The questions on this page were given written answers during or shortly after our pre-application Q&A webinar on 12 May 2025. Please see the full transcript for questions answered live during the webinar.
We have grouped questions together under the following headings:
- Esmée's strategy, priorities, and support
- Eligibility
- Applying for funding
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- Other questions
Where questions have the same answer, we've put these together.
You can click on a heading in the 'Contents' menu to go straight to that section. There is also a pink 'Back to top' button in the bottom right hand side of the screen, which will take you back to the contents menu.
1. Esmée's strategy, priorities, and support
1.1 When you say influencing government policy, could this be locally/regionally e.g. local government? We operate at a county level.
Yes this could be at a local, regional or national level.
1.2 Can you advise on the best way to approach Esmée when you are an organisation that addresses and makes connections between all three of your aims? When I tried to address this recently, I was told this was not possible and we had to choose one aim to focus on.
1.3 Are you happy with a proposal that aligns equally with two different priorities or do you need it to sit pretty squarely within one priority?
We think it’s great if your work fits more than one so don’t worry too much if it does. Our application process will ask you to choose an aim and priority that is the best match for your work. You will also have the chance to select which other priorities are also a match for what you do.
We also don't have a preference in terms of projects focusing on one of our priorities and projects that work across more than one priority. We want applicants to tell us about their priorities and how they align with ours. For your work to be considered, we will be looking for a strong fit with our strategy - whether that's one priority or more than one priority. We recommend looking at the guidance under each relevant priority as we have more detail about the type of work we're focusing our support on.
1.3 Will you fund projects that give access through schools and colleges? Or do you prefer community access?
We tend not to support work that is purely in schools and is part of the curriculum. We will consider work that has broader ambitions such as having an impact on the community. An example is Sistema Scotland, which is an in-school programme of music education. But its ambition is to have a much wider impact on the whole community. If it's a group of schools working together with the aim of creating a different model of practice that then has a community effect - has an effect wider than just with the children that you're working with - then we will consider it.
1.4 Are your grants accessible across all of the UK?
Yes. We fund across the entirety of the UK.
1.5 Do you expect an applicant organisation to be a campaigning organisation? We work with learning disabled people, in a particular county, so this is our 'community'. We deliver life changing projects within this. Our work is scaleable and transferable, though we do not aspire to work in a larger geographical area. But to what extent do you need to see that we 'drive change', except by example, and that our mission is well known in our local area?
No, not all of our applicants to Creative, Confident Communities are campaigning organisations. However, we want to fund work that builds local place-based power. We understand that this impact can be seen in a variety of ways and would work alongside organisations to understand what this impact might look like. Driving change is a key component of our funding, however this can look different from place to place. Please see our guidance for our Creative, Confident Communities priorities in this area for more detail.
1.6 What sort of social investment grants do you offer?
Social investment is repayable finance so not a grant. There is quite a wide range of social investments that we can look at. The team will look at each application and think about the match to priorities and the right tool for the work proposed. See our social investment page to learn more including how to apply.
1.7 What is your view on projects involving a largely digital/online community - so people will be from disparate places across the UK, but they are connected by a certain need or characteristic?
It would be important to make the case for how the community connects, why and how and how this helps you to undertake the work you do/plan to do. It will all need to match back to our criteria below
- Their organisation is leading the way itself, or as part of a collaborative movement or partnership.
- Their work is driving change for the future by doing something new, or by using tried and tested models to push things forward.
- Their work aims to make a lasting difference, reaching beyond those directly engaged to influence the policy, practice, or behaviour of others.
1.8 We are domestic abuse charity and we are currently building a new refuge to keep up with the demand oh help in our area, would the funding go towards the core cost of a project manager as we have had funding to start and looking at support going forward towards completion?
It is, unfortunately, unlikely that we could fund a charity to staff a new refuge. This is important work but Trustees are seeking to fund work making wide scale change - see 1.7 above for what we mean in terms of our criteria.
1.9 Does your funding strategy align with support with employment and language support to integrate resettled refugees into UK communities?
The outcomes we're supporting under migrant justice focus on access to legal advice, policy change and public understanding. We don't support direct delivery around employment or language.
1.10 We work with the sight and hearing loss community which involves not only our service users but their families, carer networks, partnership working and health professionals. Would this be seen as community if we were to apply?
1.11 I just wanted clarication on communities of practice, of place and of experience. We could cover all three but the last one is our strong point. Is this an issue?
