What is The Boring Fund?​

The Boring Fund helps small non-profit organisations (based in the UK) cover a bit of the boring costs that keep them running. Boring but essential things like insurance, web hosting, admin time: the stuff that’s always so hard to find funding for. ​​

The Boring Fund keeps things easy with the simplest application process, £200 grants, and no reporting.

Who can apply?

Organisations that:

• are not-for-profit

• are based in, and primarily delivering work in, the UK

• have a UK bank account in the name of the organisation

Not-for-profit means any surplus is reinvested into the organisation or its work, not given to individuals. (Not-for-profit doesn’t mean you can’t pay people fairly for work they do for your organisation, it’s just if you have surplus (profit) left over after paying for all your costs, this can’t be given to people as bonus extra money.)

You can apply to The Boring Fund if you are a:

• Charity

• Community Interest Company (ltd by guarantee or by shares)

• Limited Company

• Constituted community or voluntary group/ unincorporated association

​

You can’t apply as a:

• School

• PTA or “Friends of” group for a larger organisation

• Individual, sole trader or partnership

• For-profit company that pays profits to directors, shareholders or members

​

You must be a small organisation. This means at least one – and I’m expecting most of – the following would be true for your organisation (not all of these things have to be the case. e.g. you might have a higher annual income but no staff or fundraising support):

• Annual turnover (amount of money coming into the org) under £150,000
  

• Very small number of paid staff e.g. 0-3 people who do the day to day running of things and juggle all the jobs, probably part time or freelance. (you may have a wider pool of freelance group leaders or volunteers or whatever but I’m talking about main people who put the work in to run the organisation)
  

• No fundraising team or regular paid fundraising staff member
  

• No confirmed core funding or significant multi-year funding- doing stuff on a shoestring, making it work, scrabbling to find enough money for the ongoing boring costs
  

What can you apply for?

All grants are for £200. There will be 30+ grants available. You can use a grant for a couple of different things if one of them costs less than £200, or put the £200 towards the cost of something more expensive.

The grant is to spend the money on something boring and behind-the-scenes, that would otherwise be more difficult to fund e.g. insurance, accountancy, admin time, web hosting, training, office costs etc. Essential but unsexy costs. The grants are not for project delivery or anything too exciting.

We cannot fund:

• Any for-profit activity

• Anything that promotes exclusion of – or hate speech towards – people due to their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

• Costs you’ve already paid for

• VAT you can reclaim

• Religious activities/ promotion of religion

• Alcohol

• Gifts or cash given directly to individuals

How do I apply?

Find out more and apply by visiting: Boring Fund | Christina Poulton

Deadline for applications: midnight on 30 November