It is extremely important that you read this page in its entirety in order to ensure you are eligible to apply for a grant from the Board. Please ensure you are able to answer all questions.

We have two open grant schemes (there is a closed scheme for Local Education Authorities):

• Grants for the promotion of Welsh (The Main Grants Scheme)

Do you wish to apply under the Main Grants Scheme? i.e. do you wish to receive more than £1,000 towards your project?

--Yes. > Please proceed.

The function of the Welsh Language Board is the promotion and facilitation of the use of the Welsh language. This function should be central to each application’s aims, objectives and targets. Applications where the promotion and facilitation of Welsh is marginal are not eligible for funding.

Is the promotion and facilitation of the use of the Welsh language central to your grant application?

-Yes > Please proceed.

-No > Do not proceed. Your application is not eligible for consideration.

You must ensure that your application dovetails fully with the Board’s various strategy documents (see the right hand side of this screen for our Main Strategic Plan, our ICT Strategy, our Private Sector Strategy, our Voluntary Sector Strategy, our Youth Strategy and our Data Strategy). For the present funding round, our priorities are as follows: Your application should note how it dovetails with these strategic priorities. 

• language transmission
• the 0-7 age group and parents of young children
• Young people 14-30 years old
• Legislation-related subjects
• The private sector

Does your application fully dovetail with the Board’s strategic aims and objective as outlined the documents and points above?

-Yes > Please proceed.

-No > Do not proceed. Your application is not eligible for consideration.

We offer grants to voluntary organisations, and private companies engaged in projects that will lead to an increase in the use of Welsh.

Our general policy on allocation of grants

The aim of all our grant schemes is to increase the use of Welsh. We can distribute grants to support activities that aim to fulfil this objective.

All grants allocated under this scheme are subject to our standard terms and conditions which are available on our website under 'Publications' on the right hand side of the screen.

Our grants are offered in line with Government advice on the allocation of grants.  We aim to implement these policies fairly at all times.

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Who is eligible to apply for a grant?

Eligible applicants

The Main Grants Scheme is open to applicants from the Voluntary and Private Sectors. We can also consider applications from Public Sector organisations for activities which are not subject to their Welsh Language Schemes prepared in accordance with the Welsh Language Act 1993.

Does your organisation belong to the groups mentioned above?

-Yes > Please proceed.

-No > Do not proceed. Your application is not eligible for consideration.

Eligible applicants must have a constitution, acceptable legal status and a democratic management structure

We can, however, consider applications from new organisations, or from organisations which are about to be established, but which have not yet formalised their status. If the application were to be successful, such an organisation would have to conform to the above conditions before grant payment could begin.

Do you have an acceptable constitution and legal status (or are you about to receive these)?

- Yes > Please proceed

- No > Do not proceed. Your application is not eligible for consideration.

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Applicants ineligible for support under this scheme

• Individuals
• Any organisation which does not have a constitution, acceptable legal status and a democratic management structure
• Applications by organisations in the public sector, for activities which are subject to their Welsh Language Schemes prepared under the Welsh Language Act 1993.
• Professional fundraising organisations or other consultants working on behalf of an organisation. 
• Local Education Authorities (there is a closed scheme for Local Education Authorities)

Is one or more of the above points relevant to your organisation or your application?

- Yes > Do not proceed. Your application is not eligible for consideration.

-No > Please proceed.

If we offer you a grant

If we offer you a grant, you will have to accept our terms and conditions. Our general conditions are available on our website.

Do you accept our terms and conditions?

-Yes > Please proceed.

-No > Do not proceed. Your application is not eligible for consideration.

Branches

If your organisation is connected to a larger organisation, you may only apply for a grant as an individual organisation if you are independent. If you are not independent, you may be eligible to apply for a grant, but you will need written support from the larger organisation.

Independent Organisations

You must prove that your organisation is ‘independent’.

Do you have:

• Your own constitution;
• a separate management committee;
• a bank account under your direct control;
• your own annual accounts, signed and dated by your chairman, secretary or treasurer and independent auditor or inspector;  
• and control over your income and how it is spent

-Yes > Please proceed.

- No, but the larger organisation is willing to take legal responsibility for the application > Please proceed

-No > Do not proceed. Your application is not eligible for consideration.

Dependent organisations

If you are not independent but meet the following criteria you may apply for a grant. You must have:

• a management committee;
• a bank account;
• your own annual accounts.

The larger organisation will have to support your application and agree to take legal responsibility for any grant we give you.

Are the above requirements relevant to your application or your organisation?

- Yes > Please proceed, ensuring the support of the larger organisation and/or ensure it applies on your behalf

-No > Do not proceed. Your application is not eligible for consideration.

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Activities that we fund

If promoting and increasing the use of the Welsh language is an integral part of your constitution, you may apply for a grant of up to 70% towards:

• Supporting your core costs:
• Salaries
• Other costs relating to the running of the organisation
• Holding specific activities

If promoting and increasing the use of the Welsh language is not an integral part of your constitution, please see below examples of eligible activities. This list is not intended to be exhaustive. The scheme’s objective is to increase the use of the Welsh language in Wales, by:

• creating new opportunities to use the language
• providing information about the opportunities that exist to make use of the language and encouraging people to use it
• promoting and facilitating the use of Welsh by children and young people (please see our Youth Strategy under ‘Publications’ on the right hand side of this screen)
• encouraging parents to transmit the language to their children
• developing the use of Welsh in communities
• developing the use of Welsh in the Voluntary Sector (please see our Voluntary Sector Strategy under Publications’ on the right hand side of this screen)
• developing the use of Welsh in the Private Sector (please see our Private Sector Strategy under Publications’ on the right hand side of this screen)
• supporting and developing the activities of organisations established to promote and increase the use of Welsh  
• producing resources to facilitate the use of Welsh
• increasing the use of Welsh in Information and Communication Technology by implementing the Board’s IT Strategy. You should also note that all IT work produced with our grant aid must comply with our standards and guidelines for bilingual computing (please see our Strategy under ‘Publications’ on the right hand side of this screen).

