1

STEWARTRY DISCRETIONARY BUDGET

ADVICE ON HOW TO APPLY & ELIGIBILITY 2017-18

WHAT MAKES AN APPLICATION ELIGIBILE FOR GRANT FUINDING DURING 2017-18?

  1. Applicants must demonstrate that other funding is in place or provide evidence of fundraising which could include in-kind support. Visit for guidance on where to go for support.
  1. The event or project must commence within the financial year of the award and be completed within that year.
  1. Third Sector groups and voluntary organisations must meet all of the following:

•Be properly constituted

•Have independently examined accounts

•Are delivering a service or project in the Stewartry

•Can clearly evidence within the application that other funding has been sought; and exhausted

•Have returned all requested monitoring information relating to previously agreed awards

•Where an application is for over £10,000 the applicant will be required to submit a Business and Financial Plan

  1. Applications which are not a clear fit to at least one of the Stewartry Area

Committee’s criteria will be rejected

  1. Evidence of partnership working must be clearly illustrated in the application
  1. Funding is limited to a maximum of £25,000 per application/project
  1. Where an application is received for a service that used to be operated by the Council, it will only be considered for funding if it can show:
  • that it is now headed up by a community group or third sector organisation

•evidence that the project / activity enhances or is additional to previous Council-run routine service provision

•community consultation and involvement

•that other funding sources have been sought and exhausted

•that all requested monitoring information relating to previously agreed awards has been supplied.

  1. Criteria for Awarding to Galas and Events:

Funding will be made on the basis of the event becoming self-funding within a 3 year period.

Funding will be conditional of production of a full set of accounts within 6 months of the event being held

Funding will be based on a per head basis for differing types of galas / events as detailed below on a reducing basis over a maximum of 3 years:

  • Small local galas - maximum of 50p per head reducing to 20p per head
  • Stewartry wide events - maximum of £1 per head reducing to 50p per head
  • Regional impact event - maximum of £1.20 per head reducing to 50p per head

WHICH ACTIVITIES HAS STEWARTRY AREA COMMITTEE SAID IT WILL CONSIDER FUNDING?

CORE FUNDING – The Stewartry Area Committee will consider making a contribution towards the core overheads and expenses of an organisation that it considers provides a valuable service to the residents of the Stewartry on an area-wide basis. Full costs will not be entertained and only services that provide an element of additionality to Council services, or those provided by other third party organisations active in the area, will be considered.

SPORTS - The Stewartry Area Committee recognises the benefits that derive from sporting activities but is also aware of the fact that this field is a specialised one requiring expert knowledge. It therefore addresses this by awarding funding to the Stewartry Sports Council for the support and encouragement of sporting activities in the Stewartry area.

The Stewartry Area Committee will also consider project / event funding for activities which match the priorities detailed below:

  1. Projects / initiatives improving the environment
  1. Projects / initiatives supporting community economic development
  1. Projects promoting community self-sufficiency and resilience
  1. Projects promoting or developing learning opportunities for:
  2. Young People
  3. Disadvantaged Groups and
  4. Older People
  1. Projects promoting or developing the general health and well-being of:
  2. Young People
  3. Disadvantaged Groups and
  4. Older People
  1. Projects improving local community infrastructure and facilities
  1. Initiatives which develop or improve accessible rural transport
  1. Projects improving local community infrastructure and facilities
  1. Projects promoting community civic pride and / or an appreciation of local history
  1. Projects which help to identify local community needs and aspirations, e.g. surveys, community consultations and feasibility studies to determine the future function, management, viability and sustainability of a range of community activities including, but not limited to, the acquisition of community assets.
  1. Funding for Individuals of Promise – please see the Council’s funding website for details of this scheme
  1. Initiatives linked to promoting and developing local festivals and galas

WHICH ACTIVITIES HAS STEWARTRY AREA COMMITTEE SAID IT WILL NOTFUND?

