Community support grants: guidance

Please take time to read these guidance notes fully. Applications will be refused if questions have not been adequately answered, nor appropriate explanations given.

If you need any further guidance, please email: communityresponse@uttlesford.gov.uk

Introduction

Uttlesford has a vibrant voluntary and community sector, and the Local Authority has traditionally provided an annual grant fund from which it has funded a number of organisations and activities to deliver services within the district.

In September 2024 Uttlesford District Council's Cabinet made a decision to change the way it funds services previously funded through community grants. In part this was due to a reduction of £250,000 from its overall grants budget.

For 2025 and beyond, Members had a series of decisions to make about how to use the remaining funds. Following a process of review and prioritisation the following services have been recommended to be moved from an annual grants process to an outcomes-based commissioning process:

• Information, advice and guidance
• Rural isolation
• Healthy, resilient and active communities (inc. mental health, sports and leisure)
• Youth

A remaining pot of money is available to offer as a grant fund and is recommended to fund small one-off projects with proposed strengthened governance.
 

What is the council seeking to achieve

We were advised by the voluntary and community organisations, town and parish councils alongside other statutory agencies (such as the West Essex Integrated Care Board and Essex County Council) that the previous system of competitive, annual grants created instability. As a result of this feedback, we are offering longer term funding (over three years) but require increased collaboration between charities and organisations such as Town and Parish Councils. We anticipate this to mean collaboration on projects and services between agencies, and bids from a range of providers within the budgets.

We have developed outcome-based specifications for each segment of the fund to communicate the impact of the services or activities. However, the services or activities themselves have not been defined and are for the organisations to determine.

One of the conditions of the specifications is to demonstrate regular co-production as part of service or activity mobilisation but also throughout service delivery. We anticipate this to be a core part of your service.

The aim is to stabilise funding, services and activities for our communities in Uttlesford. Therefore, the funding will be guaranteed for 3 years.
 

Allocated funding

How much funding has been allocated for each outcome and what is the process.

Providing information, advice and guidance

The aim of this service is to provide free, confidential, impartial and independent advice. This will enable Uttlesford residents to have access to a range of information to enable greater awareness of local public services, build resilience and to reduce homelessness, maximise income, reduce debt and enable increased access to other services.

The value of the service will be a maximum of £140,000 per annum over a three- year period (£420,000 total value.)

Due to the financial value, this service will be subject to a procurement exercise which will launch in January 2025. Further information can be found on the business opportunities section of the Chelmsford City Council website.

Reducing Rural isolation

The aim of this fund is to support community and voluntary organisations to increase the participation of Uttlesford residents in providing services and activities, to reduce rural isolation and enjoy the same quality of life as those residents who reside in bigger towns.

This fund is separated in two, the first half will have a dedicated focus on community transport and the second is dedicated to services and activities. The combined value is £62,000 (Community Travel is £35,000 and services/activities to prevent rural isolation £27,000).

Healthy, resilient and active communities (including mental health, sports and leisure)

The aim of this is to support community and voluntary organisations to increase the participation of Uttlesford residents in sport and physical activity, to expand and diversify the sports and physical activity offering within the district.

The provider will work with existing leisure provision and small clubs to ensure that there are a range of services and activities to meet a diverse range of needs across the district. The total value of this fund is £70,000 per annum.

Youth

This fund will focus on youth activities to increase the provision of services and activities for young people across Uttlesford aged to 19 (or 25 with SEND or a care leaver). The providers will work alongside other organisations to deliver a diverse offer of services and activities in partnership with other organisations including statutory agencies like Essex County Council and voluntary, community and faith groups.

A core component of this fund will be to ensure that the voice of young people is heard across the district working alongside existing feedback forums (such as Essex Council for Voluntary Youth Service and Essex Youth Parliament). The value of this fund will be a maximum of £50,000 per annum and we are expecting to fund a number of different organisations through this fund.

Voluntary and community grants

A voluntary and community grant fund for one off project will be launched in January 2025 with a total budget of £83,000.

This fund will support small grants (up to £500) or larger (£500-£3,000), including direct Member submitted or supported proposals for projects which support the delivery of the Council's Corporate Plan.

This fund will support small grants (up to £500) or larger (£500-£3,000), including direct Member submitted or supported proposals for projects which support the delivery of the council's Corporate Plan.
 

Award framework

All grant decisions will be made based on the set of principles set out in this Policy, and within the agreed budget approved by Cabinet.

Funding for the priority outcomes will be available for a three-year period. For the one-off grants, funding will be for a maximum of one year.

The council cannot guarantee to fund the maximum amount applied for and therefore organisations must ensure that they have procedures in place to cover the balance of funding required. The council will not pay a grant unless the organisation can demonstrate that the balance of the funding is available.

For priority outcomes, services and activities will be reviewed annually with the provider and may be altered depending on performance and feedback.

The council reserves the right to terminate funding agreements with the notice period set out in the grant agreements.
 

Grants

Projects must be delivered, and funding claimed within a specified time period with clearly defined beginning and end dates. These should be set out in the application for funding.

Successful applicants should be prepared to commit to these dates in a funding agreement.

Funding will normally be paid after the work has taken place or via staged payments against agreed milestones. Copies of all invoices must be provided to support funding claims.