Does your application aim to implement these aims?

- Yes > Please proceed

-No > Do not proceed. Your application is not eligible for consideration.

Activities we do not fund

The activities listed below are not eligible to receive support under this grants scheme:

• The production of educational materials
• Costs of attending or developing Welsh for Adults Courses, either in the workplace, or during leisure hours. The Board is unable to support courses which already receive grants from other funding bodies.
• Supply bilingual materials such as leaflets and signage. 
• Activities which would be more appropriately funded by other organisations, e.g. (but not limited to), the Arts Council of Wales, the Big Lottery Fund etc.
• Specific activities which have already started without grant aid, or which have come to an end.
• Activities with political aims.
• Activities which duplicate work that already exists to promote Welsh
• Staff costs for providing bilingual services. The Board's policy is to encourage organisations to adopt recruitment policies which, over time, should lead to a situation where bilingual services can be provided as a matter of course.
• Translation

Is your application for one or more of the above activities?

- Yes > Do not proceed. Your application is not eligible for consideration.

-No > Please proceed.

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How to apply

If you satisfy all of the above criteria and have answered all questions correctly and in full, you may apply for a grant by sending us the following documentation:

The application form

We have kept the form concise (available by clicking the link on this page) – the extra information which is necessary to assess your application is expected to be included in your Corporate/Action Plan (see below). If you have any additional information that would help the Board to assess your application, you should include it as an appendix to your application. Fill in the form electronically, including links to the documents below, if electronic copies are available, and e-mail the form to us. 

Please ensure you do so in good time, so that the application arrives before the closing date.

Documents which must be included with your application. Your application cannot be processed without these:

• Your Corporate/Operational Plan (a web link, rather than a hard copy, if possible) which should contain the following:
• its strategic aims for the next three financial years
• Details of how you intend to fulfil your strategic aims
• Your constitution (a web link, if possible, rather than hard copy)
• Your organisation’s Annual Report (a web link, if possible, rather than hard copy)
• Your latest audited accounts

If you have sent us your constitution as part of a previous grant application, you need not send us another copy. However, you do need to confirm that the constitution has not changed. If your organisation does not have a constitution, we will ask for further information in this respect. An acceptable constitution must be adopted before we can provide a grant to the organisation.

If your organisation does not have an annual report, you may send us a summary of the organisation’s main activities during the previous year.

The accounts should not be more than 12 months old. However, we do realise that this may be difficult if your organisation's end of financial year falls at the time of your application to us. If this happens, please send a copy of your previous accounts and a copy of your latest management accounts.

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Three-year funding

We are able to offer grants over three years where appropriate. We will offer a definite grant for the first year and give a conditional undertaking to provide grant aid for the second and third years. We can, however, consider offers of grant for a shorter period if appropriate.

The commitment for the second and third years will be conditional upon:

• a successful evaluation of the first year's activities
• an acceptable annual update of your application
• sufficient finance being supplied to us by the Welsh Assembly Government

We anticipate that we will be updating the commitment to three-year funding for organisations annually within a rolling scheme. You will therefore be expected to update your grant application annually by submitting an application for the two subsequent years. You will need to inform us of any substantial changes in your application or your Corporate Plan from one year to the next.

If we offer you a grant, you will have to accept our terms and conditions. They are viewable under ‘Publications’ on the right hand side of this screen.

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How we assess your application

Each application will be considered in accordance with the Board’s Strategic Plan and the aims of the Main Grants Scheme. We will carefully considerate the extent to which the organisation’s activities contribute to these objectives, increase the use of Welsh and ensure a prosperous future for the language.

In addition, the following issues will be considered:

• Do the organisation's accounts reflect an acceptable financial status?
• The applicant must demonstrate that it would not be possible for the activity to proceed without grant aid. Before agreeing to offer a grant, the Board will consider the applicant’s resources, and the income that will be available to support the organisation or the activity. In this respect, we will be considering any substantial free reserves which the organization has.
• We will give priority to applications which receive matched funding.
• Do the activities encourage voluntary efforts

Does your application satisfy all these requirements?

- No > Please redraft your application before submission to the Board

-Yes > Please proceed.

One of our officials may contact you by telephone or arrange to visit you during the assessment process in order to discuss your application.

Your organisation’s financial situation

Organisations with material free reserves

Material free reserves are funds which are available to you to spend as you wish. They are managed by your management committee or trustees. By law, material free reserves do not include restricted funds (monies given to your organisation for a specific purpose). Despite this, they contain monies the management committee could spend legally, although it has been allocated for a specific purpose. If you are unsure of this ruling, you may wish to discuss it with your accountant or financial consultant.

We will not normally give a grant to an organisation with material free reserves, unless you contribute a part of the free reserves to fund costs or projects which contribute to increasing the use of Welsh.

We will not normally give grants to organisations which are not financially robust. This means that:

• you must have sufficient current assets to pay your debts and liabilities; and
• if you have a financial deficit (i.e. your costs exceed your income) you must present evidence that this deficit is under control and is decreasing rather than increasing.

Does your application satisfy all these requirements?

- No > Please redraft your application before submission to the Board

-Yes > Please proceed.

Is you wish to apply for a grant from us, and you have fully answered each of the above questions, and satisfy all criteria, you should fill in the application form below and e-mail it to us by the closing date, i.e.:

Thursday 4 September 2008 (the 2009/10 competition is now closed). Late applications will not be accepted.