The Blakemore Foundation offers four types of grant: in-kind donations, monetary donations, match-fund donations and independent retail donations.
Who can apply
Social Clubs/Community Groups:
This category comprises community clubs, working men’s clubs and social groups that provide an invaluable service to the local community and/or meet social needs.
Sports Clubs:
This category is aimed at sporting activities and the wide scope of sports clubs (swimming, judo, football, and rugby as an example). Support can be awarded in a variety of ways including providing sports kit, equipment as well as venue/premises costs.
Schools/Education:
This category represents the support for educational bodies including all types of schools, playgroups, universities, colleges and education and wariness centers. Support can be awarded in a variety of ways such as IT equipment, sensory gardens as well as building refurbishments.
Medical/Research/Hospitals and Health:
This category includes a range of healthcare causes, including care providers, medical research charities, hospitals, health care programmes and day centres. Support could be awarded to vital research, specialist equipment as well as awareness days.
Family/Support/Housing/Care:
This category comprises support, care, and advice services. Examples include day centres, residential care homes, refuges, homeless charities, and sheltered accommodation. Support could be awarded to ongoing care services, essential materials as well as site renovation work.
Hospices:
This category supports hospices that offer specialist palliative treatment for children and adults with life-limiting conditions as well as bereavement services and respite support for families. Support could be awarded towards specialist equipment, respite trips and hospice refurbishments.
Emergency Services/Armed Forces:
This category comprises local emergency services, including the air ambulance, lifeboat institute, mountain rescue and medical team. It will also support charities set up to support armed forces charities and benevolent funds. Support could be awarded to specialist equipment, ongoing services, or the extension of services.
Environmental Causes:
This category comprises environmental groups and charities, as well as local appeals and funds around renovation, conservation, and restoration projects. Support could be awarded to conservation projects and appeals as well as awareness days.
Restrictions
Requests that are not eligible for support:
Salaries
National charities (unless directly linked to an A.F. Blakemore employee or local branch)
Grants for an individual
Good causes that fall outside of A.F. Blakemore’s trading area
Overseas appeals
Expeditions or overseas travel
Sponsorship and marketing promotions
Endowment and hardship funds
Political causes
Eligible Expenditure
Key Information:
Donations can be awarded up to £200.
Please allow up to eight weeks for your application to be processed.
Applications are reviewed on the last Friday of each month and processed over the following four weeks.
Donations are one-off contributions; ongoing support cannot be given. We do not want good causes to become solely reliant upon our support, nor do we want to deter other good causes from benefiting.
We will not support multiple applications for the same good cause or appeal. To clarify, this includes submissions from different applicants.
We cannot provide support towards marketing or sponsorship opportunities.
We cannot process donations at short notice, and support for all eligible applications cannot be guaranteed.
How to apply
Applications can be made through the foundation's website.
Monetary application - Monetary donations are given to local good causes in A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd’s trading area, to support of a variety of requests such as specialist equipment, community events and ongoing charitable work.