Funding News - May 2008
Dear Colleague
There are a number of developments in the area of funding we'd like to draw your attention to this month.
Big Lottery Fund: Deadline Update
The Big Lottery Fund in Scotland has set a deadline date of 1 August 2008 for Outline Proposals for the following programmes:
- Supporting 21st Century Life
- Life Transitions
- Growing Community Assets
These programmes offer funding between £10,000 and £1m to projects which can demonstrate that they meet Big Lottery Fund outcomes. There is strong competition for all of the programmes, particularly Life Transitions, so additional guidance has been produced for all potential applicants. There has been a lack of applications from the East and North East of Scotland for the Growing Community Assets programme, so BIG is keen to encourage projects from these areas to come forward. For further details and guidance on all of these programmes, please see the Big Lottery Fund's website:
Community Planning Partnership Bid: ESF Priority 1 and ERDF Priority 3
Progressing into Employment and Urban Regeneration
Some voluntary organisations will be aware that thirteen Community Planning Partnerships in Scotland, including Fife, were invited to put together bids under ESF Priority 1 (Progressing into Employment) and ERDF Priority 3 (Urban Regeneration) in last October's bid round. The current European Structural Funds Programme, likely to be the last of its kind in Scotland, runs from 2007 - 2013, and the CPPs were invited to submit bids for a two-year programme of activity. These programmes were to demonstrate input from a range of partners.
As Structural Funds only provide a percentage of funding for any project (in the case of the CPP bid for Fife, 40%), any partners interested in having a project included in the CPP bid needed to demonstrate that they had clear indications of match funding. The timescale for putting the bid together was very tight, but CVS Fife played a role in alerting voluntary organisations working in the areas covered by the priorities concerned that the CPP bid was a potential opportunity. Subsequently, a handful of voluntary organisations had projects submitted within the CPP programme. Equally importantly, many of the other projects contain commitments to work with the voluntary sector on a range of initiatives.
The assessment process for all Structural Fund bids has been running behind, and the CPP bid, being administered in Fife by the Funding & Monitoring Team in Fife Council, was only notified that it had been approved during the second week in April. Discussions are still ongoing around the finalisation of Fife's programme of activity.
CVS Fife is keeping in touch with developments around the CPP bid and with some of the key agencies involved in the Employability field in Fife to ensure that the voluntary sector can have a voice across a range of Employability-related initiatives, including the development of the ESF-funded programme.
Grantnet and Grantfinder
CVS Fife, along with Fife Council, is offering voluntary organisations and community groups the opportunity to access the Grantfinder and Grantnet services. These online funding information services replace the FunderFinder service, and organisations have the option to conduct their own searches or arrange an assisted search which can provide more detail. See CVS Fife's website for more information.
www.cvsfife.org/funding/granfinder.htm
Fairer Scotland Fund
An update on the arrangements for the Fairer Scotland Fund was included in CVS Fife's April Newsletter. Essentially, Fife's Community Planning Partnership, via the Sustainable Communities Group, took the decision to use FSF funding to extend a number of Community Regeneration Funded projects for a six month transitional period. During this time, work has been going on to develop a Fairer Fife Framework for Fife Partnership, which will take a strategic, Fife-wide view of poverty, inequality and deprivation. CVS Fife has been involved in discussions around this framework along with other Voluntary Sector colleagues.
The Fairer Fife Framework will set high level outcomes which any Fairer Scotland Fund initiatives will be expected to contribute towards. It is not likely that an open bidding process will be pursued, a commissioning approach looks more likely. CVS Fife is closely involved in this work and as soon as we can, we will advise the Voluntary Sector regarding the state of play.
Awards for All
The small lottery grants scheme, which awards amounts between £500 and £10,000 for one year projects which enable people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities, and projects that promote education, the environment and health in the local community, has just released its latest list of successful applicants.
In Fife, successful groups include the Strike a Chord Music project from Coaltown of Wemyss, North Fife Rotary Club, Methilhaven Pigeon Club and Levenmouth YMCA. Voluntary organisations of all sizes can apply to Awards for All as there is no income limit, and it remains an excellent source of funding for one-off initiatives and equipment. Applicants hear the result of their application within two months. For further information, see the website:
Regards
Carole Patrick
Depute Manager