For our funding priorities in Creative, Confident Communities, we refer to communities of place. We recommend reading our guidance for this area, which also includes an explainer of what we mean when we use certain terms. There is also a link to a previous webinar where the team went into more detail about each funding priority.
1.12 Would you consider funding projects/campaigns previously funded by other funding bodies, where the project/campaign is still relevant and has evidenced impact?
As a lot of our funding is core or unrestricted we are flexible about the stage of projects. So, if you are applying for funding for a specific existing project that offers a strong match with our funding priorities, and you match our governance and finance requirements we will consider it. We will ask you about the impact of the work, how it was previously funded and why that is not continuing. If the project is scaling or becoming more ambitious, we would want to understand the impact so far and why you believe that growth would offer stronger impact.
1.13 What is the average size of your grants?
The average grant amount in 2024 was £187,030; and the median was £150,000. You can see more data on our funding here.
1.14 Do you fund salary costs solely or would you need to also include the specific activities this salary would deliver. Or would it be possible to apply for a director's salary to allow the time and space to develop the vision and long-term sustainability of an organisation?
We can fund solely salary costs. Our preference is to give core/unrestricted funding when possible.
1.15 When applying for core costs is it helpful to apply with a focus on particular project, or is it better to focus the charity's work more generally?
It would depend on the work of the organisation and alignment to our strategy. If most of the work aligns to the strategy then it's fine to apply for core/unrestricted. If only a small part of the overall organisation's work aligns then it might be better to frame as core to that specific work/project. But we try to be as flexible as possible and preference is always core/unrestricted.
2. Eligibility
2.1 What do you mean by organisations having an asset lock on what you do not fund?
An asset lock (may also be called a 'mission lock') can take various forms and have other names. It’s typically added to a company’s articles of association and often consists of:
- A Social or Environmental Purpose or Mission Statement
- An Operational Commitment - for example a rule that the board can’t make decisions that conflict with the Purpose/Mission, or rules around the use of assets, or around reinvestment of surpluses vs using them to pay dividends
- (Sometimes/ideally) a method of entrenching/reinforcing the above so that it’s harder to remove or water down in the future.
As a charity ourselves, our funds may only be used for charitable purposes. Asset locks and mission locks help us assess and mitigate the risk of funds being used for private benefit when funding non-charities.
2.2 Have you funded NHS charities? These often have a corporate trusteeship.
It is unlikely that we would fund an NHS charity because it's unlikely to be a strong fit to our strategy, and one of our exclusion criteria is healthcare with a clinical basis including medical research, hospices, counselling and therapy, arts therapy, education about and treatment for drug and alcohol misuse. See our FAQ for more on what type of organisations we fund.
2.3 Would you support Law Centres?
We can and have supported Law Centres, but would be unlikely to support an organisation unless it was doing work to drive change at a wide and systemic level as per these bullets below:
- Their organisation is leading the way itself, or as part of a collaborative movement or partnership.
- Their work is driving change for the future by doing something new, or by using tried and tested models to push things forward.
- Their work aims to make a lasting difference, reaching beyond those directly engaged to influence the policy, practice, or behaviour of others.
2.4 Will you support a project proposed by long running not-for-profit group with charitable aims that is now a not for profit CLG (company limited by guarantee)?
Yes we are able to fund a Company limited by Guarantee. See our FAQ for more on what type of organisations we fund.
2.5 Do you fund unincorporated groups?
Generally, the organisations we support would be incorporated. See our FAQ for more on what type of organisations we fund.
2.6 Can CICs (Community Interest Companies) apply?
Yes. See our FAQ for more on what type of organisations we fund.
2.7 Could you please clarify what is meant by the criteria stating that you do not support the advancement of religion? Would a faith-based organisation that works with people of all faiths, and does not engage in religious advocacy or activities promoting religion, be eligible to apply?
2.8 Is a religious or denominational background a hindrance, if the proposal does not exclude any denomination and different religion or ethnicity, working within migrant communities welcoming all.
We would not provide unrestricted costs funding to an organisation whose charitable mission is to promote religion, as the advancement of religion is one of our exclusions (work we do not fund). However, we recognise that many religious organisations play important roles in their communities, supporting people of all faiths and none. We would therefore consider applications for projects or restricted costs from these organisations, provided they were open to all and did not proselytise as part of the requested programme. We would explore accessibility, targeting and the role of the organisation within the community during the assessment. So yes, in theory we could fund a faith based organisation if it meets this criteria.
