Funding for buildings

WMT's grant funding is focussed on the repair and conservation of war memorials. It supports necessary works required to enable a war memorial to continue to fulfil its function rather than desired changes. Any works funded must follow best conservation practice to ensure the long-term preservation of the fabric of the war memorial and the memory of those commemorated. This approach is more clear-cut when dealing with items which are solely war memorials, with no other role or benefit, such as crosses, plaques or sculpture. It can be harder to assess when considering buildings such as halls, hospitals, chapels, sports pavilions or parts of grounds.

WMT has limited grant funds available. As a charity it has to fundraise the majority of funds that it distributes as grants. This means that it must carefully consider where and how it can have the greatest impact with its limited resources. Trustees have determined that priority will be given to non-beneficiary war memorials i.e. those that are solely war memorials.

The Grants section provides guidance on current likely maximum grants. Buildings fall under the non-freestanding/beneficiary war memorials i.e. they have a function alongside being a war memorial and potentially have revenue-generating potential which is taken into account.

What WMT can and cannot fund

WMT has very limited capacity to fund buildings due to the scale of grant the charity can make. Such projects are often significant in cost and the scale of any contribution WMT can make is very limited.

Best conservation practice can be more challenging when working with buildings but it is the principle under which WMT must allocate its funding. For example, whist the charity may recognise that more modern flooring has benefits a best conservation practice approach would look at a like-for-like replacement of the floor with the same materials as originally used. This can be problematic for applicants so it is important to consider whether WMT's approach is the right one for the works you want to do.

WMT can only consider funding a project related to a building if it can be demonstrated the site has a future for at least a decade. Any application would need to provide a Business Plan or similar demonstrating the long-term plans for the building and its sustainability along with details of the Committee overseeing the building.

WMT looks at how it can make a difference in areas that others do not assist with. In dealing with buildings the charity may be more sympathetic to supporting surveys or reports to identify the extent of works needed. Such documents can be used as the basis to approach other funders who are able to offer more significant assistance. Funding this initial investigative work can be more difficult, as many funders are interested in the capital stage,  so WMT has identified this as an area where it can potentially have an impact and which reflects the scale of the funding it can award.

WMT cannot fund

• access - anyone considering Access works is advised to consult publications such as Easy Access to Historic Landscapes (Historic England), Easy Access to Historic Buildings (Historic England), Managing Change in the Historic Environment: Accessibility (Historic Environment Scotland) and Overcoming the Barriers (Cadw)
• building new extensions
• installing kitchens or toilets
• car parks or surrounding grounds
• redecoration
• maintenance
• anything which is non-essential/routine work 

Other sources of funding

There are other potential sources of funding for buildings which can offer more significant support. The links below are not definitive and programmes may have closed or only open at certain times of the year but they show a range of potential funders to approach.

• WMT's Fundraising helpsheet
• National Lottery Community Fund
• Village Catalyst Grant Scheme in Northern Ireland
• Village Hall Improvement Grant - managed by ACRE this is a UK government backed initiative to support works to war memorial halls to update and refurbish them to help provide activities for communities
• Bernard Sunley Charitable Trust
• Calor Community Fund
• FCC Communities Foundation
• Jewson's Building Better Communities
• Trusthouse Charitable Foundation
• Veterans Community Centres - managed via Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust this funding supports Armed Forces charities with an existing building that requires refurbishment
• Jubilee Fund for Village Halls
• Benefact Trust - support for buildign improvement grant for churches, cathedrals, denominational bodies and Christian charities and will support direct capital costs
• Screwfix Foundation

Previous initiatives for buildings, which demonstrate how it is worth researching for funding programmes as these evolve and change, have included the Garfield Weston Anniversary Fund.