Fermanagh Forward

About Us

LFT Charitable Trust is a Belfast based family foundation offering small grants and support. Our priority is to fund partner organisations which make a lasting difference to people’s lives; focus on reducing isolation, inequality and stigma; and inspire and empower individuals to realise their potential and share in the life of the whole community.

The Trust has wide discretionary powers to promote and support the following charitable purposes and objectives for public benefit: 

• the relief of the suffering and distress of those persons in need;
• the furtherance and advancement of the education of children and adults; and
• the promotion of the health and wellbeing of children and adults.

Objective of the Fermanagh Forward Grantmaking Programme

Since LFT’s inception in 2017 and more recently with the introduction of Open Calls, we have been disappointed at the lack of applications coming from the Fermanagh community & voluntary sector. This has resulted in a disproportionately low level of LFT investment and grant partners in Fermanagh.

Through this funding, we seek to identify and fund a number of grant partners in Fermanagh who have the ideas, ambition and track record to accelerate their local impact in the areas of health, education and the alleviation of suffering and distress. In this way LFT hopes to strengthen the representation of the Fermanagh community & voluntary sector among our portfolio of grant partners, invest in the area and build relationships and knowledge.  

Rather than specify the type of activity to be funded or prescribe the impact to be achieved, in this Open Call LFT will be inviting proposals from organisations who have identified a new project or different approach to their delivery that they believe could be transformative for their beneficiaries.

Application Process

We are particularly interested in applications that demonstrate:

• Strong leadership
• Robust track record serving the community in Fermanagh
• Clear rationale for the project outlined
• Commitment to learning through experience
• Tangible benefit to local communities

Examples of activities or projects that could be considered include:

• A pilot to introduce, deliver and evaluate new services
• Research that will be instrumental in planning services for the future
• The rolling out of existing services to new cohorts of beneficiaries
• New approaches to the delivery of services

As with all funders, it is likely that demand will exceed available funds and so this will be a competitive process. Criteria used to assess applications will include:

• Previous relevant experience
• Rationale for the project
• Number of beneficiaries anticipated (direct and indirect)
• Evaluation – the impact expected and how this will be measured
• Projects that prioritise collaborative working
• Value for Money

Applications for grants of up to £5,000 are invited.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 12 noon 13^th October 2026.

Eligibility

Only expenditure incurred for the purposes of the project and that can be directly attributed to the expected outputs/outcomes will be eligible.

Applications are welcome from organisations:

• registered with the Charity Commission for NI
• with an annual income of less than £500,000
• located in County Fermanagh (as per CCNI address)
• providing support to the community of Co Fermanagh
• who share at least one of the three charitable purposes that define LFT Charitable Trust

Additionally

• Only activity taking place in Northern Ireland will be considered.
• Financial commitments are envisaged from 1^st January 2027 with a requirement to commence project delivery within three months of receipt of a letter of offer.
• Project delivery should not exceed 12 months.

Application Form

1. Open the application form — it will open in your web browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari or similar).
2. Fill it in at your own pace. Your answers are saved automatically in your browser as you type — you’ll see a small “Draft saved” message appear at the top of the page.
3. Take a break any time. You can close the tab or shut your laptop and come back later. As long as you reopen the same file, in the same browser, on the same device, your answers will still be there.
4. When you’re ready to submit, click the Print / Save as PDF button at the top of the form, save it as a PDF, and email it to grants@lftcharitabletrust.com.

Reporting & Evaluation

LFT welcome the opportunity to visit the project during the delivery period and will seek an impact report from funded projects on completion of the project.

Enquiries at any stage of the application process are welcomed by the Secretariat. Grantmaking decisions are made by LFT Board of Trustees.