Friday 27 April 2018

The Phone Co-op Social Enterprise Start-Up and Expansion Fund

The Phone Co-op Social Enterprise Start-Up and Expansion Fund has been introduced to provide resources to social enterprises, charities or co-operatives to help them at crucial stages of their development. 

The Fund will offer support in the form of credit on a charity's or enterprise's Phone Co-op bills, which can then be used to pay for any telecommunication service provided by The Phone Co-op.
£10,000 has been initially allocated to the Fund.
Applicants can be based anywhere in the UK.
Successful social enterprises applying to the Fund will be allocated £250 credit which can be used to purchase the following services provided by the Phone Co-op.
These can include:
o Fixed line and mobile telephone bills;
o Broadband;
o Web hosting; and
o Telephone systems.
There is no stated requirement for match funding.
To be eligible for the credit, social enterprises must fit into one of the following categories:
o Be new customers of the Phone Co-op; or
o Be taking on additional Phone Co-op services as a result of expansion.
Successful applicants are expected to commit to using The Phone Co-op's services for a minimum of 2 years.
In addition, if the applicant has been advised by a recognised social enterprise business advice agency, such as a Co-operative Development Agency, they will be granted a credit account without having to go through a credit check.
The Social Enterprise Start-Up Fund is a rolling programme and applications may be submitted at any time. 
For further information about the Fund and how to apply, visitThe Phone Co-op website.
Contact details for The Phone Co-op are: 
The Phone Co-op
5 The Millhouse
Elmsfield Business Centre
Worcester Road
Chipping Norton
Oxon
OX7 5XL
Tel: 01608 434 070  

(An email address is not provided with this scheme.)
(Source: GRIN)

Wednesday 25 April 2018

Charity’s former head of finance jailed after stealing £54,000

The former head of finance at Welsh community regeneration charity NSA Afan has been jailed after stealing £54,000 from the organisation. 

Wales Online reported that Gemma Ellen Mason was sentenced to 12 months in prison, and will serve half that time in custody before being released on licence. It said that Swansea Crown Court heard last week that for three-and-a-half years Mason was using the charity’s bank cards to buy things for herself - in total spending some £53,673 of the charity’s money. The website reported that Mason had spent the money on items including fake tan, designer clothes and shoes, handbags, make-up, a diamante-studded headboard, a sofa, novelty penis-shaped drinking straws, cocktail umbrellas, champagne buckets and a tablet computer. -

