Before you start
- Familiarise yourself with what a designated fund is.
- Talk to the relevant Fund Advisor about using the designated fund in your area, whether the fund’s purpose covers your idea, and whether they support your application. A list of the designated funds and the fund advisors can be found here.
- Ask your line manager about what approvals are required at King's before making the request. For equipment, you should consult your service or general manager for advice on King's processes and approvals.
- Watch the tutorial video below with top tips on completing your application.
The application process
Applications funded through designated funds must be supported and authorised by the relevant fund advisor. The fund advisor will be emailed a copy of your completed application form and asked to confirm their authorisation for it through an online process.
Please ensure you provide accurate details as part of your form submission, and ideally let them know so they are expecting the authorisation request. The charity will not be able to process your application without this authorisation.
After approval by the fund advisor, the application will be submitted to King's College Hospital Charity's team for processing.
What is a small grant?
A small grant is an amount of funding under £5,000 awarded to an application to start or deliver specific services or activities that help improve patient care or staff welfare within the Trust.
As long as the grant holder adheres to King's College Hospital Charity’s Terms & Conditions, grants do not need to be paid back.
Who can apply?
Applications for small grants from designated funds always require approval from the fund advisor. Any member of King's staff can apply, but only with prior authorisation from the relevant fund advisor. Please do not start an application unless you have that authorisation, as it will waste everyone's time.
Where can I get funding and how much can I apply for?
Funding of up to £5K is available from designated funds - see this list of designated funds to identify if there is a suitable fund in your part of King's.
Is support available to help me with my application?
When will my application be submitted to King’s College Hospital Charity?
Once an application has been made using the small grants form it will go to the fund advisor for approval.
Following approval of your application by the Trust the Charity will review and may come back to you to ask for more clarification on information. We aim to process
small grant applications within 10 days.
Start your small grant application
Christmas decorations
Every area, ward or department can claim reimbursement of up to £75 for Christmas decorations. Apply using the small grants form.
- On page 3, select: Type of grant - Travel and Hospitality (Patients) > Christmas decorations grant > Request reimbursement for Christmas decorations
- On page 7, upload receipts as proof of purchase
- On page 10, select: Fund advisor: Iona Joy. Email address: [email protected]
Guidelines:
- Proof of purchase must be provided, please upload receipts.
- Please select “Christmas Decorations Grant” when putting through your small grant application.
- We will reimburse for decorations as soon as applicants have bought the decorations, from November onwards.
- To ensure reimbursement prior to Christmas, grant applications for Christmas decorations must be received by 2nd December. Any applications received after that will be processed in January. You will need to upload receipts as proof of purchase when you submit your grant application.
- The closing date for grant applications for decorations is 31st January 2025.
- Please note, at this busy time of year, it can take a minimum of 2 weeks to process payments.
Christmas staff vouchers and celebrations (from designated funds)
A care group/ward/departments with a Designated Fund can apply for staff celebrations and Christmas One4all vouchers. Apply using the small grants form.
- On page 3, select: Type of grant - Staff gifts and entertainment > Spend from a designated fund
Guidelines:
- These should not exceed £20 per person per year for each ward or area.
- The celebration or voucher should be made available to all staff in the ward or area.
- The benefit should not be focused on an individual or sub-group of staff.
- The Charity will not contribute to the cost of alcohol.
- If you are seeking procurement or payment upfront the deadline for applications is 2nd December 2024.
- If booking venues, please request invoices and upload this with your grant application.
- If requesting reimbursement, proof of purchase must be provided, please upload receipts.
- Staff celebrations and vouchers must come out of Designated Funds and the total amount must not be more than 25% of the balance.
Procurement requests
Please provide supplier quotes and ensure that the supplier is on the Trust Oracle system prior to submitting your application. The Charity will procure outside Oracle at our discretion with Trust approval.
All equipment requests should be approved by the relevant departments (e.g., MEMs) to ensure adherence to the Foundation Trusts procedures and/or to ensure compatibility with existing equipment, on-going maintenance, and adherence to the Trusts standards of care. Please speak to your Service Manager (otherwise General Manager) about getting consent and approval.
We are a small team with limited capacity to process procurement requests. Procurement can take up to one month or longer for large orders.
We suggest reimbursement or invoice payment wherever possible.
Invoice payment requests
A copy of the invoice must be provided.
The Charity may come back to you to ask for more clarification on information.
Reimbursement requests
Receipts must be provided and can be photographed/ scanned and attached to your application.