2.9 Can you expand on what you mean in your exclusion criteria when you say "Work that is primarily the responsibility of statutory authorities." Can give any examples of what kinds of work you would and wouldn't fund relevant to this criteria?
2.10 Regarding your exclusion about work that is the responsibility of statutory authorities, we are a social enterprise where part of our work is to offer support to vulnerable people who often don't meet the criteria for adult social care services or are not eligible for local authority funding (e.g. personal budgets or direct payments) because we are trying to address that gap would you consider an application from us?
We generally mean work that is the legal responsibility of local authorities to provide using public funds – for example, social services for children and older people. So, things that are a statutory requirement for local authorities to provide.
To be a strong fit for our strategy, we're looking for work that can demonstrate:
- Their organisation is leading the way itself, or as part of a collaborative movement or partnership.
- Their work is driving change for the future by doing something new, or by using tried and tested models to push things forward.
- Their work aims to make a lasting difference, reaching beyond those directly engaged to influence the policy, practice, or behaviour of others.
See also our page on the main reasons we turn things down.
2.11 We are newly established organisation. Do I have to wait until the turn over reaches £100k before applying to the fund?
Yes. We currently do not accept expressions of interest from organisations with a turnover of less than £100k. The majority of organisations we support have a turnover of above £100,000. We want to be realistic about who we're most likely to fund and avoid many more organisations spending time making applications and then being disappointed.
However, we do support some early stage and smaller organisations that are a good partner for our strategy but may not meet our eligibility criteria. This is particularly the case where we want to help pilot, test, disrupt, and support new ideas or organisations. Up to this point, we’ve chosen to focus our resources on finding these organisations proactively: by strengthening our networks, targeted referrals and monitoring the sector to seek out organisations that are doing amazing work towards our goals.
2.12 Would you support a project that involves research, evidence based advocacy and practice in the migration space?
Potentially. We would consider how the work aligns and supports the outcomes under the migrant justice priority. We don't fund much research and when we do it has to have a clear path to practical change/impact on the ground/policy.
2.13 Do you fund research under the impact umbrella? If so, what kind of outcomes would it have to demonstrate?
We do not fund academic research, unless it has the potential to demonstrate real practical outcomes. This impact should be in line with one or more of our priorities, and be able to demonstrate:
- Their organisation is leading the way itself, or as part of a collaborative movement or partnership.
- Their work is driving change for the future by doing something new, or by using tried and tested models to push things forward.
- Their work aims to make a lasting difference, reaching beyond those directly engaged to influence the policy, practice, or behaviour of others.
2.14 Might you fund arts in health for all ages, all abilities in hospitals, care homes, children's homes and community settings?
This is not something we're likely to fund. Whilst we have and continue to fund arts-related work, we are looking to support work that is a strong match to our strategy. For instance, in our funding priority for 'community-led art and creativity', we are focusing our support on work where:
- Local people and local artists lead creative and cultural activity in their communities.
- A collaborative approach to creativity and culture enables people to work together to strengthen their community.
- Local and regional cultural strategies are shaped by citizens and impact wider decision making and agendas for change.
And our 'arts and creativity making change' priority in A Fairer Future currently supports work towards: A representative cultural workforce led by a new and diverse generation of cultural leaders.
2.15 Do you fund projects that are UK based but also have an international element as well, in terms of opportunities and policy?
We only support work that is being delivered and the impact is felt within the UK.
3. Applying for funding
3.1 We are in a partnership with two large environment charities. Would you prefer a single lead applicant or can an application be submitted from all partners?
You will need to select one lead applicant to submit the Expression of interest. They will be treated as the grant-holding organisation in our system and hold responsibility for the progress of the work. We'll need the collaboration partners to confirm their involvement. Not all partners have to be registered charities. You'll also nominate two contacts; one from the 'lead' organisation and one of the partners.
You can include anticipated costs of setting up and co-ordinating networks or partnerships in your application.
3.2 We're working to bring communities and parish councils together for collective responses to climate change and nature recovery, with a national remit but a pilot programme in East Anglia. Is there any limit to the numbers of organisations that could be in a bidding partnership, as we'd like to be in one?
Yes, we encourage collaborative approaches across our aims. We can fund both existing or new collaborations. One organisation will need to be the 'lead' organisation and act as the grant-holding organisation in our system. See 3.1 above for more on this.
3.3 Do we have to apply as a partnership or can we apply as a sole organisation?
The majority of our applications are from sole organisations.
