A fund in Dapple is the money you set aside for one project's grants. Awards made from a fund can never add up to more than its total. To create one, open Funding in the sidebar and click New fund. Then choose the project, name the fund, set the currency and total, and decide whether the fund comes out of an organisation budget. You also choose who approves payments and award changes. Click Create fund and the fund appears in your funds list, ready to award.
Who can create a fund in Dapple?
Role | Can create a fund? |
Organisation Administrator | Yes, for any project in the organisation. |
Team Manager | Yes, for their own team's projects. |
Team Member | No. Team Members can view funds but can't create or edit them. |
Funding has to be switched on for your organisation first. If you can't see the Funding section in the sidebar, ask an Organisation Administrator to turn it on. For how roles work across Dapple, see What Are the Different User Permissions in Dapple?.
How do I create a new fund in Dapple?
In the sidebar, under Funding, click Funding. The Funds page opens.
Click New fund in the top right.
Choose the Project the fund will pay out for.
Enter a Name, such as "Community Arts Fund 2026".
Choose the Currency.
Enter the Total.
Optional: switch on Take it from a budget and choose the budget.
Leave Two-person sign-off on, or switch it off.
Optional: tick people under Who can approve payments and Who can approve award changes.
Click Create fund.
What does each field on the New fund form do?
Field | What to enter | Good to know |
Project | The project whose successful submissions this fund will pay | Each fund belongs to one project. |
Name | A name your team will recognise, such as the round and year | Applicants never see fund names. |
Currency | The currency you'll pay grants in, such as GBP | Locks once the fund has its first award. Dapple doesn't convert currencies. |
Total | The full amount available to award from this fund | Awards can't add up to more than this. You can't later lower it below what's already been awarded. |
How do I take a fund from an organisation budget?
Switch on Take it from a budget and choose a budget from the list. This links the fund to an organisation-wide budget, so finance can see how much of the overall pot is committed.
When you choose a budget, a line under the list shows the effect. For example:
"£500,000 of the budget isn't in a fund yet. £300,000 left after this one."
The first figure is how much of the budget isn't in any fund yet.
The second figure is what will be left once this fund is created.
A fund can only come out of a budget in the same currency. If your funds add up to more than a budget, Dapple marks the budget Over budget. This is a warning only. It doesn't stop you creating the fund. Budgets are optional. Organisation Administrators create them from Budgets in the sidebar.
What is two-person sign-off, and should I leave it on?
With two-person sign-off on, one person approves a payment and someone else records it as paid. It's on by default for every new fund.
Setting | What happens |
On (default) | A payment is approved by one person, then recorded as paid by a different person. Dapple won't let the person who approved a payment also mark it as paid. |
Off | Payments go straight from Scheduled to ready to mark as paid, with no separate approval step. |
Leave it on for any fund that has multiple stakeholders and require an extra layer of security or sign-off. Switch it off only if one person runs your grants on their own.
Who should I choose to approve payments and award changes?
The New fund form has two lists of people. Tick the people who should approve in this fund. They only get approval rights in this fund. Leaving unticked will mean that anyone in the list can approve.
List | What these people do | If you leave it empty |
Who can approve payments | Sign off payments that are due before they're recorded as paid | Team Managers approve |
Who can approve award changes | Approve or reject increases, reductions and other changes to awards | Team Managers approve |
Choose at least two payment approvers, so one person being away doesn't hold up payments. Make sure someone who isn't a payment approver can record payments as paid. Otherwise, two-person sign-off can leave payments stuck.
What do I see after I create a fund?
The fund appears on the Funds page. The page title shows which team you're viewing, such as Funds – All teams. The count above the table shows how many funds match your filters.
Column | What it shows |
Fund | The fund's name |
Total | The amount you set when you created the fund |
Awarded | How much has been awarded to submissions from this fund |
Paid | How much has been recorded as paid |
Left to award | The total minus what's been awarded |
Progress | How far the fund has been awarded and paid out |
Use search, Filters and the sort menu (Created – newest first by default) to find a fund quickly. Use More for other actions.
Can I change a fund after I've created it?
Yes, within these limits:
Currency can't change once the fund has an award.
Total can go up at any time. It can't go below the amount already awarded.
Two-person sign-off and the approver lists can be changed in the fund's settings.
Best practice
Name funds after the round and year, such as "Community Arts Fund 2026".
Check the currency before you create the fund. It locks once you make the first award.
Set the total to the amount actually agreed for the round. You can increase it later.
Choose payment approvers when you create the fund, not when payments fall due.
Link the fund to a budget if finance reports against an overall grants pot.