Comic Relief (Metro): LGBTQ+ COVID-19 Fund
Overview
LGBTQ+ organisations and groups across the UK can now apply for grants of up to £15,000 to support their vital role in supporting LGBTQ+ communities through the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.
METRO Charity in partnership with NAZ, Equality Network, The Rainbow Project, Umbrella Cymru, Yorkshire MESMAC and Birmingham LGBT, will be cascading the £585,000 fund from Comic Relief, raised from ‘The Big Night In’.
The partners will be convening grants panels in each nation - Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England to ensure the maximum reach to grassroots community-led LGBTQ+ organisations across the UK. Organisations and groups with income under £100,000 will be able to apply for over 100 grants ranging from £500 to £15,000.
About the Fund
The LGBTQ+ COVID-19 Fund is funded by Comic Relief, and METRO is the lead intermediary partner distributing these funds to the sector.
The Fund will operate in every nation of the UK, and its delivery will be supported by delivery partners in each nation.
These delivery partners are:
- NAZ
- Equality Network
- The Rainbow Project (NORTHERN IRELAND)
- Umbrella Cymru
- Yorkshire MESMAC
- Birmingham LGBT
The Fund is for LGBTQ+ community-led organisations and groups to support their vital role in supporting LGBTQ+ communities through the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. Five regional panels will assess and allocate the funds.
The five Panels will be for the following areas:
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland
- Wales
- North and Midlands of England
- South of England
Are you eligible to apply?
Applications are open to groups and organisations with an annual turnover under £100,000.
Your group or organisation must also:
- Consist of 3 or more people
- Be led by LGBTQ+ staff or volunteers (if you are a group within a larger organisation, then the staff/volunteers leading on this proposed project should identify as LGBTQ+)
- Be not-for-profit
- Be committed to equality and dignity for all LGBTQ+ people, including trans people
What types of projects will be funded?
The fund is intended to support grassroots, local groups and organisations who can support LGBTQ+ communities through the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.
- Awards will be between £500 - £15,000 (Award levels: micro up to £500 or £1,000, small up to £5,000, medium up to £10,000, and large up to £15,000)
- Each organisation/group can only apply for one grant, not multiple grants adding up to £15,000
- Funding must be used by July 2021
- Public sector organisations cannot apply for funding, nor can they hold any of the funding on behalf of other organisations
- Projects should address the impacts of COVID-19 on the sector
How will funding be awarded?
METRO will do an initial sift of applications to sift out applications which have not been completed or are not eligible. The remaining applications will then be sent to the relevant regional Panel.
Alongside assessing for quality, they are also aiming to ensure that, as far as possible, the whole geography of the UK and the intersections of the LGBTQ+ community are represented in the funding. This will guide the panels’ assessment process.
For small grants (under £5,000)
For small grants:
- the relevant regional Panel will first assess your application form/video
- The Panel will then shortlist applications
- Shortlisted applications will be invited to a short, Dragons Den style interview.
- The panel will then recommend successful applicants to the Partnership Board, who will award the funding.
All applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
- Project design is of high quality
- Feasible project delivery
- Excellent value for money*
- Clear need for the project in the community*
- Excellent monitoring and evidence sharing plans*
- Reasonable governance of the project is in place*
For small grants, you will be assessed on the first two criteria with your application form/video, and then the starred criteria at interview stage.
For medium/large grants (over £5,000)
If you are applying for a grant of over £5,000, you will cover all criteria in your written application. The Panels will award successful grants based solely on your written application.
All applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
- Project design is of high quality
- Feasible project delivery
- Excellent value for money
- Clear need for the project in the community
- Excellent monitoring and evidence sharing plans
- Reasonable governance of the project is in place
Will there be interviews?
Medium/Large applications will not be interviewed, they will be decided by application only.
Shortlisted small grants applicants will be invited to a Dragons Den style interview with the relevant regional Panel.
The interview will be:
- 30 minutes long
- Held via Zoom
- Attended by 3-4 regional Panel members
At the interview you will need to:
- Present your idea in 5 minutes or under (PowerPoint presentations are not necessary, but could be used if you wish)
- Answer follow-up questions about your project
- Answer questions about why your project is needed in the community
- Answer questions about how you plan to capture data and share stories from your project
- Answer questions about how you plan to keep those you work with safe (Safeguarding)
- Answer questions about how you plan to keep information about those you work with secure (data protection)
- If you plan to have paid staff, or volunteers, you will be asked about how you will make sure you have safe and legal working practices
- How you will manage the finances
- There may also be other questions that come up, depending on your application
If you are not sure about any of these questions, they will be offering training on these areas. If you are a small group/organisation who has not thought about these things before, please get in contact with them so that they can support you.
Can you get help with your application?
Please do get in contact with them if you would like some support with your application. They are happy to support you, especially if you do not frequently engage with funding and grants processes. Either email niazy.hazeldine@metrocharity.org.uk or call them at 020 8305 5000 and ask for the Community Domain.
Most local areas of the UK will also have a Community Voluntary Services who can support you. To see if your area has one, you can check on the following sites:
You can also contact your local partner for support: