What we Fund

The Savoy Educational Trust is an independent grant giving charitable trust whose main aim is the advancement and development of education, training and qualifications for the benefit of the UK hospitality industry. At the Trust, we are passionate about fostering the growth and excellence of individuals working in (or aspiring to work in) hospitality, equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in this dynamic sector. We are also keen to support and encourage collaboration between industry, education and hospitality associations/organisations by working with key people on current matters affecting education/training and issues such as skills development, recruitment and retention.

If your project is something that falls within our charitable objectives, then you may be eligible to apply for a grant. Our objectives are:

1. To support projects focused on improving the education and learning facilities within UK organisations/establishments that offer qualifications and/or training in hospitality and catering.
2. To support organisations that enable people to undertake hospitality education, training and skills development opportunities that benefit the UK hospitality industry, support individuals to make positive life choices, and/or have a positive social impact.
3. To support organisations offering hospitality-related educational, professional and/or personal development programmes through the provision of scholarships, bursaries and/or grants focused on enhancing the knowledge, skills and competencies of individuals.
4. To support projects that use hospitality education and training to encourage people towards careers in the sector and those that have a positive impact for individuals, communities and the wider UK hospitality industry.
5. To support organisations that recognise and reward the achievement of specific skills and/or contribute towards the professional development of those studying/working in hospitality by supporting leading industry competitions with educational scholarships or prizes.

The Trustees award grants for a wide variety of initiatives that focus on improving the skills, education and training of those intending to pursue a long-term career in the UK hospitality industry. Funding areas are outlined below:

• Education – grants are awarded to educational establishments that have a significant number of students studying hospitality and/or catering related qualifications. Funding can be used to improve learning facilities or provide essential equipment; to provide financial assistance to students in need in order to help them complete their courses; and to support activities/projects that develop students’ wider knowledge and understanding of the industry. Funding may also be provided to support educational initiatives that will positively impact on the UK hospitality industry more widely.
• Charitable Organisations/Social Enterprises – grants are awarded to charitable organisations and social enterprises that focus on providing hospitality and catering education, training and skills development that benefit the industry, the individual and/or make a positive social impact. Priority is given to those organisations that can demonstrate their projects result in individuals gaining sustainable employment in the hospitality industry.
• Industry Associations – grants are awarded to industry associations to support specific initiatives that will make a positive and material difference to the hospitality industry. This may include: funding to support educational scholarships; industry competitions/awards that improve or recognise participants skills/knowledge/expertise; projects that focus on developing those who are in the early stages of their career in hospitality; or those that encourage school children/young people to pursue further education/careers in the industry.

Please read the guidance below and we strongly suggest you read our latest annual reports to get a better idea of the types of projects we support. These can be found on the ‘Impact and News’ page of this website and previous annual reports can be viewed on the Charity Commission website.

Our grants tend to fall into one of three categories:

• Projects/specific activities
• Capital and equipment
• Operating/core costs*

These grants are for a specific project or area of your work related to hospitality education, training and skills development. We fund a wide variety of hospitality-related projects and initiatives, and we recommend you read our latest annual reports to get an idea of what we have funded in the past. Your project will have a defined scope of work and timetable. We are very unlikely to be the only funder of your project and so please tell us what other funding sources you are building into your fundraising plan or have secured. We want to understand all the costs involved in delivering your project so there will need to be a clear and comprehensive budget. Please do include in-kind contributions where appropriate and clearly identify these in your budget.

Grants can be made to contribute towards the cost of capital projects and/or equipment that will enhance training/education in hospitality and/or catering. These applications can come from UK educational establishments (i.e. schools, colleges and universities), registered charities/CIOs and associations where the core purpose is to provide facilities that enhance skills and knowledge in hospitality/catering. Please note that for capital/equipment projects over £30,000 Trustees will expect to see a minimum of circa 40% matched funding from other sources and evidence that the project is sustainable for a prolonged period. A level of matched funding will also be expected for equipment grants and will depend on the size of grant being sought, and the purpose for which it is to be used.

We don’t normally offer grants towards operating/core costs, and we therefore recommend you contact us in the first instance to discuss your needs. The best way to make an enquiry is to email us at [email protected] providing a short description of your organisation, project, budget and details of what size of grant you are seeking. Please leave an email address and telephone number so one of our team can respond.

We do not normally fund the following:

• projects or initiatives that are not related to or relevant for the UK hospitality industry
• private limited/for-profit companies
• overseas projects
• projects where the Trust is the sole funder
• organisations of any kind that cannot provide at least one year’s worth of annual accounts
• core costs (with limited exceptions – see previous question)
• requests for retrospective funding
• individuals (except through an eligible organisation) or private companies – see next FAQ for further information
• endowment appeals
• generic or mass mailing fundraising appeals
• feasibility studies

Not necessarily, however we do not fund private limited/for profit companies nor organisations registered/operating outside of the UK.

Types of organisations we fund:

• State schools, public sector colleges/sixth form colleges, not-for-profit universities
• Charities/Charitable Incorporated Organisations
• Social enterprises/CICs
• Companies Limited by Guarantee (not-for-profit)

PLEASE NOTE: We only fund organisations that operate in the UK (including the UK Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man) and for the benefit of the UK hospitality industry.

We do not accept applications directly from individuals; however we do provide grants to organisations that may be used to provide bursaries, scholarships, competition prizes or grants (e.g. hardship) to individuals.

There is no set limit on the amount of grant your organisation can apply for, however if you are applying for a grant of more than £10,000 you will follow a slightly different application process (please see the ‘How to Apply’ page for further details).

We would not normally agree to be the sole funder of any project or initiative. We recommend that matched funding has already been secured before you apply for a grant, however we realise that this might not always be possible. In such cases you should be very certain that matched funding will be secured before the project starts as we will require confirmation of this prior to paying any grant.

Although the majority of our grants are one-off single year grants, we will consider a multi-year grant (up to a maximum of three years) where the project/initiative is deemed appropriate.

Yes. We will not usually accept more than one application in any 12 month period. We may limit the number of grants paid to an organisation in a five-year period, or over a shorter period where a large grant has been made. Please contact us via email at [email protected] before making an application if this is something you wish to discuss or you think may apply to your organisation.

Trustees meet four times a year, usually in March, June, September and December and the application deadline for each is six weeks before a meeting. Please see the ‘How to Apply’ page for meeting dates and deadlines.

Please see the ‘How to Apply’ page for information on how to apply.

We require all recipients of our grants to submit an evaluation report (sometimes more than one) using our online reporting form. This is part of our terms & conditions in awarding the grant and is a necessary part of our monitoring procedures. You will be told the date your report is due when we contact you confirming the grant award and will send an email reminder nearer the time, however we ask that you make a note of the date in your calendar. It is very important that we have up-to-date contact details for you so please do tell us if these change at any point during the grant period.

Please ensure you read the ‘Grant Terms & Conditions’ page on this website before making an application.

If your application is turned down, we will inform you and advise if/when you can re-apply.

We will endeavour to contact you withing 14 working days of the meeting to let you know the outcome of your application, but this may take longer for larger or multi-year grants that have more detailed terms & conditions attached.

We do not make more than one grant to an organisation in any 12 month period. If you have been awarded a grant we require a satisfactory evaluation report to be submitted on time and at least four weeks before any new application.

The best way to contact us is by email at [email protected] – please provide your contact number and email address and we will respond as soon as reasonably possible.