The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust - Foodbank Fund

The Foodbank Fund has been established in response to the cost of living crisis and evidence that many foodbanks are facing the combined challenges of increasing need, escalating running costs, and food donations failing to keep up with demand.

The Fund is open to applications from foodbanks for funding to help meet costs such as the purchase of additional food items and increased running costs.

The definition of a foodbank for the purposes of this Fund is a venue which regularly gives out emergency food parcels at least once each week and has been running for six months or more.

Who can apply

• Non-profit organisation established before 2020.

• Runs a foodbank that has been running for six months or more which regularly gives out emergency food parcels at least once each week.

• Annual income between £25,000 - £1,000,000, as detailed in your most recent set of accounts.

Eligible organisations are those that meet the following requirements:

• A legally constituted not-for-profit organisation, including registered charities, exempted charities, or other forms such as a company with social purpose (if not a charity, you must be able to provide evidence of your not-for-profit status, e.g. constitution with a relevant clause).

• The organisation is based in and operates in the UK.

• The organisation runs a regular foodbank (as defined above)

• The foodbank is an established service which has been running for at least 6 months.

• The foodbank is open to all, based on need.

• The organisation running the foodbank was established or registered as a not-for-profit organisation before 1 January 2020 and has at least one set of accounts.

• The organisation’s annual income is between £25,000 - £1,000,000.

• Unrestricted/undesignated reserves are not above 12 months’ operating costs.

Eligible expenditure

The Foodbank Fund has been established in response to the cost of living crisis and evidence that many foodbanks are facing the combined challenges of increasing need, escalating running costs, and food donations failing to keep up with demand. To ensure that foodbanks are able to support people through this crisis, Julia and Hans Rausing have made funds available through the Foodbank Fund, which is open to applications from eligible organisations as set out in this Applicant Guidance document.

The Fund is open now and closes on 6 December 2022. If demand is very high, it is possible that the Fund may be closed early and so it is advisable to submit your application sooner rather than near the closing date.

Funding is intended to cover costs such as purchase of additional food items for distribution to people in need, increased running costs (such as utility bills, staff costs, warehouse storage or distribution) or other support services delivered such as financial advice.

The definition of a foodbank for the purposes of this Fund is a venue which regularly gives out emergency food parcels at least once each week and has been running for six months or more. 

How to apply

Applications should be submitted via the Online Application Form on the Trust’s website.

Once you have registered on the system, you will be able to view all the questions that need to be completed in the online form. You can save and return to your application as many times as needed before completing and submitting it.

As part of the application, you will be asked to attach supporting documents as set out below.

All applicants must submit:

• Safeguarding policy (PDF or DOC files)

You will need to attach your current Safeguarding Policy.

• Evidence of bank account (PDF or DOC files)

You will need to attach a paying in slip or bank statement from the last three months to evidence your organisation’s bank account details. (If a bank statement is provided the account name, number and sort code should be clear, as well as the date. You may redact other sensitive information).

You may also need to submit:

• Accounts (PDF or DOC files)

If your organisation’s accounts are not available via the Charity Commission or Companies House website, you will need to attach your most recent set of accounts.

• Constitution (PDF or DOC files)

If your organisation is not a charity, you will need to attach your organisation’s constitution/founding document showing its not-for-profit status.

Optional:

• Letter of endorsement (max. 1 A4 page; PDF or DOC files)

This is an opportunity to provide an independent quality assurance mark. You need only do this if you cannot satisfy this in some other way (see Assessment section, above). The letter should be dated within the last six months from a person independent of your organisation who has some public position or is a member of a relevant professional body, in support of your work.

It should be on headed paper where possible. The intention is to make the application as simple as possible whilst still fulfilling our minimum due diligence requirements.

To apply, visit: https://www.juliahansrausingtrust.org/foodbank-fund/