TAMPON TAX FUND

The Tampon Tax Fund for 2019/2020 is a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) fund that supports projects in the following four fields. A detailed description of initiatives that can be supported under each of the four funding areas is provided further down.

1.  Violence against women and girls;
2. Female homelessness and rough sleeping;
3. Women in music; and
4. General programme (for which the Government has identified a number of sub-themes).

The minimum grant available is £1 million. There is no maximum level of grant. The 2019/2020 Tampon Tax Fund has a budget of £15 million.

Grants may be for one-or-two-year projects, with a maximum of two years up until 31 March 2021.

While not essential, match funding is encouraged.

Individual and formal consortia of charitable, benevolent and philanthropic organisations based and working in the UK may apply. This includes:

o Registered charities;
o Charitable Incorporated Organisations;
o Community Interest Companies;
o Co-operatives that can provide their governing documents;
o Independent Provident Societies that can provide their governing documents; or
o None of the above but the organisation has a formal constitution (set of rules) or governing document which shows its objectives and management structure.

Individual organisations do not need to have a national remit but must demonstrate how proposed activities will be delivered across a number of regions or, where possible, more than one of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The funders are particularly interested in receiving applications from organisations whose projects include making onward grants to other charitable organisations (as a way of utilising existing expertise in the sector, increasing geographical reach, and improving impact).

The more detailed criteria for each of the 4 funding priorities are:

1. Violence against Women and Girls - Applications will be considered from organisations that support women and girls affected by or at risk of violence or abuse. This includes domestic violence and abuse, sexual violence, so-called ‘honour-based’ violence, stalking and prostitution and sex work, and applications are encouraged from consortia that cover multiple crime types. Projects should include early intervention and prevention of VAWG crimes, as well as victims’ services. Proposals must provide additional activity not currently within mainstream provision. This can be through:

o Providing new services not currently commissioned locally or nationally;
o New approaches to existing services already provided;
o Improving understanding and response to violence and abuse of women and girls, such as through research or capability-building projects; and/or
o Responding to new challenges, such as those posed through new technology.

Bids also must demonstrate how they align with and support the delivery of the government's strategy to end violence towards women and girls, in particular one of the following:

o Preventing Violence and Abuse - supporting professionals to identify the earliest signs of abuse, and prevent abusive behaviour from becoming entrenched, as well as through encouraging victims to come forward and seek help;
o Provision of Services - keeping victims safe and providing the right support at the right time, including through effective responses to perpetrators;
o Partnership Working - to ensure that services are flexible and responsive to the victim’s experience, through close working between specialist support organisations and making the links to wider vulnerability, including child sexual abuse and exploitation, substance misuse, or gang exploitation.

2. Homelessness and rough sleeping - Applications will be considered from organisations that support women who are homeless or rough sleeping or at risk of homelessness and rough sleeping. This includes women who are ‘hidden homeless’, hard to reach or in insecure accommodation. Applications may use multidisciplinary approaches or have a focus on early intervention and prevention. Projects should work to improve understanding of, and build the evidence base of good practice for women who are homeless or rough sleeping, or at risk of doing so; demonstrate how they will align with and support the delivery of local homelessness priorities; and address how they will support women away from rough sleeping or prevent them from doing so in the first place. Proposals should provide additional activity not currently within mainstream provision. This can be through:

o Providing new services not currently commissioned locally or nationally;
o New approaches to existing services already provided; and/or
o Expanding access to existing services to new groups of clients.

3. Women in music - Applications will be considered for projects that will improve the lives of vulnerable, disadvantaged or under-represented women and girls through the use of music. All proposals that evidence a clear need for, and offer activities based around, music to address issues affecting vulnerable, underprivileged or under-represented women and girls in the UK will be considered. The following project areas will be prioritised:

o Using music to promote better mental health and well-being for individuals;
o Providing access to instruments and equipment and space for vulnerable, disadvantaged or under-represented women and girls for free or for minimal cost;
o Offering community-based provision of musical groups/choirs;
o Promoting better mental health for female artists/musicians in the workplace;
o Offering new innovations and technological solutions, which enable disabled women and girls the opportunity to participate in making music;
o Providing alternative pathways to careers in the music industry for under-represented women and girls; and/or
o Using music as therapy.

The following are not eligible for funding:

o Academic research;
o Appeals;
o Arts - unless projects can demonstrate significant benefit in terms of social inclusion;
o Campaigning and awareness raising;
o Capital projects ­or items of capital expenditure which exceed the lead organisation’s capital de minimis;
o Continuation of projects already in receipt of Tampon Tax Funds;
o Core costs ­- other than for those directly related to the project;
o Debts or loans;
o Fees for professional fundraisers;
o Individuals;
o Organisations that are mainly fundraising bodies;
o Party political organisations;
o Projects outside the funding priorities;
o Promotion of religious beliefs;
o Rapid response to emergency situations;
o Retrospective funding;
o Schools, colleges and hospitals;
o Services run by statutory or public authorities;
o Vehicles; or
o Advocacy and lobbying.

The deadline for the 2019/20 round is midnight on Sunday 20 January 2019.

The guidance notes and the application form can be found on the GOV.UK website. Completed application forms should be submitted by email to the address below.

Contact details for the Fund are:

The Tampon Tax Fund
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) 
100 Parliament Street 
London 
SW1A 2BQ 
Tel: 020 7211 6000 
Email: ttf@culture.gov.uk

(Source: GRIN)