Deadline: 28-Jun-22
Applications are now open for The Investing in Communities Fund (ICF) to support organisations based in the places they serve delivering activity across all four of the following areas for action:
- tackling poverty and inequality, including child poverty
- developing and sustaining place based approaches
- community-led regeneration
- ensuring a just transition to net zero.
The Investing in Communities Fund (ICF) is a streamlined communities fund that is delivered as part of the Empowering Communities Programme. it supports our most disadvantaged or fragile communities to tackle poverty in all its forms on their own terms.
ICF also helps to meet our targets as set out in the child poverty delivery plan and to underpin the Place Principle by encouraging more joined up collaborative approaches to services and assets to achieve better outcomes for people and communities.
Funding Information
- The ICF is a revenue fund, also with availability of a small amount of capital funding of up to £20,000 per application for small scale capital costs,
- where this is directly linked to the revenue project. The value of the fund is expected to be approximately £10 million each year.
Eligible Proposal types
- The fund supports the revenue costs associated with community consultations, feasibility work, and the design and/or delivery of local community-identified and community-led projects and services that will address local challenges, priorities and needs. Possible examples might include:
- providing holistic person-centred services and access to resources supporting low income households and families, child poverty priority family groups and individuals such as affordable/flexible childcare, income maximisation/financial capability, dignified food provision, and health and wellbeing support.
- supporting people towards employment and better economic prospects participatory budgeting (PB).
- the fund will also consider requests to support a programme of phased activity during the ICF grant funding period – for example, some initial feasibility work to
- inform the most effective way to deliver a new local service. Where this is the case a single application form should be submitted addressing all phases of the
- proposal. However, you should note that funding for future phases of work will be dependent on the outcome(s) of the feasibility study.
- small-scale capital costs up to a maximum of £20,000 per application, where these capital costs are directly related to the wider project/service delivery which is
- the main focus of the proposal. Where applicable, we will need written confirmation that appropriate permissions and consents are in place to carry out
- any capital works (for example, building warrant or planning permission).
Duration: This multi-year fund covers the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026.
Eligibility Criteria
- community/voluntary organisation
- registered charity
- housing association/housing co-operative/registered social landlord (RSL)
- Community Council
- social enterprise/community benefit society/Community Interest Company (CIC)
- And, must also be:
- incorporated i.e. the organisation holds legal status with corporate liability for finances and assets evidenced through registration with a regulatory body such as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) or a charity based in Scotland that is also either registered with Companies House (as a company limited by guarantee) or is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); or
- a Community Benefit Society regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); or
- a Community Council that has an agreed Scheme of Establishment with the Local Authority and a written constitution; or
- a Community Interest Company (CIC) where the organisation continues to meet the Regulator of Community Interest Companies’ community interest test and asset lock provisions;
- has a registered office in the UK with an official operating base in Scotland that is rooted in the community or communities they serve and operates on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of the community;
- openly involves and engages with all sections of their community or communities, consistent with the National Standards for Community Engagement;
- has a governing body such as a board or committee and a governing document that has been formally adopted and involves local people and community representatives in their decision making structures;
- is solvent, holds a UK bank account, with annual accounts that have been approved by their management committee or board, or current projected annual accounts, and control over all project income and expenditure.
Criteria
Applications are invited that:
- demonstrate the ways in which your proposal will tackle poverty and inequality by addressing issues of local socio-economic or rural disadvantage using holistic person-centered approaches in the place in which your community is based
- have been identified and developed with the involvement and support of people living in the community, also reflecting the diversity of the community, and working in partnership with other community/third sector organisations as well as the public sector as appropriate
- align with local priorities supporting recovery through community-led local developments that enhance community resilience and sustainability by, for example creating jobs, helping sustain employment and contributing to the local economy
- contribute appropriately and proportionately to a fair and just transition to net zero.
For more information, visit https://www.gov.scot/policies/community-empowerment/empowering-communities-fund/#ICF
