Charnwood Community Grants - Applicant Guidance Notes 2022-23

Following a review of all the Charnwood Grants programmes, this grant is available for applications from all Charnwood Voluntary and Community Sector organisations including Sports Clubs and Physical Activity groups.

Introduction

Charnwood Borough Council supports a diverse and thriving voluntary and community sector which provides opportunities for regular volunteering and to work in partnership with the Council to deliver projects and services in an effective, local, community-led manner as an addition to direct provision by the Council.

The NEW Charnwood Community Grants for 2022/23 enables the Council to provide grants to a wide variety of voluntary and community organisations within Charnwood to further the Council’s aims and actively assist the community to enjoy a better quality of life, particularly where those projects would not go ahead without financial assistance.

The Council understands that voluntary and community organisations have been operating within very different circumstances since the lockdown, with some having to temporarily close buildings, stop offering services and adapting to new ways of supporting beneficiaries.

The Council is keen to support the sector during this difficult and constantly changing period and has revised its grants criteria to support organisations in responding to existing and emerging community needs as lockdown restrictions begin to be lifted and recovery starts.

The Charnwood Community Grant progrramme for 2022/23 has now been amalgamated with the Loughborough Grants and the Sport and Physical Activity Grants providing a more simplified single point of access for all applications.

Please note:

• There will be two grant rounds during this year April 2022 – March 2023:
  • Round 1 will close at 5pm on Friday 13 May 2022
  • Round 2 will close at 5pm on Friday 16 September 2022
• The maximum amount of grant that can be applied for in one year is £5000. Applications can be made in both rounds to a maximum combined total of £5000. If £5000 is awarded in Round 1 you will not be eligible to apply in Round 2. Please note the average amount awarded is likely to be lower than this.
• Grant holders who currently have a grant-funded project from a previous round which is still open to the agreed monitoring and evaluation are eligible to apply, subject to meeting the current grants terms and conditions.
• If the total project cost is greater than the amount being applied for, details of other sources of income, including grants, fundraising and membership subs etc, which will be used to cover the full project cost must be provided.
• Whilst there is no requirement for matched funding, contributions from applicants or partner organisations will be encouraged. This includes in-kind contributions.
• We expect there will be a high number of applications to this fund, therefore the financial position of organisations will be taken into consideration as part of the decision-making process. Applicants will be asked to confirm current levels of reserves and will be asked to confirm why any significant surpluses at the bank, minus restricted and allocated funds, cannot be used instead of applying for a grant.

1. Organisation Eligibility

To be eligible to apply voluntary and community organisations, local charities and sports clubs / physical activity groups must:

• Be operating in Charnwood and working with local people
• Be 'not for private profit'
• Have a constitution / set of rules / articles of association and can confirm legal status eg CIC, Amateur sports club, Limited by Guarantees
• Have a bank account in the name of the organisation with more than one signatory not related or co-habiting, and have available two most recent bank statements from ALL accounts.
• The organisation to which the application relates should not be exclusive: it should allow access to, or use/participation by, the general public. There must be no restriction on membership (unless the group is for a specific age range eg Under 8s football or vulnerable group where restrictions may apply for safety reasons) by any organisation to which a grant is to be made. Membership must be open to the general public and not refused on grounds of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, occupation, religious, political or other beliefs.
• Applications are welcome for sporting activities which demonstrate wider community benefit or being delivered in community settings.
• Where applicable, sport clubs or physical acitivity groups will need to evidence their support/membership of their governing body in their application.
• Comply with the Prevent Duty requirements. The Counter Terrorism & Security Act 2015 places a duty on certain bodies to have ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’ in the exercise of their functions. (www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance)

We cannot fund:

• Charnwood Borough Council Strategic Partners
• Political organisations
• Statutory bodies, including Town / Parish Councils
• Statutory funded provision e.g. health services, educational establishments (excluding Parent-Teacher Associations providing extra-curricular activities / equipment for the benefit of the wider community)
• Exclusively religious activities
• Grants to private / commercial sector organisations
• Grants to individuals.

