Strengthening Communities

Who can apply

You can apply if your organisation is a:

• unregistered voluntary or community organisation
  An organisation set up with a governing document - like a constitution. But is not a registered charity or company.
  If you get funding we'd expect you to incorporate or become registered with a regulator (for example, the Charity Commission or CIC regulator).
• not-for-profit company
  A company limited by guarantee - registered with Companies House. And might also be registered as a charity.
• registered charity (unincorporated)
  A voluntary or community organisation that's a registered charity. But is not a company registered with Companies House.
• Community Interest Company (CIC)
  A company registered with Companies House. And the Community Interest Company (CIC) Regulator.

How much you can apply for

We offer funding from £20,001 to £500,000.

• Any size of organisation can apply for £200,000 to £500,000. This includes smaller and larger organisations.
• Only smaller organisations can apply for less than £200,000.

By smaller organisations we mean those with an annual income under £500,000. Based on your average income over the last 2 years.

You need at least 3 board or committee members who are not related

Related can mean:

• related by marriage
• in a civil partnership with each other
• in a long-term relationship with each other
• related through a long term partner
• living together at the same address
• related by blood.

All companies who apply must have at least 3 directors who are not related in any of these ways. This also applies to companies that are also registered as charities.

We’ll check you have appropriate governance and processes

For example, how you deal with:

• staffing
• finance
• safeguarding
• risk.

We’ll look at what’s appropriate for your size of organisation. And based on the amount of funding you are asking for.

Find out more about governance in the NICVA code for good governance.

We’ll only fund organisations that can prove they work successfully

We’ll expect you to show that you’ve worked well in the voluntary and community sector before.

Who cannot apply

Who we cannot accept applications from:

• individuals
• sole traders
• statutory bodies (like schools, councils or health boards)
• organisations based outside the UK
• companies that can pay profits to directors, shareholders or members (including Companies Limited by Shares)
• one organisation applying on behalf of another
• larger organisations applying for less than £200,000. By larger organisations we mean those with an average income over £500,000.

We can fund some political activity and campaigning

But only if:

• the activity is not party political. This means that it must be about policy, practice, or legislation rather than opposing or supporting a political party
• the activity is meant to help the cause of your organisation and benefit the public or society.

We will not fund projects where political activities are the main purpose. But we can fund projects that are mainly about campaigning.

We know that communities have many strengths and resources. We’ll fund projects that use these strengths and resources to help make people’s lives better.

Your project must involve people most affected by poverty, disadvantage or discrimination

We want to fund vulnerable or excluded communities. Particularly people who find it hardest to access support.

For example because they:

• live far away
• are socially excluded
• cannot use online services.
  

Try to make your project inclusive and accessible for these people

You should think about:

• who you aim to reach
• who you are finding it difficult to engage with and why
• how you can make it easier for them to get support.

We'll ask you about this if you apply.

Tell us about the people you’ll support using more than statistics

You can use statistics to help show us who you are working with. But it’s most important that you tell us about the local context. Tell us about your knowledge, experience and engagement with people facing those challenges.

Your project must support people early to help prevent negative experiences

This is sometimes called ‘early intervention’. We want to fund projects that help people avoid problems they could face. And to break negative cycles that people may get caught in.

Your project must involve your community

Your project should:

• be led by your community’s needs. And involve the community in the design, development and delivery of your project.
• use your community’s strengths. Like their existing skills, experience and resources.
• be connected in your community. By understanding and working with others working in your area. And adding to what they already do.

Your project must achieve one of these outcomes:

• communities help to reduce health inequalities
• communities support people’s physical health, mental health and wellbeing
• people have positive relationships and connections
• communities help young people to reach their potential and thrive as adults
• children and young people develop good social and emotional skills.

It's okay for your project to achieve just one outcome

Or to achieve more than one outcome. But meeting more outcomes will not improve your chances of getting funding.

You should be able to learn from and measure your project

We’ll only fund organisations that learn from what they do – whether it works well or not. And that will share this learning with others.

If you’ve been running the project already, we’ll want to see what you’ve learned from your work so far.

You should also have a clear idea of what impact your project will have on your community and how you’ll measure it.

We’ll ask you to tell us about this in your application form.

Consider the climate impact of your project

We’ll talk to you about how you’ll do this when you apply. Even if your project is not directly about improving the environment.

We expect you to have considered how to:

• have a positive environmental impact
• reduce carbon emissions
• reduce negative environmental impacts.

For help, check our guidance on reducing your environmental footprint. It covers how to make your project more environmentally sustainable and perhaps save money at the same time.

Keeping people safe: what we expect from the organisations we fund

If you get funding you’ll need to follow our expectations on safeguarding children and adults at risk.

Find out more about safeguarding on:

• The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s safeguarding resources page
• Volunteer Now’s safeguarding support and training page.

How much you can apply for

We offer funding from £20,001 to £500,000.

• Any size of organisation can apply for £200,000 to £500,000. This includes smaller and larger organisations.
• Only smaller organisations can apply for less than £200,000.

By smaller organisations we mean those with an annual income under £500,000. Based on your average income over the last 2 years.

We can fund:

• equipment
• staff costs
• training costs
• transport
• utilities
• volunteer expenses
• small refurbishment projects that you need to deliver a service
• overheads for your project.

We’ll fund the delivery of the project. And we’ll fund some of the indirect project costs

Also known as overheads. This could include things like rent or insurance. Or part of a salary for someone not working directly on the project. Like a senior manager or an office admin worker.

For example, the project you’re applying for could be half the work your organisation does. In that case, we could fund half of your overheads.

This is sometimes known as full cost recovery. Find out how to work out overheads in our guide to full cost recovery.

We cannot fund:

• retrospective costs
• alcohol
• contingency costs, loans, endowments or interest
• paying someone else to write your application for you
• profit-making or fundraising activities
• VAT you can reclaim
• religious activities (we can fund religious organisations if their project benefits the wider community and does not include religious content)
• statutory activities
• activities that help children or young people with their schoolwork during school time
• overseas travel
• projects that take place outside of the UK
• activities that make profits for private gain.