RHS Sustainable Futures Grant frequently asked questions 2022/23

All grants will be £2,500.

No, you will not be asked how much you want to apply for in the application form as all grants will be £2,500.

The grant can be spent on:

• Marketing, communications and promotion
• Community engagement
• Training
• Access and adaptions for example, translation, transport, subsidising sessions
• Monitoring and evaluation
• External facilitation
• Volunteer recruitment
• Participant research and idea development
• Gardening materials (such as, plants, seeds, soil, tools, planters)
• Outdoor structures (such as, sheds, polytunnels)
• Staff costs
• Volunteer expenses

We expect to make up to 40 grants.

Yes, the project you are applying for can also be funded by other organisations. We will ask you to outline other funders in the application form.

Applications are now closed for the RHS Sustainable Futures Grant.

Your application needed to be submitted by 5pm on 18 November. If the application was open and you were still working on it after 5pm you may not be able to submit it as the application round closed automatically.

To discuss your application access requirements please email [email protected].

Your application needed to be submitted by 5pm on 18 November 2022. If the application was open and you were still working on it after 5pm you may not be able to submit it as the application round closed automatically.

You will need to outline how you will spend the £2,500 grant in the application form.

Grants will be paid by January 2023.

You will have 12 months to spend the grant money.

• Applications opened at 10am Wednesday 12 October 2022
• Applications closed at 5pm Friday 18 November 2022
• Applications reviewed November – December 2022
• Applicants informed December 2022 – January 2023
• Grant period January – December 2023

We will be looking for applications that can demonstrate a specific challenge has been identified that needs to be addressed and where the funded project proposes a solution to that challenge. The challenge and its solution should support the growth or sustainability of your group/school and your work. It is important that your application illustrates how the grant will support the future viability of your community gardening group/school and your projects. Projects that offer longer-term solutions will be prioritised, as well as those that are trying something new or addressing an issue in an inventive way. Ideally, funded projects will also offer opportunities for sharing learning with other community groups and schools which may be facing similar issues through strong monitoring and evaluation.

Advice on completing the application and common mistakes to avoid can be found at the end of this page.

Due to the number of applications we receive, unfortunately, we will not be able to provide individual feedback on unsuccessful applications. We encourage you to get in contact to discuss your application prior to submission by contacting [email protected] to ensure your project fits the criteria.

No, only groups currently registered with Britain in Bloom (BIB), It’s Your Neighbourhood (IYN) or the RHS Campaign for School Gardening (CFSG) can apply for this grant.

No, if your organisation has received any grant from the RHS in the last 12 months – including RHS Connected Communities, RHS Community Environment, RHS Community Wellbeing or Flourish Fund you are not eligible to apply for this grant.

If you have previously applied for another grant but were unsuccessful, your organisation can apply for this grant. If you applied and were successful in the last 12 months you are not eligible to apply.

Applications can be made for a new project or existing projects that are applying for funding for development work. We will not accept applications to maintain existing projects where there is no element of change, as the focus of the funded project should be adapting to a specific challenge.

We will accept applications from community gardening groups, allotment associations, community associations, charities, social enterprises, not-for-profit groups, local authorities and councils. Applications are also open to non fee-paying, mainstream and alternative provision schools with more than 40% students on free school meals where applicable.

Groups do not need to be constituted but will need their own bank account in the organisation’s name. All groups and schools must be registered with Britain in Bloom, It’s Your Neighbourhood or Campaign for School Gardening.

We are unable to fund the following types of organisations:

• Organisations and schools not registered with Britain in Bloom, It’s Your Neighbourhood or Campaign for School Gardening as of Wednesday 12 October 2022
• Fee-paying schools
• Non-state registered schools or education establishments
• Schools with less than 40% free school meals, for the year groups who are not automatically entitled to FSM
• Nurseries, child minders (individual or groups), home parenting groups, ‘Friends of’ or PTA groups
• Multiple academy chains – each school in the chain will need to submit a separate application
• Sports groups, youth groups or uniformed groups (for example, Scouts)
• Organisations based outside the UK
• Organisations without a bank account. Bank accounts must be in an organisation’s name
• Individuals, either directly or indirectly through an organisation
• Organisations that have received any grant from the RHS in the last 12 months (including any partners)
• Any for-profit company or organisation
• Sole traders (either for-profit or not-for-profit)

We will accept applications from state registered primary schools, secondary schools, through schools, and all SEND schools and Pupil Referral Units, as well as other alternative provision schools as long as they are registered with the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and meet the criteria of more than 40% students on free school meals where applicable.

