Applying for a Grant
Thomas Howell was a successful Welsh cloth exporter and philanthropist, elected Warden of the Drapers’ Company in 1527. When he died, he left 12,000 ducats to be invested by the Company to produce dowries for orphan girls. We now use part of this endowment, carefully nurtured over several centuries, to give grants promoting the education of young people in North Wales. The rest we use to support Howell’s School in Llandaff.
Our aim is to help students from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds to participate fully in education, both in school and beyond the classroom. Over the last nine years, we have awarded grants totalling £2.2 million.
Grants must benefit young people under 25 living or studying in Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd or Wrexham.
We support a broad range of educational initiatives through grants to schools, other educational institutions and charities.
Grants will usually be directed towards the public sector of education, although particularly deserving cases within the private sector may also be supported.
We support small capital projects that enhance education or enrich the learning experience of pupils and students.
We support projects that make the most of the outstanding North Wales countryside, build leadership and personal qualities and raise environmental awareness.
Grants can be used to fill gaps in educational provision or resources that are not eligible for funding by the Local Education Authority or other public body.
Grants can be used to enrich the learning experience of pupils who need encouragement.
We support initiatives that broaden perspective on subjects taught at secondary school.
We provide grants to improve literacy (including reading book schemes) and numeracy at primary school.
Our grants can be used to broaden the horizons of young people within their local communities.
We support initiatives to improve school governance.
Applicants who have received a grant within the last 12 months.
One-off projects that are likely to have limited durability or lasting impact.
Educational or extracurricular residential or day trips for school pupils.
PC’s, laptops etc.
Curriculum schemes which support the teaching of specific subjects/aspects of learning.
Playgroups, individuals, fees or home-schooling.
Shortfalls in LEA-eligible small capital projects.
Structural alterations to existing buildings or infrastructure projects with health & safety and/or safeguarding implications which are the responsibility of the LEA.
Overheads, staffing or running costs other than for registered charities.
Work that has already taken place.
Charities with less than three years’ operating history.
Large national charities.
The ultimate beneficiaries of the work being funded must be under 25 years of age and from any of the six counties of North Wales.
Please plan your project carefully. Asking for items that we do not normally fund, poor planning, and insufficient budgetary information are common reasons for unsuccessful applications.
Use only the application form provided.
Complete all sections of the form (S5 for Schools only) in a font size of not less than 10 without changing font colour or style, or highlighting text; and do not delete any questions or sections.
Be concise and limit the completed application form to A MAXIMUM OF THREE SIDES OF A4.
All essential information must be included within the form itself. Where required (see section 4C), quotes from suppliers should be provided as attachments. Do not include hyperlinks.
Schools should provide figures for the project budget and all costs excluding VAT.
The application form should be single-sided and submitted as a pdf document by email to thefnw@thedrapers.co.uk
Applications from schools must be endorsed and countersigned by the Headteacher.
In order to be considered, completed applications must be received at least four weeks prior to the published meeting date.
For queries regarding the application procedure or general eligibility criteria please contact the Director of Philanthropy on thefnw@thedrapers.co.uk or 020 7588 5001
A panel which includes people from North Wales with relevant expertise and experience meets three times a year to review and assess grant applications.
You can apply at any time of the year. Applications are considered at meetings in November, March and June. In order to be considered, completed applications should be submitted at least four weeks before the date of the meeting.
The next meeting date is:
3 November 2026 (application deadline: 13 October 2026)
18 March 2027 (application deadline: 25 February 2027)
8 June 2027 (application deadline: 18 May 2027)
There is no upper limit on grants awarded. Requests for larger grants will be subject to greater scrutiny and we may take longer to reach a decision. Most grants are one-off awards. Multi-year grants will not normally be provided for longer than three years.
Please send us your completed application form to thefnw@thedrapers.co.uk
As a reminder, the application must be sent in pdf format ONLY and MUST NOT be longer than three pages.
Completed applications will only be considered by the Grant Making Panel on the published meeting dates.
The decision of the Panel will be communicated to applicants by email, using the email address provided on the application form, usually within ten days of the meeting date.
Successful applicants will be requested to confirm the conditions of any grant offer and provide bank details for payment of the grant.
