Now you've identified which Designated Fund to apply to, you can get started with your application.

On this page, you'll find guidance on:

• how to apply and what information you will need to provide to the Designated Fund Managers
• the Charity Business Case requirements 
• how to get quotes and make a purchase/payment through the Trust’s procurement partner; HPL.

Please note: our Greatest Need Fund competition opens annually and dates for 2023 have not yet been confirmed. Once open, competition details will be made available on these pages. 

How to apply

Now you're confident that your proposal is eligible for funding and you have confirmed which fund you would like to apply to, you can get in touch with the relevant Designated Fund Manager.  

When applying for funding you should include the following information in your email to the relevant Fund Manager/s or download the simple template below:

• Category – please confirm which category your proposal relates to: medical equipment; patient experience; building, refurbishment and environment; staff education and training; staff wellbeing; research and development; volunteer experience.
  
  
• Proposal description – please provide a brief summary giving some context/background about the need for the project, the key reasons/objectives for the proposal and approximate timelines.
  
  
• Cost – how much charitable funding are you requesting? If there are going to be any ongoing associated costs (e.g. maintenance, servicing, digital licenses) have these been accounted for and agreed with the Trust? 

  Please note: where possible, quotes should be sought from HPL in advance of applying for charitable funding. HPL may have different suppliers and different quotes. Liaising with HPL in the first instance will help avoid any unexpected price increases or discrepancies further down the line.

• Outcomes and benefits – provide a description on how your project will impact on the experience of our patients. Where possible please estimate how many people are expected to benefit from the project and/or the difference this will make to our patients.

Download Designated Fund application template [Word doc]

What happens next?

Requests for £5,000 or less only require approval from a relevant Fund Manager. This can be done over email and no applications forms or other processes are required. You should expect a response within 2-3 weeks. Once approval has been confirmed an applicant can start the procurement process (see below). 

For proposals with a value of £5,000 or more, with support from a relevant Fund Manager, you will need to: 

1) Complete the Charity Funding Proposal Form and present this to the Charity

2) Gain Pre Approval from the Charity

3)  Complete the Trust's Business Case process (necessary for any expenditure over £5,000

4) Gain Final Approval from the charity.

Charity Funding Proposal Form

The Charity Funding Proposal Form is used to provide an overview of your proposal and includes specific questions that reflect the charity's mission and objectives. The form is designed to be as simple and as straightforward as possible and another of sections can be copied and pasted into the Business Case form following Pre Approval from the charity.

Download Charity Funding Proposal Form 

Business Cases

Where an idea requires more than £5,000 of funding, a Charity Business Case must be completed and approved by the Trust before it can be considered by the charity. Please do not start a Business Case before ensuring both the appropriate Fund Manager and the Royal Surrey Charity are aware and happy with your plans.

Every business case will require approval from a number of signatories across the Trust. Additional sign-off may be required depending on the nature of the project e.g. approval from Estates, IT or Finance. This process can take some time – so it is important to allow for this.

The charity has a similar Business Case template as used by the Trust. You should provide as much detail as you can as we use the information provided to assess whether the proposal should be awarded funding.

Once a Business Case has been fully approved by the Trust can it be considered by the Charity. Trust-approved Business Cases should be submitted to the charity who will then seek charity approval from the relevant committee:

£5,000-£20,000 Charity Select Committee
£20,000-£100,000 Charitable Funds Committee
£100,000 Corporate Trustee

Once approval has been confirmed, an applicant can start the procurement process.

Procurement

All purchases made through the Trust should go through HPL (Healthcare Partners ltd). An accurate quote will need to be included in your application for funding, so it is very important to contact HPL as early as possible to avoid delays.

Healthcare Partners Ltd (HPL) is part of the NHS as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Surrey Trust. HPL was launched in April 2018 and was set up by the Royal Surrey to transform the effectiveness of its supply chain, medical equipment and technical services across the Trust.

HPL can help with adding new suppliers and ordering. Purchases are processed through the Trust’s SBS procurement system and will need to be managed by a member of staff within your team/department. Ideally that member of staff should have access to and experience making purchases through SBS. If you have any problems finding someone with the relevant experience or access you should contact your team/department’s Finance Business Partner who can provide further guidance.

It's worth being aware that the Trust’s SBS System is only suited to suppliers who can provide written quotes and invoices. Where applicable, a purchase could be made through the Trust's Virtual Credit Card system.

You can find more information about HPL on Roogle and on HPL's website. There is also a guide available.

Contacts for HPL
01483 571122 ext.3004

Can't find what you're looking for?

If you would prefer to talk to someone from our charity team, please send us an email, give us a call on 01483 464146, or pop in to see us on Level A in the Estates corridor.

Useful links

Back to Applying for charity funding (landing page)
Back to Introduction to grant funding

Back to Step two: determine which fund to apply to