Civil Society Roots Grant Prospectus

These are some of the questions the Building Strong Communities mission has been exploring with Londoners.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made more visible the deep inequalities that exist within London, and the vital role of communities in addressing these inequalities. Activity to create a more equal city must be led by communities most impacted by structural inequality and should be supported at a local level.

We have heard from communities that they have been underfunded and are facing increased demand. For communities to be best able to support Londoners and create a more equal capital, we need to invest in their roots. This is necessary for healthy communities.

The Building Strong Communities mission is offering funding and support for groups to invest in their roots and foundations. Whether this involves developing new partnerships, working on a collaborative project, research, investing in capacity building, training or having space and time to think about what your community needs most, we want to hear from you.

This round of funding is targeted at 10 London Boroughs: Bromley, Enfield, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Newham, Redbridge, Sutton, Wandsworth.

The funding is for groups that are led by and for communities impacted by structural inequalities. This includes Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Londoners, Deaf and Disabled Londoners, LGBT+ Londoners, Older Londoners and Women.

Read more about the Building Strong Communities mission.

This £1m fund is a partnership between the Greater London Authority (GLA) and City Bridge Trust. It follows two iterations of the Civil Society Roots programme that were delivered in 2020 and 2021.

You can apply for grants from £1,000 to £50,000 and we will be running an Ideas Camp in your borough to help you think through your ideas and apply for the fund.

All projects must be led by and for groups impacted by structural inequality, and they must take place in one of the 10 boroughs targeted in this fund. However, we know that groups often organise across boroughs and across communities, so we want to be flexible and respond to the needs you identify.

Civil Society Roots funding is focussed on supporting organisations to develop networks, build their capacity and strengthen their voice. It is designed to invest in the type of activity that will lead to better support for Londoners through a stronger community organisations and civil society. It will not fund front line activity directly.

The Ideas Camp is there to help you think about what would be most useful for you and your community.

There are two types of grants available:

Development Grants

• between £1,000 to £5,000 over 6 months (plus up to £1,000 for additional access costs).

These grants are for people that have an idea but need time to research or build the right partnerships to make it happen.

Activity could include (but is not limited to):

• researching local needs and gaps in provision
• building relationships with partners who are not currently working together
• creating spaces to explore and test new ways of working
• developing shared visions, missions, and longer-term action plans.

Impact Grants

• between £5,000 and £50,000 over 12 - 18 months (plus up to £4,000 for additional access costs).

The Impact Grants are an opportunity for community organisations to implement a project they have a clear idea for and are ready to be tested.

Activity could include (but is not limited to):

• funding a staff post which focuses on place-based relationship building, networking and advocacy
• the development and maintenance of a network
• implementing a support model which will deliver on the priorities identified in the Ideas Camp
• testing out the use of an existing model that is being used well by a community elsewhere and could be trialled.

A second round of Impact Grants will be open for applications in early 2023. Grantees receiving Round 1 Development Grants will be supported to apply for Round 2 Impact Grants.

We have a grant pot of £1m to support community grants. There will be two rounds of funding with deadlines on:

• 22 April 2022
• early 2023.

To be eligible to apply, applicants must meet the following:

• be a not-for-profit organisation, such as such as a:

  • registered, exempted or accepted charity
  • Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
  • Community Interest Company limited by guarantee
  • Charitable company limited by guarantee (that is also not a registered charity)
  • Community benefit society (Industrial and Provident society)
  • Faith group, where the activity is not promoting religion
  • Community Amateur Sports Club
  • Constituted but unincorporated club or association
  • Constituted Tenants and Residents Associations, and Tenant Management Organisations
  • Constituted community group
  • Community Infrastructure Organisations
  • Unconstituted community group
  • Mutual Aid Groups.
• for development grants the lead organisation must have an annual turnover of less than £250k
• for impact grants the lead organisation must have an annual turnover of less than £500k
• the lead organisation must be based in one of the 10 target boroughs for this round of funding*
• the lead applicant must be a community led organisation – this means they are majority led by and for communities impacted by structural inequality.

Unconstituted community or mutual aid groups can apply, but you must work with a constituted sponsor organisation to support your application.

*If you are not registered in one of the 10 boroughs but deliver your activity primarily in one of these boroughs we will ask for two references from borough based organisations in order to prove a positive track record of delivering in this borough.

