Sefton4Good Fund- Grants for Groups
Information & Application Guidelines
1. Introduction – what is Sefton 4 Good?
Sefton4 good is an initiative from Sefton CVS . It aims to make it easier for local people to help local good causes through the giving of time and skills, money and resources. It is about everybody helping to make Sefton a great place to live and work.
Established in 2012, Sefton 4 Good has been busy creating links between businesses and groups through volunteering, donating skills, facilitating the donations of resources to local community and voluntary groups and getting local residents and local employees raising money through a range of fundraising activities.
To find out more and to get involved in Sefton 4 Good get in touch: Website: www.sefton4good.org
Tel: 0151 920 0726 ext 239
Email:
Twitter: twitter.com/sefton4good Facebook:facebook.com/sefton4good
Please read these guidelines carefully before you apply for a grant.
2. Aims of the Fund
“The aim of the Sefton 4 Good Fund is to make Sefton a great place to live and work by funding activities that will have a positive impact on local communities.”
Projects must meet one or more of the following priorities for the Sefton 4 Good Fund ‘Grants for Groups’ programme:
ü Developing skills, education and employment
ü Alleviating poverty, hardship and social exclusion
ü Improving the lives of people with long term illness / disability
ü Activities for disadvantaged children and young people
ü Improving health and wellbeing of older people
ü Bringing people together/Harmonious living
We are also particularly interested in helping groups who meet one or more of these priorities to help themselves with fundraising either through community fundraising or building relationships with local businesses to secure resources to meet local needs.
3. Fund criteria
3.1 Who can apply?
The following types of organisation can apply to the Sefton4Good Fund Grants for Groups programme:
· Voluntary, Community & Faith groups, registered charities and community unincorporated associations
· Community benefit societies registered as an industrial and provident society
· Community interest companies or organisations of another type if they operate as a social enterprise and principally reinvest their surpluses for social benefit (for example, with at least three unrelated Directors and a clear clause within their governing document about how they reinvest surpluses into the community).
There is no upper income limit on organisations applying, but priority will be given to smaller groups (income under £250,000 per annum) or collaborative projects that include small groups.
Applicants must also meet the following criteria to be eligible to apply for a grant:
· Be based in Sefton, or already have a presence / local branch in the borough, and benefit people living in Sefton.
· Have a constitution or set of rules which clearly states the aims of the organisation and what will happen if the group ceases to operate (also known as a dissolution clause)
· Have a management committee comprising at least 3 unrelated people
· Have a bank account in the name of the group with at least 2 unrelated signatories
· Have appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures (for projects involving vulnerable adults, Children, young adults)
You are not eligible to apply if you:
· Are a statutory organisation, such as a school or local authority, including statutory organisations that have charitable status
· Are an individual or sole trader
· Make a surplus or profit which is not principally reinvested for social benefit
· Are applying on behalf of another organisation
3.2 What can you apply for?
You can apply for the costs relating to delivering your project. These must be clearly linked to priorities of the fund:
ü Developing skills, education and employment
ü Alleviating poverty, hardship and social exclusion
ü Improving the lives of people with long term illness / disability
ü Activities for disadvantaged children and young people
ü Improving health and wellbeing of older people
ü Bringing people together/Harmonious living
The fund is more focused on funding costs associated with delivering activities that meet the needs of disadvantaged people. Costs for capital items (equipment etc) can be included within your application and cannot cost more than £500 in total.
3.3 Exclusions
You cannot apply for the following items (please note, this list is not exhaustive):
· Activities which are wholly or mostly to do with the promotion of one religious belief or political party
· Activities or travel abroad
· To replace funding from a statutory source such as government or Sefton Council
· Seed funding for business start ups
· Running costs of local sports clubs
· Capital items (i.e. individual items over £500) or contributions to capital projects such as building and construction projects
· Buses, mini buses or other community transport schemes (not including transport costs forming part of a project)
· Project costs that would be incurred more than one year after a grant is awarded
· Retrospective costs (i.e. money that’s already been spent or project already taken place).
· Contributions to general running costs, including ongoing staff costs.
The criterion does not exclude ‘one off’ activities and trips, but these should have a clear social Benefit.
3.4 How much can I apply for?
- You can apply for a grant up to £1000
Please be aware that the panel may not award you the full amount that you apply for, and we encourage applications that can demonstrate match funding.
4. Application process and timescales
4.1 How to apply
If you are interested in applying for a Sefton 4 Good Grant and are eligible to apply, please complete the grant application form. Please include as much relevant information about your project, particularly in showing the need for the project/Activity
The application form can be downloaded from the Sefton 4 Good website: www.sefton4good.co.uk
If you prefer a hard copy of the application pack, please contact us on 0151 920 0726 or email:
Help with your application
Sefton CVS Group Development Team can provide FREE support to organisations applying for the Sefton4good Grants for Groups programme (or other grants if this funding is not right for your group). If you have any questions about the grant scheme or would like any assistance with your application please contact Tony or Sian at Sefton CVS on 0151 920 0726 or Email
4.2 Deadlines
The deadline for this application is Thursday 22nd September
Please return your completed and signed application to:
Email:
Post:
Sefton4good
Sefton CVS,
3rd Floor, Suite 3B,
Burlington House,
Crosby Road North, Waterloo
L22 0LG
4.3 How your application will be assessed?
Applications will be assessed by the Sefton 4 Good Panel
Applicants will be informed of the decision by the panel within 10 weeks of the application deadline.
If your project is unsuccessful you will receive feedback and you will be eligible to re-apply. However, we strongly recommend you seek guidance from the Sefton CVS Development Team before re-appplying.
The Panel’s decision is final and no further discussion or correspondence will be entered into once the decision about an application has been made.
4.4 What happens if your application is successful?
Organisations who are awarded this funding will be asked to sign a grant agreement that details the monitoring requirements for the funding. Funding will then be released to your organisation via BACS transfer.
What we ask of you:
· Deliver the project as set out in the application form within 12 months of receiving the grant
· Contact us with any questions or problems as soon as they arise so they can be dealt with quickly and allow your project to continue
· Keep all records of the expenditure (such as invoices, receipts etc.) and allow us to have sight of them upon request.
· Keep records of who benefits from your project
· Inform us of any significant changes to the project
· Provide a brief update half way through your project and send us a completed evaluation report including copies of invoices/receipts, no later than 6 weeks after your project has
Finished.
· Acknowledge the Sefton 4 Good funding by using the ‘Supported by Sefton 4 Good’
logo in your marketing materials and in any publicity about the project.
· Provide high resolution images and information for Sefton 4 Good marketing material
If you have any questions about this guidance, please contact Sefton4Good on 0151 920 0726 or by emailing