We are unable to accept applications from schools that are not registered with the RHS Campaign for School Gardening or fee-paying. Nurseries, childminders (individual or groups), home parenting groups and other similar types of childcare or education providers are not eligible to apply. 

Applications need to be submitted by a member of staff at the school, rather than PTA or ‘Friends of’ groups. Applications from schools in academy chains need to be submitted directly from the school and should only cover one school. Each school in the academy chain will need to submit a separate application if more than one wishes to apply.

Grants of £2,500 are available for new and existing projects. Existing projects will need to show that they are applying for work to address their identified challenge, rather than maintaining their work as it is.

Projects will need to be running in 2023. We will accept applications for ongoing work, but the grant will need to be spent by the end of 2023.

We are unable to fund projects that:

• Are not focused on addressing a specific challenge
• Are major capital projects
• Are based outside of the UK
• Start after 2023

The Sustainable Futures Grant is open to projects addressing a range of challenges groups and schools might be facing. This can include environmental challenges caused by the climate crisis for exmaple, drought, flooding or changes in local biodiversity. The challenge your group or school faces might be related to recruiting and retaining volunteers or engaging people in your local community. You might have realised that there is a specific skill that your group will need to continue your work in the future such as fundraising, marketing, or evaluation. The increase in costs of essentials such as food and energy might be something your group has a way of addressing locally. The challenge or issue might be a national or global issue faced by many people, but we will be looking for projects that address the problem at a local level and offer solutions for their specific community.

It is possible to pay the grant into another organisation’s account if the applicant does not have their own organisational account. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis dependent on the group’s reason for not having an account and the relationship to the organisation where the grant will be paid. Grants cannot be paid into an individual’s bank account, or an account in an individual’s name (for example, a sole trader’s business account).

All successful applicants will need to sign a Grant Agreement and provide proof of account details and evidence of any relevant policies before the grant is paid. The Organisation is responsible for the delivery of the funded project and therefore the health and safety of participants, volunteers and staff. Relevant policies and procedures will be expected to be in place including safeguarding, insurance and a risk assessment.

Grantees will be expected to keep in contact with the RHS Communities Team through the duration of the grant, provide regular updates on the progress of their work and submit an end-of-grant report in December 2023. Groups and schools will be expected to inform us of any major changes or developments to the funded project and we will work with you to resolve any issues where possible. Grantees will also be expected to collect participant data including demographics and motivations for taking part. Templates will be provided for collecting this information and no personal information will be recorded. 

This guidance is based on the most common reasons for applications being unsuccessful in previous funding rounds

• Before you start your application make sure you have read all of the information available about the grant (including criteria, eligibility and the application process) and contact us if you have any questions about your project or organisation’s eligibility at [email protected]
• Discuss the project and application with other members of your group and ensure that everyone understands and is in agreement with the project for which you are seeking funding. For instance, if there are volunteers who will be running the project, and a separate management committee or board, make sure that people at all levels are involved with the process and agree on what the project will be
• Make sure you highlight how your project stands out from the crowd in your application. We will be looking for reasons to fund your project over the many applications we will receive and you should make this as clear as possible in your application
• Make sure the work you are applying for reflects the core aims of the grant and that you make this clear throughout your application. i.e. if the grant is about future-proofing your organisation and work, this should be the focus throughout the application
• Read through the whole application before starting your answers
• We would advise drafting your answers in a separate document so that you have a backup version saved. Once you have finalised your answers you can copy and paste them into the online form
• Spend time, along with the rest of your group or other staff, making sure your answers cover what the question has asked
• The questions in the application are designed to give your group the opportunity to really sell themselves – make sure you are using the space to get across how your group and project meet the aims of the fund (based on the criteria provided)
• Be concise, using word and character limits as a guide to how much you should write and avoid repeating yourself across your answers
• Avoid assumptions of knowledge the assessor will have about your group or the work you’re doing. Make sure you spell out acronyms the first time you use them
• If you are using research to explain the need for your project make sure that you have made a clear link between the generic evidence and your specific project and participants  (i.e. the assessors will be looking at how you have applied the generic evidence to your specific, local project)
• Make it clear what the measurable impact of your project will be (i.e. how you know if it has been a success)
• Read through your application before you submit it. You can do this using the ‘Preview’ button at the bottom of the application form