Deadline: 30-Jun-23
The Dorset Community Foundation (DCF) is now accepting applications for the BCP Food and Energy Support Fund.
Priorities
- Grants will be awarded to applicants that are delivering community initiatives throughout the grant period from 21st July to 31st March 2024, that support BCP households impacted by the rising costs of living. The scheme is intended to cover a wide range of support for vulnerable and low income households in the most need of support, including families with children of all ages, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers and disabled people. Grant funded activities should meet immediate needs and help those who are struggling to afford energy and water bills, food, and other related essentials.
- They encourage applications from groups and organisations that are helping to support residents with:
- Access to food, including providing free or low cost food, community meals, food vouchers, cooking equipment or food skills initiatives (e.g. cooking on a budget)
- Access to other household essentials relating to warmth, energy and water (e.g. hygiene products, warm clothing, blankets, energy efficiency measures such as curtains, draft excluders)
- Warm welcome spaces during the winter, enabling people to escape from the cold and connect with others – where groups are incurring additional costs in offering their space
- Other community initiatives that relate to helping with the cost of living challenge
- All applicants should please note:
- Grants for the provision of cash awards or white goods to households are not eligible
- Food provision grants cannot be used to replicate or replace Free School Meals but families in receipt of Free School Meals are eligible as beneficiaries of funded services, where additional support is needed
- There is no requirement for means testing to identify financial hardship but groups should describe their own approach to ensuring that beneficiaries are in need of support
- Groups should describe how the service will compliment any existing services and demonstrate they are connected with other organisations serving the community, to ensure services are joined up
- Warm Welcome community spaces should be free (including refreshments), open at least once a week, and welcoming; this might mean providing hot drinks, offering someone to chat to, encouraging people to talk to others, or enabling access to wider support services. All ideas are welcome.
- Where possible, groups should make beneficiaries aware of support available from:
- Citizens Advice: Household grants to help with food and fuel bills for eligible households, funded through the Household Support Fund 4. Citizen’s Advice also offer advice and support on a range of issues, such as debt and benefits advice and support with applications & appeals.
- Ridgewater Energy: energy efficiency improvements offered following home visits to provide free advice and installation of energy saving measures including cavity wall & loft insulations. Practitioner referral scheme for emergency boiler repairs or appliances available for eligible households.
Funding Information
- Grants of up to £15,000 are available in this first round.
- The grant period will be 21st July 2023 – 31st March 2024 (groups can deliver funded services during the Easter school holiday period to 12th April, as long as funds have been pre allocated by the end of March).
Eligibility Criteria
- Organisations that can apply:
- Registered Charities
- Constituted Community and Voluntary Organisations
- Community Interest Companies
- Social Enterprises
- To be eligible the organisation must have:
- At least 3 unrelated people responsible for running the organisation
- A written constitution or set of rules that sets out the purpose and management of the organisation
- A bank account in the name of the organisation with at least two unrelated cheque signatories
- An appropriate Safeguarding Policy
Exclusions
- Schools are not eligible but they can fund PTA groups if they meet the eligibility guidelines
- They cannot fund the promotion of religion or political causes – faith based organisations should advise whether their Food or Warm Welcome offer will include a mandatory introduction or discussion of faith
- They cannot fund public bodies to carry out their statutory obligations
- They cannot fund animal welfare organisations
- They cannot offer retrospective funding for items already purchased or work completed
- Organisations with more than 12 months’ unrestricted reserves are usually not funded
For more information, visit DCF.