EMFF E-Bulletin - December 2020 - Nottinghamshire ...

EMFF E-Bulletin – December 2020
Welcome to the latest East Midlands Funding Forum e-bulletin, bringing you highlights of the
latest funding opportunities and funding related news.

That’s right, we’ve reached the end of 2020 and what a year its been! Here’s to hoping that
2021 is better one for all of us and things eventually get back to the old normal!

As usual with any funding news we share, please ensure you check deadline dates before
starting or submitting any applications.
You also follow us on Twitter: @EMFundingForum for the very latest news.

What’s in this month’s bulletin?
Grant Schemes open now!
Click on the links below to skip to the grant in particular or scroll read through as normal:
Local Community Foundations – emergency funds and other general grants
Asda Foundation Feeding Communities Grant - UK wide
Melton Borough Council – Community Grants
Arts Council England – Thriving Communities Fund
The Lindhurst Wind Farm Community Fund - Nottinghamshire
Power to Change Community Business Crowdmatch

Training and/or Support
Click on the links below to go directly to the training opportunity listed below:
CA+ running Managing Finances in challenging times – COVID special

And Finally…our message to you.

Grant Schemes
Local Community Foundations – emergency funds and other general
grants
Check your local Community Foundation for their response and the support available during
the pandemic. Some are responding with their own grant programmes though local councils,
others are distributing funds on behalf of the National Emergencies Trust and most still have
other grants relevant to the local area. Please check yours below:
       •   Foundation Derbyshire
       •   Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation
       •   Lincolnshire Community Foundation
       •   Northamptonshire Community Foundation
       •   Nottinghamshire Community Foundation

Asda Foundation Feeding Communities Grant - UK wide
Each year, Asda Foundation support local grass roots organisations to transform
communities and improve the lives of people living within the Asda community. The Feeding
Communities grant will support charities, not for profit companies, Community Interest
Companies or Unincorporated Club or association to provide:

   •   Food parcel for a family/individual
   •   Food Christmas hamper
   •   School Holiday Clubs
   •   Soup Kitchen/homeless centre
   •   Christmas meal delivery or collection
   •   Local Community Centre providing meal deliveries

Grants:
   • Maximum £1,000 per grant.
   • Per meal maximum cost £4.00 (can be lower than this).
   • No quotes needed.
   • All requests must include a bank statement as proof of payee name
   • Will fund groups who have already received funding from Asda Foundation in 2020.
   • All groups must be not for profit, they do not fund groups who deliver a service to make
      a profit.

Each store has a Community Champion, their role is to support projects within the community
and support bringing people together. They manage all applications for Asda Foundation
grants and to get an application form you must contact your local Community Champion.

Deadline: 6th December 2020

For more information please visit: Feeding Communities Grant

Melton Borough Council – Community Grants
On 10 June the Government announced an emergency fund of £63 million to be distributed
Open to not-for-profit community groups either based in or which provide services to the
residents of Melton Borough. Projects should be in line with the Council’s Corporate People
Priorities with applications supporting the following outcomes being of particular interest:
   •   Good physical and Mental Health (low levels of obesity, substance misuse, teenage
       pregnancy; reduced intergenerational dependence on state support; less involvement
       in criminal activity)
   •   Financial Independence
   •   Effective parent/child relationships (ready for parenthood; good parenting skills;
       aspirations for own children, able to deal with challenges in family & other
       relationships)
   •   Digitally and socially independent and responsible (maintaining social relationships)
   •   Sound aspirations (career planning; ability to get a home; getting on the property
       ladder)
Closing date for applications: 16th December 2020
For more information and the application process please visit: Melton Borough Council
Community Grants

Arts Council England – Thriving Communities Fund
This funding is designed to increase social connectedness and help communities cope with
the impact of COVID-19.
By working with those communities most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including
black, Asian and ethnically diverse communities, the projects will help to:
   •   enhance collaboration and networking between local organisations
   •   strengthen the range of social prescribing activities offered locally and enable social
       prescribing link workers to connect people to more creative community activities and
       services
   •   Explore ways to make these partnerships and activities sustainable over time

Applications of between £25,000 and £50,000 can be led by voluntary, community, faith and
social enterprise (VCSFE) organisations working in any of the following sectors:
   •   Arts, and culture, including libraries, museums and heritage
   •   Sport, leisure and physical activity organisations
   •   Financial wellbeing, advice, food and practical support
   •   Environment and nature-based organisations
   •   Non-statutory health and care organisation, working with social prescribing link
       workers

Deadline dates: 8th January 2021
For more information and how to apply visit: Thriving Communities Fund

The Lindhurst Wind Farm Community Fund - Nottinghamshire
This grant scheme will support community organisations and voluntary groups, including
social enterprises, based in Rainworth, Blidworth and in the south Mansfield ward
of Lindhurst undertaking environmental, educational, community and charitable activities.
The Nottinghamshire Community Foundation is co-ordinating the grant scheme.

