Heathrow Community Trust

Charity Number: 1183004

Annual Expenditure: £1.0M
Slough, Windsor And Maidenhead, Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Richmond Upon Thames, Buckinghamshire ... [1 more]

Contact Info

Website:www.heathrowcommunitytrust.org

Phone:01895 839166 (administered by Groundwork South)

Email:HCT@GROUNDWORK.ORG.UK

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £809,000+ (2023)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: 10-14 weeks (approximately 2.5-3.5 months from deadline to decision)
  • Grant Range: £5,000 - £15,000
  • Geographic Focus: 9 boroughs around Heathrow Airport (Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Richmond, Runnymede, Slough, Spelthorne, South Bucks, Windsor & Maidenhead)

Contact Details

Website: www.heathrowcommunitytrust.org

Email: HCT@GROUNDWORK.ORG.UK

Phone: 01895 839166 (administered by Groundwork South)

CEO: Claire Knight - ceo@hcommunitytrust.org.uk

Overview

Heathrow Community Trust was founded in 1996 by BAA (now Heathrow Airport Limited) and has been supporting local communities for over 25 years. The Trust is an independent grant-making charity that receives funding from Heathrow Airport Limited, noise fines levied on airlines for breaking noise regulations, other airport companies, and fundraising activities by Heathrow staff. In 2023, the Trust awarded over £809,000 to community groups and charities. The Trust's vision is to enable local projects which create healthy, happy communities, with a mission to enable significant positive change in the lives of people in the communities neighbouring Heathrow Airport and the wider UK community. Applications are administered by Groundwork South on behalf of the Trust.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Communities Together Small (Fixed deadlines)

  • £5,000 per year (up to 2 years)
  • Grants of £4,999 or less available for one year only
  • Two rounds annually
  • Brings people together, improves community inclusion, and supports local nature and environment initiatives

Communities Together Large

  • £15,000 per year (up to 2 years)
  • For larger community projects

Projects for Young People (Fixed deadlines)

  • £15,000 per year (up to 2 years)
  • Two rounds annually
  • For young people aged up to 24 years
  • Focus on increasing resilience, raising aspirations, and breaking barriers to employment

Environment & Sustainability (Fixed deadlines)

  • £15,000 per year (up to 2 years)
  • Two rounds annually
  • Improves the environment, provides community green spaces, raises environmental awareness, or improves sustainability of community buildings
  • Available to charities, voluntary groups, schools, colleges, local authorities, and Community Interest Companies

HAPi (Heathrow Active People Initiative) (Fixed deadlines)

  • Up to £2,500 per project
  • For projects involving Heathrow employee volunteering
  • Two rounds annually

Priority Areas

  • Community cohesion: Projects that bring people together, improve inclusion, and tackle loneliness
  • Youth development: Improving literacy skills, developing interpersonal relationships, raising aspirations and employability
  • Environment and sustainability: Community gardens, green spaces, environmental awareness, sustainable community buildings
  • Health and fitness initiatives: Projects promoting active lifestyles
  • Local improvement: Festivals, street cleaning, neighborhood enhancement

What They Don't Fund

Explicit Exclusions:

  • General running costs
  • Appeals in support of individual persons (health or education related)
  • Commercial sponsorship
  • Private for-profit companies
  • Third-party advertising
  • Political campaigning
  • School gardens (except under specific circumstances in Environment & Sustainability programme where accessible to wider community)
  • Residential trips for young people (unless they form part of a clear programme with interventions before and after to embed long-term impact)
  • Repeat funding for the same project twice in succession

Restricted Funding:

  • Faith group projects: Only non-religious projects accessible to all religions that benefit the wider community or increase community cohesion
  • Ethnic group projects: Only projects accessible to all ethnic groups that benefit the wider community or increase community cohesion

Important Restrictions:

  • Only one grant per organization in each grant programme
  • Must complete current project before applying for a new grant
  • Cannot hold multiple grants simultaneously within the same programme

Governance and Leadership

Leadership

CEO: Claire Knight (ceo@hcommunitytrust.org.uk)

Board of Trustees

The Board comprises a diverse group of volunteers including community members, Heathrow employees, and charity professionals. Trustees bring personal and professional expertise and are motivated to support communities surrounding the airport. The Board and volunteer Grant Review Panel members live and work locally. No trustees receive any remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity.

