Walesafrica Community Links

WalesAfrica Community Links

Organisational Development Fund 2012-13

WACL is funded by Welsh Government (WG) through the Department of the First Minister, who is responsible for Wales’ international relations. Many of Wales’ most dynamic links with Sub-Saharan Africa are led by voluntary and civil society organisations (CSOs). WACL is one of several international development networks supported by the WG ‘Wales for Africa’ programme. This funding represents an investment of public money in the professional development of your organisation, as ambassadors for Wales and for Welsh civil society.

Wales Africa Community Links (WACL) supports voluntary organisations in Wales to develop partnership links with community-based organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa, using the UN Gold Star Award framework for community link development as the foundation.

WACL support Welsh civil society and community-based organisations who promote and develop:

Volunteerism - broadening individuals’ horizons, aspirations and professional skills through participation in Wales-Africa exchanges.
Charitable Links, who facilitate charitable / philanthropic giving and support to African partners
Learning Links, who develop friendships and partnerships through exchanges, sharing learning and understanding, and use their Wales Africa link to raise awareness of and action on global issues.
Solidarity Links, who empower communities to participate in decision making, advocate for their needs and work together to shape their communities’ development.
Development Links, who contribute towards alleviating poverty (focusing on livelihoods, health, environment, youth, and equality) and realising the 8 UN MDGs (Millennium Development Goals).

Between 2007 and 2012, WACL supported over 100 Welsh organisations with over 230 individual projects. We support network member organisations through securing and providing:

Information – website materials and publications; media, advocacy and profile
Funding – organisational development grants; ‘special initiatives’ funding; funder advice
Organisational Development – skills training; 121 support to groups; monitoring and evaluation
Sharing Practice – networking and events; collaborative projects; awards recognition

To make an application to WACLs Organisational Development Fund, please complete the following:
A.Check Eligibility Checklist, Funding Level Checklist and UN Gold Star Framework.

Application Summary, Terms & Conditions and Authorised Signature (to summarise your proposal)
Budget Narrative (detail your expenditure and rationale)
Grant Activity Plan (for ALL applications, explain what you intend to do with the funds)
Partnership agreement and requested documentation (for applications above £2,000 only)
Project Strategy (for applications above £2,000 only, this explains your anti-poverty strategy)
Community Link Registration (for new applications only)

Fill in all yellow / shaded boxes briefly and succinctly. WE DO NOT EXPECT MORE THAN 3-5 BRIEF BULLET POINTS PER ANSWER.Forproject development support / advice - and to register for free training towards applications -please ring the Africa Links team on 08002 888 329 or email

A. WHAT do we fund - and HOW MUCH?

Eligibility and Funding Level Checklists

A1. Purpose of the WACL Scheme

WACL is a Welsh civil society capacity building programme. Our aim is to build the capacity of Welsh voluntary sector organisations, to be able to support linked African partner organisations effectively.
We are NOT a direct funder of development or humanitarian projects in Africa; although we do
liaise and maintain relationships with key international funders
publish a regularly updated ‘funding guide for international projects’
offer free training courses on accessing international funding.
Our own grant scheme is designed to cover gaps not filled by other funders.
Between 2007 and 2012 the WACL programme has administered 190 grant applications, and from these supported and managed 154 projects across 20 Welsh Authority areas, linked with 22 Sub-Saharan African nations.
We use the UN Gold Star Framework for Community Linking as our ‘roadmap’ for supporting linking groups through their organisational development (see section A3). The UN Gold Star framework (and organisations’ progression against this) determines funding levels, development support and awards recognition.

A2. Eligibility Checklist: WHO and WHAT do we NOT fund?

