Community Foundation for Surrey Strengthens Commitment to Open & Trusting Funding
At Community Foundation for Surrey (CFSurrey), we are committed to making funding more accessible, transparent, and responsive to the needs of the voluntary sector. In 2022, we proudly signed up to the IVAR Open & Trusting Funding principles, joining over 140 foundations dedicated to reducing barriers and improving grant-making processes. This commitment has shaped how we fund organisations across Surrey, ensuring they receive the support they need without unnecessary hurdles.
Why Open & Trusting Funding Matters
For many organisations, the process of applying for and managing grants can be time-consuming and complex. Our commitment to Open & Trusting Funding is designed to remove some of these challenges, making it easier for groups to access funding and focus on delivering their vital work.
Following a peer review in Autumn 2024, where grant recipients provided feedback on funders' practices, we took the opportunity to refine our approach further. We listened, learned, and adapted to ensure we are delivering the most effective and supportive grant-making process possible.
How Our Commitments Are Shaping Grant-Making
We have embedded the eight Open & Trusting Funding principles into our work to better serve Surrey’s charities and community groups. Here’s what that means in practice:
Don’t Waste Time – We provide clear eligibility guidelines, offer funding surgeries, and ensure a two-stage application process so that only the best-matched requests proceed. Our small grants programme also ensures a rapid turnaround for urgent funding needs.
Ask Relevant Questions – We have simplified our application forms, removing unnecessary questions about future funding sustainability and adapting our processes based on feedback from voluntary sector groups.
Accept Risk – We recognise that some of the most impactful projects involve an element of risk. That’s why we are open to funding newer organisations, those with lower reserves, and innovative projects that might not have been funded in the past.
Act with Urgency – We set clear deadlines, provide funding decisions within four months, and ensure quick responses to emerging needs. Our rapid response funding has helped organisations facing immediate challenges, from cost-of-living pressures to crisis situations.
Be Open – Transparency is at the heart of our funding. We publish success rates, provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants, and share all our grant awards on 360Giving so others can learn from our funding decisions.
Enable Flexibility – We work from a position of trust, allowing organisations to adjust how they use funds if their needs change. We also fund core costs within project applications and offer unrestricted grants to help organisations thrive.
Communicate with Purpose – Our approach includes regular email updates, Q&A sessions, how-to videos, and verbal application options to ensure every organisation has the support they need to apply.
Be Proportionate – We keep reporting requirements light-touch, ensuring organisations spend more time delivering their work and less time on paperwork.
Looking Ahead
Our commitment to Open & Trusting Funding is not just about improving our processes—it’s about making real change in the communities we support. By continuing to listen to the organisations we fund and adapting to their needs, we aim to create a grant-making system that is fair, accessible, and impactful.
We are proud to reaffirm our pledge to these principles and encourage other funders to do the same. To learn more about Open & Trusting Funding, visit IVAR’s website.
If you're a Surrey-based organisation looking for funding, we encourage you to explore our grant programmes and see how we can support your work.