 To read the full article click here

LLOYDS BANK FOUNDATION - INVEST PROGRAMME

The Lloyds Bank Foundation’s Invest Programme provides funding for core organisational costs that directly relate to the day to day running of charities or CIOs (Charitable Incorporated Organisations). Funding is also available for costs associated with the direct delivery of the charity's work.
Core costs include:
o Building running costs;
o Rent;
o Utilities;
o Heating and lighting;
o Insurance;
o Office costs;
o Stationery;
o IT running costs;
o Management costs;
o Part-funding or funding of salaries; and
o Finance/admin/back office.
Direct delivery costs include:
o Salaries;
o Recruitment;
o Sessional workers;
o Volunteer expenses;
o Travel;
o Training;
o Monitoring and evaluation;
o Promotion; and
o Activity costs.
Grants of between £10,000 and £25,000 per year for 2 or 3 years are available, with the opportunity for continuation funding for a further period of 3 years, or 6 years in total.
Applicants must be supporting people experiencing multiple disadvantage at one of the following critical points in their life:
o Offending:
> On release or prior to release from prison;
> At start or on completion of a community sentence.
o Children and young people leaving a care situation:
> On leaving or preparing to leave care (residential or foster) to live independently;
o People moving from community based or institutional care for mental ill health:
> On leaving institutional care.
> Moving on from or reduction in support from Community Mental Health Teams.
o Unemployment:
> From a period of unemployment of at least six months for those furthest away from the labour market;
o Homelessness/vulnerably housed:
> From a position of having no accommodation (or being vulnerably housed).
o To independent living for those with a learning disability:
> On leaving the care of the family home or a residential establishment; 
o From dependency on alcohol, drugs, and/orgambling;
>At the point when an individual decides to break or reduce dependency.
o From an abusive or exploitative relationship - domestic violence:
> When an individual decides to remove themselves from or assert themselves within an abusive/exploitative relationship.
o From trafficking or sexual exploitation:
> At the point an individual is able to remove themselves from a trafficked or exploited situation;
> At the point an individual decides they are able to address the impacts of being exploited or trafficked.
o To UK settlement - refugees and asylum seekers:
> From the point of arrival in the UK or on granting of refugee status.
o To parenthood for young parents:
> For young parents aged under 21 on becoming parents.
o Those taking on caring responsibilities:
> At the point of taking on the long term caring of a friend or relative;
> At the point of transition from a long term caring situation;
> A significant change in the circumstances of the carer or cared for person.
o For older people losing independence:
> At the point they need additional support to continue living independently;
> At the point of transition to residential care.
Applicants must be able to report both the number of people who have achieved one or more of the specified Transition Outcomesand the number of people achieving one or more of the specified Progression Outcomes.
Transition Outcomes are:
o Safe, independent and able to make positive choices;
o Becoming employed;
o Becoming a regular volunteer (more than 20 hours in a six month period);
o Have not re-offended (in the previous six months);
o Achieved accredited qualifications;
o Moved into or re-entered education or training;
o Achieved increased basic skills;
o Moved into safe and suitable accommodation;
o Moved into independent living;
o Safely managing addictions; and/or
o Better able to manage their mental health issues.
Progression Outcomes are:
o Improved safety;
o Improved self esteem/confidence;
o Improved physical health;
o Improved mental health;
o Reduced isolation/increased support networks;
o Improved budgeting/money management skills;
o Improved employability;
o Reduced stress/anxiety;
o Managing a tenancy and accommodation;
o Reduced substance misuse/addictive behaviour;
o Improved basic skills; and/or
o Improved living skills
Eligible applicants must:
o Have an income of between £25,000 and £1 million;
o Be working with disadvantaged people aged 17 or older (the exception are young parents and looked after children and learning disabled young people moving into independent living);
o Have at least one year of published accounts covering a twelve month operating period;
o Have a one year track record of direct service delivery;
o Have free reserves of less than 12 months’ expenditure in the last set of published accounts;
o Have an active board of at least three Trustees;
o Be operating within the charity’s registered charitable objects;
o Operate mainly in England and Wales;
o Have appropriate systems in place to monitor outcomes;
o Be able to report the number of people who have achieved one or more transition outcomes; and
o Be able to report the number of people achieving one or more progression outcomes.
There is quite a long list of items that are not eligible as part of the Invest Programme. We suggest you use the Eligibility Checklist on the Foundation's website to determine whether you are able to apply.
The application process consists of 3 stages:
1. Applicants must first check the online Eligibility Checklist;
2. Eligible applicants are required to submit an Initial Application;
3. If invited to continue in the process, applicants will be visited by their local Grant Manager and asked to complete and submit a full application.
The deadline for initial applications is Friday 18 May 2018.
Further information about the Lloyds Bank Foundation and the Invest programme is available on the Foundation’s website.
Contact details for the Foundation are:

The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales
Pentagon House
52-54 Southwark Street
London
SE1 1UN
Tel: 0870 411 1223
Email:
 enquiries@lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk

(Source: GRIN)