3.4 If invited to submit a proposal following the EOI, can you submit earlier than 3 months offered to complete proposal?
Yes - you can submit your proposal as soon as you are ready. We just ask that you submit your proposal within three months of the invitation and we will send you a reminder before that time.
3.5 If, after doing a full application or an initial EOI and are unsuccessful does this prohibit you from applying again for a certain amount of time?
We don’t have a cool-off period but whilst an organisation who has been turned down for funding can apply again, the new application should not be for the same work and costs.
3.6 Can you submit a second EOI for a project that was previously unsuccessful if you find that the original did not adequately address some of what you have mentioned here sufficiently clearly?
We typically say that you should not reapply for a project/work that has previously been unsuccessful. However, I you think that it is a strong fit to the longer term outcomes and that the previous EOI was perhaps misframed then you can submit again. But please do look at the guidance in the long-term outcomes we're focusing our support on under the relevant funding priority. And note that we will be looking for evidence that it meets the main criteria across all our funding:
- The organisation is leading the way itself, or as part of a collaborative movement or partnership.
- The work is driving change for the future by doing something new, or by using tried and tested models to push things forward.
- The work aims to make a lasting difference, reaching beyond those directly engaged to influence the policy, practice, or behaviour of others.
3.7 Do you look at social media channels as well as websites as part of the assessment?
Funding managers primarily look at websites. However, a funding manager may look at your social media if they think it is relevant.
4. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
4.1 On the application form, there was a DEI question that indicated 75% of the staff and 50% of the board needed to be from ethnic minority groups - is this the case?
No. We fund a range of organisations, some of which are led by those who have experience of the issues they are tackling. We collect DEI data to better understand where funding is going. The 75% and 50% is the criteria we're using to define an organisation as being led by a community with a shared identity. You can learn more about how we classify our data in terms of DEI and how we use the information here.
4.2 Is the DEI data collected based on the organisations staff, senior leadership, network members, non-executive board members or some / all of these?
We collect information about the leadership (at board and senior management level), who the organisation is for, and who the mission of the organisation supports. You can learn more about how we classify our data in terms of DEI and how we use the information here.
5. Other questions
5.1 How would a small charity that has been mostly dormant since covid, manage barriers that they might face now that they are in a position to restart?
It might be worth connecting with your local CVS to get some support. Most organisations that we support will be able to demonstrate a track record over the last few years so it might not be that Esmée is the right funder for you at this point. You can find out more about other funding sources here.
5.2 You mentioned 7 % of EOI of unsolicited applications receive invitations - how are you invited?
7% of unsolicited expressions of interest are progressed to the proposal stage. In addition to our open application process, we also invite a small number of applications to submit an expression of interest. As a funder, we want to be more proactive about how we can best contribute towards our strategy - this means the team is getting out to events and doing research to learn more about our areas of work and to identify potential opportunities for us to make progress towards our long-term outcomes. However, the best way you can get on our radar is by submitting an expression of interest through our website. This let's us know that you think your work is a good fit for our strategy and that you’re interested in our support. Regardless of which route organisations apply - all applications go through the same process and are assessed in the same way.
5.3 Is it better to have a conversation with a funding manager or funding theme lead before an EOI is written up and submitted?
I'm very sorry but we are unable to routinely have conversations with applicants before they send in their EOI due to the volume of applications we receive at this stage. Before committing to lots of research on what we support, or putting in a proposal, please check your eligibility by taking our short quiz and read our guidance. We started doing these webinars as a way to answer people's questions to help them consider whether it's worth investing more time in applying to us. We recognise it's not perfect but hope that it means we can answer as many people's questions as possible in an open and transparent way.
5.4 Do Esmée visit Northern Ireland? I know you fund some of our colleagues in the arts sector here, we would love to meet with the team and show you some of our work.
We do and have done, but not as often as we'd like! We typically travel to visit organisations we're already funding or to join sector events.
5.5 Do you visit charities? Think it often helps to see the charity in action - also would be interested in projects you have supported in the arts that you feel have had the most impact, do you have any personal favorites?
Unfortunately, due to the number of expressions of interests and grants we work on, we rarely visit people before an application has been submitted. We do try to visit every grantee at least once during the grant period, as you say seeing the work in action is really worthwhile. For examples of work we have supported in the arts, I would recommend looking at our arts-related priorities: community-led art and creativity, and arts and creativity making change. There are some case studies linked to each of our priorities, that should give you a sense of the type of work and organisations we are funding. You'll also find a link to grant lists for that priority there.