Customer Area
Funding Opportunities
Funding for Community Groups & Tenant And Resident Associations
Applying for funding can be a complex business and many people are put off by the large application forms and procedures that often have to be completed before a successful funding bid can be completed.
This guide aims to give an overview of funding opportunities that might be of interest to tenants and community groups. It is not, however, a comprehesive guide and we would strongly advice you seek advice on what grants available to you locally.
We aim to keep this guide updated on a monthly basis and to keep adding relevant funding projects as and when we hear about them.
Notes on Applying for Funding
Most importantly, don't be put off! There are many, many, funding bodies, some are large national organisations with multi million pound budgets and others are small local trusts who might give away a few thousand pounds once a year. Howevere all of these organisations exist to give money to any project that meets their criteria. If you think any of the funding bodies listed here might be interested in funding your project, then don't hesitate to get in touch with them. Most of them will be more than happy to talk to you about your idea and to give advice on how to go about applying. If your project falls within their criteria, they will send you an application pack.
If you are looking for funding for a project it is a good idea to contact a local funding advisor. Your local council may provide a free funding advice service, or you may have a Community Resource Centre nearby. These bodies will have funding advisors who will be able to give you more detailed local information and provide assistance in making an application. They may alos have information on which funding bodies have already spent their budgets and which still have money left that they need to spend before their funding deadline.
When you receive a funding pack, read it carefully and pay particular attention to the funding criteria, this is a summary of what projects a funding body will or will not support. It will often be quite specific e.g. a funding body might only fund 'Activities for disabled young people aged 12 to 18 which encourages healthy living through sports'. Others will be more generalised 'Awards for All', a large national scheme that distributes lottery funding, states that it will fund "projects that enable people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities, as well as projects that promote education, the environment and health in the local community". Other projects will be specific to a particular town or region, or to particular groups in society.
Make a note of funding deadlines and try to get yourapplication in on time. If you see a funding award that you are interested in, but have missed the deadline, get in touch with the funding body and find out if they are havng another funding round in the future. Some organisations make awards four or more times a year.
Make a detailed and realistic estimate of all the costs of your project. Don't forget that you can often include in your funding bid claims for the less obvious running costs of a project e.g. phone calls, stamps, travel expenses, meeting roomhire, stationary and publicity.
Funding bodies like to see exactly where the money is going. It is a good idea to get quotes for any equipment you want to buy, or services you will need to pay for (e.g. £500,000 for a purpose built community centre) at first time of asking. Remember, groups just like yours are making successful small funding bids everyday.
Think about becoming a 'constituted body'. Many funding bodies prefer to deal with organisations rather than individuals. If you are part of a group of people trying to access funding you should consider becoming a constituted group. This means your group adopts a constitution, opens a bank account and has designated committee members responsible for running your group. Normally this would be a chair, vice chair, secretary and a treasurer. This is not as daunting as it sounds; your Tenant Involvement Advisor or Community Initiatives Advisor will be able to provide you with advice and a draft constitution specially designed for tenant and resident associations (TARA's). It is then just a matter of nominating a committee and adopting an 'official' name and opening a bank account for your funds. peak to your local office, they will put you in touch with the relevant staff to help you.
Sometimes funding bodies will require you to have police checks on all members of your group, especially when working with young people and to have polices covering such areas as child protection and equal opportunities. Again the funding body or a funding advisor will be able to provide draft policies and advice on how to get police checks done.
Ask for advice! The amount of jargon, paperwork and bureaucracy involved in making a funding bid can sometimes seem really off putting and often seems designed to make you feel inadequate to the task. If you have any doubts, worries or difficulty then get in touch with a funding advisor. Remember you have as much right to make an application as anyone else.