CVS Fife - Funding Update

Dear Colleague

Welcome to the CVS Fife eBulletin. We’re planning to use this format to keep you up-to-date on new developments in between our quarterly newsletters, and would welcome any feedback on the content or the idea. The topic for our first bulletin is funding, as there have been a number of new developments in this area recently, and it is still one of CVS Fife’s top enquiry areas. I hope you find it useful.

Carole Patrick
Acting Deputy Manager
Council for Voluntary Service Fife
23-27 Randolph Street
Buckhaven
Fife KY8 1AT
Tel: 01592 567001
Email: carole.patrick@cvsfife.org
Web: www.cvsfife.org

Welcome Launch of Big Lottery Fund's New Investment Programmes

On May 2nd, the Big Lottery Fund launched its new Investment Programmes for Scotland. The BLF carried out extensive consultation during 2004/5 to determine what shape its new programmes should take. The result of all this consultation work has been the development of four Investment Programmes designed to achieve the following outcomes:

Voluntary organisations and community groups looking for funding between £10,000 and £1m are eligible to apply to each of the four programmes. Potential applicants will be pleased to hear that the application process is in two stages - the first stage involves completing a fairly short outline proposal form, and the Big Lottery will advise from that whether or not you can proceed to the full application stage.

More details on all four Investment Programmes can be found on the Big Lottery Fund website: www.biglottery.org.uk In addition, CVS Fife is running three information sessions on the new programmes in partnership with the Funding & Monitoring Team and VONEF. For more information and a booking form, see our website: www.cvsfife.org/news/biglottery.htm

Changes to Awards for All

The lottery small grants programme, Awards for All, continues to be a popular avenue for voluntary and community organisations looking to secure project funding for sports, arts, heritage, environment, education, health or community-related activity. The good news is that Awards for All now offers funding up to £10,000 (previously the limit was £5,000), and while it used to be that case that organisations with an annual income greater than £20,000 could not apply for sports or arts projects, that income restriction has now been removed.

Awards for All deals with all applications within a 6-8 week timeframe. New application forms and guidance notes are available on the website: www.awardsforall.org.uk

Esmee Fairbairn: Supporting Enterprise and Change

For voluntary organisations interested in becoming more enterprising, Esmee Fairbairn offers a funding programme that can support organisations intending to test out new approaches in the quest to become more sustainable, perhaps through income generation or trading activities. The Supporting Enterprise and Change programme has two key strands, Enterprising Communities and Financial Independence. Rainbow Crafts in Fife is one organisation already benefiting from Esmee Fairbairn support, for more details on the programme and application materials see the website: www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk

Scottish Community Diet Project Small Grant Scheme

This scheme offers amounts of between £500 and £3000 to fund new and ongoing community food activity within low-income communities in Scotland. The project is focussed on improving access to and take up of a healthy, varied and balanced diet. Guidance and application forms are available on the website: www.dietproject.org.uk

Help to Source Funding

CVS Fife has a number of resources to help voluntary organisations source funding and put together successful applications. Our website now features a database of funders, and we have categorised them by the type of work they support. If you're looking for a specific funder, they're also listed alphabetically: www.cvsfife.org/funding

We also have the Directory of Grant-Making Trusts CD-ROM, which organisations can make an appointment to use. A member of staff will take you through the programme, allowing you to identify trusts that are likely to support your work. Call us if you'd like to make a booking.

Once you get to the application stage, we have staff who can give advice and give feedback on drafts. There are common areas where applications fall down, and our experience can help organisations to avoid some of these pitfalls. Please contact us if you think your organisation could benefit from this support.