Deadline: 7-Jan-22
The Haringey Community Carbon Fund (HCCF) is now open to support the delivery of community-led innovative decarbonisation projects that benefit Haringey residents.
They will award HCCF grants to non-profit organisations based and working in the London Borough of Haringey (LBH). Applications are welcomed and actively encouraged from existing energy and environmental groups and from any community groups looking to carry out a local decarbonisation project. In the borough’s Climate Change Action Plan, they have set out the ambition to become a net zero carbon borough by 2041.
The fund will provide increased opportunities to the community to come up with radical and innovative ideas, which will lead to significant cuts in carbon emissions and empower the local community. The HCCF aims to cultivate these ideas and deliver projects at the grassroots level.
Community projects have an emphasis on community design, local engagement, local leadership and local control. They ensure the local community benefits collectively from the outcomes.
Funding Information
- A total amount of £300,000 is available across the four-year funding programme (2021/22 to 2024/25). The first round of funding (2021/22) has a total funding pot of £90,000. Subsequent financial years will have £70,000 available per year.
- Every year, the funding pot will be divided into four tiers of grant funding. Community proposals should set out which funding tier they will be bidding for.
- The tiers will be reviewed annually, but they will, indicatively, be divided into:
- Large grants of up to approximately £30,000- £50,000
- Medium grants of approximately £15,000
- Small grants of approximately £3,000
- Micro grants of approximately £500
- Any unspent funding of the financial year will be rolled over to the next funding year.
What will the fund Cover?
- The grants must be spent on projects within Haringey. Bids may request funding for the following aspects:
- Carbon reduction technologies, materials or equipment to deliver or monitor the project.
- Staff and setup costs specifically to deliver the project.
- Project and promotional activities related to the project.
- Contractor costs related to the project.
- Feasibility assessment by qualified professionals to undertake the project (only for micro, small and medium grants).
- It is expected that the grants may be spent for the following purposes:
- Micro grants of approximately £500 – could be spent on any type of small project or piece of equipment to help reduce carbon emissions locally.
- Small grants of approximately £3,000 – could be spent on small-sized capital projects, or to undertake pre-feasibility work to understand the suitability of the technologies or project at the proposed site before the project is taken further. This could include surveys to determine if a renewable heating system is viable for a community building or a survey to determine the retrofit options for a community building.
- Medium grants of approximately £15,000: could be spent on delivering medium sized capital projects, or to support the development phase of a community project
- and get a project ready to be financed. This could include technical feasibility assessments (such as structural surveys), or support to obtain the necessary permits, licences and consents.
- Large grants of approximately £30,000 to £50,000 – it is expected that these projects are ready to be implemented and funded, and have completed the feasibility stage(s), so the required funding would be spent on capital expenses only.
Eligibility Criteria
- The funding is available to any eligible community groups that are seeking to reduce their carbon emissions. All bidders will be required to demonstrate that they are a community group or organisation that works for the public benefit and not for profit, and are based in, and/ or predominantly active in, Haringey. Individuals must demonstrate they live or work in Haringey.
- All eligible groups must have financial systems in place to allow for accurate management and transparency of auditing of funds (for example, a treasurer or equivalent and a community group bank account with accountable sign-off procedures).
- Groups that bid for the largest grants (up to £30,000-£50,000) will also have to demonstrate that they:
- Have been constituted for at least three years. This includes charitable trusts, registered charities, community benefit societies, cooperatives, unincorporated associations, community interest companies, community interest organisations.
- Have had auditable bank records over the three years and are able to demonstrate they are financially stable.
- Groups that bid for medium grants (approximately £15,000) will have to demonstrate that they:
- Have been constituted for at least one year, or they are sponsored by a constituted community group who will act as a guarantor for over a year.
- Have had auditable bank records over the last year and are able to demonstrate they are financially stable.
- Groups that bid for small grants (approximately £3,000) will have to demonstrate that they are constituted or are sponsored by a constituted community group who will act as a guarantor. Individuals, or community groups that are not constituted, can apply for the micro grants (of approximately £500). They could be eligible for larger grants if they are sponsored by a constituted community group, with additional requirements set out for the medium and large grants.
- Applications are encouraged by the following groups: registered charities, community and voluntary groups, co-operatives, faith and equalities groups, community interest companies, social enterprises, tenant management organisations and community benefit societies.
For more information, visit https://www.haringey.gov.uk/environment-and-waste/going-green/community-carbon-fund