BATSWORTHY CROSS COMMUNITY GRANTS: GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS Applicants should read this guidance prior to making an application, in conjunction with our Frequently Asked Questions found here, and our Terms and Conditions that can be found here.
PURPOSE OF THE FUND The purpose of the fund is to support community organisations in the area around the Batsworthy Cross Wind Farm who are supporting the rural regeneration and sustainability of communities within the area of benefit and fall within one of the following funding themes: • Increase access to activities or services for the community • Encourage community owned energy projects • Encourage skills and employment and improve rural business opportunities and social enterprise • Offer sport, recreation and improved health and wellbeing • Provide, maintain or improve community buildings • Provide community and public transport improvements
All projects that receive funding will support people in the community, for example: • Community transport schemes • Services that would otherwise not be able to continue in rural areas e.g. Post Offices, community shops, community hubs • Community projects e.g. Memory Cafes, lunch clubs, sports clubs, befriending schemes • Capital projects e.g. feasibility studies, community buildings • Activities that develop life skills and experience e.g. cooking, money advice • Work preparation or training • Projects that bring people of all ages and ethnicities together • Community events • Out of school activities
AREA OF BENEFIT
The geographic area of benefit of the fund will be the parishes of: Bishops Nympton, East Anstey, East Worlington, Knowstone, Meshaw, Molland, Oakford, Rackenford & Creacombe, Rose Ash and West Anstey.
Applications from the three parishes closest to the Wind Farm (Knowstone, Rackenford & Creacombe and Rose Ash) will be considered by the panel first. This will ensure that in the event of the fund being oversubscribed, these parishes will receive priority.
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FUNDING AVAILABLE There is no maximum that can be applied for but please note that there are limited funds available and applications will be prioritised, taking the following into account:
• Fit to funding themes • Clear demonstration of benefiting the local community • Parish priority • Previous funding awarded
More than one application from the same organisation within a 12-month period will be considered. However:
• Only 1 application per organisation can be submitted for consideration at any one time • Where more than 1 application is received in any 12-month period, the panel will prioritise the application in relation to other applications received and available funds. The panel will give consideration to the total of funds already awarded to the organisation and the amount being requested within the previous 12-month period
START-UP FUNDING Applications will be considered for new not-for-profit groups, e.g. a support network or lunch club. If you are looking for start-up funding please contact Devon Community Foundation for an initial discussion and details on how to apply. Following discussion, and if appropriate, the applicant will be invited to submit an online application and will be required to provide the following information: • What are the aims of the new group? How do these fit in with the purpose of the fund? • Who is involved? How many people, why are they setting up the group, what experience/knowledge do they have in relation to the activity of the group? etc • What costs are involved in the set-up? Registrations, venue hire etc • A budget/cashflow for 12 months • How much are they applying for and how will the funding be used? • Set-up milestones: what steps are involved in the set-up and when are they hoped to be achieved? • Are there any similar groups in the area? • Details of a host organisation who can receive a grant payment on their behalf • Contact details for a referee
DEADLINES AND DECISION TIMELINE Applications will be considered on an on-going basis using the online application form that can be found here. We will remain open for as long as there are sufficient funds available. Where available funding has been fully allocated, we will be temporarily closed for applications until further funding becomes available.
A Grant Panel will review eligible applications on a regular basis.
We aim to notify applicants of the outcome of their application within 3 months of receipt.
The grant will be paid in full within 7 days of notification of a successful application.
The funding awarded must be spent within 12 months of the date awarded. July 2021
WHO CAN APPLY? ORGANISATION ELIGIBILITY Not for profit, voluntary or community groups, registered charities or social enterprises that are providing services or activities for the benefit of people and communities in the area of benefit, including: • Schools, where the project or activity has a clear benefit to the wider community and is over and above statutory provision • Churches or church groups, where the project or activity has a clear benefit to the wider community and is not promoting a specific religion or worship • Parish or Town Councils, where the project or activity has a clear benefit to the local community and is not replacing statutory provision • CICs, limited by guarantee and: o There is a clear charitable purpose and defined social benefit outlined in the Articles of Association and a named asset lock with objectives which are both charitable and similar to the objects of the CIC o The project for which funding is requested is charitable, i.e. it must not be part of the trading services for which there would usually be a charge o The funding requested is for costs to deliver the project and not managing the CIC • National charities, where there is a local branch that is managed locally and has its own bank account
APPLYING ORGANISATIONS SHOULD HAVE: • A Governing Document appropriate to the recognised status of the organisation and which outlines clear charitable purposes and includes a dissolution clause or asset lock e.g. Constitution, Set of Rules, Articles of Association • A management committee of at least 3 unconnected members e.g. Trustees, Directors, Management Committee • Annual Accounts or financial records that clearly record annual income and expenditure breakdowns • A bank account in the name of the organisation and a minimum of 2 unconnected bank signatories, or equivalent (for organisations without a bank account, please see the section below on Host Organisations) • Unrestricted reserves of less than 12 months running costs • Up-to-date Safeguarding policies in place to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults, where appropriate • Up-to-date Equality policies
EXCLUSIONS: The following won’t be considered for funding: • Applications from individuals • Sole traders • Grant making organisations (where funding is requested for grant making) • Applications from organisations with outstanding end of grant evaluations for previously awarded grants from DCF may not be considered for funding
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HOST ORGANISATIONS Where an organisation does not have its own bank account, we will consider paying a grant to a host organisation where: • The host organisation is a registered charity or Parish or Town Council • The host organisation bank account is in the name of the organisation with a minimum of 2 unconnected bank signatories • The host organisation knows of the applying group, is aware of the project or activity and is prepared to provide a reference to support the application If the grant you are applying for will allow the use of host organisations, the application form will provide space for you to provide contact details for the host organisation
WHAT CAN BE FUNDED? Applications for both project and core costs will be considered, subject to meeting eligibility criteria.
