CLANMIL COMMUNITY GRANT GUIDELINES

Clanmil Housing is a registered housing association and a not-for-profit organisation, established in 1977. We are passionate about great homes and the people who live in them. Our mission is to provide great homes that strengthen communities with services that matter.

Funding Priorities

Our Community Fund supportsvoluntary and community organisations deliver one of the following fund objectives:

  • developinglevels of employability
  • creating sustainable communities
  • increasing participation of minority groups
  • improving physical and mental health

Your project should be focused around local people using their own skills and resources to develop their own solutions. We hope these awards will improve people’s lives and will strengthen the communities where we work.

Funding Success

Wellbeing is fundamental to Clanmil and this fund shall invest in initiatives that have a significant and demonstrable social impact. Clanmiluses the Housing Association Community Trust (HACT) Wellbeing Valuation Approach which you can find out more about here ( .

Funding Process

The following is required to apply to the Clanmil Community Fund:

1. A cover letter on your organisation’s letterhead.

2. A completed organisation details sheet, which can be found on page 5.

3. Your answers to the questions about your work, which can befound on page 7. Please answer each question specifically.

  • Your answers to these questions will help us understand your organisation and how you work within the context of your community.
  • You need to show us how your organisation and proposal demonstrate some of the key characteristics we are looking for. These characteristics help us to identify the organisations we think we are best placed to help. Don’t worry about making your application ‘professional’ or glossy – we are looking for openness and a clear sense of the work you do and how and why you do it.
  • Remember that when we use the word community we don’t just mean your local area: your community can also be a ‘community of interest’ – a group of people with a particular shared need, experience or identity.
  • Make sure that your application tells us how many people your organisation works with (or the number of people you are hoping to reach if you are looking for funding for a new project or are a new organisation). This helps us to get an idea of the scale and scope of your work.
  • You don’t need to provide a detailed description or full costings of the work you are seeking funding for at this stage. We will ask you for more information if your application goes through to the second stage.
  • If you are applying for a capital grant remember that we are most interested in what goes on inside the building and want to understand the difference building improvements would make to your work.
  • Ultimately we want to understand the vision and energy that inspire your work and how you think the Tudor Trust could help develop it.

4. Your most recent annual accounts and annual report, if you produce one. If your organisation is too new to have annual accounts please attach a photocopy of a recent bank statement.

We will inform applicants within 8 weeks of application if they have been successful. If successful we ask that allorganisationsadhere to our media guidelines, which can be found on 9.

CLANMIL COMMUNITY GRANTS FUND CRITERIA

Organisation Standards

You can apply to Clanmil Community Fund if you are a voluntary and community organisation (including a CIC) and:

  • you have a UK bank or building society account in the name of your organisation, which requires at least two unrelated signatures on each cheque or withdrawal
  • you can provide a copy of your annual accounts
  • you need an award of between £100 and £1,000
  • you can spend the award within one year
  • the people who will benefit from your project live in Northern Ireland
  • you have adopted appropriate policies in line with your type of work
  • your award will pay for your project-related costs.

We cannot make awards to:

  • individuals and sole traders
  • companies which aim to distribute a profit
  • organisations not legally established in the UK.

What We Do Not Fund

We will not fund:

  • projects that take place outside of Northern Ireland
  • general running costs which are not part of your project, for example, regular ongoing staff costs, rates, gas or electricity bills, routine repairs and maintenance (including maintenance equipment), regular rent payments
  • salary costs of new permanent or fixed term staff
  • items which only benefit an individual, for example: prizes, scholarships, bursaries, personal clothing or equipment, purchase of tickets for events
  • purchase of alcohol
  • VAT that you can recover from HM Revenue and Customs
  • activities promoting religious beliefs
  • activities promoting political beliefs
  • activities that are funded through taxes
  • costs which will be paid to members of the applicant organisation, for example, as tutors or facilitators
  • goods or services that you order or receive, and activities or events that happen, before the date of our award letter (this is called retrospective funding)
  • donations (to individuals, organisations or charities)
  • fundraising events or activities
  • costs we think are unreasonable

Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults

We need to be sure that any children, young people under the age of 18 and vulnerable adults you may work with will be safe. If your project will be working with any of these people, you must have a policy that explains how you make sure of this and be able to show that the policy is put into practice.

Letter of Offer

If your organisation is successful, we will send you a letter of offer outlining:

  • the general conditions of the grant;
  • any special conditions;
  • your project and its targets.

The Letter of Offer shall outline the agreed project budget reflecting the amount we have awarded.

Before we can release any grant payments, you must sign the letter of offer to say you accept it. At the latest, this must happen within one month of the date of the letter of offer or we will withdraw the offer of the grant.We will not fund any project costs you pay or agree to pay before you have signed and returned the letter of offer.We will pay 80% upon receipt of signed Letter of Offer and 20% upon receipt of Post Project Evaluation.You must get written approval from before making any changes to the project or the budget.If you receive a grant offer and no longer want to take it up, please tell us in writing as soon as possible.

