Buckinghamshire Community Foundation

Charity Number: 1073861

Annual Expenditure: £2.0M

Stay updated on changes from Buckinghamshire Community Foundation and other funders

Get daily notifications about new funding opportunities, deadline changes, and programme updates from UK funders.

Free Email Updates

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £1,968,758 (grants paid in 2023-24)
  • Total Income: £2,987,220 (year ending March 2024)
  • Success Rate: ~75% at full application stage
  • Decision Time: 2 months from full application deadline
  • Grant Range: £900 - £15,000 (varies by fund)
  • Geographic Focus: Buckinghamshire (excluding Milton Keynes)

Contact Details

Website: www.heartofbucks.org

Phone: 01296 330134

General Email: info@heartofbucks.org

Grants Email: grants@heartofbucks.org

Address: Heart of Bucks, 70 New Road, Weston Turville, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP22 5QT

Overview

Buckinghamshire Community Foundation, operating as Heart of Bucks, was established in 2000 and has since become one of the largest non-statutory funders in Buckinghamshire. The foundation has supported over 3,500 community organisations and distributed over £10 million in grants and loans across the county. In their most recent financial year (ending March 2024), they paid £1,968,758 in grants to institutions from total income of £2,987,220. The foundation acts as a conduit, connecting charitable donations from private, business, trust and public sector donors with not-for-profit community groups and individuals in crisis. Under CEO Henry Allmand's leadership since 2019, the organisation focuses on strategy, external partnerships, and growth, with a commitment to providing extensive financial resources to the local charity sector. In recent years, they have distributed over £1 million in crisis support through 1,300+ individual grants, demonstrating their responsiveness to community needs.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

  • Heart of Bucks General Fund: Up to £10,000 - Awards grants to a broad range of causes, welcoming applications from both new and established groups. Made up of multiple private funds with different priorities. Suitable for projects that don't fit other specific funds. Applications typically via online portal with fixed deadlines.
  • Heart of Bucks Community Fund: Up to £7,500 - Supports charities and community groups whose work benefits local people. Covers new and expansion projects as well as core running costs. Two-stage application process.
  • Youth Fund: Funding opportunities for organisations and initiatives that positively impact young people's lives. The foundation emphasizes having “grants that benefit young people awarded by young people.”
  • Health Equity Fund: Up to £15,000 - Addresses health inequalities impacting life expectancy and quality of life for people from ethnic minority communities. Projects designed and delivered primarily for ethnic minority groups, addressing physical health, mental health, or both.
  • Healthy Ageing Fund: Community-based projects improving social connectedness for older adults (40+), helping them prepare for and enjoy better health in later life.
  • Rectory Foundation Fund: Projects meeting the vision of 'thriving people and places in our local communities'.
  • Kop Hill Charity Fund: Geographically-specific fund for certain areas within Buckinghamshire.
  • SWEF Enterprise Fund: Supports young entrepreneurs (aged 18-30) to get their business ideas off the ground.
  • Buckinghamshire's Community Safety Fund: Up to £15,000 for community safety initiatives.
  • Crisis Grants: Individual grants ranging from £900+ for people facing financial hardship, including cost-of-living crisis support.

Priority Areas

  • Youth programmes and initiatives benefiting young people
  • Health equity and addressing ethnic minority health inequalities
  • Healthy ageing and social connectedness for older adults (40+)
  • Community safety initiatives
  • Crisis support for individuals facing financial hardship
  • General community benefit projects across Buckinghamshire
  • New and expansion projects, as well as core running costs

What They Don't Fund

  • Projects outside Buckinghamshire (Milton Keynes specifically excluded)
  • Organisations not formally constituted or not operating as not-for-profit
  • Applications from organisations that have not submitted their end of grant report from previous Heart of Bucks grants
  • Projects lacking proper financial controls (requirement: person making payment must be different from person approving it)
  • For-profit organisations (excluding CICs limited by guarantee)
  • Applications from organisations without required policies (health and safety, equal opportunities, safeguarding where applicable)
Helpful Hinchilla

Ready to write a winning application for Buckinghamshire Community Foundation?

Our AI helps you craft proposals that match their exact priorities. Save 10+ hours and increase your success rate.

Get Free Beta Access

Governance and Leadership

CEO: Henry Allmand joined Heart of Bucks in September 2019 after a career in local government in Buckinghamshire. He leads on strategy, external partnerships, and growth, with a commitment to providing extensive financial resources to the local charity sector. On youth engagement, Allmand stated: “Our aim with this fund was always to have grants that would benefit the young people of Buckinghamshire awarded by young people living and working in Buckinghamshire.”

Chair of Trustees: Moir was appointed trustee in March 2019 and became Chair in September 2021. She brings over 30 years of experience as a police officer and later served as Director of Investigations for the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Staff Team: Karen has extensive charity sector knowledge, having served as CEO for Aylesbury Homeless Action Group and Bucks Food Partnership. She also serves as a Skills Governor at Woodside Junior School, Amersham. Carolyn is responsible for operations, HR and governance, ensuring Heart of Bucks delivers quality service to donors, grant beneficiaries, board of trustees and supporters. Kathryn became a Trustee in 2024, having been a grants panel member since 2018.

