Our Grants Policy

As part of CET's own charitable activities, it makes financial awards from its funds to support other charitable activities (usually by other registered charities or charitable community groups, but sometimes to other bodies or individuals) in furtherance of the development and dissemination of the concept of Commercial Ability.
Our Vision

Excellent Commercial Ability for All

Our Vision: Commercial Ability for All

CET’s vision is for a future where people in the UK actively understand and learn the skills, attitudes, and behaviours they need to gain and thrive in a fulfilling career.

This universally-understood, accepted, and recognised definition of Commercial Ability will be established and widely disseminated. It will inform the plans and thinking of educators, trainers, employers, policymakers, and the third sector, who will work collaboratively to nurture and develop the Commercial Ability of all people throughout their careers, in order to create a more prosperous and productive society.

Commercial education will be embedded throughout the curriculum, across subjects and at all levels of the education system as a tool for delivering this excellent Commercial Ability.

Young people and their parents will understand that it is available to them, and educators and trainers will be fully equipped to deliver it successfully with support from employers.

This learning will not stop at school, college, or university, but extend into the workplace where opportunities for further training and development will be available throughout each individual’s career.

Grants Policy

Our Grant-Making Criteria

The Trustees welcome all proposals that support the above funding priorities, although are particularly keen to support causes for which the sum awarded will make a large impact.

Proposals will be considered both where CET is the sole funder of a project, or one of multiple funders, but all applications must meet our grant-making criteria.

Please note that there are also certain exclusions to what CET will fund.

Impact-Driven

The project must be impact-driven, setting out clear measurable outcomes and outputs.

Young People in Late School / Early Career

The project must be to the benefit of young people who are in the later stages of their schooling or early in their careers.

Sustainable / Scalable

The project must be sustainable beyond the period of CET's grant, with the Trustees favouring projects ideas that can easily be replicated and scaled across organisations or even entire sectors.

Evaluation by Design

Evaluation of the project and its outcomes must have been considered and mechanisms and metrics for assessing the same should be built in from the outset.

Supporting Commercial Ability

The project must advocate for Commercial Ability, and it would be of particular interest if there were scope to use its outcomes to influence public policy in future.

Research Must Include Recommendations

Where the project involves research, the final paper must not only set out the findings, but also include actionable recommendations for future action.

Project Must be Disseminated

The grantee must demonstrate how the outcomes of the project will be disseminated for maximum public exposure.

Joint-Funding Opportunities Welcome

If CET is to act as a joint funder, detailed proposals must be set out on how the management, administration and monitoring of the project will be carried out between the joint funders.
Funding Priorities

Our current funding priorities

We particularly welcome grant applications that will help us to further the following two priorities:
Development of Commercial Ability
CET is presently prioritising grant applications which which aptly develop all five components together, or which focus on the less developed components of Commercial Ability:
Research
Research with the primary purpose of:
  • Assessing or improving Commercial Ability in young people
  • Developing new curriculum ideas that support the development of Commercial Ability
  • Seeking to further understanding of Commercial Ability and its impact on the individual and wider society.
Grants Policy

Exclusions

CET will not usually:

  • make grants to individuals
  • support general or marketing appeals
  • support projects that reduce support from public funds
  • support a project for more than three funding years
  • offer unrestricted grants
  • support commercial organisations, overseas charities or failing organisations or causes
  • contribute to appeals from any organisation where the funds will be used for religious purposes or projects which promote a particular religion
  • fund major capital projects (eg, the purchase or renovation of buildings or vehicles or training costs or professional fees relating to capital projects)
  • fund general (eg, non-project-specific) organisation costs (including overheads, salaries, expenses, administration, rent or hiring of space, marketing, publicity or utility bills)