Deadline: 30-Jun-21
Norfolk Women’s Fund is now open to support 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.
They aim to offer small amounts that could make a big difference. For example,
- Seed or development funding to help you to test your idea or make a case to larger funders.
- Upskilling or capacity building for you or your team, that will enable you 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).
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
- They usually offer a grant of up to £5,000, but they may consider more for exceptional cases.
Eligibility Criteria
- They welcome applications that target groups of women who are particularly disadvantaged, including, but not limited to, those from particular ethnic origins or with a disability.
- You don’t have to be a registered charity, but your group needs to be constituted and the work you want us to fund must be charitable in purpose.
- They don’t usually fund large national charities unless they already have strong connections in our area and the work will make a big difference to our communities.
- Most of their Funds are only open to groups based in or clearly benefitting Norfolk, though some Funds will also accept applications from other nearby areas.
- They make grants to a wide range of constituted voluntary and community organisations. You don’t have to be a registered charity, but your group and the work you want us to fund must be charitable in purpose.
- Your 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. By unconnected, they mean not a relation by blood, marriage, in a long-term relationship or people living together at the same address. They will expect groups to have appropriate policies for equalities and safeguarding.
Requirements
The Foundation will ask you to show that these requirements have been met when you apply.
- 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 you should provide as much information as possible about your financial position and plans for sustainability.
- Community Interest Companies (CICs) or other social enterprises that are not charities can apply if you can send us a business plan showing realistic plans for income generation (other than through charitable grants) and a community interest statement. They can then consider funding the charitable costs of your start-up or expansion. They will not normally fund your continuing services, which should be financed by selling goods and services in line with your chosen governance model.
- They 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.
- They will also consider applications from Faith Organisations towards inclusive community activities that do not promote religious beliefs.
Exclusions
- Typically, schools (including organisations delivering National Curriculum/ government funded education) and other statutory organisations are not eligible to apply to our funds.
For more information, visit https://www.norfolkfoundation.com/funding-support/grants/groups/norfolk-womens-fund/
