Grant FAQ

Who is eligible to receive a grant from the Hatch Grant Fund?

Competitive grants are available to members of the Hatch community who have completed and graduated from a Hatch programme. We offer two different types of grants, those attached to a specific programme, and once-off grants which are available to the wider Hatch Community.

How do I find out when grant applications are open?

You will receive an email from our Grant Team via the Hatch Graduate Mailing list. It is important that you do not unsubscribe from this list if you want to receive updates regarding future grant rounds.

Is it better for me to apply now or to wait until I’m ready?

We’d strongly recommend that you apply for the grant funding linked to the programme you’ve recently graduated from. You might not feel 100% ready, but rest assured that at every grant round, we provide support and guidance that walks you through this process and we’re here to answer any questions you may have. Each programme we run has a specific amount of grant funding connected to it, and we simply cannot guarantee that every future programme at Hatch will have an accompanying grant fund. We also cannot guarantee that there will be future grant rounds that you’ll be able to apply to.

If I’m unsuccessful for this round, can I apply again later?

If your initial grant application is unsuccessful, you may have the opportunity to apply again in a future round. However, this is entirely dependent on the availability of funding, so it is not guaranteed.

What are the eligibility/assessment criteria to get the grant?

We send all eligible applicants a comprehensive application guidance document, outlining the eligibility and assessment criteria, including example answers, meaning that you will always know what we are looking for in your answers and how we will assess them. We will also host Q&A sessions with our Grant Fund delivery partner Groundwork, to answer any specific questions you may have.

Do I have to pitch to get the grant?

No, the pitch you will deliver at the end of the programme is part of your Demo Day and is separate from applying for a grant at Hatch. We include these pitch sessions as an opportunity for you to practise pitching in a supportive environment and receive helpful feedback. Our grant rounds are assessed by written answers alone. If I’ve recently graduated from a Programme that gives me access to Grant Funding, but have consequently started another programme at Hatch, which Grant Fund round should I apply for? It’s up to you to decide which round of grant funding you’d like to apply for, but there are some things to consider. Each programme has a set amount of grant funding available. This means that while founders in later-stage programmes can generally apply for larger sums of grant funding, the probability of being successful is smaller.

If I graduate from a programme and receive a grant, can I receive another one if I graduate from another programme?

Once you receive Hatch grant funding, there will be a 12-month period in which you will not be eligible to apply for grant funding from us again, as this is the time we expect you to take to use the grant received. At the end of these 12 months, you are expected to provide a brief report on the impact of the grant on your business. If you graduate from a second Hatch programme within these 12 months, unfortunately, you won’t be able to apply for the associated grant funding from this second programme. This is to help us make sure our charity can support as many different founders as possible through our grants.