We WILL fund / We WILL NOT fund / “Grey Areas”
Contact WACL team for advice
Community Links registered with the WACL programme (see Appendix A) / Unsolicited funding requests Organisations who have not registered with WACL / Registration form included in Appendix A should be completed if you are a new applicant.
Welsh Voluntary, community-based and civil society organisations (including social enterprise and ethical trade) / Individuals
Businesses or for-profit ventures
Evangelising, prosthelytising or Political organisations / Unconstituted community groups
Religious missions
UK groups on the Welsh border
Active projects linking two geographic communities in Wales and Sub-Saharan Africa / Organisations working in multiple locations / countries
Issue-based project activities (with no specific community focus)
Links beyond Sub-Saharan Africa / ‘Communities of interest’ we will rarely fund, unless there is a very strong project specific case (eg for diaspora communities)
Organisational bank account requiring 2 (unrelated) signatories / Individual bank accounts
Overseas bank accounts / Organisational hosts (holding funds on behalf of a group)
Organisational development, learning, capacity building and skills exchange activities / Standalone charitable, humanitarian or schools activities / Development education projects, where there is a clear integration with an active community link.
Visits from Wales to Africa and Africa to Wales, by appropriately skilled & active volunteers / Capital purchase ofequipment or buildings materials in Africa / Equipment necessary to communication of link eg ICT
Flights and Carbon Compensation / Large group travel eg school visits / Paid consultancy work
Transportation and transfers, including vehicle / drivers / Home visits by individuals, without clear organisational outcomes / Shipping RARELY considered for specialist materials / equipment
Accommodation and Subsistence / Relaxation activities, alcohol etc / Entertainment
Production of materials or information / Academic research or costs
Inset costs for teachers / Paid website development – there are free online tools and social networks
Venue hire for training or events / Funding of posts / salaries / Stipends / retainers to link / visit organisers and fixers

A3. Funding Levels and Grant-Supported Activities

WACL has a total grants fund of £60,000 annually, which we disperse on behalf of the Welsh Government subject to accountability, rules and conditions that surround public funding.
We expect to disperse approximately half towards organisational development grants of £2,000 or less, spread between 20-25 organisations in Wales; and the remaining half towards poverty project grants of between £2,000-5,000, spread between 6-10 organisations in Wales.
Our funding levels are aligned with the UN Gold Star framework progression stages. The following table illustrates levels of funding that the grants panel will consider towards increasing levels of activity.
In deciding how much to apply for, on a sliding scale the more your grant project aims to achieve, the more funding the grants panel will consider; eg an exchange visit of 2-3 people developing several clear and distinctive project strands, will be viewed more favourably than a generalist group visit.

UN Gold Star Framework Progression Levels

Types of Fundable Activity / Funding Level / Expected Outputs
1Charitable Links / Community awareness raising and engagement

public events to raise awareness
meetings to recruit volunteers, explore project ideas and motivations for linking
production of publicity materials,
fundraising and campaigning activities.
Community education initiatives based on link

NB – We do not fund community mobilisation actions on their own, only as an integrated part of a larger grant application. / Up to £500
(as part of a broader project proposal, eg £500 within a £2k grant) /

Increased knowledge & understanding about your partner community and their issues
More supporters and volunteers recruited
Increased involvement of local community in link
Governance structures and basic funding in place

2 Learning Links / Needs Assessment, ParticipationPartnership Exchanges

Subsidising familiarisation exchange visits for individuals from Africa to Wales and/or vice versa
Research & learning about each other’s communities
Building relationships with key stakeholders
Understanding and assessing needs of community
Engaging in community participation
Developing longer-term project plans.
Negotiating & documenting partnership agreements

/ From £500 /

Partnership Agreement(s) negotiated, documented and signed.
Participatory consultation and needs assessments completed
Awareness and understanding of purpose of link among range of stakeholders in both communities
Project plans identified / agreed

Sliding scale
Up to
£2,000
Partnership Agreements are required as an output of grants below £2k; and required for funding above £2k.
3 Partnership Links / CapacityBuilding and Skills Development
to meet locally identified Poverty Needs advancing Livelihoods, Environment, Health, Youth and/or Equality, and contributing towards the UN MDGs.