Tuesday 24 April 2018

SMART ENERGY IN COMMUNITIES FUND

The focus of the 2018 Smart Energy in Communities Fund, which is being administered by the Charities Aid Foundation, is projects which are specifically targeted at reaching people who are:
1. Over the age of 60 with no personal internet access;
2. Over the age of 65;
3. Severely or profoundly deaf.
The current round aims to address items 1 and 2 above. The second round, which is scheduled to open to applications in May, will focus on item 3. 
Projects need to meet the following objectives:
o Educating and reassuring people to help overcome any barriers and concerns of getting a smart meter;
o Showcasing the benefits of smart meters for this audience;
o Increasing interest in getting a smart meter installed.
Large and small grants are available to local community organisations that can help engage people and communities across Britain with information about how to obtain and use smart meters.
The fund is worth £10 million over 5 years in total.
There are two funding rounds in 2018:
o Round 1 - grants of between £500 and £5,000 are available. This round is focussed on activity targeted at reaching people who are over the age of 60 with no personal internet access, and/or people over the age of 65. The round has a deadline of Monday 14 May;
o Round 2 - grants are available up to the value of £7,500. This round, which is focussed on activity targeted at reaching the severely or profoundly deaf, is scheduled to launch in early May. Information about this round will be available towards the end of April.
There is no specified requirement for match funding.
In addition to the grant programme, an online resource centre will offer materials, such as posters, leaflets and training resources, to any organisation that wants to help people benefit from smart meters. 
Registered charities, other registered organisations as well as unregistered organisations (such as Community Interest Companies, Charitable Industrial and Provident Societies, Housing Associations, Local Authorities etc.) working with Smart Energy GB’s priority groups may apply for a grant.
Organisations that are not registered with the Charity Commission or Scottish Charity Regulator must also complete the Grant Eligibility Application form, which will enable the funder to check that the organisation is charitable.
Eligible applicants must have:
o A UK-based bank account in the organisation's name;
o Financial procedures that require two signatories for withdrawals and cheques;
o A governing body with at least three members;
o A governing document such as a constitution or set of rules with a dissolution clause to ensure funds go to a charitable organisation;
o An annual report and accounts or an income and expenditure account;
o A safeguarding policy if working with adults at risk; and
o Adequate insurance cover.
The following are not eligible for funding:
o Activities which are not targeted at or do not engage people over the age of 65 who have no personal internet access;
o Existing activity;
o Projects or activities that are not focussed on programme outcomes and priority groups;
o Organisations that are not considered charitable;
o Retrospective costs. (Projects or activities that will have happened or started before the application has been processed.);
o Beneficiary groups not in England, Scotland or Wales;
o Projects or activities that cannot be completed by the programme end date (see the Smart Energy website for further information of dates by which projects must be delivered);
o Individuals;
o The promotion of political or religious objectives;
o Work that is primarily the responsibility of statutory authorities;
o Core funding for the applicant organisation (eg. general operating costs, central costs, running costs, management, administration and office costs, overheads and support costs);
o Projects or activities which do not demonstrate additional activity to ‘business as usual’ activities and are not smart meter specific;
o Costs to produce content for radio or television;
o Costs to produce content for social media;
o Costs for the design of monitoring and evaluation surveys (as these will be provided by Smart Energy GB) and any costs for research;
o Costs to print any items which may be downloaded for free from the partner section of the Smart Energy GB Resource centre;
 Costs for paid advertising or production costs of existing newsletters or brochures which are already being produced as part of the applicant’s ‘business as usual’ activities;
o Costs to undertake engagement with MPs or elected Local Authority members; and
o Organisations that are a member or branch of one of CAF’s national partners, where the project would duplicate existing activity with the national partner.
Guidance notes and an application form can be found on the Charities Aid Foundation website.
Completed application forms should be submitted online or by email.
Contact details for the scheme are:
Smart Energy GB in Communities
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)
25 Kings Hill Avenue
Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent
ME19 4TA
Tel: 03000 123 346
Email: 
smartenergyGB@cafonline.org
(Source: GRIN)

Monday 23 April 2018

LANDFILL DISPOSALS TAX COMMUNITIES SCHEME

We are pleased to announce further application guidance is now available on our website: https://www.wcva.org.uk/funding/landfill-disposals-tax-communities-scheme/application-process

An eligibility map checker will be available in the coming weeks.

The first round of funding will open on 30th April 2018.

To prepare for the scheme opening please register on eTender Wales here:
 https://etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk/home.html

Video guidance for registering on eTender Wales is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDZWM6Jek54&t=3s
Rydym yn falch o roi gwybod bod arweiniad pellach ynglÅ·n ag ymgeisio bellach ar gael ar ein gwefan: https://www.wcva.org.uk/funding/landfill-disposals-tax-communities-scheme/application-process?seq.lang=cy-GB 

Bydd map gwirio cymhwysedd ar gael yn yr wythnosau nesaf.

 
Bydd y rownd gyllido gyntaf yn agor ar 30ain Ebrill 2018.