  1. Retrospective funding will not be awarded. You must ensure that you submit your funding application well in advance of your event or activity, please bear in mind that the Council requires approximately 8 weeks to process applications prior to Committee consideration . Our official date of receipt of your funding application is the date we mark it as ‘complete’ and accept it for consideration. In this context, we mean applications that have been completed correctly, which have been submitted with the requisite accompanying documentation and where no extra information of explanation is required. If this date occurs after your event or activity has commenced or taken place, your funding application will be considered ineligible. If your event or activity commences/takes place before we have been able to present your funding application for consideration by the Area Committee, it will be considered ineligible.
  1. Funding will not be awarded to replace any provision which has been removed due to constraints on budgets. See number 7 on page 1 for more details.
  1. Projects already considered by Stewartry Area Committee this financial year
  1. Applications which conflict with Council policy
  1. Applications for religious purposes
  1. Applications for political purposes
  1. Funding will not be awarded towards costs for depreciation
  1. Improvements to property not owned or not significantly controlled by the applicant
  1. Self interest groups - applications for the sole benefit of any private asset/group where there is no wider community benefit
  1. No awards will be made for firework displays, including flying lanterns
  1. No awards will be made to private companies unless they are RegisteredCharities
  1. No third-party applications will be accepted. Applications must be made by theorganisation incurring costs or running the event unless the funding relates toroad closures for galas and associated works
  1. No awards will be made for the fabric of schools or buildings used primarily forreligious purposes
  1. Funding will not be awarded towards prizes, sponsorship or the awarding of local community grants in the area in which the organisation operates
  1. Work which takes place outside Dumfries and Galloway

WHAT MAKES A GOOD APPLICATION?

There are a range of activities and projects that the Council will consider funding.

  1. Projects / initiatives improving the environment

Your project will enhance or reduce environmental impact in the key areas of:

  • Energy and water use
  • Carbon emissions
  • Increased Biodiversity (habitats and species)
  • Waste Disposal
  • Recycling
  • Sustainable agriculture/forestry

What a good project looks like to us

You need to demonstrate the difference your project will make to your local environment with recognised methods of data collection and provide evidence with the application of the level of impact your project is expected to have.

  1. Projects / initiatives supporting community economic development

There will be additional income for existing local businesses and / or there will be new businesses in your local area. You will be able to show that local businesses have benefited from your project. This will be because you will spend your grant locally, or because you have/will encouraged more tourism visits to the local area, or because you provided new premises for businesses that moved into the area or expanded their operations within it.

What a good project looks like to us

You need to be able to show that these changes will come about as a direct result ofyour project using information about the local economy before and after your projectavailable from organisations such as the local authority, tourism organisation andlocal businesses.

  1. Projects promoting community self-sufficiency and resilience

Your community will have greater capacity to withstand threats and to adapt to

changing circumstances to help people help themselves. You will achieve this

greater resilience through greater local involvement in your community to produce long term benefits, increased levels of skills and knowledge, fresh sources of expertise and advice and working in partnership to share experiences/services and resources.

What a good project looks like to us

You might have new volunteers who increase your or the community’s capacity and

skills or sources of income through commercial activity or run training programmes.

You will be able to show that your community is stronger and in a better position for

the future as a result of the changes you made as part of your project.

  1. Projects promoting or developing learning opportunities for:
  2. Young People
  3. Disadvantaged Groups and
  4. Older People

You will be able to demonstrate that your project will contribute to the education of young people, disadvantaged groups and/or older people. You will have identified local priorities and need and will address these, possibly in partnership with other agencies, to improve the lives of these groups in your community. You will be able to demonstrate the difference your project or service will make to people’s lives to reduce inequalities and improve the education of your target group(s).

What a good project looks like to us

You will be able to show that, as a direct result of your project/service, people have been and will continue to experience reduced social isolation. People will report that they have greater independence, increased abilities, improved opportunities for learning and achievement and they will report that they have; learned and applied the learning derived from your project.

  1. Projects promoting or developing the general health and well-being of:
  2. Young People
  3. Disadvantaged Groups and
  4. Older People

You will be able to demonstrate that your project will contribute to the health and well

being and social care of people in your community, depending upon which group or groups you are targeting. You will have identified local priorities and needs and will address these, possibly in partnership with other agencies, to improve the lives of these groups inyour community to keep mentally and physically active. You will be able todemonstrate the difference your project or service will make to people’s lives toreduce health and social care inequalities and keep mentally andphysically active.