All grants will be recorded on the transparency page of the Council's website at the end of each financial year.
 

Oversight and review

Uttlesford District Council will review all the grants it gives to organisations and individuals to ensure they meet the council's corporate objectives, and as part of our duty to ensure that public funds were distributed and used in an appropriate manner. The frequency of grant review meetings will be outlined in your award letter and will be dependent on the type of activity funded and the amount of grant money awarded.

1. Priority grant guidance

2. Eligibility criteria

Application guidelines

Please note none of the questions are optional.

The criteria is set out in the table here. Questions 4-9 will be scored out of 6.

Weighting

Uttlesford District Council has a weighting system which demonstrates to the applicants its highest priority for each question. The maximum number of points we would allocate to a question is 36. For example, we regard question 4 - Understanding, methodology, approach and beneficiaries needs is the most important criteria for us awarding the grant whilst monitoring and evaluation is less important to this grant and therefore has only been allocated a maximum of 12 points.

Deadline

Deadline for applications is 5pm on 20 December 2024.

All applications and supporting information must be submitted by email to: communityresponse@uttlesford.gov.uk
 

Application questions

Question 1: Contact details for your organisation

Please complete all required information as stated in the application from.

Question 2: Details about your organisation  

A) Confirmation of number of- Full time staff - Part time staff, Trustees, Volunteers

B) Please provide a brief statement relating to your organisation's vision, aims and objectives - Please include a copy of the constitution in your enclosed documents. We require a concise overview, as you will be able provide more detail within the application.

C) Financial report - Please provide the following information from your previous year's accounts and a copy of your latest annual report: total income, total expenditure, total amount held in reserves, Unrestricted reserves.

Unrestricted reserves are funds that are not earmarked for specific projects or purposes and do not have specific conditions attached to their use.

Question 3: Grant requested

A) Please state clearly what cohort will you be applying to support:

You can only apply for one grant per application.

Question 4: Understanding grant beneficiaries needs

A) Please include any relevant demographic information (e.g. age range, gender). Describe the specific challenges the beneficiaries face. How will they be referred or targeted?

B) Describe how you will deliver the project, understanding of the scope and the project's beneficiaries and their needs. Explain the specific activities /

interventions and how it will work. How often and for how long will support, be provided? What facilities / resources will you use? Are there any fees involved? Will beneficiaries need support to access your project/service?

This is the highest scoring criteria.

Question 5: Skills, knowledge and experience

A) Please tell us what experience, knowledge your organisation and its staff have in this field? Are you working with any partners with specific expertise? Are there any anticipated partnership arrangements? Is there supporting evidence to demonstrate the positive outcomes / impact of this intervention on beneficiaries?

B) You can also include example outcomes of a successful pilot or evidence of the success of an existing/previous programme.

Question 6: Social value

A) Please tell us how many people for the Uttlesford area you have as trustees, volunteers or employ.

B) Please give any other examples of how your organisation demonstrates social value for the residents of Uttlesford, e.g. only purchasing from local businesses etc.

Question 7: Promotion and value

A) Please summarise how you will communicate and publicise the project/service to beneficiaries, services and wider community - Demonstrate how you will communicate with wider community and voluntary sector organisations to support referral pathways.

B) If there are limitations to publicity opportunities (e.g. safeguarding concerns) please provide details.

Question 8: Budget management

A) Please explain how the grant will be used and the value of the grant you wish to apply for. Attach a budget sheet in Excel format to your application.

B) Use this answer to provide more context to your budget sheet. Detail the specific costs for the different elements of the project, yearly breakdown and any details of changes over the life of the project?

C) If you have received funding to support this cohort before, please provide details of this including dates of funding and when the project ended.

Question 9: Monitoring and evaluation

A) Please define the specific outcomes that the project will aim to achieve?

Outcomes are the specific benefits of the project for the beneficiaries.

How will you measure these outcomes?

A) How will you measure and report on the difference this project has made?

B) Detail any monitoring methods / tools you will be using, e.g. surveys, case studies. When will these be conducted? Will you be working with any partners in this area?

Question 10: Risks and safeguarding

A) Safeguarding risk assessment detailing any risks you have identified in delivering the project (e.g. safeguarding, funding, staffing) and any mitigation in place to guard against them.

B) You will also be required to enclose an up-to-date safeguarding policy and evidence of staff training with your application along with DBS numbers of staff delivering the project or service

Question 11: Further information and disclosures

Checklist

Please ensure you have included the relevant supporting information:

P: If there is any missing documentation your application will not be appraised. If you do not have any of the requested documents or information requested, you need to let notify us before submitting your application.

Email: communityresponse@uttlesford.gov.uk

Items to include:

• Copy of your constitution/terms or reference/operating document
• Copy of business plan (if available)
• Copy of your most recent annual report
• Copy of insurance certificate and schedule
• Copy of your safeguarding policy and evidence of training
• Copy of DBS numbers for staff involved in delivering the project
• Copy of your safeguarding risk assessment
• Copy of your health and safety policy

Additional information required:

• Detailed business plan covering period for which funding is requested

Further information

If you need any further help or information you can contact the Communities team.

Email: communityresponse@uttlesford.gov.uk