Grant rounds

HMSTrust currently offers three grant rounds across the year. The grant levels are designed to suit different types of requests and stages of a project. The timing of the grant round is also relevant to your request as HMSTrust does not fund retrospectively.

The table below lists relevant dates for each grant level, and the following guidelines will help you to identify which grant level is the best match for your request.

Grant rounds

Information and dates for our 2021 grant rounds will be available towards the end of the year once our triennial strategic review of our grantmaking is completed.

Initial consultation with HMSTrust Grants staff is required before you make an application for any of our grant levels.

Round	Grant Level	Round opens	Round closes	Notification
Round 1	Up to $30,000	21 Jan 2020	27 Feb 2020 (midday)	End April
Round 2	$31,000 – $90,000	5 May 2020	11 June 2020 (midday)	End August
Round 3	$91,000 – $200,000 (see below)	11 August 2020 (*updated)	10 Sept 2020 (enquiries close)	End Nov

PLEASE NOTE: Our 2020 Round 2 for multi-year grants $31k – $90k was cancelled.  For more information, go to Noticeboard.

Which grant should I apply for?

Please read How we grant, our Programs and Applying for a grant to see if your work relates to our current areas of interest.

If you feel that your request is a strong match, please contact our Grants staff with an email request to discuss a potential application well before the closing date of the grant round that best meets your needs.

Applicants should be aware that the likelihood of an unsolicited request being successful is extremely low.

Round 1: Grants – up to $30,000

Grants of up to $30,000 are increasingly approved for requests that help build the capacity and capability of organisations working across HMSTrust’s areas of interest and objectives. Requests can include: strategic business development and marketing, or initiatives that underpin a complex, long-term project including: business planning, scoping, piloting, and evaluation.

• Available for all programs except for Health;
• Projects are normally completed within one year, but can extend over a longer period;
• 2-month turnaround from application closing date to notification.

Round 2: Grants – $31,000 to $90,000 in total

This grant level targets larger projects across HMSTrust’s areas of interest and objectives.

• The application form requires more detail than for a grant up to $30,000, and includes annual milestones;
• Projects are up to 3 years in duration, and grant payments are made in annual instalments dependent on receipt of a satisfactory progress report and financial acquittal;
• Available for all programs except for Health;
• 2-month turnaround from application closing date to notification.

Round 3: Impact Grants – $91,000 to $200,000 in total

Impact Grants of up to 3 years in duration are considered for significant initiatives that can clearly demonstrate positive long-term social impact, with the potential to contribute to systems change, or change sector practice. Typically, projects have already been fully scoped and piloted and are now ready to roll out on a larger scale.

Grants at this level are limited and highly competitive (usually 6-7 grants per year).

Sucessful projects are those designed to have wider benefits beyond the direct participants and the life of a project.

The type of activities that may be considered include those that will result in benefits across multiple organisations or communities; have substantial reach in beneficiary numbers; or take a new approach to an identified sector issue.

Applications are required to include:

• Sustainable business model;
• Robust business plan supported by substantiated data;
• Clearly defined outputs and outcomes;
• Milestones for each year of funding;
• Confirmed partnerships and collaborations;
• Plans for measurement and evaluation;
• Detailed project budget;
• Long-term benefits to the broader sector.

This grant level is not appropriate for pilots or small one-off projects. We do not fund ongoing programs that simply require a new source of funding.

Consultation with Grants staff is essential. NOTE: The online application form for grants at this level can only be accessed with a pass code provided by Grants staff following consultation and acceptance to proceed.

• Grant payments for multi-year grants are made in annual instalments dependent on receipt of satisfactory progress report and financial acquittal;
• 3-month turnaround from application closing date to notification.