• individuals (unless part of a partnership, cannot be lead partners)
• businesses and ‘for profit’ organisations (including Company Limited by Shares) (unless part of a partnership, cannot be lead partners)
• local offices of larger regional or national organisations/charities
• local authorities
• organisations with a turnover in excess of £500k.

Would you like some feedback on your idea before submitting your application? If so, please complete this short form and provide us with:

• a short description of the project
• what you want to achieve
• how it will increase or strengthen community voice, connections and capacity.

Someone from the team will be in touch with you as soon as possible to discuss.

To apply, download and complete the application form for the relevant grant. These are different for the Impact and Development grant

• Application for the Development Grant
• Application for the Impact Grant

Once completed please submit it using our online application form.

Deadline for submissions is 5pm on 22 April 2022.

If you are successful in receiving a conditional offer of funding you will be asked to provide due diligence documentation as set out in the section below.

Round 1

Open from 16 February to 22 April 2022.

Round 2

Opens early 2023.

We recommend attending your local Ideas Camp to hear more about the funds and how you can apply.

These boroughs were identified through an evidence review.

The evidence review highlighted these boroughs as areas where funders struggle to reach equity led groups.

Read a summary of the evidence review and how these boroughs were chosen.

We will fund a broad range of activities and the costs associated with running them.

It is best practice to offer expenses for people volunteering on your project.

Your grant can cover the costs of project management, including contributing to core staff costs for their time spent working on the project.

Costs could include (but are not limited to):

• professional fees: the cost of hiring in people to help with your project – researchers, consultants, professional advice
• venue hire costs: for example, what it costs you to rent a hall or other type of space for your project
• staff costs: and other costs directly related to the running of your project
• volunteer costs: expenses to support volunteer’s participation in the project including refreshments
• transport: to help you, your staff and volunteers or participants get to your project and back
• overheads: such as administrative and office costs up to 10% of your total grant amount.

This fund has been designed to support projects that help organisations and groups to build capacity, develop partnerships and strengthen networks. It will not fund front line activity directly:

• activities that have already happened or take place before we have reached a decision on your application
• general overheads not related to the delivery of your project
• activities outside London
• profit-making activities or projects
• overseas travel (in or out bound).

Both Development and Impact grantees will be supported throughout the grant period to reflect on progress, learn from one another, and continue to build relationships and networks in their borough. Projects can include costs of participating in this project support in their application.

This support will be delivered by a commissioned partner.

Development grantees will receive:

• a 6-month programme of support which will include:
  • facilitated relationship building within the borough including engagement with other grantees and key people
  • one day of bespoke consultancy support which can be used to focus on developing an idea, or set out plans for next steps
  • support with applying to round 2 of the Impact grants.

Impact grantees will receive:

• an 18-month programme that will be delivered over the lifetime of the grant and build on the work of the Ideas Camp. The programme will:
  • support grantees to develop their ways of working.
  • facilitate relationship building within the borough including with development grantees
  • support networks in the borough and across communities of interest and key people
  • facilitate a space for all the grantees to come together, creating opportunities for learning and reflecting on the models they are each developing and implementing.
  • all impact grantees will be offered up to 2 days of bespoke consultancy support which can be used by grantees to focus on key areas of development.

The bespoke consultancy support could include:

• partnership ways of working
• long term strategy development
• support with developing a theory of change
• communication and engagement planning

By the end of the programme, grantees will have explored sustainable ways of working, made strong connections and networks within the borough and across communities and be supported in planning for next steps.

We will assess your application, for either type of funding against a few key criteria:

1. Idea responds to need

• Is there clear evidence of the need or issue you are trying to respond to?
• Does your idea clearly respond to this need or issue?
• Are you able to share details of how the idea will ultimately result in stronger support for communities?

2. Responding to the objectives of the fund

• Are you clear on how your idea will respond to the objectives of the fund?
• How is the idea demonstrating its response to objectives of the fund e.g. supporting organisations to develop networks, build their capacity and/or strengthen their voice.
• How are you ensuring the community is involved in the development and delivery of the project?

3. Making it happen

• How clear are you on the steps to make your proposal happen?
• Is your budget clear and have you considered all costs involved in running the project?

To apply, download and complete the application form for the relevant grant. These are different for the Impact and Development grant

• Application for the Development Grant
• Application for the Impact Grant

Once completed please submit it using our online form.

Deadline for submissions is 5pm on 22 April 2022.

If you are successful in receiving a conditional offer of funding you will be asked to provide due diligence documentation as set out in the section below.

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Greater London Authority
City Hall
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www.london.gov.uk

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