Applications for building works, refurbishments or capital costs will be considered, with the following conditions: • A minimum of 2 quotes must be submitted for all applications for building works and refurbishments and capital items over £500 • Building regulations and planning permission, where applicable, must be in place for all building works and documentation provided with applications • Where funds have been awarded to community facilities there is an expectation that they will be maintained and kept in good order by the managing organisation. Priority will be given to applications for new projects, with applications to maintain previously funded projects unlikely to be agreed. Where community building projects have previously been funded, further requests for funding will be restricted to a maximum of 25% of the cost of maintenance and refurbishment
WHAT CAN’T BE FUNDED The following won’t be considered for funding:
• Alcohol or medication • Large projects where the link between a grant awarded and overall project outcomes are not clear • Loss of income • Organisations or activities that primarily support animal welfare • Overseas travel • Projects or activity which promote political or religious beliefs • Retrospective funding i.e. activity that has already taken place or been committed to • Sponsorship or fundraising activities
APPLICATION FORM QUESTIONS The following questions will be asked on the application form: • What will you use this grant for and who will your beneficiaries be? • Tell us about the specific challenges the people or community you plan to support with this funding are currently facing and how you know about these challenges
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• What are the benefits or outcomes that you hope to achieve from this funding and how will you know whether or not they have been achieved? • Please give details of any local networks or partnerships you are part of, both generally and in relation to the project or activity you are requesting funding for • Do you have a Safeguarding Policy and when was it last updated? If you don’t have a Policy, why not? Briefly explain how you ensure that your staff, volunteers and service users are safeguarded. Do you have a designated Safeguarding Officer?
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS We will ask for the following documents to be provided with your application when applying for a grant: • Organisation management: a list of your managing committee, Trustees and/or Directors, and the names of authorised bank signatories, of which there must be a minimum of two who are unconnected to each other • Accounts: a copy of your latest approved Accounts • Cashflow: if your latest Accounts are dated earlier than within the last 6 months we will also require a cashflow for the past 6 months, which should clearly show an income and expenditure breakdown. If your latest Accounts are dated within the last 6 months, you do not need to provide a cashflow breakdown • Bank statement: this should be in the name of the organisation, dated within the last 3 months and clearly showing the bank account name, bank account number and sort code • Referee details: if you have not previously been funded by DCF, or have not received a grant from us within the last 2 years, we will require the name and email address of an independent referee who knows the work of your organisation in a professional capacity. Please see the section below on References.
Failure to submit required documents If you submit an application but do not provide any or some of the required documents, we will contact you once to request that you send them to us via email. If they have not been received within the requested time, the application may be rejected as ineligible due to provision of insufficient documentation.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION As part of our assessment of your application, we may also look at the following to gain an understanding of your work: • Your organisation’s records on Companies House or the Charity Commission • Your website and /or social media to gain an understanding of your work • Publicly available information about networks, partnerships or projects that you are part of
We will use the information you provide us with as part of your application, together with any additional information we have looked at, to consider the governance and financial health and diligence of your organisation to ensure that our grant is in safe hands.
On occasion, we may contact you to ask for clarification on information provided, or for further information if we have a specific question, in order for us to prepare your application for consideration by the Grant Panel. July 2021
REFERENCES We will request a reference for organisations that have not previously been funded by DCF, or who have not received a grant from us within the last 2 years. If this applies to your organisation, you will need to provide the name and email address for your referee when you submit your application. You must ask permission from your referee for their name and address to be shared with us and stored on our system. When we contact them, we will advise that we will not share their details.
Your referee should have a good understanding of the work of your organisation, the activity for which you are applying for funding and your intended outcomes so that they can respond to our request for the following: • In what capacity do you know the organisation and for how long have you known them? • Based on your knowledge and experience of working with this organisation, how confident are you that they will be able to deliver the funded activities and meet the intended outcomes? Please explain your answer
The reference will be used as part of our assessment of your application, to help provide confidence that the organisation is able to deliver the activity for which funding is requested, and that our funding will be in safe hands.
END OF GRANT MONITORING Successful applicants will be required to provide a brief statement by email once the grant has been fully spent to outline the following: • What difference the funding has made to the organisation, beneficiaries and the local community • Any challenges faced during the funded project or activity and how they were overcome • Examples of positive stories that have occurred as a result of the funding • What happens next for the organisation and/or project
Additionally, we may contact you to discuss your funded activity or project in greater detail to help us with our learning and future grant making.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS Full Terms and Conditions for submitting an application and receiving a grant can be found on our website. Please ensure that you fully read them before submitting your application. You will be required confirm that you have read, understood and agree to these Terms and Conditions before submitting your application. These Terms and Conditions will form the Grant Agreement between your organisation and DCF, together with any specific grant conditions that are imposed by the grant panel if they approve your application.
The Grants Team will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the available funding, supporting documents, completing the application form or the application process. Please email [email protected] with your enquiry so that it can be directed to the relevant team member who will respond to your email as soon as they can. Please note that this email is only monitored during normal working hours, Monday to Thursday.
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