Youth Service
Small Grants Programme 2017-18
Small Grants Programme 2017-18
Brief and Application Guidance Notes
Introduction
The Small Grants Programme is a key action in the Department of Education’s policy document, “Priorities for Youth - improving young people’s lives through youth work” (2013).
The programme has been set-up to allow young people to administer grants to other young people, and aims to strengthen the participation of young people as decision-makers within the local and wider community.
Participation within the Small Grants Programme context is about young people taking part in projects which have been planned by young people for young people. It’s what they decide to do, when, where and how!
Who can apply?
The Small Grants Programme is open to groups of young people aged 4 through to 25 who are part of an Education Authority Youth Service (EA-YS) registered / funded group. A group applying should be made up of no less than 3 young people.
We acknowledge that some groups making an application will need support, so consideration will be given to applications assisted by a youth worker / volunteer from an EA-YS registered / funded group. All ideas for the projects must however come from the children and young people who will have control over any funding awarded.
When can groups apply and how much can they apply for?
The Small Grants Programme will be launched on 10th November 2017 and applications must be returned by 12.00pm on Friday 24th November 2017.
This year (2017/18) the EA Youth Service has up to £50,000 to distribute in grants. A group can apply for a grant of between £300 and £1,500.
Application forms and Guidance notes
Application forms and guidance notes can be obtained by emailing , or by calling (028) 9056 6429 / (028) 9056 6952 or via the EA Website www.eani.org.uk Application packs can be emailed or posted to interested groups.
Applications may be submitted by email to: however, successful applicants will be required to submit a hard signed copy of their application.
The closing date for Returning Applications is: Friday 24th November 2017 by 12.00 pm.**Applications received after the closing date/time will not be considered.**
Project Outcomes
The programme aims to fund projects that help make a difference within the lives of those applying and of others in their peer group, family, youth group, school, community or area. The projects must have outcomes to demonstrate what differences can be made.
As well as strengthening the participation of young people as decision-makers, all projects are expected to contribute to positive change in one of the following six outcome areas.
Outcome area / Outcome areaEnhancing Personal Capabilities, which is about building self-awareness, confidence and esteem, and helping to manage your feelings better, etc. / Developing positive relationships with others can be about teamwork or engaging with or increasing respect for others from diverse backgrounds, etc.
Improving Health and Well-being can be about improving awareness of health issues, making healthy choices and reducing risky behaviours, etc. / Increasing participation can be about influencing or advocating on behalf of others or increasing communication between young people and adults, etc.
Developing thinking skills, life and work skills is about adding to your communication, planning, problem solving skills and leadership skills, etc. / Active citizenship includes volunteering, increasing awareness of local or global issues, social action, or identifying own education, training or employment needs.
What can be funded
Some projects can take place on one day, some may last a number of weeks and others may take up to 3 months - it will depend on what you want to do. All projects must be completed by 2nd March 2018
The programme funding will cover:-
- Hire of a venue for your activities to take place
- Materials for your project
- Travel and transport costs (within NI only)
- Small items of equipment essential for delivering team building activities
- Minor redecoration costs (work that can legitimately be carried out by young people and staff / volunteers Not Contractors)
- The cost or charges of people with special knowledge or skills that you need to help you deliver your project successfully(up to a maximum of 25% of the funding award can be used for specialist facilitation / skills required to deliver your project – Maximum £16.00 per hour)
The programme funding will not cover:-
- The cost of academic training or qualifications;
- Projects benefiting people living outside Northern Ireland;
- Replacement equipment costs; TV’s. Laptops, iPads, etc
- Sports equipment – Full sports kits, etc. (only items that are needed to deliver team building activities will be considered for funding)
- External Contractors – e.g. for refurbishment or equipment installation
- Programmes promoting a single political or religious agenda
- Travel or programmes outside of Northern Ireland
- Clothing e.g. Hoodies / T-shirts
The funding for the Small Grants Programme is limited and it is projected that not every application can be funded. It is therefore necessary that each registered organisation submit only one application. Youth groups must use the bank account registered on their NIYSA form and only one grant will be approved per account.
Application Guidance Notes
1. Registration Details
Please indicate if your organisation is registered for 2017/18 with the Education Authority NI. Only EA groups are eligible for funding.
2. Contact Person Details
In this section of the form you should provide the details of the contact person for the project.
As far as possible, the contact person should be an individual supporting or a member of the group applying for the grant. The exception to this will be the Address section. In this section, please provide the address details of the Youth Organisation, rather than the applicant’s personal address.
