Tower Hamlets Small Grants Fund – Apply Now!

Deadline: 20-Jun-22

The East End Community Foundation (EECF) has announced the applications for Tower Hamlets Small Grants Fund to support a program of community events; held indoors, outdoors, or virtually.

The Cohesion Events Fund focuses on community cohesion and re-connecting communities who have been most affected by the pandemic. 

Cohesion Event Fund Priorities

• Address issues of loneliness and isolation and to improve the mental health and wellbeing of residents.
• Build relationships between residents to emphasize the commonalities between people. Events should seek to unite people, develop a sense of belonging, bridge social divides and bring otherwise separate communities closer together.
• Emphasize breaking down barriers between residents of different age groups. Inter-generational events should bring older and younger people together to promote engagement between the groups and help tackle the isolation experienced by both groups due to the pandemic.
• Recognize the importance of volunteers, unpaid carers and coordinating bodies as part of the vital work they have done in the last year in supporting the Tower Hamlets community.
• Help to address digital inclusion, bringing people together using technology to host online interactive events between different groups of people. For example, there could be an emphasis on building skills and confidence, with a focus on groups who are traditionally digitally excluded, such as older people, people with sensory impairments or socially excluded people with low incomes. These events could take the form of a virtual coffee gathering, an online arts class, phonics, stories for families, etc

Funding Information

• Grants of up to £500 for street party events or small scale events
• Grants of up to £3,000 for larger scale events

Geographic Spread & Diversity

• Tower Hamlets Council aims to achieve a good geographical spread of events taking place across the borough, as well as the diversity of applicant organization's leadership team to ensure events and organizations are representative of local demographics. Applications will be prioritized based on achieving this geographic spread. It is important that events encourage all parts of the community in Tower Hamlets to participate.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Community Support Services for Older People Theme will only continue to support organizations which can show that at least 50% of their trustees/committee/board members are from BAME communities.
• Organizations with an annual turnover in excess of £250,000 are not eligible to apply to this theme and priority will be given to organizations with a turnover of less than £100,000 per annum.
• The fund is open to voluntary and community organizations. These are defined as; 
  • Registered charities
  • Community groups
  • Community associations
  • Tenants and residents' groups
  • Green spaces friends' groups
  • Co-operatives and social enterprises
  • School/parent groups which are independent of the schools they work with
  • Faith organizations
  • Sports, environmental, arts and heritage organizations
  • Grant making trusts
  • Housing associations
  • Un-constituted groups of residents working together to make a difference in their local communities
• They cannot accept applications from;
  • For-profit organizations
  • Individuals seeking funding for personal benefit, or sole traders
  • Organizations based outside the UK

For more information, visit EECF.

For more information, visit https://eastendcf.org/tower-hamlets-grants/