Subsidising exchange visits from Africa to Wales and vice versa, with the express purpose of
delivering projects requiring specific expertise,
training people in specific skills
capacity building of partners / organisations
coordination with other development actors, local authorities and district offices
develop impact monitoring & evaluation processes and reflective learning with your partners

/ From £1500 /

Access to and advocacy with decision makers
Strengthen organisations to provide new services, improve service delivery, or develop new ways of working
Sustainable technical solutions
Increased people supported
Make tangible contribution towards effective small-scale poverty reduction
Understand what worked and what didn’t work in your project

Sliding scale
Up to
£4,000
4 Development Links / Collaborative and Strategic Projects – As above, but with established agreements, relevant interagency coordination and M&E processes in place, we may consider

Collaborative projects where 2 or more community links are working together on a joint initiative (which should have a common issue or geographic thread)
Two-staged or multi-annual project plans, where a number of project activities are rolled together into a coherent and themed programme.
Replication, where an intervention is piloted and replicated to reach a wider beneficiary base.

/ From £1500 /

As above, plus
Impact substantially multiplied through extension of project scope
Changes have addressed systemic drivers of poverty / inequality.
Organisational learning and development from collaborative working and peer review
Public accountability through open sharing of learning and M&E.

Sliding scale
Up to £5,000

1. Your Application Summary

Welsh Organisation / African PartnerOrganisation
Name of Welsh Link Community (Town or Area) / Name of African Link Community
Project Title
Grant Amount requested from WCVA / £ / Your Match Funding / £

1.1 Your Organisation’s Bank Details

It is important that you complete this section very carefully as all grants are paid by Bank Automated Clearing System (BACS); this is therefore the information WCVA will use to make your payment if your application is successful. Details must be in the name of the group, or an organisation nominated by you to hold the funds on your behalf. WCVA cannot pay money into individual accounts, into Post Office National Savings accounts, or issue cheques, we can however make payments to Giro accounts. If you have a Building Society or Giro bank account please contact your branch and ask for the sort code and account number needed for BACS payment.

1.10 Organisation name on Account
1.11 Bank / Building society Name
Address of Bank / Building Soc
1.12 Sort Code / Account
Number
Building society roll number (if applicable)
1.13 Authorised Signatories
(Full Names)

1.2 Terms and Conditions

Full terms and conditions of the Wales Africa Community Links Scheme, details of the grants panel's decision making and appeals processes, and information on other sources of funding, are available from The grants panel may approve a) full funding; b) partial funding; c) conditional funding; d) invite you to resubmit pending changes; or e) reject your application.

Advice towards your application is available by emailing , or you can ring WCVA’sWales Africa Community Linksteam on 08002 888 329. If successful in applying for this grant, you will receive a grant offer letter with full terms and conditions from WCVA, which must be signed and returned before funds can be released. Following completion of the project activities, a Completion Report must be submitted to WCVA within 1 month, up to a maximum of 12 months after receipt of the funds.

1.3 Documents Enclosed and Signed Agreement

Data Protection Act 1998. The information given will be entered and held electronically by WCVA; all forms and contact data will also be kept. The information will be used by WCVA for administration purposes of the grant scheme, collation of statistics, and for the monitoring and promotion of the third sector in Wales. Personal contacts and financial data will be kept secure and confidential. Your organisational contact details and project information will be published on our project website for our e-newsletters, and for ongoing contact from our development staff and mentors. In signing this application you agree to the data provided being held and used for these purposes.

Please confirm the following have been completed and enclosed:

I have read and understood the eligibility checklist, funding levels / criteria, and Gold Star Framework.
Section 1 – Application Summary, Bank Details, Terms & Conditions and Signed Agreement.
Section 2 – Project Budget and Narrative
Section 3 – Project Activity Plan
Section 4 – Anti-Poverty Strategy (for grants above £2,000 only)
Appendix (Section 5) –Organisational Registration (for New Links only)
Copy of relevant requested documentation (Partnership Agreement,Equal Opportunities policy, etc)

I confirm to the best of my knowledge and belief that:

The information supplied in this application form is true and accurate;
I have read the guidance notes and SPECIFICALLY the eligibility and funding criteria (Sections A + B)
I agree to my data being used for the purposes outlined above;
I agree to the terms and conditions of the Wales Africa Community Links Grant Scheme.