The foundation emphasizes open and trusting grant-making, supporting a broad range of community activities.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

  1. Check Eligibility: Review eligibility information and funding requirements on the Heart of Bucks website. Ensure your organisation is formally constituted, not-for-profit, and operating for the benefit of Buckinghamshire residents.
  1. Expression of Interest (two-stage funds): Complete an expression of interest form (available at the bottom of each fund page) telling Heart of Bucks about your project and the amount you're requesting. At this stage, they conduct due diligence checks and review your project, providing “hints and tips” to enhance your application.
  1. Full Application: If suitable, Heart of Bucks will send a link to a full application requesting more detail about your project, including a budget breakdown. Some funds accept direct applications without the expression of interest stage.
  • Organisation's accounts from most recent financial year (or bank statement for new organisations)
  • Copies of formally adopted policies: health and safety, equal opportunities, and safeguarding (if applicable)
  • Evidence of financial controls (different person for payment approval vs. execution)
  1. Panel Review: Applications are reviewed by a grants panel.
  1. Decision: Heart of Bucks aims to give a decision within two months of the full application deadline.

Decision Timeline

  • Full application to decision: 2 months from deadline
  • Applications assessed by grants panel
  • Decisions communicated directly to applicants

Success Rates

At the full application stage, the success rate for recent rounds was approximately 75%. However, Heart of Bucks notes that demand for funding typically exceeds available funds, so meeting eligibility criteria doesn't guarantee funding.

Reapplication Policy

Organisations that have previously received grants from Heart of Bucks must submit their end of grant report, including evidence of expenditure, before applying again. No specific waiting period mentioned beyond this requirement.

Application Success Factors

Direct Advice from the Funder

Heart of Bucks provides specific guidance to applicants:

  • Select appropriate impact themes and outcome categories when completing grant applications
  • Clearly explain how the grant will transform your business/project and take it to the next stage - these applications are most likely to be successful
  • Collect relevant data about your impact and consider involving beneficiaries when reviewing your project
  • Include both qualitative (numbers) and quantitative (stories/feedback) evidence when reporting impact, as these provide context and value
  • Take advantage of the “hints and tips” provided during the expression of interest stage to enhance your full application

Projects They've Recently Funded

  • Crisis grants for young care leavers facing financial hardship (£900 for two months of living costs)
  • Over 1,300 individual crisis grants totaling £1m+ in the last two years
  • Health equity projects for ethnic minority communities
  • Youth-led initiatives benefiting young people in Buckinghamshire
  • Community safety projects
  • Healthy ageing and social connectedness programmes

Key Terminology and Language

  • “Thriving people and places in our local communities”
  • “Open and trusting grant-making”
  • “Connecting people who care with local causes”
  • “Transformation” and “taking projects to the next stage”
  • “Impact themes and outcomes”
  • Focus on “beneficiaries” and their involvement in project review

Tips for Standing Out

  1. Use the two-stage process strategically: If applying to a fund with an expression of interest stage, use the feedback and tips provided to strengthen your full application
  2. Demonstrate transformation: Show how the grant will make a significant difference, not just sustain current activities
  3. Evidence-based applications: Combine hard data with compelling stories and beneficiary feedback
  4. Financial controls: Demonstrate robust financial management with clear separation of duties
  5. Complete previous reporting: Ensure any past grant reports are submitted before applying again
  6. Match fund priorities: Align your project with the specific priorities of the fund you're applying to
  7. Youth involvement: For youth funds, demonstrate how young people are involved in design and delivery

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • High success rate of ~75% at full application stage makes this a worthwhile funder to pursue if you meet eligibility criteria
  • Two-month decision timeline is relatively fast compared to many funders
  • The two-stage process for many funds provides an opportunity to refine your application with funder feedback before submitting the full proposal
  • Heart of Bucks emphasizes “open and trusting grant-making” - be honest and transparent in applications
  • Transformation is key: Focus on how the grant will create significant change, not just maintain status quo
  • Previous grant recipients must complete reporting before reapplying - maintain good grant management practices
  • Geographic restriction: Must benefit Buckinghamshire residents (excluding Milton Keynes) - clearly demonstrate this benefit
  • Strong track record: As one of the largest non-statutory funders in the county with 25 years of experience, they understand local needs well
  • Relationship-building opportunity: The expression of interest stage allows for early engagement with the foundation

🎯 You've done the research. Now write an application they can't refuse.

Hinchilla combines funder's specific priorities with your organisation's past successful grants and AI analysis of what reviewers want to see.

✓

Data privacy and security by default

✓

Your organisation's past successful grants and experience

✓

AI analysis of what reviewers want to see

✓

A compelling draft application in 10 minutes instead of 10 hours

Get Beta Access NowLearn More

References