Funding Criteria And How To Apply

CUMBRIA OVERSEAS AID TRUST (COAT) FUNDING CRITERIA 

We are a very small charity with limited funds and therefore can only consider requests from people who already have a Cumbrian connection. We are unable to reply to requests with no Cumbrian connection.

Projects presented for funding are considered flexibly against the following criteria:

Projects which contribute in some way to the relief of poverty and which will have some long-term and sustainable benefits to a local community.

Projects where it is possible to get some feedback following expenditure of the grant so this feedback could be used to educate and better inform both trustees and the local Cumbrian population where appropriate through talks etc.

Projects where there is some local Cumbrian connection, either through individuals involved or the origins of the organisation.

Projects where COAT’s contribution can be clearly identified in costed proposals and/or trustees can be confident as to the viability and integrity of the project.

Projects should be non-party in politics and non-sectarian in religion.

Funds for young people from Cumbria travelling abroad to work on a project which contributes to the relief of poverty and which will have some long-term and sustainable benefits to a local community.

The usual ceiling for a COAT grant would be £2000, subject to trustees discretion. However, most grants given are for less than £1000.

                                                          HOW TO APPLY

For environmental reasons, applications by e-mail are preferred. Please send a message via the “Contact us” page on this website, giving:

  • your name and email address
  • a brief outline of your project
  • what your connection to Cumbria is
  • how much money you are requesting
  • whether the project has started
  • the progress of your fundraising so far
  • the size of your organisation where applicable.

If your project looks suitable for COAT to consider, we will email you asking you for more details of your project. Details will need to include a breakdown of the costs so that we can see exactly what our money would be used for. Also, we would like to know what feedback you would be able to provide us with (eg photos).