The Green Bullet April 2021
The latest Green Bullet is now available to read. The intention of the Green Bullet is to connect and support networks of voluntary, community and public sector organisations in the region across issues pertaining to the environment.
It contains environmental campaign information, general information, publications, events, resources, consultations and funding.
The Baobab Foundation Report
‘Digging Deeper Report: Insights on tailored funding to organisations led by black people and communities experiencing racial injustice in 2020’
As stated in a previous article, The Baobab Foundation has been set up in response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the stark inequalities further exposed by the global pandemic. The foundation aims to reestablish how black and ethnic minoirty-led VCSE organisations are funded and expose how the funding landscape has “enabled” or “limited” the work of these organisations.
Their report spoke to 26 respondents from 19 organisations.
Findings:
Rise in funding but exposure of limitaitions of support that would bring about systemic change, proportional investment
Focus on emergency response, not long-term solutions to tackle racial injustice
Some funders are putting social change as a priority, but more needs to be done to “integrate a racial and intersectional lens across funder strategies”
Thoughts:
Baobab do not use acronyms, as they regard them as an oversimplification of the lived experiences of individuals
Need to use ‘Intersectional approach’ as a framework to understand inequalities. Intersectionality which considers the various plethora of contexts and backgrounds that contribute to a persons lived experience, needs to be taken into account to build knowledge and resistance.
Funder Progress:
Increased availability & flexability of funding
“Shift towards participatory funding models”- including funders listening to experts on racial injustice
Investment into “lived experience funders and organisations”
Community issues now:
Progress remains limited, due to inhibted long-term and scaled flexible investment:
Funding doesn’t go beyond March 2021
Funding has failed geographical and intersectional disparities across UK
Groups still struggling with historic underinvestment
Moving towards an anti-racist & intersectional funding approach:
Funders need to be explicit about racial inequities
Understanding that racial injustice spans many social change strategies
Funders need to increase equity and transparency
Funders need to adopt risk-taking behaviour to generate innovations
Funders need to consciously work with groups outside of London
Trauma-informed approach to reduce harm in funding process needed
Call to Action to Funders:
Long-term and flexible funding (5+ years)
Address dispairites for groups outside of London
Build strategic partnerhships with organisations led by black people and communities experiencing racial injustice
Use “transforamtive policies and practices”
Adopt a trauma-informed approach across funding
Full report here.
Brief report here.
The Skelton Charity; New Funding Available
New Funding Available
The Skelton Charity administers grants across the North West; the latest deadline for applications is on the 28th May 2021. They usually award grants between £500 and £3,000.
Grants are awarded on the the following basis:
you are a registered charity
your charity is within the correct geographical boundary (Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Blackpool, Blackburn, Warrington and Halton)
for projects or capital expenditure
for good causes
perhaps for needs that have arisen as an impact of Covid-19
You can complete the application form here & access their website for more detailed information.
Walking Away from Funding Agreements
Funding thoughts – walking away from a contract/funding agreement
At first glance the article below, reproduced from Route One magazine, has little to do with VCFSE groups. Route One is an industry leading magazine for Bus and Coach Operators and the article relates to electric buses in Northern Scotland and South Wales.
“Two projects to introduce battery-electric buses have been terminated and the grant funding involved returned to the issuing body.
Orkney Islands Council (OIC) has withdrawn from the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme (SULEBS). It was awarded £618,325 from the first SULEBS round towards five battery-electric buses and their associated infrastructure.
No reason has been disclosed for the change of heart, with OIC saying that “a live related tendering exercise” precludes it from stating why. It has not submitted a bid to the second round of SULEBS. Transport Scotland was notified in February that OIC did not wish to take up the grant. The money has been reallocated to the second round of SULEBS.
Additionally, Stagecoach South Wales will not take up the £2.84m it was awarded in 2019 through the Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme. The money was to go towards 16 battery-electric buses and their associated infrastructure at Caerphilly depot.
