If you are a voluntary, community or charitable organisation and are looking for a grant to help your organisation deliver a good cause/project that will make a difference in the District then the information in these pages will help you.
Latest news - The Big Lottery Fund will give out more than £2.3 billion between 2006-2009. Formed through the merging of the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund, Big Lottery have released new funding programmes. For further details visit Big Lottery.
Voluntary and community groups in the former Coalfield areas can benefit from funding through the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT). Application packs and guidelines are available from the CRT, visit their website to download further details. To apply for a grant your organisation needs to have a constitution (or a set of governing rules) with charitable, benevolent or philanthropic objectives, hold a bank account in the groups name and have the ability to manage the intended good cause/project. If you are unsure about your groups opportunity to apply for a grant just ask the Districts Funding and Programmes Team.
Funding is available from a variety of grants makers that include the Lottery Distributors, Charitable Trusts, The Durham County Foundation and more specific to the District of Easington the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. Grants can be awarded in values ranging from £100 to £300,000 and possibly more depending upon who you apply to and the purpose of the grant.
Are you looking for a:
Small grant £100 to £10,000
Medium grant £5,000 to £60,000
Large grant over £60,000
Community Funding - Useful links
Applying for funding.
Before applying for funding, applicants are advised to obtain detailed information about the funds from the funding organisation. Applicants should read all the information in detail before starting an application to the funding organisation and to check the following:
Can your organisation apply to the funding organisation? The majority of funding organisations require groups to be formerly constituted before applying for funding. A constitution sets out the group’s aims and objectives and how the organisation is managed and it provides reassurance to funding organisations. A group will need to have a constitution before becoming a registered charity. The local Council for Voluntary Service can provide more information and advice on drawing up a constitution or becoming a registered charity. In addition to having a constitution or being a registered charity, most funding organisations will require a management committee with at least three members and for the organisation to have a bank or building society account with a minimum of two and sometimes three signatories.
Will the funding organisation support your project or your organisation? The majority of funding organisations have a list of priorities or areas of work that they are willing to support. Additionally, a number of funding organisations will only provide funding for certain types of activity or to specific organisations. You will need to look at their funding programmes and priorities in detail to assess whether the funding organisation can assist your group and its activities.
What the funding organisation does not fund? Funding organisations often have lists of things they will not fund. These are different depending upon the aims and objectives of the funding organisation. Funding organisations produce this information so potential applicants should read their guidelines before applying.
Most funding organisations will ask for the following: Your constitution and sometimes your registered charity number, annual audited accounts or if you are a new organisation an annual anticipated budget, a breakdown of costs including quotes for items of equipment, job descriptions if you are intending to employ someone. In addition, some funding organisations will ask for letters of support showing what other funding/match funding is secured, a copy of your groups Annual report, Equal Opportunities and Child Protection Policies may also be requested.
If you are looking for funding towards the cost of building or refurbishing a community facility you will need to provide: Copy of planning permission, evidence of who owns the building and quotes for capital works. Make sure that everything the funding organisation asks for is included with your application. If not, your application may be returned to you or the funding organisation will have to contact you for that information. This can only delay the grant making process, which in turn could impact upon your project start date.
Will you need funding from other sources towards your activity? Some funding organisations will provide 100% towards the costs of your activity, however others prefer a contribution from other sources. Funding from other sources can include grants from other funding organisations, money your organisation has raised itself i.e. from sponsored events or activities and volunteers time committed to the project. If you are including volunteer time as a contribution towards your project, it is advisable to contact your local Council for Voluntary Services, as they can give you advice on how to put a cost on volunteers time and the records you will need to keep that will demonstrate how much time volunteers have spent on the project or are intending to commit. You will need to include a letter with your application to show that you have funding from other sources in place. It is also advisable that you keep any rejection letters from funders as this demonstrates that your organisation is actively looking for funding.
How long does it takes to assess an application? Assessing a grant application varies depending on the funding organisation. Most take between 2 and 6 months. The majority of funding organisations will not fund any costs before an approval letter has been issued. Therefore it is important to include enough time when planning your project and to apply for funding well in advance of the anticipated project start date.
The timescale for spending the grant? The length of time a funding organisation can provide a grant to support an activity also varies. It is important when applying for a grant that you are aware of when the funding has to be spent by. Additionally, when applying for funding you will need to demonstrate to the funding organisation that you have started to plan ahead and have thought of the long-term future of the project/organisation and what will happen once the grant has ended.
Completing an Application form. Funding organisations often receive many more applications than they have funds to support. It is therefore important to submit an application that is easy to read, clear and concise and demonstrates what your project intends to do and who it will benefit. Funding organisations you apply to will not know anything about your organisation or your project, therefore make sure you submit your full details. It is also advisable to ask someone to check your application form before you submit it. Always keep a copy of your application form as you may be contacted during the application assessment process and it will be useful to refer to it.
Funding organisations are looking for the following information when assessing your application:
Community appraisals can be used to show evidence of need for a project or service in your area. When demonstrating a need you will also have to consider other organisations in the area that provide similar activities. You may need to show how you are working in partnership, or if your activity complements the other organisations, as well as why your organisation is looking to provide this project.
How involved is the community in the project? Different funding organisations have different priorities for example, young people, older people, and ethnic minorities. When applying for funding you will need to show how the priority group is actively involved with your organisation, are they involved on the management committee, were they consulted in the planning of the project, how the project is delivered and how the project will be evaluated. It is important to demonstrate how local people are involved in the project as this demonstrates that you are tailoring your activity to meet a need in the community that will provide longer lasting benefits. Consider the following:
You will need to show that you have thought about the impact of your project and whom you have targeted to help.
It will be important in planning your project to think about how you will monitor the project during its lifetime and how you will evaluate the project. All funding organisations require monitoring/progress reports during the lifetime of the project or at the end. Through monitoring and progress reports, you will need to show what your project has achieved, how many people it has helped, how they were helped, or if a community facility has been built, what new activities are being delivered and the increased number of people who have benefited from the facility. Additionally, funding organisations are interested in seeing whether your project has made a lasting change. The following also needs to be considered;
You will need to keep copies of invoices, receipts and any other evidence of spending during the lifetime of the project to demonstrate to funding organisations what you have spent your grant on.
When applying for funding you will also need to show what you will do once the funding has come to an end, i.e. is the project time limited or will you be looking for additional funding, or can the project be sustained without continued grant funding.
Before you apply for funding you should contact the funding organisation for more information. If you experience problems during the delivery of a grant funded project you should contact the funding organisation at the earliest opportunity. Contact details for the funding organisation are included in their application and information packs.
Contact your local Funding and Programmes Team for assistance when applying for funding. In addition to providing advice on application forms they can also help with areas including constitutions, management committees, budgets and record keeping.
The District of Easington's Community Development Team can also provide you with a wide range of help and information to get your community group in a position to raise funds. Contact your local community development worker through Lynsey Jordan at the District of Easington or call 0191 5270501 ext. 4422
Name: Regeneration Initiatives Team
Telephone: 0191 527 0501 ext 4449
email: regeninitiatives@easington.gov.uk |
Address: District of Easington Council, Council Offices, Seaside Lane, Easington Village, Peterlee, SR8 3TN,
Fax: 0191 527 3868