VCS Partnership Grants Programme: Strategic Volunteering Partners / Application Form

www.islington.gov.uk

Islington Voluntary and Community Sector Partnership Grants Programme 2016 – 2020

Application Form

Please read the Information and Guidance Document carefully before completing this form.

  1. About your organisation

1a. Organisation Contact Details (If consortium please provide details of lead partner)
Name of organisation
Job Title
Main Contact Person
Address
Ward
Telephone
Email Address
Website Address
Consortium members (if appropriate)
From where in Islington do you currently deliver activities/services?
(if different from above or if delivering across multiple sites)
1b. Chairperson’s Contact Details (If consortium please provide details of lead contact)
Name
Address
Telephone
Email Address
1c. Please tell us about your organisation(s)
What do you do? What is your primary focus? Who do you work with?
(Maximum 300 words for individual application/ 500 words for consortium bids)
1d. Governance
Are you a not-for-profit organisation? / Yes ☐ No ☐
What is the status of your organisation? (Please select) / Registered Charity / ☐
Community Group / ☐
Co-operative / ☐
Faith and Equalities Group / ☐
Social Enterprise / ☐
Community Interest Company / ☐
Other (Please State)
When were you formed?
1e. Finance
Does your organisation pay all employees and contracted staff the London Living Wage as a minimum? (Currently £9.40 per hour) / Yes ☐ No ☐
Is your organisation currently operating in deficit? / Yes ☐ No ☐
What was your organisation’s turnover in 2014/15? / £
What was your organisation’s expenditure in 2014/15? / £
What non-committed cash reserves did your organisation have on 31st March 2015? / £
What percentage of your income in 2014 - 2015 was from:
  • Grants and contracts from Islington Council
/ %
  • Other Funders/Trusts?
/ %
  • Contracts
/ %
  • Earned income (e.g. office rental, sale of services)
/ %
  • Other (Please State)
/ %
%
%
What is the value of the assets you hold? / £
Does your organisation have any financial liabilities? (e.g. loans) Please provide details and amounts.
What future plans do you have to diversify your income stream and make efficiencies? (Maximum 250 words)

2.Your Proposal

As a Strategic Volunteering Partner we want you to help us to:

1.)Provide strategic leadership to promote volunteering in Islington’s VCS

2.)Create high quality volunteering opportunities within Islington’s VCS

3.)Work with VCS partners and local businesses to ensure that Islington’s VCS capitalises on corporate volunteering programmes

4.)Work with the VCS, council and other key partners to ensure Islington’s VCS provides pathways into employment for Islington residents

Further information about the specific role we envisage for Islington’s VCS Strategic Volunteering Partners is outlined in the Information and Guidance Notes accompanying this application form.

We would like to know how the services or activities that you plan to deliver can support Islington’s voluntary and community sector to sustain and grow. In particular we want to know:

  • What outcomes you are seeking and your programme of activities and services that will achieve these outcomes.
  • Your vision and definition of success.
  • Your rationale for adopting the approach you have proposed.
  • Your target beneficiaries, how you will reach them, and how you have involved them in designing your services.
  • How you propose to monitor, evaluate and communicate your work.

It is important that your answers to these questions are realistic, as subject to your application being successful, they will form the basis of our grant agreement and ongoing monitoring.

2a. Summary: Your Services/Activities
Please provide an overview of the services/activities that you will deliver over the next four years if your application to the VCS Grants Programme is successful. (Maximum 1000 words)
Please tell us about:
  • The outcomes you are seeking
  • Your programme of activities and services that will achieve these outcomes.
  • Your vision and definition of success.
  • Your rationale for adopting the approach you have proposed.

3.Your Beneficiaries

3a. Your Beneficiaries
Please tell us about the residents and local VCS organisations that will benefit from your services over the next four years. (Maximum 250 Words)
How will your organisation ensure its work promotes cohesion, reduces inequalities and champions the needs of Islington’s diverse communities? (Maximum 250 words)
How have you/do you plan to involve your beneficiaries in designing your services? (Maximum 250 words)
How many VCS organisations do you estimate will benefit from your services?

4.Our Priorities

Please tell us how the services and activities that you have described above will help deliver the priorities outlined below.

4a. Key theme one: Provide strategic leadership to promote volunteering in Islington’s voluntary and community sector
How will your organisation provide strategic leadership to promote volunteering in Islington’s voluntary and community sector? (Maximum 750 words)
4b. Key theme two: Create high quality volunteering opportunities within Islington’s voluntary and community sector
How will your organisation Create high quality volunteering opportunities within Islington’s VCS? (Maximum 750 words)
4c. Key theme three: Work with VCS partners and local businesses to ensure that Islington’s voluntary and community sector capitalises on corporate volunteering programmes
How will you work with VCS partners and local businesses to ensure that Islington’s voluntary and community sector capitalises on corporate volunteering programmes? (Maximum 750 words)
4d. Key theme four: Work with the VCS, council and other key partners to ensure Islington’s voluntary and community sector provides pathways into employment for Islington residents
How will you work with the VCS, Council and other key partners to ensure Islington’s voluntary and community sector provides pathways into employment for Islington residents? (Maximum 750 Words)

5.Risks & Monitoring

5a. Risks & Monitoring
What risks do you foresee in delivering the activities and services that you have outlined and how do you intend to mitigate and manage these risks? (Maximum 500 words)
How do you propose to monitor, evaluate and communicate your work?(Maximum 500 words)

6.Your Budget

How much funding are you requesting? (per annum) / £
Please outline how you would spend the amount of funding requested (per annum) / Amount
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
Total / £

7.Your Past Performance and Future Plans

This section is an opportunity to tell us more about your organisation’s past performance and future plans.

