Quick-fire questions with a Major Trust: KFC Youth Foundation

Kallista Jayasuriya interviewed Thalia Beaty, Foundation Administrator at a funder that can award at least £300,000 to organisations – the KFC Youth Foundation. Keep reading for insightful tips, whether you are a charity looking for advice on how to apply for funding or a grant-maker looking to improve the experience for (prospective) grant recipients.

If you’ve never come across this foundation, the KFC Youth Foundation registered as a charity in 2015, as the corporate foundation of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant chain. The KFC Youth Foundation receives its income from a number of streams, including from its restaurants. It then uses this money to award grants to grassroots charities with an income of £300,000 or under and which help younger people aged between 11 and 25 years old to fulfil their potential. Often these charities will work with younger people who are facing financial disadvantages such as those who have been affected by the criminal justice system, care leavers or those experiencing homelessness.  

What advice would you give to an organisation making an application for funding from a grant-maker? 

We see a lot of applications that are not eligible for funding which can be frustrating for both us and the applicant. Usually, this is because the applicant works with ages and priority groups that are broader than who we support. That means when it comes down to making tough decisions, we have to prioritise applicants who are more closely aligned with our funding aims. Make sure you have read the guidelines for the grant-maker’s funding aims and priority groups before you apply and ensure that your application focuses on what the grant-maker is allowed to fund. If your work is broader than the funder’s, make sure to specify how their funding will be used in line with their funding aims.  

What advice would you give to grant-makers to make the application process as easy as possible for applicant organisations? 

Grant-makers may find it useful to create a trusted space and ask for regular, honest feedback. The organisations that are using your grant(s) to do important work are the best people to tell you how to do better as a grant-maker. From feedback we have received, we’ve been able to adapt in ways which are mutually beneficial. For example, we’ve just moved towards two-year funding which greatly reduces administration on both sides so we can all better focus on the delivery of our services.  

Why do you prioritise awarding grants to smaller charities (those with an annual income of under £300,000)?  

Small organisations are the backbone of communities around the UK and with funding opportunities becoming more sparse, we know that it’s more important than ever that work in this space is supported. 

Please tell us more about the KFC Youth Foundation Hubs! 

We’ve been a financial partner to charities for four years now and while we are committed to continuing to adapt and grow our grants programme, we are really passionate about becoming a service delivery partner through the creation of KFC Youth Foundation Hubs. These will be aspirational spaces with awesome youth workers that will allow younger people who need it the most to feel safe and secure. We’re really proud to be opening up our first Hub in Middlesborough this year! 

What advice would you give to other grant-makers that generate their income through public donations, like your foundation? 

For us, a big chunk of income comes from charity box donations in restaurants so an area of priority for us, and this may apply to some other grant-makers, is to start thinking about how we’re going to diversify our income as we become a more cashless society. It’s a bit of a trial-and-error approach. We tested contactless donation machines in restaurants, which didn’t really work for us, but could in other businesses. We have also implemented digital donations on self-service tills and at the counter in restaurants.  

What do you believe the implications of AI may be for the charity sector? 

I know that AI is a really useful tool and will help many organisations take out a lot of administration, which is fantastic, so they can focus on the delivery of their services. I often see applications for grants using AI which might not make sense or miss out many key details, so while it’s a great tool, it is important that AI is just used to aid you by structuring your work, such as when writing funding bids. 

Thank you to Thalia for contributing to this article and for giving great tips about applications and generating income from the public. We wish you the best in your journey to introduce service delivery. We hope that the opening of the foundation’s first Hub goes well. Applications for the KFC Youth Foundation’s grants open in early 2025. 

You can find the KFC Youth Foundation and around 1,000 more major trusts in our Guide to Major Trusts, which is available to buy here.