I baratoi at agoriad y cynllun cofrestrwch ar eDendro Cymru yma: 
https://etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk/home.html

Mae arweiniad fideo i’ch helpu i gofrestru ar eDendro Cymru ar gael yma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQypKaxtMsw 

(Source: WCVA)


Thursday 19 April 2018

DAN MASKELL TRUST

Community organisations, disability groups, sports clubs, schools and associations in the United Kingdom may apply to the Dan Maskell Trust for a grant of up to £1,500 to enable people with a disability to play tennis.
Applications can be made for:
o Wheelchairs: applications can be made for one or more tennis wheelchairs designed for general use at grassroots level. A deposit of £250 per chair is required, and the Trust will offer a grant for the remaining cost. There will also be a delivery charge, which must be met by the applicant;
o Bag of equipment: these bags will be ordered and paid for by the Trust and delivered direct to a specified address. Kit bags will include rackets, balls, mini-net, and coaching aids such as cones and throw down marker lines. These kits are suitable for groups, clubs and disability programmes;
o Grants for starting a disability group, a club programme or a project or help with an existing project or programme. Examples of items that will be considered under this scheme are help towards court hire, coaching fees and equipment (if not applying for a kit bag as above).
All programmes and projects should aim at becoming self-financing and sustainability.
PLEASE NOTE: the Trust expects applicants to make a contribution towards the cost of purchasing wheelchairs. Other than this, there is no match funding requirement.
During the year ending 31 December 2016 the Trust approved 88 (2015: 80) grant applications totalling £58,370 (2015: £54,974) as follows:
o 21 (2015, 16) grants for individual tennis wheelchairs;
o 9 (2015, 6) grants towards tennis wheelchairs for separate groups;
o 6 (2015, 13) grants for tennis equipment bags;
o 30 (2015, 18) monetary grants for various individuals;
o 22 (2015, 27) monetary grants for various groups.
The monetary grants included help for:
o People seeking coaching;
o Court hire;
o Rackets and wheelchair refurbishment;
o Coaching qualifications;
o People who are mobility, hearing or visually impaired; and
o People with a learning disability.
The following items are not eligible for grant support:
o Electrical equipment;
o Clothing; or
o Transport costs for individuals.
The remaining 2018 application deadlines are:
o Monday 2 July; and
o Monday 1 October.
Before applying to the Trust for grant support, applicants are advised to consult The Tennis Foundation and/or their local County Tennis Association.
Application forms are available to complete online on the Dan Maskell Trust's website.
Contact details for the Trust are:
The Dan Maskell Tennis Trust
c/o Sport Wins
PO Box 238
Tadworth
KT20 5WT
Tel: 01737 831707 

(The Trust does not advertise an email address.)  

(Source: GRIN)

Wednesday 18 April 2018

HILDEN CHARITABLE FUND

The Hilden Charitable Fund’s priority is to address disadvantage by supporting causes which are unlikely to raise funds from public subscriptions.
Both the UK and overseas fund policy is directed largely at supporting work at grassroots community level.
Each year the Fund also sets aside a small budget to help community groups run summer play schemes for the benefit of disadvantaged children. Details of this scheme is provided in today’s right hand column.
Funding is available to UK charities working in the UK or in the developing world or charities that are based and working overseas. Applications will also be considered from Community Interest Companies that are able to evidence a charitable purposes.
Grants are available for projects in the UK that are working in the following areas:
o Homelessness;
o Penal affairs;
o Asylum seekers and refugees; and
o Community based initiatives for disadvantaged young people aged 16 to 25 years.
Grants are available for projects in developing countries that are concerned with the following:
o Community development;
o Education; and
o Health.
The Fund particularly welcomes projects that address the needs and potential of girls and women.
The average grant is £5,000 and can be for more than one year.
During the year ending 5 April 2017 Hilden awarded 105 grants totalling £477,013.
Details of awards made during the year can be found on pages 4 and 5 of the Fund's annual accounts.
Grants can be used for both project and general running costs.
PLEASE NOTE that this a hugely competitive grant programme in which just 11% of all applications are successful.
There is a requirement for match funding and applicants are requested to show what other sources of funding have been sought and secured. 
Applicants that are registered and operating in the UK must:
o Have a project that meets the Foundation's priority areas;
o Have an income of less than £500,000 in the last financial year;
o Be formally constituted, have a bank account and a committee;
o Be able to demonstrate UK charitable purposes;
o Have adequate insurance for their service users, volunteers and employees; and
o Have less than 12 months cash reserves.
To be eligible for overseas funding, UK charities that are working in an overseas country must:
o Have a project that meets the Foundation's priority areas;
o Have a history of working overseas for at least 5 years;
o Have an income of over £100,000 in their last two financial years, but not more than £500,000;
o If they are working with partners overseas be able to show that their partners have been in existence for at least 3 years and have an income of over £10,000;
o Be formally constituted with a bank acoount and committee;
o Demonstrate charitable purposes; and
o Be able to show that their overseas partner had an income of less than £50,000 in the last financial year.
Charities that are based overseas must have:
o A history of working for at least 5 years; and
o An income of over £25,000 in their last two financial years, but no more than £100,000.
Grants are not awarded to:
o Individuals; and
o Well-funded national charities.
Funding is directed largely at supporting work at a grassroots community level.
Applications may be made at any time.
An application form is available on the Hilden Charitable Fund website (you'll need to scroll down the page to the relevant link). but must then be printed out and sent as a hard copy by post to the Fund.
Contact details for the Fund are:
Mr. R. Hedley
The Hilden Charitable Fund
34 North End Road
London
W14 OSH
Tel: 0207 603 1525
Email:
 hildencharity@hotmail.com
(Source: GRIN)

