I am a grant holder

Before your grant can go live and you can start incurring costs, we will need:

• The Starting Certificate with an actual start date and the signed Grant Agreement. The Starting Certificate is the form you complete to confirm your project’s start date.
• Along with the actual start date, we will also ask for milestones on the Starting Certificate. Your milestones should be based on the project plan presented in your application, and are key markers that indicate progress of your project.
• Sometimes our expert group that approved your application will ask for pre-start conditions. Any pre-start conditions will be outlined in your grant offer email and in your Grant Agreement.
• Your signed Grant Agreement will need to be returned to us. This must be signed by a representative of the Trust with appropriate authority. Your Finance Team will be able to guide you.
• You must set up a cost centre with your Trust finance contact, and inform or consult (as appropriate) other relevant teams at the Trust, for example, the Medical Equipment or Health Content teams.
• If relevant to your project, you will also need to gain ethics approval.
• As part of your grant application process, you provided us with a project start date. To ensure the most efficient use of our funding, we ask that funded projects commence within six months of your confirmed start date.

There must be a minimum of eight weeks from the date you submit your Starting Certificate to the date you start your project. This is to allow time for the Grant Agreement to be drafted and signed by both parties.

Unless agreed in advance with your Grant Manager (only applicable in certain circumstances) our grant funding is paid in arrears, which means the Trust needs to cover any expenditure upfront.

All expenditure needs to be charged to the cost centre specifically set up for your grant.

It is important to identify the relevant finance contact within the Trust before starting your project.

The key finance tasks involved in managing your grant are:

• Setting up of a cost centre before you start your project – all expenditure (including equipment, staff costs, any consultancy costs) must go through this dedicated cost centre. This is critical; if expenditure does not go through a dedicated cost centre, it is difficult for your Finance Team to generate the required reports, and we may not be able to reimburse the Trust.
• Completing interim and final grant finance reports (we provide templates and will send reminders).
• Raising invoices when contacted by our Funding Operations Team, who will issue an Invite to Invoice email.
• Tracking expenditure throughout the duration of your grant; the Charity does not have visibility of this.

Remember – the Finance Lead for your project will need to set up a specific cost centre before you start so that any expenditure against the project can be easily tracked.

The Finance Lead will also need to complete the Finance Report at each reporting point.

You will find a reporting and payment schedule for your grant in your Grant Agreement. As the grant holder, you are responsible for the submission of both the Narrative Report and the Finance Report for your grant. You will receive automated links from us in separate emails for both your Narrative Report and Finance Report at least two weeks in advance of your date.

The Narrative Report is important as it allows us to determine what has been accomplished so far, what has been delayed or changed, and what learnings have occurred. It ensures the project is aligned with the project plan as set out in the application and we can see what difference the project is making. It is also an opportunity to share good news and any exciting developments from your project in real time.

It is your responsibility to forward the finance link to the Finance Manager to complete and ensure it is returned to us within the agreed timeline.

We will also ask for updates on key milestones for your project.

If a report is not received within two months of the reporting deadline, we may close your grant and reallocate the money towards other funding opportunities.

We understand that sometimes timeframes and projects change, with good reason. If you need to change your project plan, conditions, or timeframes, please email your Grant Manager to request this. You will be sent a simple Variation Form to fill out.

Depending on the changes required, you may need input from your finance colleagues. Your Grant Manager will then review it and make a decision.