Commonweal Fund

The Trades House of Glasgow Commonweal Fund is available to charities and organisations within the city of Glasgow and surrounding areas. The committee is made up of 14 individuals including Trustees of the Trades House of Glasgow. Meetings of the Commonweal Fund committee take place in March and September each year. Awards are made to successful organisations at a presentation evening within The Trades Hall of Glasgow.

Political, municipal, and ecclesiastical appeals cannot be entertained. Charities duplicating rather than complementing existing services and those with national purposes and/or large running surpluses normally cannot be helped.

Take a look at the photos from the Presentation evening held 27th September here 

Before making an application please note that:

• Awards cannot be used to finance operating costs or staff costs unless they are related to staff training costs to deliver a designated project.
• Awards for property or property related costs will only qualify if they relate to fitting out spaces for designated projects; purchasing equipment to allow access for disabled people, or building related expenditure where the building is used for delivery of a charity related project/purpose. Expenditure related to hire of premises will be excluded.
• Awards for transport or vehicles will only qualify if it is for the purchase or part purchase of vehicles to move beneficiaries of the charity, emergency equipment or medical supplies. Expenditure related to staff vehicles, maintenance of vehicles and insurance will be excluded.
• Applications should include evidence of charitable status, current funding, and the use you are making of that.
• Projects should be demonstrated to be practical and business-like.
• It is a condition of any grant given that a report is made as to how the funds have been used.
• Grants not used for the purposes stated, must be returned.
• If successful, applicants may not apply again for a minimum of 2 years (there must be a 4 further Commonweal Committee meetings in-between applications)

Next meeting: Wednesday 4th September 2024 Closing date for entries: Friday 28th June 2024

Awards Presentation Evening: Wednesday 25th September 2024

TO APPLY: Complete the application form using the form in the related files box and submit by e-mail or post along with the necessary information. Please also pay particular attention to the list of Supported Postcodes at the back of the application form.

Apply now

 

A little bit of history

In terms of the Deed of Trust the revenue in the Commonweal Fund is to be used for any good and pious use which may tend to the advancement of the "commonweal" of the Burgh. "Good and pious use" is to be interpreted in the widest sense having in view the custom and practice of the House since 1605.

For two hundred years the Trades House of Glasgow regularly contributed, without any obligation to do so, for the benefit of the general poor of the City and during times of distress for food for the inhabitants. It made grants to the various war funds, local and national during the Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. For building schemes and for special and even ordinary purposes it also made grants to the University, to public charitable and educational institutions in the City, including all the Infirmaries and Hospitals and to local schemes for social improvement.

The Committee has a free hand to make grants to all schemes for social improvement. Child welfare; social and moral training of youth; charitable and educational schemes, and schemes for the advancement of education or for scientific study or research.

All charitable and educational institutions may therefore be assisted as well as charitable societies which assist the poor in general, as apart from their members and members' families only, but not those institutions which have been nationalised under the Health Services Act.

 

The Commonweal Fund

For more information, contact

Katrina on 0141 553 1605.