Administration

The Trust is administered by Groundwork South, who manage applications and projects on behalf of Heathrow Community Trust.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Basic Requirements:

  • Organizations must have a constitution and a bank account requiring two signatures
  • Must read the Tips document and Grant Making Policy before applying
  • Applications submitted through online portal
  • Each round closes at 10am on the closing date - late applications are not accepted

2025 Application Rounds:

Communities Together Small:

  • Round 1: Opens 30 January, Closes 13 March (10am), Decisions 22 May
  • Round 2: Opens 10 July, Closes 21 August (10am), Decisions 6 November

Environment & Sustainability:

  • Round 1: Opens 20 February, Closes 3 April (10am), Decisions 26 June
  • Round 2: Opens 1 July, Closes 12 August (10am), Decisions 23 October

Projects for Young People:

  • Round 1: Opens 4 March, Closes 15 April (10am), Decisions 3 July
  • Round 2: Opens 31 July, Closes 11 September (10am), Decisions 4 December

HAPi (Employee Volunteering):

  • Round 1: Opens 27 February, Closes 10 April (10am), Decisions 19 June
  • Round 2: Opens 11 September, Closes 23 October (10am), Decisions 18 December

Decision Timeline

Typical timeframe: 10-14 weeks from application deadline to decision announcement

Success Rates

Success rates are not publicly disclosed by the Trust.

Reapplication Policy

Specific reapplication policies for unsuccessful applicants are not publicly disclosed. However, the Trust does not fund the same project twice in succession, and organizations must complete their current project before applying for a new grant.

Application Success Factors

Key Guidance from the Trust

Strategic Approach:

  • “It is not necessary to cover all of the criteria for a grant programme in a single application and it may be better to focus on a single theme which you can demonstrate well”
  • The Trust prioritizes funding for local, smaller organizations
  • Larger national organizations must demonstrate local delivery capability in the target area

Before Applying:

  • Must read the Tips document (PDF) and Grant Making Policy (PDF) before commencing any application
  • Ensure the project is in one of the nine eligible boroughs
  • Verify organizational eligibility (constitution and dual-signature bank account)

Application Strategy:

  • Focus on demonstrating clear, measurable impact
  • Show how the project will create long-term positive change
  • For youth projects involving residential trips, demonstrate interventions before and after to embed impact
  • For faith or ethnic group projects, clearly show accessibility to all and benefit to wider community

Examples of Funded Projects

Recent Awards:

  • Refugee Youth Service: No Children in Hotels Project (2024)
  • “Delight in Libraries” project: Reaching 215 children across Spelthorne, bringing dance and storytelling to life
  • Multiple youth literacy and interpersonal development projects (£115,177 to eight organizations in 2019)
  • Community gardens, local festivals, health and fitness initiatives
  • Projects tackling loneliness and cleaning up local streets

Historical Context:

  • In 2019, the Trust awarded a record £350,596 to support young people
  • During COVID-19, awarded over £94,000 to 34 emergency response projects and £185,911 to 60 resilience fund projects
  • Over three years (recent), awarded more than £1.1 million through grant programmes

What Makes Applications Stand Out

  • Clear focus on one or two criteria rather than trying to cover everything
  • Strong local knowledge and community connections
  • Demonstrated understanding of community needs
  • Clear plan for sustainable, long-term impact
  • Evidence of local delivery capability
  • Projects that align with the Trust's focus on creating “healthy, happy communities”

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Geographic specificity is crucial: Projects must clearly serve one or more of the nine eligible boroughs around Heathrow Airport
  • Focus beats breadth: Better to demonstrate excellence in one area than superficially cover all criteria
  • Local is prioritized: Smaller, local organizations are prioritized; national organizations need to prove strong local delivery
  • Timing is strict: Applications close at 10am sharp - plan to submit well in advance
  • One project at a time: Cannot hold multiple grants in the same programme or apply while a current project is active
  • Long-term impact matters: Especially for youth projects, show how benefits will be embedded beyond the funding period
  • Read before applying: The Tips document and Grant Making Policy are essential reading and may contain critical application guidance
  • Two funding cycles annually: If unsuccessful in one round, can reapply in the next round (specific reapplication policy not disclosed)

Similar Funders

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References