Westhill Endowment

Charity Number: 1104736

Annual Expenditure: £0.4M

Stay updated on changes from Westhill Endowment 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: £387,266 (2023)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed (demand far exceeds funding available)
  • Decision Time: Within days of termly board meeting (approximately every 4 months)
  • Grant Range: £500 - £20,000
  • Geographic Focus: Primarily UK (occasional international with UK partner)

Contact Details

  • Website: www.westhillendowment.org
  • Email: info@westhillendowment.org
  • Phone: 0121 472 8000
  • Registered Charity Number: 1104736
  • Pre-application Support: Initial funding enquiry required before full application

Overview

Westhill Endowment was established in 2004 following the integration of Westhill College into the University of Birmingham. The College itself dates back to 1907 when it was founded by George Cadbury and George Hamilton Archibald to train Sunday School leaders. Since 2004, Westhill has invested over £4.8 million in grants across the UK. With annual expenditure of approximately £387,266 (2023 accounts), the charity provides grants between £500 and £20,000 to support religious education projects and faith-motivated community transformation activities. Their mission centers on providing “financial investment and other resources to support religious education projects and faith-motivated activities that enable different people to build bridges with each other.” The organization values inclusivity, creativity, and sustainability in all funded projects.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

  • Standard Grants: £500 - £20,000 (though most grants fall between £250 - £20,000)
  • Larger grants typically support two-year projects
  • Application method: Two-stage process (initial enquiry followed by full application)
  • Rolling basis with termly deadlines approximately 4 months apart
  • Late applications automatically declined

Priority Areas

Core Focus:

  • Formal and informal religious education
  • Projects utilizing creative and performing arts
  • Projects facilitating interfaith activity
  • Organizational capacity building to serve beneficiaries in religious education and faith-motivated community transformation

Ideal Projects:

  • Built on solid foundations with community knowledge
  • Clear objectives and viable, carefully budgeted action plans
  • Creative and inclusive of people of different Christian traditions and other faiths and none
  • Enable participants to learn from and about other faiths through dialogue and understanding

What They Don't Fund

  • Capital appeals for building projects
  • Ongoing salary costs (though project-specific sessional staff may be considered)
  • Statutory responsibilities of the State
  • Overseas projects without accountable UK-based partner organization
  • Projects working exclusively for the benefit of animals
  • Organizations that received Westhill funding within the past 12 months
  • Projects aimed at persuading people of one faith/political belief to adopt another
  • Self-funded projects by organizations with sufficient reserves
Helpful Hinchilla

Ready to write a winning application for Westhill Endowment?

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

Board of Trustees

Trustees meet formally three times per year and convene in three sub-committees: Grants & Projects, Governance, and Financial Strategy Group. Trustees are either nominated by denominational bodies or co-opted for expertise.

Current Chair:

  • Sarah Hauldys Evans OBE (appointed 2004) - Awarded OBE for Services to Education in 2014 Honours List

Other Trustees:

  • Rev Edward Sior MacGregor Coleman (appointed 2003)
  • Rev Neil Roberts (appointed 2021)
  • Shivaji Shiva (appointed 2021)
  • Andrew Robert Morris (appointed 2016)
  • Clare Dominie Callanan (appointed 2023)
  • Philip Neville White (appointed 2012)
  • Rev Dr Kathryn Margaret Price (appointed 2023)

The organization has 13 trustees total and no employees receiving benefits over £60k. No trustees receive remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Stage 1: Initial Enquiry

  • Submit funding enquiry through online portal
  • Allows Westhill to assess eligibility before full application
  • Saves time if project unlikely to succeed
  • Ineligible applicants receive brief explanation

Stage 2: Full Application

  • Eligible applicants sent detailed application form
  • Cannot save form mid-completion - prepare all information in advance
  • Late applications automatically declined

Decision Timeline

  • Committee Review: Grants & Projects Committee meets on termly basis (approximately every 4 months)
  • Board Confirmation: Full Westhill Trustee Board confirms decisions after committee review
  • Notification: Applicants advised of outcome within days of board meeting
  • Missed Deadlines: Must wait approximately 4 months for next deadline

Success Rates

Specific success rate percentages not publicly disclosed. However, Westhill notes that “demand for funds far exceeds the funding available,” indicating competitive application process.

Reapplication Policy

  • Unsuccessful applicants may reapply - negative decision does not preclude future applications
  • 12-month restriction - organizations that received Westhill funding must wait at least 12 months before reapplying
  • Alternative funders - unsuccessful applicants receive list of possible alternative funders when helpful

Application Success Factors

Direct Advice from Westhill

According to Westhill's guidance, successful applications demonstrate:

  • “Projects built on solid foundations, knowledge of your community or audience, clear objectives, and a viable and carefully budgeted action plan”
  • Strong case for support that serves as foundation for all fundraising activities
  • Projects that are “creative and inclusive of people of different Christian traditions and of other faiths and none”

Make Initial Enquiry First

Westhill emphasizes: "Before submitting a full application, you should first make a funding enquiry, which allows Westhill to make an initial assessment as to whether an application might be successful. This step avoids you spending a long time completing an application if it's unlikely to be successful."

Examples of Recently Funded Projects

Education & Arts:

  • The Natashas Project - “What will Farah do?” (primary school educational theatre)
  • Leicester Schools Peace Project - Peace Education curriculum from Key Stage 1 onwards
  • 'Light of Hope' project (140 schools participated in schools art project)

Interfaith & Community Building:

  • Bridges for Communities - Peace Feasts in Bristol
  • Edinburgh Jewish Cultural Centre - Interfaith Learning for All
  • FACES (Faiths Against Child Sexual Exploitation) - Christian-Muslim charity building resilience

Youth & Community:

  • Bolton Lads and Girls Club - Diverse Voices project
  • TLG Early Intervention - 15 new centers supporting children affected by COVID-19 lockdowns

Church & Social Action:

  • The Cinnamon Network Church Engagement - Supporting churches in sustainable social action

Planning and Preparation

  • Review all website materials, FAQs, and organizational history before applying
  • Gather all required information before starting application (cannot save mid-completion)
  • Contact Westhill if anything unclear: 0121 472 8000 or info@westhillendowment.org

Post-Award Expectations

  • Formal Letter of Arrangement outlines terms and expectations
  • Funds drawn in agreed stages with interim updates
  • Brief progress reports required at certain project milestones
  • Grant Impact Form required at project conclusion
  • Successful projects featured on “Projects That Spark” website showcase
  • Listed in Annual Report and Statement of Accounts

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Complete initial enquiry first - saves significant time and effort if project unlikely to succeed; Westhill actively encourages this two-stage approach
  • Focus on interfaith dialogue and education - projects should be “creative and inclusive of people of different Christian traditions and of other faiths and none” with emphasis on building bridges between communities
  • Demonstrate solid planning - Westhill specifically looks for “solid foundations, knowledge of your community or audience, clear objectives, and a viable and carefully budgeted action plan”
  • Creative and performing arts projects welcomed - particularly those that facilitate religious education or interfaith understanding
  • Plan around termly deadlines - meetings approximately every 4 months apart; late applications automatically declined with 4-month wait for next opportunity
  • Check 12-month restriction - cannot apply if received Westhill funding within past year
  • Prepare before starting application - form cannot be saved mid-completion, so have all information ready
  • Don't apply for capital projects or ongoing salaries - these are explicitly excluded from funding considerations

🎯 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