WOMEN AND GIRLS FUNDING VIA COMIC RELIEF

COMIC RELIEF are very pleased to announce the launch today of a £4 million grant initiative to support organisations that are working to end violence and abuse experienced by women and girls across the UK. The application phase will run from 17 April to midday, 2 July 2018.

The initiative is funded by Comic Relief with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with government funds raised through the Tampon Tax. The funds will be fully focused on work that supports women and girls at risk of violence who have multiple and complex needs. This includes those who have poor mental health, who use drugs, and/or those who are homeless, as well as less well-served communities or groups, such as BAMER, migrant and LBTI communities, and/or women who are older and/or disabled, among other groups.

Applications are invited for grants of £60,000 - £120,000 across 1 to 3 years and are also open to current grantees. The fund aims to:

                     Enable organisations to better support women within the target group.
                     Provide opportunities for projects to try out new ways and models of working, for example by acting earlier, building community assets or using digital approaches. 
                     Enable cross sector partnerships to work together to provide high quality support.
                     Support approaches that can provide learning for other organisations and stakeholders across the sector.
                     Improve access to support for women with complex needs in less well-served communities, such as BAMER, older women, LBTI, disabled women.

To apply or find out more about the fund criteria and process, including detailed guidelines for applying, please visit the Comic Relief initiative page.  Further questions can be emailed to our team via our contact page.

(Source: Comic Relief)

Monday 9 April 2018

Hanfod Cymru response to Loteri Cymru ceasing operations

http://www.hanfodcymru.wales/blog/2018/03/27/response-hanfod-cymrus-board-news-loteri-cymru-ceased-operating/

