Belfast City Council: Revenue Grant for a Community Building

Overview

Important Notice There are separate application forms for the Capacity building grant and the Revenue grant for a community building. Please note organisations can only apply for either a Capacity building grant or a Revenue grant for community buildings. Organisations cannot apply for both grants.

Introduction to Revenue grants for a community building

Revenue grants for community buildings are one of the ways Belfast City Council will invest in a resilient and effective, independent community development sector across the city. They are aimed at community development organisations which address the needs of their community by delivering a broad-based programme from their building.

The building may be used by a geographic based community, or the community may be a community of interest with members from across the whole city. These grants contribute to the running costs of community buildings in recognition that the community development activity inside allows communities to be engaged to:

• Influence or take decisions about issues that matter to them and affect their lives
• Define needs, issues and solutions for their community
• Take action to help themselves and make a difference

Revenue Grants for community buildings contribute to centre running costs to allow groups to directly offer services for members and to undertake developmental programmes to benefit the community. Direct service delivery is when the group offers an opportunity to attend a programme or receive support e.g. parent and toddler groups or a lunch club for older people. Developmental activity is when communities come together to address new and emerging needs or work to create a change e.g. bring local young people inside the building to develop a community safety project or run a programme to enable parents to support their children to do better at school.

When referring to timescales, they use the financial year which starts on the 1 April and finishes on 31 March each year.

A central tenet of their community development grants is that organisations must clearly demonstrate the active involvement of the committee/board, staff/volunteers and beneficiaries in the design, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of the project.

Who can apply for a Revenue grant for a community building?

To be considered for a Revenue grant for a community building your organisation must meet a number of eligibility criteria which are explained and detailed below. They include eligibility criteria for all Belfast City Council grants, for all community development grants and specifically for a Revenue grant for a community building.

If your organisation does not meet these eligibility criteria, they will not consider your application: Your organisation must meet all of the following criteria.

1. It must have an office in and operational focus in the Belfast City Council local government district. (The Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service (NINIS) has maps of Belfast with a postcode search function. See www.nisra.gov.uk)
2. It must be a not-for-profit organisation and be unable to share out profits to members or shareholders. If it includes any social economy enterprise, any profit must be reinvested in the objects of the organisation.
3. It must have up-to-date annual and management accounts signed as agreed by the board or management committee and supply copies of them.
4. It must hold a bank account in the organisation’s name and provide evidence of this. Belfast City Council is highly unlikely to fund an organisation that is in poor financial health or that cannot prove that it has effective financial controls.
5. It must have a board or management committee and supply a list of members and hold Annual General Meetings.
6. It has ensured that all of your organisation’s policies and procedures are in place, up to date and fit for purpose to comply with all relevant legal and regulatory requirements for the group, services and activities for which your organisation is wholly liable.

Community development grants eligibility

To meet the community development grants eligibility requirements, your organisation’s governing document must clearly state that:

1. your organisation has community development as a primary objective; this would include promoting the benefit of the area, relieving poverty, improving social welfare and quality of life.
2. Membership is inclusive of your identified community and open to its full range of opinion;
3. Each year your organisation holds an Annual General Meeting (AGM) at which each member has an equal vote;
4. Your organisation has a Management Committee or Board of Directors which is appointed at your AGM using a clear democratic process for the selection of members i.e. election;
5. The committee/board presents the report for the year at the AGM; and
6. An annual statement of accounts is presented at the AGM

They provide community development grants to formally constituted, autonomous community development organisations to enable people to engage in the long term, value-based process of community development.

It’s important that the groups they fund are inclusive of their identified community and open to its full range of opinion i.e. do not exclude any part of that community. Each member must have equal status and be entitled to vote at the AGM.

Decisions about the organisation and its activity must only be made by members and no other organisation can have the ability to impose a decision on the group i.e. they must be fully autonomous organisations. Groups must be managed by their community which means that the management committee/board has to come from the membership and be elected at the Annual General Meeting.

The management committee or board must be accountable to their membership for the work done and money spent during the year. The committee must present a report and financial accounts which are formally adopted by the membership at the Annual General Meeting

Revenue grant for a community building eligibility criteria:

Finally, to be eligible for a Revenue grant for a community building, your organisation must also meet all of these eligibility criteria:

• Operate a broad-based programme of activity to meet community needs and support community development, and
• Operate from a community building that is welcoming and inclusive, and
• The centre must be compliant with all relevant legislative requirements for the running of a community building
• Have the right to use the building to deliver your programme.

What they mean by a ‘broad-based’ programme

A broad-based programme must provide at least 3 activities for each of the following age groups;

• Children/Young People
• Adults
• Older People

Amounts of funding available

• Revenue grants for community buildings are up to a maximum of £20,000 per annum for 2023-2026.

They will only fund community buildings which are primarily used for community development to the benefit of Belfast residents. If your building also supports people from outside Belfast; any award that is made will be paid at a pro rata rate to reflect this. The grant will contribute to running costs for community buildings to enable groups to respond to community needs by delivering a broad-based programme and supporting community development.

As such the only costs that are eligible are:

• Cleaning
• Health and safety, including security
• Insurance
• Maintenance costs
• Office Supplies
• Telephone, postage and IT costs
• Utilities – gas, electricity, oil, water
• Rent
• Audit
• Staff who carry out functions linked to the running of the building such as caretakers, cleaners

The amount that Council contributes to your running costs will depend on the number and quality of applications we receive, and the total amount of funding that is made available for revenue grants for community buildings.

Projects must occur between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2026. Any activity outside these timescales will not be eligible for funding.