Printer-friendly versionWho is the Community Fund?
The Community Fund is the operating name of the National Lottery Charities Board. It is an independent organisation set up by Parliament to distribute money raised by the National Lottery to support charities and voluntary and community groups throughout the UK. They also make grants to UK agencies working abroad.
The Community Fund receives 4.7 pence for every £1 spent on the Lottery. They aim to help meet the needs of those at greatest disadvantage in society and also to improve the quality of life in the community. They fund projects on a national and local level that will make the most difference.
You do not have to be a registered or recognised charity to apply for funding, but you must have adopted a constitution that sets out your organisations aims and how you will operate, (See our booklet on Constitutions) or for the small grant programme a set of rules which have been adopted.
There are 3 grant programmes within the Community Fund they are:
Grants for small projects – Awards for All
Grants for medium – sized projects
Grants for large projects
There are 3 priority beneficiary groups, which apply across all of the grant programmes in Scotland, they are:
· People living in areas disadvantaged by social and economic change, whether urban or rural.
· Disabled people and their carers (including people with mental health concerns).
· Black and minority ethnic communities (including travellers, refugees and asylum seekers).
One point to note however is that although your project may cover one of these priorities it does not necessarily mean it will get funded. Your project will have to show how the project will meet the needs of one of these three groups, not just say that they will meet their needs.
East Dunbartonshire CVS can assist and support groups and organisations that are thinking of or are filling in a funding application. You can contact the CVS at 115 Townhead, Kirkintilloch, G66 1NX or by telephone: 0141 578 0291.
Awards for All
Awards for All is a grants programme set up to help small groups. It is made up of five lottery Fund distributors: the Community Fund, Heritage, Lottery Fund, the New Opportunities Fund, the Scottish Arts Council and sportscotland. The main aims of the Awards for All is to fund projects which involve people in their community, bringing them together to enjoy things like arts, sport, heritage, social, environment, educational, health related and other community activities. If you are a small group or organisation and you need between £500 and £5000, then the Awards for All could be suitable for you. You can apply for these grants at any time throughout the year and the application form is simple to fill in and you hear the results fairly quickly.
The Awards for All programme for Scotland has 4 broad aims, which are:
· Bring people together…
To work in the interest of their community. Communities’ can be people who live in your local area or people who share a common interest or need.
· Improve quality of life…
By supporting local projects that improve people’s opportunities, welfare or environment, especially those most disadvantaged in the community.
· Increase involvement…
To encourage activities that are open to everyone who wants to take part and to actively involve more people in local groups. This can mean people taking part in the activity themselves or being part of an audience.
· Help groups to become well organised…
To encourage good organisation and good planning of community activities. Well thought-out activities meet community needs better and have the most impact.
Who can apply?
Your group or organisation can apply if you are:
· Based in Scotland
· A non-profit making group
· The group has a constitution or a set of rules that have been adopted
· You have a bank or building society account in the name of the group, with at least two signatories on each cheque or withdrawal
· You can send copies of your most recent set of annual accounts, which have been audited or signed, or a statement of income and expenditure
· Needing a grant of between £500 and £5000
· You can spend the grant within one year
· Your annual income in the last financial year was less than £20,000.
The Awards for all cannot make grants to:
· Companies which aim to make a profit
· Individuals
· Organisations which only exist to benefit members
Here are some examples of activities Awards for All can support:
· Developing an existing service in your area, such as a playgroup, lunch club or information centre
· Producing a community newsletter, talk tapes for the blind, mobility schemes or respite services
· Helping your neighbourhood group to set up a new service in your community
· Bringing professionals to work with voluntary groups
· Removing barriers to taking part in sport or the arts for disabled people, young people, older people or those who are economically disadvantaged
· Improving your premises or buying arts and sports equipment to improve standards
· Broadening sporting experiences by attending or staging activities by building new or better playing and support facilities
· Developing training opportunities for leaders, administrators and officials
· Getting together to carry out some simple works which enable a wider range of people to have access to their local heritage
· Recording people’s memories and producing a book
· Setting up a neighbourhood food co-op to promote healthier eating of fruit and vegetables
· Creating a school wildlife garden
· Providing sessional support to help improve computer and other IT skills
This list is by no means exhaustive and applications for projects combining a range of community activities would be welcome.
Example of things you might want a grant for:
· An event, activity or performance
· Training courses
· Setting up a pilot project
· A conference or seminar
· Special repairs or conservation work
· Start up costs
· Publicity materials
· Professional fees
· Sessional workers costs
· Research costs
· Equipment and materials
· Team strips
· Transport costs
· Volunteers expenses
They will not fund:
· General running costs to sustain current activity, for example ongoing staff costs and utility bills (telephone, council tax, gas, electricity or water) routine repairs and ongoing maintenance, regular payments of rent, league fees or insurance.
· Items which only benefit an individual for example prizes, personal clothing or equipment, activities that are part of a public body’s statutory obligation, activities promoting religious beliefs, endowments, loan payments, second hand vehicles, foreign trips and sports projects with a total of more than £10,000.
