Old & Partnership Voluntary Sector Grants Scheme 2015/16 Information about the Scheme

What could you do to improve your local community?

What is this Programme for?

Trafford Council is looking for local people to develop and deliver innovative projects that will tackle the most challenging issues in our localities and enhance their local community.

Each of Trafford's four localities – & Stretford, Sale, South Trafford and & - has £20,000 to distribute, and awarding the grants will be decided by people who live and work in that community.

The Old Trafford & Stretford locality is defined by the Council wards , Longford, Stretford, and Clifford.

You can apply for up to £2,000.

What sorts of Projects are going to be funded?

We are looking for projects that will benefit residents and community of the locality. Small grants are available to groups who have an innovative idea to improve their locality.

To apply you need to complete a short application form, outlining your idea, why it is needed and what difference it will make.

How are the decisions made?

Decisions about funding in this scheme are made my local people, through a process of Participatory Budgeting (PB). This allows the citizens of an area to make decisions about how money is spent. If you are curious as to how PB works, please see the following link: http://www.pbnetwork.org.uk/

All received applications are checked for eligibility by a panel, consisting of representatives from the Locality Partnerships which includes Members, Statutory Authority partners and community representatives.

All eligible projects will be invited to attend the Participatory Budgeting event scheduled for the Old Trafford & Stretford locality at Stretford Mall on Saturday 4th July 2015. Applicants will have the opportunity to hold a stall at the Participatory Budgeting event, where they can provide information, literature and speak with attendees to explain their projects. Once residents have had the opportunity to view all the project stalls at the events, they will then vote for which projects they would like to receive funding.

Those projects scoring the highest number of votes will be allocated funding to deliver their schemes.

Monitoring Successful applicants to the fund will be expected to have measures in place to monitor the development of their project. Applicants should consider how they will be able to measure the desired outcomes of their project and demonstrate how they are successfully delivering their proposals.

Applicants should clearly explain how long the project will run for and what the project will deliver as outcomes by the end. If it is expected that the project will continue, the applicant must consider how they will find the resources or what alternative means of funding they will acquire.

If You Need Help We want to encourage people to apply who may not have applied for funding before. We will therefore be offering independent guidance and training applications for anyone interested in applying for a grant.

You can come along to discuss your idea, get advice about budgeting and evaluation and get help completing the application form.

Drop ins are being held across Trafford, so there should be one for you.  Thursday 30th April at 3pm-6pm Sale Life Centre, 235 Washway Rd, M33 4BP  Thursday 7th May at 2.30-4.30pm at Tesco, Community Room, WA15 9QT  Wednesday 13th May at 4pm-6pm at St Matthews Hall, Chapel Lane, M32 9AJ  Tuesday 19th May at 3pm-5pm at Urmston Library, Golden Way, M41 0NA

If you can’t make a drop-in but would still like to discuss your idea then contact Thrive on 0300 777 0145 or via email [email protected]