7a. What has been your organisation’s biggest achievement in the previous two years and what impact did it have? (Maximum 250 words)
7b. What is your previous experience of promoting volunteering in Islington? (Maximum 250 words)
7c. How does your organisation ensure that its support and capacity building services are accessible to Islington’s diverse voluntary and community sector? (Maximum 250 words)
7d. What partnerships has your organisation established and how will your organisation work in collaboration with other organisations, including other statutory services?(Maximum 250 words)
7e.How does your organisation ensure continuous improvement in the quality of its services? (Maximum 250 words)
  1. Monitoring

Organisational profile: Please tell us more about your organisation’s make up.

8a. Gender:
Please tell us how many employees, volunteers and board members would identify themselves as:
Male / Female / Prefer not to say
8b. Age Range:
How many of your employees, volunteers and board members are the following ages?
16 to 24 / 25 to 34 / 35 to 44
45 to 54 / 55 to 64 / 65 and over
8c. Sexuality:
Please tell us how many employees, volunteers and board members would consider themselves:
Bisexual / Heterosexual / Gay
Lesbian / Prefer not to say
8d. Ethnicity:
Asian or Asian British:
Please tell us how many employees, volunteers and board members would consider themselves:
Bangladeshi / Indian / Pakistani
Other Asian background (please specify)
Black or Black British:
Please tell us how many employees, volunteers and board members would consider themselves:
Caribbean / Ghanaian
Eritrean / Somali
Nigerian / Other African background
Please specify
Other Black of Black British background (please specify)
Mixed Race:
Please tell us how many employees, volunteers and board members would consider themselves
White and Asian / White and Black African / White and Black Caribbean
Other Mixed Race background (please specify)
Chinese and other Ethnic Group:
Please tell us how many employees, volunteers and board members would consider themselves:
Chinese / Filipino / Vietnamese
Other Ethnic Group (please specify)
White:
Please tell us how many employees, volunteers and board members would consider themselves:
British / Greek/ Greek Cypriot
Irish / Kurdish
Turkish/ Turkish Cypriot / Other White background
Please specify
8e. Religion or Belief:
Please tell us how many employees, volunteers and board members would consider themselves:
Buddhist / Christian / Hindu
Jewish / Muslim / Pagan
Rastafarian / Sikh / No Religion or Belief
Other Religion or Belief (please specify)
8f. Disability:
Please tell us how many employees, volunteers and board members would consider themselves to have a disability:
Blind and visual impairment / Hearing or communication difficulties / Experiencing mental health distress
Learning difficulties / Mobility / Other Disability
Other Disability (please specify)
  1. Your Supporting Documents

For Stage One, you should provide us with all of the following documents.

Governance documents:
Copy of Constitution / ☐
Copy of minutes from most recent AGM / ☐
Copy of minutes from most recent Board Meeting/ Management Committee / ☐
Copy of members in key management committee positions / ☐
Copy of Public Liability Insurance, Employers Liability Insurance and Professional Indemnity Insurance / ☐
Key policy documents:
Equal Opportunities Policy / ☐
Data Protection Policy / ☐
Financial Management and Procedures Policy / ☐
Financial Reserve Policy / ☐
Safeguarding documents:
Whistle Blowing Policy / ☐
Safeguarding Policy / ☐
Finance and accounting documents:
Annual Audited Accounts 2014-2015 / ☐
Financial Management Accounts for last quarter / ☐
Copy of most recent Bank Statement / ☐
  1. Background Information

Premises
As part of our commitment to Islington’s voluntary and community sector we are interested in assisting organisations to find affordable office and work space. (This information will not be used to assess your application)
Are you operating from premises/ property owned by (please tick as appropriate): / Islington Council / ☐
Private landlord / ☐
VCS Organisation / ☐
Owner Occupier / ☐
Other
(Please Specify)
What is your current rent per annum? / £
Is there a Service Charge? / Yes ☐ No ☐
If ‘YES’ what is the Service Charge per annum? / £
When does your current Lease/ License Agreement expire?
Which of these facilities do you use? / Office Space / ☐
Small Meeting/ Delivery Space / ☐
Large Delivery Space / ☐
One-to-one Interviewing space / ☐
What is the total size of the facilities you currently occupy in square metres?
Staff, Trustees and Volunteers
As part of our support to Islington’s voluntary and community sector we are interested in assisting organisations to access professional development opportunities for their trustees, employees and volunteers. (This information will not be used to assess your application, but may be shared with other strategic borough-wide partners)
Does your organisation have a training plan? / Yes ☐ No ☐
Does this cover: / Yes ☐ No ☐
  • Staff
/ Yes ☐ No ☐
  • Trustees
/ Yes ☐ No ☐
  • Volunteers
/ Yes ☐ No ☐
What is your organisation’s training budget? / £ / What percentage of your turnover budget is allocated to training? / %
Do you feel your organisation would benefit from additional training? / Yes ☐ No ☐
If ‘Yes’, what are the key development needs?
  • Organisational

  • Staff

  • Trustees

  • Volunteers

  1. Declaration

In submitting this Application Form via our website or email, the named contact is agreeing to the following statement on behalf of your organisation.

“The information I have provided is accurate as far as I know. If I discover that the information is inaccurate I will notify the Council immediately and will provide the accurate information as soon as possible. I confirm that my organisation meets all the basic Eligibility Criteria listed in Guidance Notes. I am aware that I may be asked to provide further evidence to support the information provided and agree to do so if requested.”

Please email your application form to .

The closing date is Friday 4th March 2016 (12:00 noon)

Applications submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.

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