Medium-Sized Grants
This programmes main aim is to support projects that help meet the needs of the most disadvantaged people. They are really interested in projects, which tackle severe, long-term, and multiple needs. They will also make grants, which improve the quality of life in the community. You can apply for a grant under this programme if the total cost of your project (not just the amount you are requesting from them) is at least £500 and no more than £60,000 and the total cost of any building construction or refurbishment work is no more than £30,000 excluding VAT. This programme will fund projects for one, two or three-year projects, part or total funding, but only if the whole project costs no more than £60,000.
There are 7 broad aims within this programme that the Community Fund has identified as their priorities for Scotland for 2002/2003. These are:
Disabled people and their carers, including people with physical impairments, mental health concerns and learning difficulties.
· Improving access to existing services
· Working with people and their carers to prevent isolation
· Enabling people to address the issues that are important to them, for example advocacy projects, self-help groups and carers’ support projects
· Testing new approaches, by carrying out feasibility studies or spreading good practice
Black and minority ethnic communities.
· Making it easier for people to access existing services
· Supporting individuals, for example victims of racial attacks
· Encouraging community action on discrimination, for example those which aim to prevent discrimination happen
· Testing new approaches, by feasibility studies or projects to encourage the spread of good practice
Refugees and asylum seekers.
· Making it easier for people to access existing services
· Supporting individuals, for example victims of racial attacks
· Encouraging community action on discrimination, for example those which aim to prevent discrimination happen
· Testing new approaches, by feasibility studies or projects to encourage the spread of good practice
People in areas disadvantaged by social or economic change, whether rural or urban, including areas of declining local industry, areas of poverty isolated by surrounding affluence and areas affected by migration.
· Making it easier for people to access services, for example, projects which bring services into local communities
· Making it easier for people to participate in community activities – perhaps through befriending, confidence building projects, or initiatives which tackle discrimination
· Taking early action to prevent problems from developing – for example debt counselling services, food poverty projects or peer education on drugs
· Empowering people to address the issues that are important to them, for example through family support or self-help groups
· Testing new approaches. They are keen to support feasibility studies and spread good practice
Building infrastructure and capacity.
They will give priority to projects that improve the skills, networks, equipment and assets of voluntary and community organisations in order to help them meet the needs of the above priority groups and priority geographical areas.
Children and young people
They have not made projects for children and young people a priority in Scotland this year (2002/2003). You can still get a grant but it is less likely. The Community Fund reviews their priorities each year.
Older people and their carers
They have not made projects for older people and their carers a priority in Scotland this year (2002/2003). You can still get a grant but it is less likely. The Community Fund reviews their priorities each year.
This programme will not fund
· Local authorities, including institutions or services they directly manage
· Local Education Authorities, including institutions or services they directly manage
· Health authorities, including institutions or services they directly manage
· Health Boards in Scotland and Northern Ireland, including institutions or services they directly manage
· Individuals
· Companies that exist to trade for profit
· Organisations not established in the UK
· Organisations which promote political parties
· Parish councils
· Community councils in Scotland and Wales.
Large grants programme
The main aim of this project is mainly to help meet the needs of those at greatest disadvantage in society, and also to improve the quality of life in the community. The programme will fund projects on a national and local level that will make the most difference. Grants for large projects can be awarded to organisations of any size, working in the UK. The average size of their grants for this programme is between £60,000 and £100,000 over a three-year period.
The broad aims of this project are in line with the broad aims of the medium-sized grant programme, but in some cases depending on the project they will fund for vehicles if they are part of a community transport scheme or mobile resource centre. You can also apply for running costs for a project such as revenue costs, which could include:
· Salaries
· Maintenance
· Insurance
· Training
· Extra accommodation costs
· VAT that you cannot claim back
· Professional fees.
If you are applying for a project that costs £200,000 or more, the Community Fund will ask you to provide a business plan and detailed financial projections as part of your application.
Criteria
All the information provided in this booklet has been taken from the information and guidelines provided by the Community Fund, so if your organisation is looking for further information they can either contact East Dunbartonshire CVS or the Community Fund direct.
Remember to also keep in mind that for each programme there are certain criteria that needs to be in place before the Community Fund will even consider funding any project. These are:
· Management Committees with at least 3 members
· Having a constitution or set of rules which have been adopted, and say how you manage yourselves
· Up to date set of accounts
· Bank accounts opened in the name of the organisation, with at least 2 signatories
Check with each funding programme for a more detailed list.
How East Dunbartonshire CVS can help?
· EDCVS have staff that can help your organisation to prepare a constitution, write an action plan and give advice on applying for charitable status.
· We have Grantfinder in the office. Contact us to make an appointment and you will receive help in using the database.
· We have a number of funding books that you may browse.
· We can give advice on capacity building i.e. strengthening your organisation to make you better placed to apply for funding e.g. procedures, administration and finance.
· We can suggest funders who are most likely to fund your type of organisation.
· We run seminars and training on various topics of interest to voluntary organisations.
· We may be able to help you find statistics to back up your funding application, or advise you where to obtain them.