A Stagecoach spokesperson says that the decision was made in 2020 not to progress the work in Caerphilly (pictured). They add that the plans were reviewed “due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic and… funding uncertainty.”
The lessons that we can pull out from this article apply to all VCFSE groups in the North West and beyond. There are times when circumstances change and it is not sensible to continue with a plan. It may well cost more than it will generate (every pun intended). Here Stagecoach indicate that the pandemic has changed things and they are reviewing the business in South Wales so may not need the new vehicles – irrespective of then being (and associated infrastructure) subject to a substantial tranche of funding.
In the month that the Llangollen Steam Railway (a volunteer driven body) has filed for receivership – a decision caused by cost over runs on engineering contracts for which they tendered – we all need to look long and hard at what it costs to deliver a contract or commissioned service. If it costs more to deliver than it produces in income the shortfall has to be found from somewhere. Some organisations will have reserves, shop income, a significant donor base or even be part funded by legacies. Others will not be so well funded. If difficult decisions are postponed in order to continue to provide a service there is a danger that, in the medium term, the service can no longer be provided because the organisation does not exist. If the cost hike in a new commission is too great there is a high risk that a new service provider will not be commissioned, on grounds of affordability, with the result that the people you serve will be left high and dry with nothing in terms of current support.
Sometimes we have to be cruel to be kind and learn from the commercial world. If we don’t we cease to operate and that provides support and assistance to no one.
Andrew Rainsford
VSNW
March 2021
Climate Action Fund Open
The National Lottery Community Fund have opened their 2nd round of the Climate Action Fund (CAF). It’s aim is to aupport communities across the UK to help tackle climate change.
The second round focus on supporting medium-large scale projects focusing on waste & consumption. they encourage place-based, community-led partnerships to apply.
Overview:
Area
UK-wide
Suitable for
Community-led partnerships
Funding size
We’re offering two types of funding in this round - development funding and full awards. The maximum grant size for development funding is £150,000. For full awards, the maximum available is £1.5 million.
Total available
Around £8 million to 10 million is available for this second round of funding. We expect to make 12 to 15 awards in total in this round, and to award more development grants than full awards.
Application deadline
5pm on 8 April 2021 for your initial idea. If you get to the next stage, we expect the rest of the application process to take six to eight months.
The Baobab Foundation
The Baobab Foundation has been newly created as a mechanism to secure long-term funding for black and ethnic communities and for those organisations that support them. It has been set up both as a response to the impact of Covid-19 and the murder last year of George Floyd.
Health inequalities are rife in the UK and across the world; BAME communities have been affected disproportionately throughout the global pandemic and it is imperative that this is addressed. Baobab’s vision envelopes transferring power and agency to those organisations who are often issued with less funding; they plan to be led and govered by the very same. Their inspiring vision is to have created this new organisation by the end of Summer 2021 and launch with £5-10million in grant funding by the end of the year. Their longer-term prospectus aims to raise £1billion in endowed funding which will help with adminsitering £50million in funding per year.
They have monthly meetings for members, which is expanding quickly, including many regional and national black and ethnic minority organistions and networks. They are continuing to gain support and traction from charitable funding, corportations and philanthropists.
They do however, still need help and assistance from local infrastructure organistions to reach to every nook and cranny across the country.
They are asking if each CVS could aim to target 5-10 black and ethnic minority community organistions in their networks to become members.
Please contact Jermain or Yoanna for more information.
This is a wonderful and much needed vision, a fantastic tool which will be invaluable as the UK addresses the extensive inequality and racism experienced by many communities.
