Application Pack
Voluntary Sector Initiative Fund
Local Grants 2016 - 2018
Closing date: 10am, Monday 18 April 2016
What is the Voluntary Sector Initiative Fund?
At Brent Council, we know that harnessing the expertise of the voluntary and community sector in Brent is crucial for engaging local communities and achieving better outcomes for the Borough.
The Voluntary Sector Initiative Fund (VSIF) helps the voluntary and community sector in Brent to deliver work to support Brent’s Borough Plan.
The VSIF is split into four parts:
(1) Local Grants (2) Infrastructure
(3) Advice Guidance (4) London Councils
This application pack relates to (1) VSIF Local Grants.
What are VSIF Local Grants?
The grant is a two year grant to cover the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2018. The maximum grant payable is £25,000 per year (£50,000 for the two years).
How do I Apply?
To apply, please download an application pack from
https://www.brent.gov.uk/your-community/voluntary-sector-advice/ complete and return the pack by email to by 10am, Monday 18 April 2016.
Applications will be assessed strictly on the basis of information provided in this pack. It is important that you include all the information required in this application pack otherwise your application will not be considered.
Application Support Workshops
Workshops are being held to offer guidance on applying for VSIF Local Grants:
1) 6.00pm - 8.00pm, Thursday 17 March 2016, Boardrooms 7 & 8, Brent Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley, HA9 0FJ
2) 12.00pm - 2.00pm, Monday 21 March 2016, Performance Area, Willesden Green Library, 95 High Road, Willesden, NW10 2SF
If you wish to register for a place on a workshop, please email giving details of which workshop you would like to attend.
Writing your Application
We strongly recommend that you contact CVS Brent who can support you in developing your bid and can also act as a critical friend (i.e. read through and comment on your application before you submit it).
Deadline for Applications
10am, Monday 18 April 2016
LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED
What kind of projects are the Council looking to fund?
We are seeking to fund a range of projects. Projects must either benefit (be delivered to) the whole borough or one or more of the following priority areas:
· Chalkhill
· Church End and Roundwood
· Harlesden
· South Kilburn
· St Raphael’s (including Brentfield and Mitchelbrook)
· Stonebridge
Organisations can apply to deliver grant funded projects for up to two years and must meet at least one of the Borough Plan priorities as set out below:
Better lives
· Supporting local enterprise, generating jobs for local people and helping people into work and promoting fair pay
o Key priorities within this area include: a) supporting people with mental health needs into work b) supporting people with childcare needs into work c) in work progression d) start-up business support
· Making sure that our children and young people have access to the best education and training, achieve to their potential and have the best start in life
o Key priorities within this area include: a)promoting healthy lifestyles including nutrition and oral health
· Enabling people to live healthier lives and reducing health inequalities
o Key priorities within this area include: a)increasing physical activity for children and adults b) reducing child obesity c) promoting health lifestyles including prevention of diabetes
· Supporting vulnerable people and families when they need it
o Key priorities within this area include: a) supporting the improvement of mental health of residents b) reducing the isolation of older residents c) supporting sustainability of tenancies
Better Place
· Making sure that Brent is an attractive place to live with a pleasant, sustainable environment, clean streets and well cared for parks and green spaces
o Key priorities within this area include: a) reduction of illegal rubbish dumping and littering
· Continuing to reduce crime, especially violent crime, making people feel safe
o Key priorities within this area include: a) preventing violence against women and girls (including FGM, forced marriage, honour based violence) b) reducing reoffending including gang-related offending c) reducing anti-social behaviour
· Increasing the supply of affordable, good quality housing
· Providing good quality, accessible arts and leisure facilities
Better Locally
· Building community resilience and promoting citizenship
o Key priorities within this area include: a) promoting community cohesion and resilience
b) preventing radicalisation
· Making sure that everyone in the borough is able to participate in local democracy, has a fair say in the way that services are delivered and is listened to and taken seriously
· Working with partners to find new ways or providing services that are more finely tailored to individual, community and local needs
Evidence will need to be provided to show that the proposed project is needed by local residents, that it aligns with statutory provision and that it does not duplicate a service already being delivered in Brent. There is expected to be strong competition for these funds and the assessment process looks for those bids which best meet the criteria.
How much grant funding can I apply for?
Organisations can apply for funding of between £1,000 and £25,000 for each year of a project, for a project up to two years in length. The maximum amount of funding available per project over two years is £50,000.
How will the grant be paid?
Projects will be funded from 1 July 2016, with the grant paid in quarterly instalments (dependant on performance).
Is my organisation eligible to apply for grant funding?
This funding is available to organisations which:
· Are non-profit making, are a charity or a social enterprise based in Brent
· Have been in operation for at least 12 months at the time of application
· Run projects which benefit Brent residents and support the aims of Brent’s Borough Plan
· Have a good organisational structure and an effective management committee (minimum 5 people)
· Have effective financial management (a financial assessment of accounts in made looking at levels of reserves and working capital)
· Comply with the Council’s standard terms and conditions of grant aid (can be found at https://www.brent.gov.uk/your-community/voluntary-sector-advice/)
· Can evidence commitment to equality and diversity in staffing, management and project delivery
· Involve users in management and development of projects
· Have a constitution and a bank account with a minimum of two signatories
What criteria will be used to assess applications?
Applications for funding will need to meet the following criteria:
1. Project focuses on the whole borough or a priority neighbourhood within the borough.
2. Project goals support Brent’s Borough Plan priorities, align with statutory service provision in the borough and the project doesn’t duplicate a service already being delivered in Brent.
