The Stanley Community Fund in the UK

Deadline: 5-Feb-23

The County Durham Community Foundation is now seeking applications for its Stanley Community Fund.

The Fund is made up of a number of funds managed on behalf of donors by the Foundation.

Themes

The Fund will support broad range of projects based around the following themes:

• Regeneration
  • Regeneration will be considered in its widest sense to include the social regeneration of communities i.e. the Fund will support requests from groups that deliver work schemes, skills development, access to employment, community-led activities, actions to improve the health, wealth and wellbeing of Stanley residents.
• Environmental
  • To improve local surroundings, biodiversity and habitat conservation, and to include the reuse and/or redevelopment of (non-statutory) areas for community use and benefit, where obligations for planning and landowner permissions have been previously met.
• Children and Young People
  • To improve the opportunities for children and young people, which may include but not be limited to the provision of diversionary activities, improving health and wellbeing, educational and aspirational activities and encouraging youth social action.
• Community facilities
  • To develop and maintain community facilities. All capital projects must have a tangible, lasting benefit; improvements to community buildings, sports clubs, grounds and playgrounds (including MUGA), and facilities must have clear community support and inclusion. Any and all projects must be legally deliverable and sustainable, i.e. issues concerning land ownership and planning consent must be resolved prior to an application being submitted. There must also be a viable plan in place for maintenance, insurances, routine inspections etc. for three (3) years after delivery. The Fund will consider core and capital costs for eligible organisations where it can be shown that there is a clear strategic benefit.
• Restructuring
  • To restructure, review or to build resilience following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. This includes:
    • Providing capital resources and upgrades to assist organisations meet COVID-19 health & safety guidance and having the right resources to meet new operational guidelines.
    • Digital support such as training and or capital resources to adaptservices to online and phone support o Practical support such as food distribution and dropping off medication and shopping o Tailored support for at-risk groups such as those experiencing homelessness or domestic abuse o Increased community support to vulnerable people.
    • Developing the capacity to reengage with beneficiaries or new audiences in new ways.
    • Capital resources or upgrades that encourage service users to use venues and facilities e.g. sliding doors, extra signage etc.

Funding Information

• For any single items or works between £250 and £1,000, the foundation would accept one quote or estimate of works.
• For single items or works between £1,001 and £50,000 three quotes should be obtained.

Eligibility Criteria

• Volunteer-led organisations, registered charities and CIOs must:
  • Have a management committee with a minimum of four unrelated members.
  • Have a bank or building society account in the name of the organisation/group, with a minimum of two unrelated cheque signatories.
  • Have charitable aims.
  • Provide evidence of good governance practices and sound financial management (including registering with the Charity Commission, CASC or other governing body, depending on the size of the organisation).
  • Usually, you must register with the Charity Commission if your charity is based in England or Wales and has over £5,000 income per year. The Foundation may ask for evidence of this in the form of a letter from the Charity Commission confirming receipt of your application for charitable status.
• Social enterprises, Community Interest Companies (CIC) and other companies must:
  • Have a management committee with a minimum of three directors, or four directors if two are related.
  • Have a bank or building society account in the name of the organisation/company, with a minimum of two unrelated cheque signatories.
  • Have clear charitable purposes and a defined social benefit.
  • Have a recognised status (e.g. a company limited by guarantee), and be registered with the necessary relevant body (e.g. Companies House).
  • Have a nominated organisation as an asset lock body.
• In addition, social enterprises, CICs and other companies must demonstrate within applications that:
  • The company has been registered for a minimum of 12 months.
  • A reasonable percentage of their income has been earned through trading (a breakdown showing the different sources of income and types of expenditure must be provided if not clearly shown in the annual accounts).
  • The project they wish to fund is not a tradable asset or service.
  • Sessional costs/salaries are in line with an appropriate pay spine structure.
  • The application is made for cost to deliver the project not managing the CIC.
  • The project or activity for which funding is sought is charitable i.e. it must not be part of the trading services for which they would usually have a charge.
  • There is clear evidence of need (consultation etc.) from the community and the benefit must also be clear.

For more information, visit County Durham Community Foundation.