Network for Europe Update
Network for Europe have released their latest update pertaining to the Community Renewal Fund, which is a preparation for the UK-Shared Prosperity Fund:
UK Shared Prosperity Fund Update 8th March, from Network for Europe Cheshire, Cumbria, G Manchester, Lancashire, Liverpool CR
Headlines - Community Renewal Fund
CRF Prospectus Launched during Budget
List of Places
18 June deadline for bids
Late July - successful projects announced, first tranche paid 31 March 2022 Projects end, final payments
1st April 2022 UK Shared Prosperity Fund starts
Background
The last two Manifestos referred to the UK-Shared Prosperity Fund, which would replace ESF and ERDF monies from Europe. Little detail was available, and there has been no open consultation. The Spending Review of 25th November (page 37) gave a one page Heads of Terms, which referred to a £220m Pilot Programme for 2021/22 in preparation for the full UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022.
More details of this and associated funds were then revealed in the Budget of 3rd March, with the launch of the prospectus for the UK Community Renewal Fund (previously called the Pilot Programme) and the list of areas (the “Places”).
Further information on the full UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be available later this year. Although there was some consultation, with meetings of certain invited individuals a few years ago, there has been no open consultation, and despite requests, Partners have not been properly involved in these proposals. Consequently there will likely need to be some changes before the full Fund is rolled out.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fund-prospectus
Briefly
Money will be allocated to projects in Places (local authority areas) - there are 368, see list. A hundred of these are referred to as Priority Places.
Each Lead local authority will ask for project proposals from the voluntary and community organisations, from local district councils, and from local education providers and then decide on a list for each Place and send it to the UK Government by noon on 18th of June. Maximum value of projects will total £3m per Place irrespective of its size.
Guidance for the Lead Authorities is not yet ready, but should be available soon.
The money has to be spent by the end of March 2022, and is almost all revenue (90%).
Central Government will decide which, if any, of the individual projects to approve. The funding will then be sent to the Lead Authority to distribute (one payment in advance, the other at the end of March). The intention is to pilot programmes and new approaches and provide capacity funding as we prepare for the UK-SPF. Bids should build on local insight and knowledge, project proposals should align with long term strategic plans for local growth, target people most in need and support community renewal, and demonstrate how they complement other national and local provision. Bids should consider working with the natural environment, and their contribution to a low carbon economy, as well as equalities impacts.
Our Government wishes to work directly with local Partners across the UK, putting people that know their places best front and centre in shaping decisions.
Places
The Lead Authority is the Mayoral Combined Authority, the Greater London Authority, County Councils or Unitary Authorities. A Combined Authority represents the individual Local Authority Places within it (so for Greater Manchester, each of the ten Local Authorities is a separate Place, with an allocation up to £3m each). Only the Lead Authority can submit bids to UK Government,
they will decide which bids to submit. The Lead Authority will receive £20k of capacity funding for each Priority Place, to help with bid co-ordination and appraisal.
This is a competitive process, Central Government will decide who gets funding.
The 100 Priority Places are said to be based on productivity, household income, unemployment, skills and population density, although the calculations have not yet been released. It seems an unusual list. It only includes St Helens in Liverpool City Region, Bolton, Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale in Greater Manchester, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale in Lancashire CC and Barrow in Cumbria CC.
Bids
Innovative pilots and projects are encouraged. A few ideas are suggested.
Skills bids could capitalise on the needs of an increasingly green and digital world, they should be clearly distanced from other funding streams, and could include -
Work based training
Retraining, upskilling and reskilling Promoting digital skills and inclusion
Local Business bids could target under-represented groups and community-level interventions to increase opportunity for all, and could include-
Supporting entrepreneurs and enterprises to create more job opportunities Encouraging enterprises with innovation
Supporting decarbonisation
Communities/place bids may include, but are not limited to -
Feasibility studies for delivering net-zero and local energy projects
Exploring opportunity for promoting culture-led regeneration and community development Improving green spaces and preserving important local assets
Promoting rural connectivity
People into employment bids should act to reduce barriers to employment, provide local, tailored, wrap-around support to those furthest from the labour market, draw upon and enhance multi-agency delivery teams including the community and voluntary sector
Project could include, but are not limited to -
Supporting people to engage with local services Identifying barriers, using key-worker support Raising aspirations
Support with basic skills
Testing new initiatives
Bid Assessment
The 100 Priority Places will get priority, but all 368 places will be considered. This is a competitive process, not based on need. Central Government will decide who gets the money.
