Deadline: 19-Aug-20
The Cambridgeshire Coronavirus Community Fund is open to constituted community organisations throughout Cambridgeshire (including Peterborough), who are supporting isolated older and vulnerable people at this time.
Types of Grants
The fund offers two types of grant:
- Recovery grants
- To support organisations that are helping the most vulnerable communities to recover from the impact of the pandemic and adapt to the new environment and community needs.
- Funding will be available to help secure the finances of key organisations that have lost income due to the crisis and are directly supporting vulnerable people experiencing hardship as a result of the crisis. Funding will also support key organisations to adapt their operations, services and working practices.
- Grants are available in two categories:
- Recovery grants: £10,000-14,999
- Recovery grants: £15,000-25,000
- The fund will focus on funding organisations that can demonstrate that they are reaching the most vulnerable. This might be geographic communities or communities of identity. Understanding which communities are most vulnerable is an emerging picture and there is no definitive understanding. Your application should demonstrate and evidence how your work is helping those who are worst affected, in the longer-term. You should explain how you understand these needs through consultation with the communities you serve.
- The fund aims to build upon existing community assets and empower communities from the ground up. At present they welcome applications from organisations targeting:
- People severely economically impacted by the pandemic
- BAME communities
- Young people
- Women & families affected by domestic violence
- Supporting good mental health and wellbeing, and people with disabilities.
- What can be Supported within the Fund Recovery Theme?
- Short-term finance support for key organisations that demonstrate a strong likelihood of recovering finances
- Adaptation of operations, services and working practices
- Digital enablement to deliver services
- Recruiting & retraining staff and volunteers
- Organisation redesign, e.g. restructuring, mergers, partnerships, etc
- Prevention – preventing problems emerging or getting worse, e.g. public health campaigns and education
- Seizing opportunities and learning emerging from the pandemic to help build community resilience
- Emergency Grants
- The focus of the fund will be to offer community organisations emergency funding to deal with emerging issues in the community, affecting older people (aged 60 and over) and other vulnerable people (high risk, pre-existing medical conditions, etc), as a result of the continuing threat of Covid-19. This will include; the need for self-isolation, financial hardship, potential for hunger, lack of shelter, further exacerbation of health issues, loneliness and isolation of these people.
- Grants between £1,000 and £5,000 will be considered (larger grants may be available for groups working in partnership). They aim for the process to take between 5 and 10 working days.
- To be eligible to apply your project must support older people or other vulnerable people and help to:
- Supporting ongoing needs of people, to ensure that their well-being is maintained,
- Reduce isolation and vulnerability during any isolation period that may arise as a result of the threat of Covid-19,
- Any initiative that will help ensure people remain, safely connected with the outside world during this time.
- Example projects might include:
- Tackling the impacts of financial hardship.
- Enabling people to keep warm by accessing home heating oil or warm clothes.
- Enabling people to access a nutritious meal by connecting them to services providing groceries, and/or ready-made meals.
- Enabling and encouraging people to use and access technology to keep them connected to the outside world.
- Reaching out to isolated people by telephone, and befriending if possible.
- Enabling home education for children and young people.
Eligibility Criteria
- Constituted organisations based in Cambridgeshire.
- Parish, Town, District, City and County Council teams.
- Partnerships – They want to support community groups working together; particularly in smaller geographical communities. They will therefore encourage a partnership approach, and one application from one lead organisation, rather than a number of separate applications.
- Groups who already have live projects or pending applications.
- Repeat applications under the same fund for continuation of projects that are proving to work well.
The Fund will not Support:
- Applications from individuals
- Purchase of vehicles
- Holiday schemes
- Events, parties, trips and initiatives based upon mass gatherings
- Promotion of religion, this includes organisations whose main purpose includes advancement of religion
- Party political activity
For more information, visit https://www.cambscf.org.uk/cambridgeshire-coronavirus-community-fund.html