NOEL BUXTON TRUST

The Noel Buxton Trust has a long-standing concern for the welfare of both families and prisoners, and its work in Great Britain continues to focus on these areas. In Africa, the Trust seeks to support community-led organisations working to build local sustainable livelihoods. In all three areas, the Trust has an interest in funding work which does not easily attract funding from other sources.  
The Trust has a particular interest in:
o Applications that support the needs of offenders who are over represented within the youth and criminal justice system; for example, black or minority ethnic groups;
o Offenders who have specific needs that are not met through mainstream provision, such as disabled or older offenders; and
o Projects that the Trust believes will help to break down the stigma and discrimination that many offenders face.
The Trust offers grants up to £5,000 for grassroots registered charities in Great Britain working in the following fields:
1. Family Grants - the maximum grant is £5,000 per year for up to three years, preferably outside of London and South East England.
The Trust's focus is on funding for families on the issue of domestic abuse. The Trust will consider projects that work with survivors and/or perpetrators of domestic abuse. 
2. Penal Grants - Funding is available for project and core costs, preferably for agencies outside of London and South East England. The kinds of grants the Trust expects to make are:
o One-off grants of up to £3,000 to pay for specific projects that help maintain relationships between prisoners and their families or for work that supports the contributions that volunteers make within the prison community;  and
o Grants of up to £4,000 per year over two to three years, particularly where a guaranteed on-going contribution is going to make a difference to the sustainability of a programme or activity.
The Trust supports local campaigning organisations, self help groups and service providers in their committment to the rehabilitation of offenders for the benefit of both the offender and society as a whole.
The areas of penal affairs activities that are funded include:
o Peer support and mentoring to provide offenders with appropriate support to help them through times of difficulty;
o Making social connections with friends, family or local community, eg opportunities for serving prisoners to stay in touch with their children or community circles of support for high risk ex-offenders within the community;
o Skill-based activities through volunteering or training; and/or
o Activities that both help rehabilitate offenders and help build bridges through various benefits to local communities.
3. Africa Grants - the maximum grant is £5,000 per year for up to three years.
The Trust will fund work in Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Sudan and South Sudan. Within these areas, priority will be given to work with communities living in urban slums and semi-arid regions where economic hardship is most extreme.
The Trust's Africa programme focus is on economic development rather than service provision. It  favours work such as small business support and training, and microfinance in both urban and rural settings. Applications in support of initiatives that are building sustainable futures in the semi arid areas of Africa are especially welcome. The Trust also welcome appeals that support and protect street children, and help them find safe and sustainable livelihoods.
The Trust like to see applications that enable successful practical solutions to be replicated or that aim to bring about relevant policy change through effective advocacy. It also likes applications that demonstrate a commitment to strengthening community based organisations and ensuring the voice of poor and marginalised women and men are properly heard and respected.
There is no requirement for match funding for any of the Trust’s funding areas.
The Trust prefers to support smaller, grassroots organisations and does not encourage applications from large and well-supported charities or branches of network organisations.
Funding is not available for the following:
o Academic research;
o Advice centres;
o Animal charities, including those running sanctuaries, rescue or adoption services;
o The arts for their own sake;
o Buildings;
o Conferences;
o Counselling for individuals;
o Expeditions, exchanges, holidays, study tours, visits;
o Housing and homelessness;
o Human rights;
o HIV/AIDS programmes;
o Individuals;
o Northern Ireland;
o Organisations set up primarily to treat medical conditions, physical disabilities or mental health issues;
o Playgrounds;
o Prizes;
o Race relations;
o Contributions to a specific salaried post;
o Schools, including school infrastructure and teaching equipment;
o Vehicles;
o Victims of crime, except those affected by domestic abuse and victims involved with restorative justice projects; or
o Videos and IT.
PLEASE NOTE: the following additional restrictions to grant support:
o Under the Africa Grants Programme funding is not available for any work outside the areas listed as the geographical focus.
o Under the Family Grants Programme funding is not available for older people or work in women’s or men's refuges.
o Under the Penal Grants Programme funding is not available for overseas projects or youth projects.
Applications may be submitted at any time.
There is no application form.
Applicants should submit a short letter (one to two pages) outlining the case for funding.
Applicants should view the Trust's website and mention this in their letter as well as showing how the organisation's work fits the Trust's guidelines.
The application should include:
o The charity registration number and the name of the organisation to which cheques should be made payable if different from that at the head of the appeal letter.
o A budget for the current and following year;
o Details of funding already received, promised or applied for from other sources; and the applicant's
o Latest annual report/accounts in the shortest available form.
For further information, visit the Noel Buxton Trust website.
Contact details for the Trust are:
The Noel Buxton Trust
PO Box 520
Fleet
GU51 9GX

(The Trust does not advertise a phone number or an email address.)
(Source: GRIN)

