Deadline: 31-Mar-21
Norfolk Women’s Fund supports women’s economic empowerment in Norfolk, offering small grants to seed fund transformational ideas. NWF specifically wants to support nascent projects or initiatives that are finding it difficult to get support anywhere else.
Program Aims
The Foundation aims to offer small amounts that could make a big difference. For example,
- Seed or development funding to help and to test idea or make a case to larger funders.
- Upskilling or capacity building for an applicant or their team, which will enable to do more.
- Projects that have the potential to be transformational (ie. they have longer-term ambitions to change systems, organisations or barriers to equality).
Focus Areas
Applications should be focused on women’s economic empowerment. That is the process of achieving women’s equal access to and control over economic resources, and ensuring they can use them to exert increased control over other areas of their lives. It can include:
- Skills and learning.
- Employability and job search.
- Self-employment and entrepreneurship.
- Assisting women to access better quality and higher-level employment.
- Career and life planning.
- Childcare and dependent care to enable participation in activities.
- Social protection (ie. systems to help people cope with economic shocks, including pensions, unemployment, health etc.)
- Access to financial services and information.
Funding Information
- The Foundation usually offers a grant of up to £5,000, but may consider more for exceptional cases.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Foundation make grants to a wide range of constituted voluntary and community organisations. Applicants don’t have to be a registered charity, but their group and the work they want to fund must be charitable in purpose.
- Applicants’ group must have a governing document (a constitution, rules, articles of association etc.), a governing body of at least 3 unconnected individuals, and a bank account in the group’s name with at least two unconnected signatories required to authorise payments.
- New groups are welcome to apply – but please note all appropriate structures and policies should be in place beforehand. It is understood that newly formed groups will not be able to present annual accounts; however applicant should provide as much information as possible about financial position and plans for sustainability.
- Community Interest Companies (CICs) or other social enterprises that are not charities can apply if applicant can send a business plan showing realistic plans for income generation (other than through charitable grants) and a community interest statement.
- The Foundation will consider applications from Parish/ Town Councils where the project is clearly of wide community benefit, such as a play area or community centre. Parish Councils will be asked to consider their ability to cover the cost through their precept, and will generally be expected to make a contribution to the project cost.
- The Foundation will also consider applications from Churches/ Parochial Church Councils towards inclusive community activities that do not promote religious beliefs.
- Typically, schools (including organisations delivering National Curriculum/ government-funded education) and other statutory organisations are not eligible to apply for funds.
For more information, visit https://www.norfolkfoundation.com/funding-support/grants/groups/norfolk-womens-fund/