Projects will have to pass Gateway Criteria (see Prospectus), then Strategic Fit, Deliverability, Effectiveness and Efficiency (see pages 18-19 of the Prospectus - section 6). Government Ministers will then use their discretion to allocate the money to ensure a reasonable split between the four themes (skills, local business, place, employment support), ensuring due regard for Priority Places, and a balanced spread across Great Britain (presumably by geography, not need).
A Place could be allocated nothing, or up to £3m for the projects submitted.
Larger projects are preferred (£500k and upwards).
Fund Eligibility Rules and Guidance is not yet ready, and will be published soon.
Projects should fit with State Aid (soon to be called Subsidy Control) and procurement.
A project should have one lead applicant (grant recipient), but can have delivery partners.
Lead Authorities will set out their own requirements for bidding soon. There will be a common application form and appraisal process, but this is not ready yet. They will be published shortly.
Monitoring and Evaluation
All proposals have to set out their expected impact, and progress will be monitored against targets and milestones. Applicants should develop an evaluation plan costing 1%-2% of their award (min £10k). Projects to send evidence of achievements (qualitative and quantitative) to the lead authority, which will be responsible for monitoring. UK to set up Evaluation Networks, sharing good practice and developing indicators. Clearly evaluation will be important as we work together to plan the UK-SPF.
Some other Funds
Levelling Up Fund. Prospectus also launched with the 3rd March Budget. £4.8m for high value infrastructure. Delivered through local authorities, capital investment especially for ex-industrial areas, deprived towns and coastal communities, but open across the UK. Expect each local MP to support at least one local bid. Could be local investment in transport infrastructure, in regeneration and town centres, in cultural facilities. This first round of the fund is for projects that can start on the ground in 2021/22. Money allocated by the government based on competition for resources. Additionally, capacity funding for certain areas as in the list attached to the prospectus (calculations for the list to be revealed later). Further details of how this will operate from 2022/23 onwards to be set out later this year.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/levelling-up-fund-prospectus www.gov.uk/government/collections/new-levelling-up-and-community-investments
UK Community Ownership Fund. £150m for the local community to take over ownership of vital local assets, such as sports clubs, sporting and leisure facilities, cinemas and theatres, music venues, museums, parks, pubs, post offices and shops, to support the social wellbeing of local communities. Half the money to be raised locally, the rest from the Fund. Only community and voluntary organisations can bid. Up to £250k per project to help them buy local assets to run as community owned businesses (could be more money for sports). Prospectus to be issued soon, bidding open by June 2021. Some funding may be available for feasibility studies and capability building, or for initial running costs.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-ownership-fund
City and Growth Deals. Existing programmes.
Towns Fund. £3.6bn to support deprived towns, and now a further 45 deals
Plan for Jobs. Various current programmes, including Kickstart, plus FE support through the recent Skills for Jobs white paper.
UK-Shared Prosperity Fund
This replaces ESF and ERDF funding (so will cover £1.5bn a year) and is scheduled to start April 2022. It will fund projects supporting people and places across the UK, growing local economies and breathing new life into local communities.
While the Heads of Terms in November said the SPF would support investment in people/ communities and place/local business, the CRF Prospectus says the SPF will include a place based portion and a portion targeted at people most in need (pp 4-5). It is not clear if this represents a change. Later in the Prospectus (p8) it says CRF investment will be in in skills/local business/ communities and place/supporting people into employment. This may just reflect the developing ideas of what the Funds could be.
The Prospectus says they now intend to engage local Partners as they develop the Fund - it is not clear what this will mean (or if it just refers to the Devolved Administrations).
