ROSA WOMEN TO WOMEN FUND

ROSA has been awarded £2.2 million from VAT receipts on sanitary products, popularly known as the ‘Tampon Tax’ for its Women to Women programme, which offers grants and support to small grassroots women’s groups.

Applications are invited from women’s organisations that:

o Address the critical needs of women and girls that miss out the most, including: marginalised populations, BME women, lesbian, bisexual or transgender women and girls, women and girls with disabilities, older women, homeless women, survivors of gender violence, women in prison and ex-offenders, and other underserved and disadvantaged groups of women;  and
o Operate in less economically resilient towns, cities and rural areas within the UK.

ROSA is particularly interested in funding work that increases impact and sustainability. Therefore grants can pay for core costs such as staff salaries, office rent and staff training; as well as project costs such as drop-in support services, mobilising volunteers and outreach. ROSA is committed to supporting voluntary sector organisations pay the living wage. Grants made towards staff costs will be paid a minimum of the "Living Wage" where possible.

Charitable organisations in the UK with an income of less than £100,000 can apply for a grant of between £5,000 and £25,000.

It is expected that approximately 100 groups will receive funding during the three funding rounds in 2017. This bulletin relates to the third and final round, which opens this November. 

There is no requirement for match funding. In addition to grants, ROSA will provide additional support that womens’ groups say they need, including mentoring, training and networking opportunities.

Applicants must:

o Be a women's sector organisation;
o Be a charitable organisation - although it is not necessary to be a registered charity, the group's activities must be charitable and legal;
o Be a local organisation which is not part of a national enterprise;
o Have an income of less than £100,000 per year or employ less than two full-time paid members of staff;
o Have a written governing document, such as a constitution or set of rules;
o Have a governing body with at least three unrelated members;
o Have a UK-based bank or building society account in the name of the organisation, with at least two unrelated signatories.

The following are not eligible for funding:

o Work that is not exclusively targeting women and girls as beneficiaries;
o Work intended to benefit specific individuals as opposed to groups in the community;
o The purchase or upgrade of physical assets such as buildings or equipment;
o Paid for advertising and marketing;
o Work that should be provided by statutory organisations;
o Party political activities;
o Activities promoting religious beliefs;
o Overseas travel;
o Interest payment on loans;
o One-off conferences or events unless they are part of a longer term strategy;
o Research, except tightly focused on a specific issue;
o Fundraising events;
o Profit-making work;
o Work that has already taken place; or
o Work outside of the UK.

An online application form, guidelines and frequently asked questions is available on the ROSA website.

There is a two-stage application process. Groups must first complete the stage one application. Those that are shortlisted will go on to the second stage.

The final round for 2017 will open in early November - if you're interested in applying, detailed criteria from the previous round can be found on the ROSA website.

Contact details for ROSA are:

ROSA
United House
4th Floor
North Road
London N7 9DP
Tel: 020 7697 3466
Email: info@rosauk.org

(Source: GRIN)