants will be issued during March 2025.

Geographic area for grants

Wider Didcot area has pockets of poverty that fall below the Oxfordshire average and, in some cases, place it in the lowest rankings inside the UK. Charities are already working hard on a levelling up agenda, but there are neighbourhoods where additional support is urgently needed.

The Didcot Powerhouse Fund aims to accelerate the levelling up process by streamlining corporate and community giving more effectively. We invite grant applications from charities and organisations providing support to Didcot and the local villages, particularly from those that are working closely with other charities and agencies. At least 90% of beneficiaries of any grant from the Fund must live inside the Didcot Garden Town Area of Influence, within the outer blue line on the map below.

The Didcot Powerhouse Fund tackles inequality and deprivation in Greater Didcot and the surrounding villages. Since its launch, Powerhouse, which is a donor advised fund, has raised over £300,000 for the Didcot community and each year it directs grant funding to different community organisations which are working hard to improve local lives.

A total of £108,000 was given out by Powerhouse in grants in 2024 to 21 bodies serving the Greater Didcot area.

Bids for grants should meet the Fund criteria

Joint bids are encouraged as partnerships generate greater impact.
90% of the qualifying grant beneficiaries will live inside the Greater Didcot area of Influence, including local villages (see map below).
Bids will meet the annual theme
Grant recipients must evidence the impact of their project(s)
**See more detailed grant criteria further down this page.**

Application Stages

STAGE 1 Initial Expression of Interest forms will be completed and submitted between:

Monday 2nd December, 2024 and Midday on Friday 10th January 2025.

The following details are required:

1. Organisation details 2. Amount requested 3. A brief outline of how the grant will be used 4. Geographic area 5. Timing – the project must complete by the end of the calendar year of application, in order for impact monitoring and reporting to donors to take place in the same financial year.

STAGE 2

Those organisations invited to progress to the final round will be asked to provide:

1. More detailed information about the project 2. How they are going to measure success

For applications for awards under £5,000, the Grants Panel may consider making an award without requiring a final round application.

Criteria to apply for a grant

The size of group’s income (£5,000 – £750,000); where several organisations are making a joint bid, the size criterion applies to the total group income
Status: charity / community interest company / community group that has at least three trustees or committee members who are not related to each other
Previous grant recipients may apply provided the new project meets the current year theme; performance against previous KPIs will be taken into account in assessing applications
The group should have a bank account in its own name with at least two unrelated signatories, open for three months or more, and audited accounts available for the most recent financial year (if not yet available, submit management accounts or income/expenditure document)
Priority will be given to those organisations based within the grant area
Encouragement is given for organisations to work together to make joint applications for a joint project
Not an individual
Minimum one year of operation: if constituted for less than one year but have been active for longer please demonstrate activity; where a number of organisations are making a joint bid at least one organisation to have a minimum one year of operation, but not all
Applications from individuals, for profit companies, public bodies or statutory organisations (including parish/town councils) are not eligible
Reserves: minimum of one month of running costs or explain why this is not possible; explain why if reserves are more than 12 months
Funds cannot be awarded to cover costs already paid for
Applicants should be open to people of all religions and political affiliations, and must not proselytise

Small grants of up to £500 may be available for organisations and/or projects outside these criteria at the discretion of the Grants Panel.

Project criteria

At least 90% of the beneficiaries of the project must live in The Greater Didcot Area including surrounding villages (see map above)
The project must be aligned to the annual grant theme
The application should be for:
- the creation, or extension of a project, or programme of events in line with the annual theme where impact can be demonstrated
- The beneficiaries must be people (not one individual or animals)

Those bids invited to the final Grants Panel will be asked for an itemised, costed project budget indicating how the grant will be used, and details of where other funds have been secured (where appropriate) must be provided.

While impact may take longer to achieve the significant proportion of the project implementation should be completed by December 2024.

Process

The Didcot Powerhouse Fund is aware that applying for grants can be a time-consuming process for organisations, and potentially frustrating when no grant is then available. So the process of grant application is in two stages:

In stage 1 organisations are invited to complete a short online form that is their Expression of Interest which are reviewed by the Grants Panel. A small number of Expressions of Interest will then be invited to complete a full bid application and present to the Grants Panel in stage 2, the final round.

Grant-Giving in 2024

You can read more here about the projects funded by the 2024 round of Powerhouse grant-giving

Powerhouse Grants Panel

Grants Panel members understand the variety of communities and diverse areas of need in the wider Didcot locality. Their role is to review initial Expressions of Interest through to compiling the successful grant shortlist, assisted by Oxfordshire Community Foundation. Grant-recipients provide regular progress updates and their impact outcomes are highlighted in The Didcot Powerhouse Fund Annual Impact Report. Please see the Grant Panel members’ biographies below.

Housing: Jackie Logan, Soha Housing Education: Will Manning, Headteacher, St Birinus School The Oxfordshire Lieutenancy: Elizabeth Paris, Deputy Lieutenant for Didcot The Oxfordshire Community Foundation: Anne Davies, Trustee, OCF South and Vale District Councils: Jayne Bolton, Infrastructure and Development Manager Communities: Revd Mark Bodeker, Associate Minister, Great Western Park Church Health: Dr Rachel Starer, Former Didcot GP Secretariat: Annette Ahern, OCF, Office Administration and Governance