Voices from Our Grantees

What 62 funded organisations told us about their year with HCT.

At the end of every grant cycle we ask the organisations we've funded the same set of questions, and we read every answer.

In 2025, 62 grantees completed their final reports and 35 of them left us free-text comments.

They were generous, honest, and often unexpectedly moving, a mix of gratitude, practical critique, and stories about the change their funding helped create.

We've shared a curated selection below, in their own words.

Praise & Thanks

"Thank you for believing in our work."

The single most common message was simply gratitude, for the grant itself, and for the people behind it.

Lisa Nichols, Maria, and Clare were each named individually by grantees who valued the patience and care they received throughout the reporting process.

Several grantees told us the relationship felt collaborative rather than transactional, and that they felt seen by HCT as small organisations doing hard work in their communities.

Constructive Feedback

Where we can do better.

Not every comment was glowing, and we wouldn't want them to be. Roughly a third of free-text responses raised a recurring concern: that HCT's application and reporting requirements feel heavier than the grant size warrants, especially compared to other funders.

Common themes were the level of receipt-level expenditure evidence asked for, application questions that don't always fit non-traditional formats (Scout expeditions, DofE programmes, food-distribution networks), and the wish for support that covers running costs as well as one-off projects.

We're sharing these comments because they make us a better funder, and because we want grantees to know they're being heard.

Stories of Impact

The difference a grant can make.

The richest responses came from grantees telling us, in their own words, what their funding meant on the ground, children gaining a vital life skill at the local pool; older adults finding company at a weekly art class; a small charity rebuilding after the pandemic and an insolvent contractor; a sustainability project extending its reach because the council gifted them the land for another year.

These responses are why we do this work, and why we ask the questions in the first place.

All comments reproduced verbatim from grantees' 2025 final reports. Where individuals are named, those staff members were named by the grantee themselves.

Testimonials

This grant has made a real and meaningful difference to the children we work with.

The Purple Elephant Project

It was a real pleasure working with HCT — their involvement was the difference between this happening and not happening.

MISC Pan-Borough Grantee

We are hugely grateful to the Heathrow Community Trust. We would particularly like to thank Lisa Nichols for being frequently patient, supportive and flexible.

City Harvest London

Your funding has made a very special place for Mums and Babies to meet and relax — we will keep this group going.