Community Foundation for NI: Nationwide Fund
Overview
What will they support?
They support projects grouped under three key themes:
- Improves conditions (this could be physical, emotional or social)
- Directly helps people into a decent and affordable home (this could be through supported accommodation or stable rental accommodation)
- Indirectly helps people into decent and affordable homes through the creation/evaluation/research of innovative ideas that challenge the existing housing model
Both new and existing projects due to finish soon, can be funded, and grants of between £10,000 to £50,000 will be available.
Basic Eligibility
This fund is open to the following organisations:
- Registered UK charities
- Charitable Incorporated Organisations
- Companies Limited by Guarantee with charitable or social objectives
- Community Interest Companies
Consortia and Partnerships are encouraged. Within a partnership/consortia there should be a lead organisation that makes the bid. The lead organisation must also be one of the above community groups and not a statutory organisation, housing association, constituted community or voluntary sector group.
Grant Levels
- Singular organisations can apply for grants of between £10,000 and £25,000 and consortia or partnerships can apply for grants of between £10,000 and £50,000.
- Community groups that can draw in match funding are encouraged to apply. Match funding should be considered for large-scale capital costs that they cannot fund.
- Funded projects can run for up to two years.
What they are looking for:
Here are some examples of the types of project they are aiming to fund:
Tenancy support – helping people to access affordable private rented accommodation and sustain it through a range of different interventions from money management classes, DIY workshops empowering individuals to complete small repairs, to support with accessing employment, education and training programmes.
Independent living – provide rent deposits and support for people with learning disabilities or mental health issues to move on from supported accommodation to private rented homes with support from a key worker.
Older people at home - support older people to maintain accommodation and live at home independently for as long as possible through tailored advice, information and preventing hazards at home. E.g. hanging curtains, removing chip pans and replacing with the electronic equivalent.
Young people – set up mediation services to enable young people to access counselling services to reconcile where appropriate family relationships and prevent them from becoming homeless. Facilitation of supported lodgings schemes to enable young people to access a safe place to live.
Rent Deposit Loan schemes – set up and manage an affordable loan scheme to enable families to access good quality homes that have been pre-inspected in the private rented sector. The money is paid back at small affordable amounts to enable more families to access the scheme. Projects could include a worker to help people to access the scheme by finding properties. Support with budgeting to manage bills and pay back the loan could be a feature of the worker’s role too.