Page 1

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation

HIDDEN FIELDS

Programme ID

Round ID

Programme Manager ID

Round Submission Deadline

Funding Request ID

Funding Request Name/Number

Funding Request Status

Contact ID

Organisation ID

Fieldset below will prefill with programme name, submission, public description and eligibility requirements

Application form

SWEF Business Grants for individuals

Size of grants: Up to £2,000
Location: Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight
Eligible applicants: Individuals


Business Grants are up to £2,000 for adults aged 18-30 who have a new business (trading less than 2 years) and:

(i) have revenue more than £500 per month
(ii) live in Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth, or the Isle of Wight

Please see Start-up grant if you have lower than £500 a month revenue or pre-revenue.

Thank you for submitting your application.

We already have an application from you for this programme. You may not apply more than once for the same programme.

If you believe you are seeing this message in error, please contact us.

Page 2

If you need help or want to talk to us about your application you can contact us on grantsadmin@hiwcf.com.

This form is automatically word count limited to help guide you to keep your answers focused; we are looking for your answers to be clear, honest and jargon free.

Programme Eligibility

Please read the following notes to see if you can apply for this fund.

You can apply if you are a young business owner who faces barriers to investing in and growing your business.  This is not a loan scheme, and you do not need to pay the grant back.

Eligibility
•	You are aged 18 to 30. 
•	Your UK business has been trading for less than 2 years. 
•	You currently live in Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth, or the Isle of Wight.
•	You are facing financial challenges preventing you from developing your business. 
•	You are the majority shareholder of the business. 
•	You have a business bank account (grants are only paid into business bank accounts).
•	You are a sole trader/limited company/CIC limited by shares. 

 
Business Grant applications should show: 

That your business is generating £500+ in monthly revenue. If you are not generating this level, please read the criteria for our ‘Start-up' Grant.

Your business is your full-time/ sole work focus, or there is an intention to make it your sole focus as soon as possible.

The grant will be used to transform the business and take it to the next stage. 

You have specific plans for how you will spend the grant, such as web links and costs for the items requested.

I have read the information above and consider that this application fully meets the fund requirements.

Page 3

Your contact details

SWEF grants are available for self employed 18-30 year olds running a business start-up.

Please note: The information in this application form will be shared with SWEF who is the donor.

First Name	Last Name
Email	Telephone
Date of birth

Home Address Line 1

Home Address Line 2

Town/City

County

Postcode

Please tell us how you heard about this funding?

Page 5

About your business

This section is for you to tell us about the business and your customers.

Business name:

Business address (please write 'same' if the same as your home address):

How have you set your company up? (Eg Limited Company, Sole Trader etc):

Sole TraderLimited Company Other

Business website address (please write 'none' if you do not have a website):

Business social media handles or links (please write 'none' if you are not on social media):

What date did your business start trading (please try and provide a date e.g 1st May 2025).

What does your business do? Describe if it sells products or offers a service. This is the first time we are learning about your business, so make sure your answer is clear. (For example: tell us about your products OR if you run a service how many days a week do you operate etc).

Remember: 'Business Grants' from £500-£2,000 are for businesses that already have paying customers and have achieved revenue (money coming in) of £500+ a month. If you are earning less or are pre-revenue, please read the criteria for SWEF's £500 start-up grants.

Over the last 12-months what is the total revenue (money coming in) from your business? (If your business has been running for less than 12-months please indicate how many months your revenue is over).

Please provide a snapshot of your latest three complete months of revenue (money coming in) and costs (money going out). Please answer using this format only: "(stated months) Jan/ Feb/ Mar, £xxx average revenue; £xxx average costs". Tip! To work out the average add up your last 3 months of revenue and divide by 3.

Over the last 12-months what is the total salary that you have been able to take from the business? (If your business has been running for less than 12-months please indicate how many months your income is over).

Please list businesses that are similar to yours - who are you competitors? (For example: If you are a coffee shop in a village, where else do people go for coffee? If you sell a product or service online, who else is operating in this space?).

How do your customers find out about you? (For example: how do you market to/ reach your customers ? Do you have an online shop? Do your create social media content? Do you have physical premises with clear signage?).

What will your business look like in a year's time? (For example... have a daydream, will this funding for a new website increase customers, will a new piece of equipment help you create new products and make more money).

Page 6

Your Skills

In this section tell us about the skills you bring to your business

Give details of any work experience / training/ contacts that you have that gives you the skills or business knowledge to help your business succeed. (For example: I have been employed in a similar business doing XYZ; I have undertaken a course on XYZ).

Your Finances

In this section tell us about finances that impact your business

Are you currently receiving any Benefits, such as Universal Credit?

If you answered yes to the question above, please state the type of benefits you are currently claiming:

Do you or your business have any debts?

If you answered yes to the question above, please provide the amount of debt and details of where the funds are owed:

What time and money have you already put into the business? Please be as specific as possible. (For example: I bought a £500 piece of equipment, I invested £300 a month for the first three months of operation to cover start-up; I worked 30 hour weeks with no salary for the first two months of operation).

Please use this optional space to tell us any challenges you have faced in starting a business.

SWEF want to invest in people who are planning to have their business as their sole/ full time work. What percentage of your work time is currently on your business? (For example: do you spend 50% on your business and 50% working part-time as a shop assistant to cover your bills).

If you are not currently full time on your business, when do you think this will be your sole occupation?

Page 8

Project Budget

This set of questions is about your budget for the grant.

What will you be using the grant for? Please list the items with a short description (For example: (i) Generator - this will be a second hand piece of kit to allow me to take my van to pop up festivals and expand my customer base).

Please explain what financial impact the grant would have on the business? (For example will the grant item save your business time, allow you to increase your customer base, help you market your business and reach more people?).

If you are unsuccessful with this grant application, what next steps would you take? (For example: would the business continue as it is until you have enough saved to invest yourself, would you seek other funding sources?).

Project Budget

Please read the full grant criteria for details of what you can apply for. This is an abridged reminder: The most you can apply for in total is £2,000.

Eligible uses of a grant

· Equipment that will help achieve increased profit

· Prototypes and product development

· Building a website or booking system

· Training

· Other business costs that will make a significant impact

You CANNOT use the grant for the following

· Salaries

· Rent or utilities

· Debt repayment

· Ongoing software subscriptions

· Stock, material or other ongoing costs for existing product lines

· New computers, phones, tablets (we can consider second hand or refurbished items)

· App development or software development costs

· Invasive beauty treatments

Guidance:

The form allows you to list each budget item one by one.

1. Start on the left hand side with Spending category and pick:
- Business cost to list items that are not equipment e.g. services, activities, training
- Equipment cost to list items of equipment

2. Move along the row to the Total cost box and enter how much that one item costs (e.g. the item may cost more than your grant amount - you could be buying a £2,100 piece of kit and contributing £100 yourselves).

3. Move along the row to the Amount requested box and enter how much of the grant you would like allocated to that item.

4. Then in the Description of item and link box, provide a short description of what the item is and a hyperlink if this is available. SWEF require evidence of costs so please provide links if possible; if you have quotes for an item we will ask for these to be emailed over when we have received your bid.

You can add as many rows as you need.
You can use the same category multiple times e.g. 5 rows of equipment.

Spending Category

Total Cost

£

Amount Requested

£

Description of item and link

Total costs for business investment

£

Amount you are applying for

£

Project balance

£

Your current request from HIWCF is more than the total cost of the project. Please check your figures carefully; we will not fund more than the total project cost.

Where is the balance of funding coming from? E.g. your savings

Page 9

Supporting Documentation

Please provide us with the documents outlined below. Please note that we need a copy of your business bank statement. We need to see that it is in your company name and the full account details. We do not need to see the balance or any transactions. This will be the account we pay the grant into if you are successful in applying.

Please do contact us if you have any questions about these, or are having any technical issues uploading documents.

Bank Statement

Please provide a scanned copy of a bank statement for your business account. It should not be more than 3 months old and should include the business name and the full account details (bank name, sort code and account). If you do not have a business bank account yet, please contact us.

Monthly costs and sales revenue

Please provide a breakdown of your monthly costs and sales revenue.

Business plan

We do NOT require a business plan but you are welcome to upload any existing background plans/ documents that support your bid.

Page 10

Declaration

Please click here to access the Grant Agreement that any funding would be covered by.

I confirm that I have read the standard terms and conditions set out in the Grant Agreement linked above and agree to follow them

I confirm that the information I have provided on this form is true and correct, to the best of my knowledge

I agree that HIWCF will share specified sections from this bid with SWEF (the donor) for their reporting and contact purposes.

If I am successful in getting this grant, I agree to report back on how I used the funding in one year’s time. (We will prompt you nearer the time).

I agree that HIWCF may use the information I provide to them in this application to analyse the success of funding, to talk about the issues grantees may face, and to enable them to raise funds from other organisations and philanthropists on an anonymised basis. I understand that HIWCF will not use my personal data in any way that might identify me to any external body except SWEF.

I agree to allow Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation to retain on their database the personal data provided within this application form and supporting documents, in accordance with their data privacy policies. This information will be used to help review and assess my application, administer any grant awarded, for the monitoring and evaluation of any grant awarded, for grant award promotion, and any grant-making feedback surveys administered.

Declaration Name

Tick this box if you are a first time applicant to HIWCF

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

Page 8

Page 9

Page 10