3. Project Details
3a. You must give your project a project name
3b. You need to indicate how many children and/or young people are in the group making the application. That is the core group making the application who have been involved in deciding what it is you plan to do when, where and how.
The minimum number of children and/or young people required to make an application is three.
The number in the group making the application may be different from the total number of children or young people who take part in the project by the time it ends (see point 3h).
3c. You should make sure your proposed start date fits with the decision-making timetable.
Applications must be received by Friday 24th November 2017 by 12.00pm; decisions are expected to be made by Monday 4th December 2017.
3d. Projects can be an event which takes place on one day, some may last only a few weeks and others may take a few months. You must ensure that your project end date is on or before 2nd March 2018.
3e. Guidance is provided in the application form. (Questions are listed which you should answer to help give as much information as possible to describe your project). A table has also been included in the application (example below) which you can use for setting out your project plan, with dates and times etc. for when your planned meetings or activities will take place. If you require more space for your programme description/plan, you may attach 1 further A4 sheet. If you fail to answer the questions on the form your application may be rejected or returned and it could take us longer to make a decision.
Week beginning(enter the date) / Describe the activity or what it is you plan to do / Where will it take place?
3f. Guidance is provided in the application form. Remember the Small Grants Programme is all about strengthening the participation of young people as decision-makers so ensure you record how involved you as the individual or group of children and young people applying for the grant, have been and will continue to be involved in making the decision about what to do: when, where and how!
3g. Guidance is provided in the application form.
3h. Groups should have a minimum of 12 young people participating in their programme (this includes those who are making the application). There is no maximum number of young people who can take part in your programme. However, applications must demonstrate good value for money.
3i. Please provide the total, or a good estimate of, the number of children, young people and/or adults who will have taken part directly in your project activities by the time it ends.
Be realistic when answering this question as a higher number will not make your project any more likely to be funded. Sometimes a high number may be considered a risk to the success of the project.
Remember it is only children and young people who can apply for funding, but the project may be about helping others in a community and these people can be counted in the total number involved in the project.
3j. This question helps to record what age groups are benefiting from the funding so there is no right or wrong answer. Think about the ages of the people you are planning to involve in your project and then tick the box which you think most people will be part of. Remember to tick one box only.
If you are successful in receiving funding there is a need to record the age, gender and community background, etc. of the people taking part in your project, so start to think about how you will achieve this.
4. Outcomes
As well as strengthening the participation of young people as decision-makers, all projects are expected to contribute to positive change in one of the six outcome areas listed in the application.
An Outcome is simply all the changes that happen as a result of the activities undertaken in your project. From your project description it should be clear to the award panel how you will do this. The information on the actual difference you make through your project will be collected as part of the monitoring process.
5. Project Costs
5a. When planning your project you should be sure to cost ALL the parts of it as accurately as possible. Think about everything you have said in your project description and consider if any of it will involve a cost, no matter how small. See examples below.
If you are planning to go on, e.g. visit or outings you should:-
R Find out if there are any entry fees to be paid (check if there is a group rate or discount)
R Work out how much, if anything, you will ask members of your group to pay toward the activity or visit
R Make sure that the venue you are going to has all the necessary services and facilities to meet the needs of your group
If you will need transport you should:-
R Work out how often you will need it and how many people will be involved in each journey
R Decide on the various destinations/venues which might be used
R Decide if everyone will be picked up at the one point
R Then contact a hire company or organisation, and ask them to price the journeys for you
If you are planning a residential, you should:-
R Make sure you have priced the accommodation per person
R Check if food/meals are included
R Find out if you need to pay extra for any of the activities/facilities at the venue
If you are hiring a venue or premises to hold meetings etc. you should:-
R Check the cost per meeting (some places charge by the hour or per session);
R Work out how many times you might need the venue for meetings, etc
R Check if deposits are required or if any other costs are involved e.g. for hire of equipment
If you are looking for specialist tutors to help you deliver part of your project, you should work out how often you will need them and make sure that the price they are quoting includes:-
R Either a price per hour or per session (find out how long a session is)
R Their travel to and from your meeting place (ask if any other costs apply)
R Any materials, e.g. pens, paper, markers, folders, etc. you might need
5b. If you require more money than we can award, it is important that this additional money is secured before the project starts. If not the award panel may consider this a high risk to the potential success of your project, especially if it is a significant amount - it may cause a delay or no grant being offered.
6a. Some examples of useful information to record evidence of change and success are:
R Numbers, ages and background of people taking part
R Dates of meetings, activities and events
R The issues or topics you discussed or worked on
R The decisions you made
R What you and/or your group have learned, are more aware of or better understand