Monitoring and Reporting

We will expect you to complete a Post Project Evaluation monitoring form based on information provided in the application form. We will also audit a sample of organisations to ensure the grant was spent within the terms and conditions of the funding.

If your project does not meet its targets and outcomes, we can review and reduce the amount of funding awarded.

Applying

To apply, please return your completed application form by email:

or by post:

Clanmil Housing

3 Waring Street

Belfast

BT1 2DX

ORGANISATION DETAILS FORM FOR CLANMIL COMMUNITY FUND

Organisation Details
Name of organisation:
Have you previously applied to the Clanmil Community Fund? / Y / N
Name of contact: / Title: Mr/Ms/Other
Position held:
Organisation address: / Correspondence address (if different):
Postcode: / Postcode:
Telephone: / Contact telephone:
Website:
Charity number (if applicable):
Contact email address:
When was your organisation established?
In which geographical area/s do you work?
Do Clanmil work in your area/s?
How many paid staff do you employ? Full-time: / Part time:
How many volunteers do you have?
Organisation Reference
Please list the names and give brief details (e.g. ‘local resident’, ‘service user’, Local Authority
representative’, ‘social worker’) of your trustees:
How often do the trustees meet?
Account Details
From your most recent annual accounts, (year ended: / ) please tell us the total:
Income: £ / Expenditure: £ / Free reserves: £
Signature of Chair, Vice Chair or Treasurer:
Print name: / Date:

*Please remember that this sheet is only one part of your application – you also need to complete the About Your Work section on the following pages.

About Your Work

1. Please tell us a little bit about the work that you do.
2. Tell us about the community you work with and the challenges you seek to address.
3. What practical difference do you want to make through this project?
4. Please explain how your project meets one or more of our Funding Priorities, which are outlined on page 2.
5. Please provide a detailed budget including any additional funding or resources.
6. Please download the HACT Social Value Calculator and outline the anticipated social value of your project using this tool. A guide for using this tool can be downloaded here.

CLANMIL HOUSING MEDIA GUIDELINES

Our name

Please refer to us as ‘The Clanmil Housing Group’ in full, in the first instance. Thereafter please use ‘Clanmil’. Please do not use any other alternative.

Media and Public Relations

We expect funding recipients to seek publicity in the relation to the funding they have received and to acknowledge Clanmil in this. In addition, we require them to take part in any publicity that we may do in relation to the grant award including photo opportunities and the provision of relevant quotes for press releases.

All media releases and media briefing materials issued in relation to funding must appropriately acknowledge Clanmil Housing. This includes standard text (see below) which should be included as a ‘Note to Editors’ and should include contact details for Clanmil Housing press office, general enquiries and website.

Draft press releases for media events, announcements or publications related to funding must be shared as early as possible to avoid clashes with media work being carried out by Clanmil Housing and to ensure adequate support can be provided. Significant media coverage should be shared with Clanmil Housing so it can be circulated to colleagues and where appropriate, promoted through social media and other channels.

When using quotes in press releases about the project we have helped to fund make sure to request and include a quote from Clanmil’s Community Development Manager.

We expect the following to be included in the notes to editors in relation to all press releases issued about the project Clanmil has helped to fund:

Notes to Editors

Clanmil Housing

Clanmil Housing is one of Northern Ireland’s leading housing associations and currently owns and manages almost 4,000 homes throughout Northern Ireland including family homes, homes for single people, independent living schemes for older people, housing with care for frail older people and supported housing for older people with dementia.

Clanmil aims to provide great homes that strengthen communities with service that matter.

As part of Clanmil's 40th Anniversary we will be awarding 10 community grants to local voluntary and community groups, to help improve peoples lives and strengthen communities.

Clanmil Website:

Twitter: @ClanmilHousing

Facebook: Clanmil Housing Association

For funding and general enquiries please call: 02890876000

For press enquiries please call: 02890876000

Social media

Clanmil Housing promotes and shares news and stories about our work on a range of social media channels. Funding recipients are encouraged to create stories, blogs, case studies, video and other content that can be promoted externally via social media.

Any materials produced in relation to the project Clanmil has helped to fund should be shared with Clanmil Housing’s for promotion on their social media channels.

Please use the handle @ClanmilHousing or the hashtag #ClanmilCommunityFund when mentioning Clanmil Housing’s Community Fund on social media, to make it as easy as possible to track and share content.

If you have any questions about Clanmil’s hashtags for specific themes, please discuss this with your contract manager.

All materials for external audiences should be produced in plain English to ensure they are as accessible as possible.