What a good project looks like to us

You will be able to show that, as a direct result of your project/service, people willcontinue to be supported in their own home, social isolation will be reduced,preventative measures/early interventions will be in place, you have attracted andtrained care staff, provided support for carers, brought groups together to shareresources/information and avoided duplicating activities. People will report that theyhave greater independence and increased availability of options including the adoption of self-directedsupport rather than a traditional care package.

  1. Projects improving local community infrastructure and facilities

Local residents will have a betterquality of life and overall the area will be more

attractive, safer and/or better provided for. Applications may demonstrate that the project for which funding is sought will improve local community facilities and / or that once improved the improvement will facilitate a better quality of life for residents in addition to the improved facility itself.

What a good project looks like to us

You will demonstrate that you have worked with and consulted your community bycollecting and analysing information about the people who will be using the facility at the centre of your funding application. As a result of your project, opportunities will be provided for local peopleto meet or to visit, use, get involved with, and enjoy the project. You will also show thatresidents feel greater pride in the local area and/or have a stronger sense of beingpart of the community. You will need to provide evidence that users valued the improvement and/or how it has made a difference to their lives.

  1. Initiatives which develop or improve accessible rural transport

Your community will have improved access, a better choice of travelling methods and/or an improved frequency of services to enable them to be a part of the local social life, whether that be improved access to transport for work purposes or opportunities for better social engagement in pleasure activities due to the anticipated results of your activities.

What a good project looks like to us

You might have evidence to indicate that residents’ abilities to be a part of main-stream society is improved. Via documented feedback from members of your community you can prove that transport options are better and the opportunities resulting from the availability of transport has had a profound effect on residents. It may also be the case that your activity has enabled better use to be made of existing services by addressing gaps and shortfalls in provision – where this is the case you will capture this information via personal testimony or via evidence provided by a third party.

  1. Projects improving local community infrastructure and facilities

Local residents will have a better quality of life and overall the area will be moreattractive or safer. Applications may demonstrate that they are supporting aprogramme of arts, cultural and community activities that bring economic and

community benefit to the area or region. Projects/activities could include communityimprovement, engendering community spirit and participation

What a good project looks like to us

You will demonstrate that you have worked with and consulted your community bycollecting and analysing information about the people who will be using your servicesor project. As a result of your project, opportunities will be provided for local peopleto meet or to visit, use, get involved with, and enjoy the project, you will show thatresidents feel greater pride in the local area and/or have a stronger sense of beingpart of the community. You will need to provide evidence that visitors to your projectvalued their experience and/or how it has made a difference to their lives. Economicbenefit will be demonstrated by evidence of increased visitor numbers to the areaand/or that local businesses benefited from your project.

  1. Projects promoting community civic pride and / or an appreciation of local history

Local residents will have an increased sense of place and pride in their community. They will appreciate their local environment and will be encouraged to engage with it. You will collect before and after evidence that shows the difference you have made and will be able to evidence the community’s appreciation for the difference your project has achieved. It may be that your activity has made the area more attractive, safer and/or better provided for. Applications may demonstrate that the project for which funding is sought will foster a sense of belonging and /or a greater sense of, and appreciation for, local history.

What a good project looks like to us

You will demonstrate that you have worked with and consulted your community by collecting and analysing information about the people who will be using the facility or service at the centre of your funding application. As a result of your project, opportunities will be provided for local people to meet or to visit, use, get involved with, and enjoy the place where they live. You will also show that residents feel greater pride in the local area and/or have a stronger sense of being part of the community. You will need to provide evidence that users valued the improvement and/or how it has made a difference to their lives.

  1. Projects which help to identify local community needs and aspirations, e.g. surveys, community consultations and feasibility studies to determine the future function, management, viability and sustainability of a range of community activities including, but not limited to, the acquisition of community assets.

You will be able to demonstrate that your project will contribute to an understanding of the aspirations of your community including their views about what they feel they need, what changes they would like to see and will also lead to the identification of any disadvantaged groups about whom little was previously known. You will have identified local priorities and needs and will be able to articulate these. You will also formulate ways in which these might be addressed, possibly in partnership with other local agencies.

What a good project looks like to us

You will be able to show that, as a direct result of your enquiries you have been able to establish a way forward for your community that identifies and recognises the needs of all sectors of society and draws out the differing experiences of distinct sectors too. People will report that they feel they have a voice and that their views are being requested and taken into account.