Covid Impact Fund
Worcestershire Community Foundation
Award
Up to £50k
Deadline
Rolling — apply any time
Where
Not stated
Summary
We are pleased to be partnering with Worcestershire County Council to offer the opportunity to support community services to apply for a grant to help support vulnerable households and families with children, particularly those affected by the ongoing impacts of the COVID pandemic where alternative
Full details
We are pleased to be partnering with Worcestershire County Council to offer the opportunity to support community services to apply for a grant to help support vulnerable households and families with children, particularly those affected by the ongoing impacts of the COVID pandemic where alternative sources of assistance may be unavailable. Guidelines What is the funding for? The Covid Impact Fund is open to local organisations who provide a range of support services to Worcestershire residents meeting one of the themes and outcomes outlined below: Theme Example of a positive outcome Households experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, poverty Risk of poverty is reduced, and family financial situation improved reducing household stress Individuals experiencing social isolation Individuals are able to access and maintain new and existing contacts which enables them to maintain their mental wellbeing Individuals affected by domestic abuse Support and appropriate signposting in place to contribute to reducing the risk of domestic abuse in a household Support to vulnerable households which include a person aged 19 to 25 with special educational needs and disability (SEND) and/or care leavers Vulnerable households are supported to maintain their overall wellbeing and help reduce the negative impact of COVID (those who are disproportionately affected) Individuals and families whose mental wellbeing has been impacted as a result the COVID pandemic (low level support) Services that support and promote wellbeing are easily accessible and individuals are supported to improve their mental wellbeing Addressing health inequalities Individuals and families who are at risk of experiencing ill health, as a result of identified health inequalities, are supported with additional resources to improve their overall quality of life How much can I apply for? • A one off grant of up to £10,000. Please note we welcome applications for less than £10,000 depending on need. • Grants over and above £10,000 up to a maximum of £50,000 may be considered where a strong case can be made. This might include an application taking a strategic approach to addressing one or more of the key themes, or a collaborative bid by VCS partners working together to address one or more of the key themes. Or where an application makes a strong and valid case that greater funding is required and can be realistically utilised in the timeframe. Applications for grants in excess of £10,000 will be subject to additional Council approval. What can the funding be spent on? • Approved grants will be treated as restricted funds and therefore must only be spent on expenditure agreed and any funds not spent returned; • Up to 10% management fee for running costs can be applied to your application; • Only capital costs that demonstrate direct positive outcomes for individuals or families will be approved; • Funding must be spent on one or more of the funding themes as outlined above and demonstrate in the application form that positive outcomes will be achieved • The scheme is not intended to be used for the provision of general advice on managing debt and/or financial hardship. Who can apply Organisations who apply for funding should be one of the following: • a voluntary or community organisation; • a registered charity; • a constituted group or club; • a not-for-profit company or Community Interest Company; • a school (as long as your project benefits and involves the communities around the school); or a statutory body (including town, parish and community council); • a joint application from the above groups. Considerations for your application In your application, please be realistic about the numbers you can reach and your capacity to do so. • Please help us to understand how we can be sure you can reach those families and vulnerable households. • Monitoring will require you to record the postcode of the families/vulnerable households reached and how much funding each receives. • All funding must have been spent and reported on by the end of March 2022. The following are not essential but if you are able to include either of the following in your application, WCF would welcome that: • If your reach includes Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic communities, please state that in your application, as WCF are keen to monitor how effectively we are reaching these communities; • If you have proactive ways to identify and reach families that are impacted by hardship for the first time, we would be keen to hear about how you are doing that in your application. What information will I need to apply? As well as the completed application form you will also need to provide the following: • A copy of your organisation’s governing document/constitution/set of rules that set out the purpose of your organisation and how it is managed. • Evidence of a bank account in the name of the organisation. The bank account must have at least two signatories. Alternatively, if you belong to a small organisation that does not have a bank account, another charitable organisation can look after the funds for you. But, you must provide written authorisation from the organisation that will do this. • A copy of your organisation’s most recent accounts or financial information that show your organisation’s balance of funds, income and expenditure. If you do not have financial records that cover a full year, then you will need to provide the records you currently have. • A copy of your organisation’s safeguarding policy if you work directly with children or vulnerable adults. • A copy of your organisation’s equality policy. Please note, applications cannot be assessed if the above supporting documents are not provided. What happens after I apply? Each application will be fully assessed by the Worcestershire Community Foundation. We may contact you for further information. You will be advised of the outcome of your application within three weeks of the panel meeting, and a Conditions of Grant Offer letter and acceptance form will be forwarded for you to sign and return. This will explain both general and any project-specific conditions that the Trustees are applying. Definitions For the purposes of this grant (and without prejudice to other schemes): The definition of a child is any person: • who will be under the age of 19 as at 31 March 2021; or • a person aged 19 or over in respect of whom a child-related benefit (for example, Child Benefit) is paid or free school meals are provided; • Vulnerable households which include a person aged 19 to 25 with special educational needs and disability (SEND) and/or care leavers. If you have any questions about any aspect of making an application to this fund, please contact grants@comfirst.org.uk For further information on Worcestershire Council support and grants programmes please go to: Here2help Ready Steady Worcestershire