WAKEHAM TRUST

The Wakeham Trust provides funding for UK-based projects that are small scale and are finding it hard to get funding from large grant-making trusts, or are currently unfashionable or unpopular amongst mainstream funders, but are making a real contribution to the local community. The Trust likes to support projects that encourage the empowerment of ordinary non-professional people. 
Small registered UK-based registered charities may apply for a grant award, which is usually between £125 and £2,500. A match funding contribution is welcomed.
Organisations that are not registered charities are encouraged to make an application through a registered charity in their area that can then pass the money directly on to their project.
The Trust will consider the following when selecting which applicants to support:
Is it something new for this particular area? It doesn't matter if the idea is tried and tested in other parts of the country, if it is new for a particular community it may be of interest to the Trust. Support is also sometimes available to help established institutions that are under threat;
o Is it small? Grants are normally given to projects where an initial £125 to £2,500 can make a real difference. Generally the Trust will look at what it is costing per-head to reach the people the project is helping;
o Will it find it hard to get support elsewhere? The Trust tries to help those projects that are too new and experimental to get support through established fundraising channels, or which (if established) are under threat due to changes in national or local policy;
Does it have the potential to become self-supporting? The Trust likes to see information that shows how the project will support itself in future years or (if it is a short-life project) over the course of its life; and
Is it outward looking, rather than being focused on its own members? The Trust is especially interested in supporting groups who are usually considered recipients of voluntary action (for example old age pensioners, refugees or young offenders) when these people become involved in helping other groups in the community as this empower the volunteers themselves, as well as supporting the project they are working on.
Previous awards have included:
o A patchwork quilting group for vulnerable adults and OAPs in Swindon;
o £225 to help surfing for disadvantaged young people in Newquay;
o Money management courses for young people in deprived areas by the Churches in Weymouth and Portland; and
o A project to help teach English to refugees and immigrants who want to work in the social care sector, in Chard in Somerset.  
The following are not eligible for grant support from the Trust:
o Contributions to large appeals, such as for buildings or minibuses;
o National appeals;
o Hard-science medical projects;
o Counselling, family-therapy and self-help projects;
o Arts/performance projects;
o Projects outside the UK, except when the Trust has personal knowledge of them; or
o Individuals, including to go on a gap-year community service project overseas.
Applications may be submitted at any time, ideally by email using the email address provided below.
To apply to the Trust, applicants are required to send the following information below in the order requested:
1. Contact name, address (including postcode), telephone number and email;
2. Name and address of the project the applicant is applying on behalf of, plus its telephone number and email;
3. Name and address of a UK charity which is willing to accept a grant on the applicants behalf, plus the name of a contact the Trust can talk to at that charity;
4. Details of the project. Who does it help? How big is it? Is it new, or already established?
5. How much money is being requested from the Trust?
6. What would the money be spent on? Applicants should give a rough breakdown and overall budget.
7. How else has the applicant tried to raise funds and how successful has this been? and
8. Has the applicant ever received a grant from the Trust before?
Further information about the Trust and how to apply is available on its website.
Contact details for the Trust are:
The Wakeham Trust
The Garden Office
Wakeham Farm
Rogate
Petersfield
Hants
GU31 5EJ
Email: 
TheWakehamTrust@icloud.com 
(The Trust does not advertise a phone number.)  
(Source: GRIN)

European Single Procurement Document

European Single Procurement Document? (ESPD)