The Community Renewal Fund will support local areas to pilot imaginative new approaches and programmes that unleash their potential, instil pride, and prepare them to take advantage of the UK- SPF. Later in the year, the CRF will provide up to £14m for capacity building for local Partners to prepare for UK-SPF.
Organisations should get involved now.
Comments
Compare with the ESF and ERDF Reserve Funds in England. While ESF hoped for project calls from the LEPs, ERDF directly allocated funds to all the Local Authorities and all the Growth Hubs, and are about to announce a further round for LAs. The Community Renewal Fund seems to build on what worked for the Reserve Fund. It will be run by MHCLG.
Match funding (partial funding from the UK) was needed for European money, but of course is not needed here. However, there is a reference to “leverage”. It might be that some of this could come from Lottery Funding, as it is otherwise absent from these proposals.
The LEPs (business - local authority partnerships led by the private sector) are not part of these proposals.
If the £220m was shared equally between the 100 Priority Places, they would get £2.2m each (below the maximum £3m), and if the money was split equally between the 368 there would only be £0.6m per Place. Consequently many applicants could be disappointed.
The fund operates across the four countries of the UK (with different rules for Northern Ireland) - our report is focussed on England, in particular North West England.
Clarification on the Prospectus is available by email for two weeks (to 17th March). A summary Q&A will then be published.
Action
This is funding primarily for local authorities and local community and voluntary organisations, and it has to be spent quickly. While there could be a range of random projects submitted, it would seem to make more sense for a co-production between the LA and Third Sector to create a coherent and strategic set of projects, that fit with other local activities. Successful projects will be informed late July, with spend within nine months (to end March), and should cover skills, support into employment, local business and communities/place.
So there could be a significant amount for Social Capital - Community Grants (small investments into local third sector organisations, which could also pump-prime for UK-SPF). Business support could include start-ups and social enterprise, especially for women and BAME, connecting with and enhancing existing provision. There could be support to develop local running of community assets (pubs, post offices, music venues) to tie in with the proposed Community Ownership Fund. Funding could fill in expected gaps (or provide more wrap-around support) for NEET Young People and those furthest from the Labour Market, as well as those faced with unemployment/the end of furlough and the need to consider other kinds of work. Moving towards a locally based low carbon economy, and creating green jobs could be investigated. There is a need to be innovative and creative, and to test out and prepare the ground for the Shared Prosperity Fund next April.
GMCVO Funding for BAME-led Organisations
During our Festival of North West Thinking, a recurring theme throughout all of the events was the unequal affect Covid has had in BAME communities. Furthermore, this has meant that BAME-led voluntary and community organisations have also been under more pressure, due to the increasing demand as a result of the pandemic. Emergency funding has been granted to many organisations; however, issues have been raised over how equal that access is due to the institutional racism that exists within our sector and within funding organisations.
Please watch highlights from our first Festival of North West Thinking first event ‘Covid-19 Recovery: VCSE Leadership Voices Assembly with a Focus on Inequalities’ and in particular the point of views of Natalie Creary, Director of Black Thrive and Farzana Khan Executive Director and Co-founder of Healing Justice (HJL) who talk passionately and eloquently about inequality experienced in BAME communities and how Covid-19 has enhanced this.
GMCVO Funding:
Speaking to some of the issues raised above, last year, Greater Manchester BAME Network distributed almost £200,000 of funding to small GM BAME-led VCSE organisations affected most by Covid in order to respond to the increasing needs of BAME communities. These grants were administered by GMCVO using funding provided by Comic Relief and the National Emergency Fund.
We are pleased to share that in response to additional funding there is a second round of grants now available. The grants are aimed at finding new activities, services and any adaptation needed due to Covid-19.
On 18th December, round two of the small grants (£1000-£5000) opened; this will close on Friday 26th February 2021.
Organisations who have already received a grant are still entitled to apply for further help.