Signed / Print Name
Position / Date

Please retain a copy for your files, andreturn your completed, signed application

by email to

or by post to: Wales Africa Community Links, WCVA, Baltic House, Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff, CF10 5FH

BY DEADLINE ON WEBSITE

1.4 GUIDELINE Application Deadlines (subject to change)

Funding Round / Opens from / Application Deadline 23:59 on / Funds Dispersed / For activities within 1 year from
Summer 2012 / 22 May / Wed 20 June / mid-late July / August 2012 (for Autumn projects)
Autumn 2012 / 6 August / Friday 28 Sept / Late October / November 2012 (for Winter projects)
Spring 2013 / 5 November / Mon 28 January / Late February / March 2013 (for Spring projects)
Summer 2013 / 4 March / Mon 29 April / Early June / July 2013 (for Summer projects)
Autumn 2013 / 5 August / Mon 16 Sept / Late October / November 2013 (for Winter projects)
Spring 2014 / 4 November / Mon 27 January / Late February / March 2014 (for Spring projects)

2. HOW will you spend your grant?

Fill in all yellow / shaded boxes briefly and succinctly. WE DO NOT EXPECT MORE THAN 3-5 BRIEF BULLET POINTS PER ANSWER.

Please summarise the overall proposition of your project in ONE brief paragraph (or bullet points) that convey the problem - or opportunity - you want to address, and how your proposed project will address change.How will you describe your project in 20 seconds to a complete stranger, if you want them to support you?

2.1 Match Funding

We do not fund standalone applications that cannot demonstrate financial support from other sources; grant dependency and / or lack of buy-in from others are strong indicators that a project will not succeed or be sustainable. We do however recognise a wide range of match contributions that may include organisations’ own budget inputs; community fundraising; volunteer / staff time and / or expenditure (eg towards travel costs); grants from other funders (you should specify whether these are confirmed or speculative). We do not require a specific match funding ‘percentage’, but a diversity of sources will be viewed favourably. WACL offer development support and a training course on accessing international funding.

Please specify existing and other sources of funding for your project. If you include grants from other funders, please verify whether these are confirmed or in the application stage.

2.2 Budget Narrative

This section should demonstrate to the Grants Panel exactly how your grant will be spent. As these grants represent an investment of public funding in the development of your link organisation, you MUST read the guidance in Section A first to ensure your proposed expenditure meets the eligibility criteria, and the appropriate activity levels.

Budget Line / Total / Amount to be met from WCVA grant / Match funds (from other sources) / Narrative Explanation,
Include quotes / references, and explanation of specific match funding.
EXAMPLE
Flight tickets / £1600 / £600 / £1,000 / £400 per flight (see attached quote from Ethiopian Airlines) x 4 people (Elin Roberts - Teacher; Pushpa Rathod – Community Development worker; Morgan Llywellyn – renewable energy expert; Ashi Gudate - Diaspora Perspectives, filmmaker). Each to pay own contribution of £250 with WCVA grant subsidising £150 of tickets.
TOTAL

Note you will be required to submit with your completion report, anactual expenditure report with receipts for major items. Any grant funds are subject to scrutiny by WCVA and / or Welsh Government Auditors.

2.3 Exchange Visit Participants

Please highlight below, all individual people you anticipate travelling as part of the group associated with the project you are applying for funding towards.

Name / Role in Community
and / or area of expertise / Role during exchange visit
eg / Shirley Bassey / Singer, community mobiliser / Delegation figurehead, meet officials, facilitate community meetings
1
2
3
4
5

It is your responsibility to ensure that all volunteers are appropriately briefed and prepared before their visit to / from Africa; that entry visas, travel insurance, medical cover and innoculations have been secured prior to travel; and that contact and ‘Next of Kin’ information is shared as appropriate. WACL offer development support and a training course on ‘Preparing for Placements in Africa’.