Yes, it is that time again; numerous grant funds are opening up! What follows is our guidance on how to go about responding to this specific fund – what to include and the pitfalls to avoid.
Many of you reading this may well be experienced in writing funding bids – but even the most experienced can overlook something. We are not setting out to patronise anyone. Instead, we are coming from a position of offering advice and support.
Much of what follows is common sense. It is also based on feedback reviewing a considerable number of submissions to the same fund last year. This guidance would be suitable for other funds too, three additional funds are available in the Cheshire East Council Enabling Communities Grants Programme.
Background to the Cost of living community response fund
Like last year, this will be based on Household Support Fund (HSF), monies. Also, like last year, there will be an emphasis on supporting local voluntary, community, and faith sector (VCFSE) groups such as community food projects and others that support vulnerable residents. In the guidance issued to local authorities (LAs) there is a clear note of encouragement for them to facilitate preventative approaches – so reducing the need for emergency food parcels - such as the co-location of services within food locations to maximise household incomes, and the development of affordable food clubs such as pantries and social supermarkets.
The Household Support Fund is also open for referrals to support households in crisis or those financially most in need. The fund can also support adults and families who are struggling to afford household basics including food, energy, and wider essentials.
Completing a funding bid – the basics
- Are you eligible to apply? - read and understand the guidance notes
- You cannot save your work within the Grant submission platform so create a pro-forma in Word or an alternative software package
- There may be multiple categories within the same form – so be clear you are selecting the correct category
- Do not work in isolation - share an early draft with others (including colleagues at CVSCE) and give yourself time to review before submitting
- Attend any information sessions offered by Cheshire East Council or ourselves
- Most important of all – answer the specific questions!
Some more detailed considerations:
Where does your project fit or align to the wider Cheshire East place health and wellbeing system e.g. to the Cheshire East Council plan, Healthy and Wellbeing strategy, Food Alliance priority themes. - these documents are good places to look.
What evidence of need or demand are you basing your bid on?
- If you run an existing project, you should have access to primary data e.g. from service users (specific quotes are helpful) or project data (how many service users per week / month do you support, what support do they receive)
- If your project is new, you may find it helpful to look for secondary data e.g. Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) Tartan Rug, Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), Priority Places of Food Index (PPFI) or other public access or opensource data.
Be specific about the geography in which project will operate e.g. just a single Ward or an LSOAs within a Ward, a cluster of Wards, a whole town a Care Community etc.
- Describe the characteristics of the geographic area - what support is needed and why e.g., high level of deprivation, there is no existing provision (see Evidence of Need or demand above for examples of data you could use)
- Avoid geographical areas where similar projects already exist - unless you are working in collaboration or partnership with an existing organisation. Check out our food map for information on community food projects across Cheshire East.
Provide evidence of working in collaboration (rather than simply statements to such effect) - talk to other groups / projects to see where you can work collaboratively. We want to avoid duplications of effort and groups competing for monies for the same thing. For example, sharing vehicles or logistical efforts, rather than multiple groups asking for such support, when such assets will be under-utilised.
Have you spoken to the Food Coordination lead (graham.brown@cvsce.org.uk) or attended a Food Alliance meeting?
Be clear about your numbers / budget - the more granular the better. For example, if you are asking for monies to buy food - then state what it is going to be spent on, the quantity and your source (e.g. store website). If you already run a food project, you should already have this information to hand.
Financial and other sustainability - what is your strategy to ensure you do not keep coming back asking for funds to do the same thing. If you were successful in receiving monies last year, why are you coming back again this year?
Be specific about how you are going to evaluate your project - what analysis / reporting do you already have in place? Do you need to adapt this to meet fit with this steam of funding? Linked to this is Social value of your project or organisation – what societal, environmental, or economic impact is your project / organisation having. The example from Great Places below highlights a range of different measures they have used to illustrate their value or impact.
Source: Great Places Housing Group News & Blog - Great Places
Join us for our free online support session on Zoom 21st July at 10:30am, book your place today.
Additional support
Additional support is available for a range of different sources:
Contact the Cheshire East Council Community Grants team
Speak to a CVSCE development officer
If you are new to applying for grant funding, sign-up for our online Introduction to Grant Applications training. This course will take you through the crucial steps to give your organisation the best chance of success with grant bids.
Best of luck!
