Deadline: Various
- Small Grants: 22 September 2020
- Medium/Large Grants: 30 September 2020
The LGBTQ+ COVID-19 Fund is funded by Comic Relief, and METRO is the lead intermediary partner distributing these funds to the sector, with Equality Network as the Scottish delivery partner.
The Fund will operate in every nation of the UK, and its delivery will be supported by delivery partners in each nation.
The Fund is for LGBTQ+ community-led organizations and groups to support their vital role in supporting LGBTQ+ communities through the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.
The fund is intended to support grassroots, local groups and organizations that can support LGBTQ+ communities through the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.
The five Panels will be for the following areas:
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland
- Wales
- North and Midlands of England
- South of England
Funding Information
- Awards will be between £500 – £15,000 (Award levels: micro up to £500 or £1,000, small up to £5,000, medium up to £10,000, and large up to £15,000)
- Each organization/group can only apply for one grant, not multiple grants adding up to £15,000
How will funding be awarded?
- METRO will do an initial sift of applications to sift out applications which have not been completed or are not eligible. The remaining applications will then be sent to the relevant regional Panel.
- Alongside assessing for quality, we are also aiming to ensure that, as far as possible, the whole geography of the UK and the intersections of the LGBTQ+ community are represented in the funding. This will guide the panels’ assessment process.
For small grants (under £5,000)
-
- the relevant regional Panel will first assess your application form/video
- The Panel will then shortlist applications
- Shortlisted applications will be invited to a short, Dragons Den style interview.
- The panel will then recommend successful applicants to the Partnership Board, who will award the funding.
All applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
-
-
- Project design is of high quality
- Feasible project delivery
- Excellent value for money
- Clear need for the project in the community
- Excellent monitoring and evidence sharing plans
- Reasonable governance of the project is in place
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For small grants, you will be assessed on the first two criteria with your application form/video, and then the starred criteria at interview stage.
For medium/large grants (over £5,000)
-
- If you are applying for a grant of over £5,000, you will cover all criteria in your written application. The Panels will award successful grants based solely on your written application.
All applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
-
-
- Project design is of high quality
- Feasible project delivery
- Excellent value for money
- Clear need for the project in the community
- Excellent monitoring and evidence sharing plans
- Reasonable governance of the project is in place
-
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications are open to groups and organizations with an annual turnover under £100,000.
- Your group or organization must also:
- Consist of 3 or more people
- Be led by LGBTQ+ staff or volunteers (if you are a group within a larger organization, then the staff/volunteers leading on this proposed project should identify as LGBTQ+)
- Be not-for-profit
- Be committed to equality and dignity for all LGBTQ+ people, including trans people
The programme will not fund:
- Individuals
- Items which are due to be paid for by other public or private sector grants
- Statutory fines, criminal fines or penalties
- Liabilities incurred prior to the date of this agreement
- All paid for events, conferences and exhibitions, including hire of venues for ‘purely’ promotional events
- Projects that are purely based around marketing/communications such as newsletter projects or advertising campaigns
- Projects that are purely making payments to statutory organisations, such as Local Authorities, schools, the Police Force and arm’s length public sector organisations. This includes organisations that are in any way controlled by, for example, a Local Authority, a Clinical Commissioning Group or agencies of these
- Any party-political activity
- Activity where the key purpose is to promote a religious doctrine or the beliefs of a particular faith
- Commercial ventures
- Funding of organisations which support or promote extremist views or which do not support human rights; equality before the law, democracy and full participation in UK society
For more information, visit https://www.equality-network.org/lgbtq-fund-apply/