Statistics
Summary of applications received
At the end of 2007, the Foundation closed four of its grants programmes (although Culture and Heritage was reintroduced in May 2008). This, and the uncertainties in the early part of 2008 about the Foundation’s future, led to a decline in applications. However, by the end of the year, the Foundation had received 439 new requests for grants and there were 42 pending applications at the end of 2007. Of these 481 requests, 142 were ineligible for funding or were withdrawn by applicants. Of the eligible requests, 148 were successful, 91 were rejected by Trustees and 100 were pending at the end of the year.
Amount awarded in 2008
The total invested by the Foundation through grants and commissioned work in 2008 was £10.5 million. The Trustees awarded £9.5 million in grants through their four main programmes, and a further £446,519 in grants for policy and training work and under the Exceptional category. £166,694 was awarded through the staff matched giving scheme and £8,350 through a discretionary fund managed by Northern Rock plc which has now closed.
As well as these grants, the Trustees directly commissioned work to support their programme, training and policy objectives totalling £322,000.
All grants and commissions are listed under the relevant programme/activity area in the previous section.
2008 main grants by region and per capita
Per capita, in 2008, the Foundation spent £3.12 per head averaged across the whole region (2007: £5.57). The long-term trend of the majority of grants being made to groups in Tyne and Wear continued (the area has over a third of our region’s population). However, spending per head was highest in Cumbria, one of our more rural areas. We spent the least amount per head in County Durham, from where we consistently receive fewer applications, and where there is a lower success rate of eligible applications.
| Region | Approved amount (£'000) |
Number of awards |
|---|---|---|
| Cumbria | 1,865 | 23 |
| Durham | 757 | 15 |
| Northumberland | 732 | 11 |
| Tees Valley | 1,179 | 17 |
| Tyne & Wear | 2,687 | 32 |
| North East and Cumbria area-wide |
2,329 | 25 |
| Grand Total | 9,549 | 123 |
2008 main grants by type of support
The majority of the Foundation’s grants, and the bulk of the total amount awarded, supports organisations’ core costs. At the end of 2007, the Foundation closed its programme for buildings, meaning no capital awards were made in 2008 (2007: £1.9m).
Type of support through main grants 2008
2008 main grants – repeat funding
In 2008, 74% of our grants were to organisations with which we had a prior funding relationship. Nearly a third of grants were made specifically to continue the work funded under a previous grant. However, we also made grants to 32 organisations which we had not supported before.
Repeat funding through main grants 2008
Length of main grants 2008
In 2008, 68% of grants made were for a term of three years (2007: 53%). The Foundation stopped making capital grants at the end of 2007, which were usually paid in a single lump sum and so categorised as having one-year terms. This accounts for the reduction in one-year grants to 20% of the total (2007: 35%).