What can a grant be used for?
A grant of up to £2,000 may be used to support a one-off activity, ongoing activities or for
minor capital expenditure e.g.
          • to purchase equipment
          • to produce publicity material
          • towards running a pilot project
          • to assist with running costs
          • minor capital works
          • equipment or building alterations
          • to contribute to the costs of an outing

Deadlines: This is an annual grant with variable amounts each year. Groups can apply for
amounts between £250 and £2,000

For more information please visit: Lindhurst Wind Farm Community Fund.

Power to Change Community Business Crowdmatch
Power to Change has teamed up with Crowdfunder to launch Community
Business Crowdmatch. Crowdmatch provides an incentive to maximise your crowdfunding
campaign by match-funding what you raise from a crowd, up to £10,000. For every £1 you
raise through Crowdfunder, Power to Change will match fund each £1.
The fund is particularly looking to support new and existing projects in deprived areas of the
country and work with BAME individuals and community leaders across England and must
be:
   •   Locally rooted
   •   Accountable to the local community
   •   Trading for the benefit of the local community
   •   Broad community impact

To be eligible you need a crowdfunding project, add your project to the Crowdfunder
website and if eligible you will be prompted to apply whereby you will be asked for further
details about your project.

For more information please visit: Community Business Crowdmatch

Training and/or support
CA+ running Managing Finances in challenging times – COVID special
When: 1st, 3rd, 9th, 10th and 16th December.

Where: Online
Cost: FREE
Open to any charity or CIC in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire

Community Accounting Plus CA+ are running a series of free online seminars, which will all
start at 10am and will last approximately one hour. They are designed for anyone in your
organisation with responsibility for the finances – senior staff or trustees.

The sessions will likely cover:
      • Planning and Budgeting
      • Managing your Cash Flow
      • Your accounting system
      • Reporting to the board

To reserve a place email: support@caplus.org.uk with your name and organisation. Please
indicate your 1st, 2nd and 3rd preference for the dates above. More information can be found
here: Support with your finances

And Finally……
A few reports have come out looking at the impact of Covid-19 on the sector, 2 of these we
have recently seen are from IVAR ‘Complicated and Messy’ and NPC’s ‘State of the Sector’.
Both are worth a read and give some different perspectives of the current issues faced.
IVAR Complicated and Messy: VCSE leaders are concerned about staff and service user
exhaustion.

“In the eight months since the first national lockdown, IVAR has heard from over 400 VCSE
leaders about the range of ways they have adapted services and working practices. We have
been inspired by how organisations continue to respond to new, or exacerbated, social and
emotional needs.

Complicated and messy, IVAR’s twelfth Covid-19 briefing, shares more about the challenges
VCSE leaders have been facing over the last month, and the practical ways funders can
support them. It’s a 10-15 minute read.

NPC State of the Sector: How charities have reacted to Covid-19
“Charities told us of the toll that ‘crisis-mode’ working has had on them and how they’re
adapting to meet the challenge of the pandemic.”

Key findings from the How charities have reacted to Covid-19 report include:
   • Covid-19 is changing the sector, but in divergent ways. Some have narrowed the
       range of services they offer, whilst others are broadening their activities to meet new
       needs or to reflect existing needs becoming deeper and more complex.
   • Very few charities we spoke to had the capacity to think about the impact of these
       shifts on their beneficiaries or themselves. Although, many have seen the crisis as
       an opportunity to take stock and reset, refocusing their activities on the ‘core’ of what
       they feel they should be doing.

•   Charities told NPC that they believed a big barrier to increasing their impact was the
       lack of recognition from government, funders, and society at large.

As with 2020, it looks like 2021 is going to be a different year again, but hopefully with the
knowledge and skills developed through Covid-19 the sector will be again be ready to meet
these new challenges.

Happy Holidays and here’s to 2021….
Due to the holiday period your January e-bulletin will arrive a little later than normal. We wish
you, your teams and your family a very lovely holiday and we look forward to seeing you all
in 2021.

The East Midlands Funding Forum is a group of funders, investors, and supporters of the voluntary,
third and social sectors in the East Midlands. We decided to come together to improve the practice of
funding and investment by sharing information, knowledge, and good practice. If you wish to join,
please get in touch.

                                                                Email: emfundingforum@gmail.com
                                                        Twitter: https://twitter.com/EMFundingForum

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