Strategic Support Fund for Victims and Survivors

Overview

The transitional arrangements include a merger of the Core and Development Grant Schemes to form the Strategic Support Fund for groups delivering services to victims and survivors and separate Development Grant Scheme for volunteer based groups providing services to individual victims (who do not require staffing and running costs).

The introduction of the Strategic Support Fund provides the opportunity for groups who work with and deliver services to victims and survivors of the Northern Ireland Troubles to make a more strategic application for their core running costs and their service delivery costs.

Aims and Objectives of the Strategic Support Fund

• The Strategic Support Fund (SSF) for groups working with victim and survivors aims to use public funding to:
• help victims and survivors regain fulfilment in their lives and, where appropriate, to help re‐integrate them as members of society,
• the emphasis of the Strategic Support Fund will be on the benefits it brings to individual victims/survivors, and priority will be given to organisations or groups which provide support services to victims and survivors which they cannot access elsewhere.

This Fund will be managed so as to:

• Promote the unique support provided by groups and organisations to individual victims and survivors.
• Encourage groups/organisations that provide services in parallel with others to develop partnerships that complement rather than duplicate service delivery.
• Encourage cohesion between and within groups and organisations so that service provision can be shared and the fragmentation of groups and organisations avoided.
• Encourage groups and organisations to develop strategic plans which show how their work will be sustained; how they will diversify their funding base; how they will address the training needs of their volunteers, staff and management committee; and how they will aim to provide a service to all communities.

Who can apply

• Any constituted voluntary and community victims group or organisation that can provide evidence of need for their support services to victims and survivors resident in Northern Ireland are eligible to submit an application to the Strategic Support Fund.
• Volunteer based groups that do not require staffing support costs should not submit an application to the Strategic Support Fund; rather they should submit their applications for services to the Development Grant Scheme.
• New voluntary and community sector victims groups or organisations

You can only hold one funding award or contract at any one time. You can have funding support from the Development Grant Scheme OR funding support from the Strategic Support Fund (not both).

How to Apply

Full guidelines and apllication forms are available from the website.Groups are eligible to apply for either one of the two deadlines NOT both.