3. If the proposed project has been run by your organisation and funded previously by the VSIF grants, it will not be eligible for consecutive funding.
4. Funding is not being given retrospectively for projects already completed or partially completed.
5. Organisation has other sources of revenue funding and a good track record of delivery. The council will not be an organisation’s largest single revenue funder.
6. Organisation will provide completed progress reports and documentation agreed upon in a schedule on a quarterly basis to enable monitoring of services, including equality monitoring.
7. Organisation will monitor and report equality and diversity data to the Council to enable an assessment of how grants benefit residents in relation to protected characteristics under the Equality Act.
8. Where appropriate, the organisation has a Safeguarding Policy and DBS checks in place.
9. Organisation will cooperate with site visits from Council officers to meet staff, users and members of your management committee
10. All staff funded through the grant must be paid the London Living Wage or higher
Alongside meeting the criteria, the following factors will be used to assess which bids are successful:
· Best alignment of the project with Borough Plan priorities and associated statutory service provision
· The range of bids received
· Partnership, networking and liaising with statutory and voluntary bodies within the Borough
· Local, regional and national partnerships in which the organisation is involved
· Other sources of funding that will contribute to the project
· Priority given to proposals from organisations not previously in receipt of VSIF grant funding
· Track record of your organisation with the Council if we have worked with you previously.
What projects / costs won’t the grant fund?
· Advice and guidance projects as there is a separate grant for these (counselling projects can be funded)
· Projects (or continuation of projects) previously funded through Brent Council grants
· Funding is not to support religious, political purposes or individuals
· Funding is not given retrospectively for projects completed or partially completed
· Construction or acquisition of buildings
· Equipment costs (e.g. computers, furniture) unless specifically related to the delivery of the project
· Staffing costs outside of the project applied for
· Organisations delivering second tier activities
· Trips / outings unless they are part of a larger project and have clear outcomes
· Debts / expenses that have already been incurred
· Statutory organisations or businesses are not eligible to apply
Can an organisation make multiple applications?
No. An organisation can only submit one application.
Can multiple organisations make a joint application?
Yes, but a lead organisation must be nominated and the application should be from this lead organisation bidding to deliver a project in partnership with other organisations. If a lead organisation were successful they would be held accountable for the project. The application must clearly explain how a project organised in this way will work. Further information about the groups involved should be included in the additional section for any other information at the end of the form.
What should we make sure we include in the application?
· Explain the current relationship of your organisation with the people you intend to help and how you will target these people as part of the project
· Explain the ultimate change the project hopes to achieve (outcomes)
· Provide clear details of how the funding will be used, explaining what outputs (activities or products) you will deliver, what changes you hope to achieve as a result of these, and how you will monitor if you are achieving these changes in the course of the project
· Provide clear details of how you will publicise and promote the project
· Provide clear details of any matched funding
· Set out clear project governance, including performance and financial management arrangements
· Show how you will ensure quality remains high during the course of the project
· Include all documentation requested in Section 7
· Please note that if even if you have previously submitted documents requested in this pack to the Council, these need to be resubmitted as part of your application
When will we know if our application is successful?
Council Officers will assess applications against the criteria and make recommendations to the Council Executive. The Executive make final decisions on allocation of funding. We expect to be able to contact all organisations with the outcome of their application by 15 June 2016.
Will we be able to get feedback if our application is not successful?
Due to the expected high demand for a limited number of grants a large number of applications could be unsuccessful. If your application is unsuccessful, you can request feedback by contacting
Essential Information
Before you start filling in the application form make sure that your project fully meets the criteria of the grant and that you have read the Standard Conditions of Grant (can be found at https://www.brent.gov.uk/your-community/voluntary-sector-advice/) carefully as all funded organisations have to adhere to these terms and conditions.
For some questions we have a maximum number of words that you can use in your response, to give you an idea of the amount of detail we need. You may well be able to answer these questions in fewer words than the maximum. Any words over the maximum will not be taken into consideration.
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Section 1: General
1.1 What theme does your project relate to?(Please tick the theme/s your project relates to - see pages 3 4 for explanations of themes)
Better Lives
Supporting local enterprise, generating jobs for local people and helping people into work and promoting fair pay
Making sure that our children and young people have access to the best education and training, achieve to their potential and have the best start in life
Enabling people to live healthier lives and reducing health inequalities
Supporting vulnerable people and families when they need it
Better Place
Making sure that Brent is an attractive place to live with a pleasant, sustainable environment, clean streets and well cared for parks and green spaces
Continuing to reduce crime, especially violent crime, making people feel safe
Increasing the supply of affordable, good quality housing
Providing good quality, accessible arts and leisure facilities
Better Locally
Building community resilience and promoting citizenship
Making sure that everyone in the borough is able to participate in local democracy, has a fair say in the way that services are delivered and is listened to and taken seriously
Working with partners to find new ways or providing services that are more finely tailored to individual, community and local needs
For office use only: Meets mandatory requirements? / Yes / No
Comments:
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1.2 What amount of grant funding are you applying for?In Year 1 / £
In Year 2 / £
For office use only: Meets mandatory requirements?
Yes / No
Comments:
1.3 Is your organisation currently receiving or has received in the past year funding or grants from Brent Council or Brent Housing Partnership*?
Yes No
*delete as appropriate
If yes please give full details below:
If you receive funding from Brent Council, please specify what percentage of your organisation’s overall turnover this represents? / %
For office use only: Meets requirements? / Yes / No
Section 2: About your organisation