North West Small Grants for Volunteering

Overview

The Programme is targeted specifically at projects that promote volunteering amongst people not in paid work and other groups who are currently under-represented in the volunteering population. The Small Grants for Volunteering Programme makes small grants (of up to £1,000) available to small, locally based volunteer-involving organisations incorporating the above ethos. Please note, this small grant programme will be a 3 month programme (1st June to 31st August 2013) aimed at summer schemes. A summer scheme is defined as community activity during the summer period that involves volunteers. The maximum allowable grant will be £1,000 however it is expected that the typical grant size for this programme will be £500.

Aims of the Small Grant for Volunteering Programme

• To promote active citizenship and diversity and make volunteering more inclusive by increasing activity within groups under-represented in the volunteering populations. (These include: people unemployed or not in paid work; 16-25 year olds; people over 50; people with disabilities; and members of minority ethnic communities.)
• To increase the number of volunteers, particularly those new to volunteer activity.
• To support the development of good practice and ensure a wide range of volunteering opportunities that enhance learning for volunteers, and other benefits.
• To support projects that benefit individuals and communities experiencing disadvantage, including places communities of place and interest, and contribute to New Targeting Social Need (NTSN).

Any small, locally based volunteer-involving organisation that is independently established for charitable purposes and has a constitution or set of rules defining aims, objectives and operational procedures. (Projects need not be recognised by HM Revenue and Customs as a charity.)

Beneficiaries of small grants must meet the following eligibility criteria before their application can be considered: Organisations must be:

• Independent
• Established for charitable purposes (the relief of poverty, the advancement of education, the promotion of religion and for purposes of worthy public support).
• Constituted with a set of rules, defining aims, objectives and operational procedures.

The organisation must be able to demonstrate that the project will:

• Tackle need or disadvantage, benefit the local community or community of interest and contribute to New Targeting Social Need.
• Be made up of at least 40% volunteers not in paid work.
• Promote diversity and make volunteering more inclusive by involving volunteers from one or more of the groups currently under-represented in volunteering (in addition to the 40% not in paid work). These groups are:
  • people with disabilities
  • young people aged 16 to 25
  • older people aged over 50; and
  • people from minority ethnic communities
• Applications will be accepted from groups with an annual income in the previous financial year of not more than £100,000.
• An organisation with a small grant from another volunteer centre will not be eligible.

If there are insufficient resources to fund all eligible applications, the following selection criteria will be used to decide which projects to fund.

• Overall increase in the number of volunteers.
• Increase in number of volunteers from under-represented groups.
• Benefit to the local community (place or interest) including a contribution to New Targeting Social Need.
• Quality of volunteering practice and new approaches to involving volunteers in the organisation.

Successful applications have been received in the past from: community groups; women’s groups; residents associations; childcare/support groups, single-issue organisations, youth groups etc.