Examples of ineligible projects:

• Retrospective funding for projects which have already started or taken place or items which have already been purchased
• Exclusively religious / political activity
• Any form of gambling (except small fundraising activities e.g. raffle, tombola etc.)

2. Application Eligibility

The Council have identified key priorities and aims set out in the Council’s Corporate Plan. Applications should fulfil at least one of these aims:

• Healthy Communities
• A Thriving Economy
• Caring for the Environment

Applications can be made for the following:

Core Running Costs For Existing and New Organisations (Please note that we cannot fund any retrospective submissions)

• Costs associated with reopening buildings / community spaces or restarting service delivery that cannot be fully covered by income generated from reduced levels of activities.
• Costs in meeting increased demand for services / new emerging need for services.
• Venue hire costs - this can include increased costs associated with reduced or additional activity sessions that are needed to safely accommodate beneficiary numbers during social distancing that cannot be fully covered by income generated from activities
• Costs associated with volunteer recruitment, retention and development to support the delivery of community activities / services
• Reimbursing extra-ordinary travel costs for staff/volunteers who need to visit service users, if safe to do so, in their home or in other locations
• Staff / stationary / utility bills (e.g. heating /lighting)
• Printing / tostage / telephones
• Developing a new sports club / physical activity group e.g. to purchase sport specific items such as cones, bibs, balls, racquets, kit bags

Activity / event costs:

• Costs associated with delivering community engagement activities which are open to the wider community and create a stronger, active and more engaged community e.g. pop up information events, health & wellbeing events, community gardening etc
• Coaches / tutor fees
• Venue hire

Workshops / courses / training:

• Safeguarding / mental health / first aid training / food hygiene
• New training for staff / volunteers
• Sports coaching and physical activity qualifications NGB Accredited that support a benefit for the organistaion not just the individual (must be recognised by Sport England)

Equipment essential to delivering the outcomes of your project:

• ICT equipment for staff, volunteers or beneficiaries.
• Sports equipment e.g. gymnastics trampette, cricket wicket mower, goal posts, archery target bosses, boats.
• Project materials eg crafts, cooking equipment
• Furniture

Other:

• Anything else deemed acceptable in relation to the criteria for the grant.

This is not a definitive list of examples, so please contact the Grants Team if you need something and not sure if it’s eligible.

3. How your application will be assessed

Your application will be assessed based on:

• How the project meets Charnwood Borough Council’s corporate aims
• Organisations having a clear and consistent approach to what they aim to achieve
• Whether the project is responsive to need and the organisation is well placed to deliver and is aware of what is going on around them
• Having the skills and capabilities to make proper and effective use of resources

4. Supporting documents required

Please ensure the following documents are available to submit with your application:

• A copy of your governing document e.g. constitution / terms of reference / memorandum of articles.
• Copy of your latest audited or independently examined accounts or twelve-month income and expenditure statement.
• Two most recent bank statements from ALL accounts.
• Working with children / adults at risk safeguarding policy or policies if your project involves working with children and / or adults at risk)
• Health and Safety Policy (if you employ five or more staff).
• Equal Opportunities Policy (if you are not using the Council’s policy).
• Sports Club applicants must obtain a letter of endorsement from a representative of their National Governing Body in respect of their proposed project before the application for aid is submitted.

We may not be able to consider your project for funding if you do not submit all the essential information required by the application deadline.

5. General Conditions

• The grant spend must be within a twelve month period from award date
• A progress report will be required six months from grant award as a condition to receiving second instalments and to confirm future delivery of activities.
• Any changes to the project or activity for which the funding was originally granted will require new approval. If there are any changes the organisation should contact our Grants Team. Failure to do so could result in non-payment
• The Charnwood Borough Council logo must be included on all publicity material relating to the project or activity.

If an organisation does not comply with the conditions attached to a grant or does not use it for the purposes for which it was awarded the Council may seek to reclaim some or the entire grant awarded.

6. Further Information

For any queries regarding this grants programme please contact the Grants Team by email grants@charnwood.gov.uk or telephone 01509 634730.

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