What is the European Single Procurement Document? (ESPD)
The new EU Procurement Directives made provision for the introduction of an ESPD which is intended by the European Commission to remove some of the barriers to participation in public procurement, especially for SMEs.
The ESPD is a self-declaration of a potential supplier’s' financial status, abilities and suitability for a public procurement procedure. It mainly serves as preliminary evidence of fulfilment of the conditions required in a public procurement procedure.
Bidders will no longer have to provide full documentary evidence and different forms previously used in EU procurement, which means a significant simplification of the tendering process.
The ESPD will replace the requirement for suppliers to provide up-front evidence or certificates by allowing them to self-declare that they meet the relevant selection and exclusion criteria. Bidders may be asked to provide proof of this at a later stage and the winning bidder will usually have to provide proof before contract award.
How will the new process work?
Buyers will set out their selection and exclusion criteria, including any minimum standards and methods for short-listing in their contract notice. They will then issue an ESPD request and make it available for anyone interested in bidding for the contract.
Bidders will complete and submit their ESPD response to the buyer, who will assess the suitability of all bids against the criteria they have selected.
What about Selection Questionnaires?
The ESPD will offer an alternative to the selection questionnaire, and should make the process of bidding for a public contract easier. Its purpose is to remove some of the barriers to participation in public procurement, particularly for SMEs who often don’t have the resources (time/money) to complete complex tender documents.
The Selection Questionnaire method was popular because buyers tended to ask questions in the same, or similar, ways. The ESPD will actually build upon this as the same standard form is now being used across Europe.
Will a new ESPD have to be submitted for every tender procedure?
The same question set will be used across the EU, so a bidder will be able to re-use a form which was previously submitted for a separate competition, so long as the information is still up-to-date.
However, every time a supplier submits a bid, an ESPD request will have to be submitted as well. It will be in the supplier’s interest to configure each ESPD to suit the requirements of that individual procurement exercise.
How Will the ESPD be checked for accuracy?
By law, a winning bidder has to submit all of the required certificates and documentation, before they are awarded a contract. Bidders can be asked to submit their evidence at any point in the procurement process if this is necessary to ensure that the process is carried out properly.
If a bidder is found to have misrepresented itself, a couple of things can happen, depending on the nature of the misrepresentation:
- If a bidder is in breach of one of the areas which is a mandatory ground for exclusion, or if it does not meet one of the minimum selection criteria, then that bidder must be excluded from the competition. Depending on the nature and stage of the competition, that may mean either that it continues without that particular bidder, or the competition should be re-run without that bidder’s tender.
- If it emerges that a business is in breach of an area which is a discretionary ground for exclusion, then the decision about whether or not to exclude that bidder will be up to the buying authority. This decision must be in line with the EU Treaty Principles of transparency, proportionality, equality of treatment and non-discrimination.
- If the issue is more administrative in nature (e.g. mistakes in providing the documentation), then the authority will have the option of inviting the bidder to make amendments to, or clarify the documentation provided.
Will the ESPD affect sub-contractors?
If a bidder wishes to sub-contract part of a contract, and relies entirely on the sub-contractor in order to fulfil the selection criteria, a separate ESPD must be submitted on behalf of the sub-contractor.
The buying authority may choose to request a separate ESPD from any other sub-contractor, in order to verify whether or not there are grounds for excluding it. If a sub-contractor is in a situation which would lead to its mandatory exclusion, the bidder will be required to replace that sub-contractor. It’s really important the suppliers plan for this scenario early in the process by engaging with sub-contractors and obtaining information early on during the procurement process.
ESPD or Selection Questionnaire?
There may be some confusion during the transition period from the Standard PQQ to the Selection Questionnaire to the ESPD. As of 26th September 2016 suppliers should only be receiving (for the most part) the Selection Questionnaire but they are entitled to submit an ESPD if they already have one.
(Source: Sell2Wales)

Wednesday 4 April 2018

MUSIC IN THE COMMUNITY GRANTS


The Music in the Community grants programme is provided by Music for All, the charity of the UK musical instrument industry.
Music for All's overarching objective is to “make more musicians and to enable and inspire more people to discover their mental and physical benefits that playing a musical instrument can bring'”.
It aims to achieve this by providing small grants to local initiatives across the UK that are seeking to bring music to their local community.
Funding is available for groups that need assistance to fulfil their potential in developing genuinely sustainable music programmes.
Grants can be used for:
o Musical instrument costs;
o Using music to break down barriers;
o Providing a variety of educational opportunities; and
o Helping to find ways to integrate many diverse and minority groups positively into society.
The following types of UK-based organisations may apply for a grant of up to £2,500:
o Schools;
o Registered charities;
o Charitable community groups.
Music for All aims to allocate around £50,000 in grants annually.
There is no match funding requirement.
The following are not eligible for funding:
o Retrospective costs;
o Applicants based outside of the UK and Ireland, and
o Applicants who have been awarded a grant in the last 12 months.
There are three application deadlines each year.
The next deadline is Sunday 1 July for projects to start from September the same year.
The following deadline is Thursday 1 November for projects to commence in January 2019,
The deadline after this is Friday 1 February for projects that should start from April 2019.
Further information about the scheme, together with an application form, can be found on the Music for All website.
Contact details for Music for All are:
Music for All
Bailey House
4 – 10 Barttelot Road
Horsham
West Sussex
RH12 1DQ
Tel: 01403 800500
Email: 
mfa@mia.org.uk  

(Source: GRIN)