Esmée Fairbairn Funding through POP+
GUIDANCE NOTES
Year 1 : Exploring, Experimenting and Evaluating.
Welcome to the Guidance Notes accompanying the application form for the POP+ EsméeFairbairn fund. We need you to be aware of the background to the fund and the very different way in which it will be applied. This Guide will tell you all you need to know.
We would like the process to be as easy as possible, so we have kept theapplication form simple. We do, however, need to know that what you are proposing will result in positive change in the City.
Year 1 will explore, experiment and evaluate the process to see how the funds can best be used in future years. It’s an adventure in new ways of funding local ideas.
SO PLEASE READ THESE CAREFULLY AND ASK US IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT ANYTHING
For further help and advice at any time please contact POP+ on 01752 395131
What Will It Fund ?
We have been challenged to us the funds to encourage positive change so your applications will need to explain how your projects will support :
Our Priorities :
Learning from others and how you can share your ideas.
Using the assets of the local community and voluntary sector and your ideas to unblock any barriers and keep the community moving forward. We need your expertise.
Strengthening and supporting grass roots and neighbourhood community organisations.
Improving the way in which we all work together, through partnerships and collaborations within the Voluntary/Community Sector and with the other Sectors, for the good of Plymouth and its citizens.’
Over the last few months ideas have been discussed and agreed with the community reps attending POP+ Thursday events and other participatory meetings. Some of these ideas may benefit from the EsméeFairbairn funds. For example, we’d like to hear from you if your project could help to deliver:
A Participatory City – where everyone is more involved in local decision making.
A Compassionate City – where everyone is ore caring, kind, considerate and respectful.
A Sustainable City – where decisions always consider the balance and impact of social, economic AND environmental change.
Our City – where the communities of Plymouth can decide their own future and celebrate together.
How will the funding be used ?
We appreciate that this funding could help in many ways so we have devised a way in which different needs can be met.
In Year 1…..we will allocate
Learning from others :
£30,000 will be set aside for POP+ member visits to VCS organisations in other areas in the UK. This will help us to explore what could be developed in Plymouth.
Sharing :
£20,000 will be invested in the joint development of the ‘Our Plymouth’ website – exploring, sharing and supporting new cross-sector co-operation.
Researching :
£7,000 will be invested in a joint City Council, Exeter University and POP+ collaboration in research, development and community training that will provide the evidence we need to support change.
Your Applications
There are two ways of funding your projects.
‘Making Things Happen’ – is available for local projects, where people are working together to bring about change in the City. This could be changes in the way people work together in your neighbourhood or the way ideas are delivered or it could result in physical change – small amounts of ‘seed corn’money can often make all the difference to lives and environments.
‘Working Together’ – will support and strengthen existing, and new, community networks with a focus on a themed approach. It will look for new ideas and methods of collaboration and partnership working. How can we work together to bring about change?
Making Things Happen
(Bids of between £300 and £5000)
£80,000 is available for ideas that will:
Boost grass roots activities within your community or neighbourhood.
Create new working partnerships or collaborations to kick start action.
Support the quick wins that will make a change.
Provide what you need to get started.
Help to deliver changes and improvements you have already identified
Make a difference to local lives and local environments.
Working Together
(Bids of between £1000 and £10,000)
£60,000 is available to strengthen the work of Plymouth’s existing, and, if needed, new, community networks.
It will
Strengthen your network’s ability to grow and encourage change.
Look for new ideas and ways of working together.
Help you to share your ideas with others.
Help to make changes that need a collective response.
Help to build relationships with other networks, service providers and, of course, the local community.
Deadlines for Applications
The first round of funding for both Making Things Happen and Working Together will open on the 15th March 2018. Your applications need to be returned by 5.00pm on Friday 27th April 2018.
Subject to availability, a second round of funding for both categories will open in June. If your application isn’t successful in the first round, you can re-submit it to Round 2.
A further £3,000 will be used to review, evaluate and share the progress made.
Esmée Fairbairn is also making a contribution to the costs of the POP+ team to ensure that they can continue to support you and Plymouth’s wider community and voluntary sector.
Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with making applications. Support will be available from POP+ at every stage of the application process.
Your completed forms can be posted to us at:
POP+ Funding Programme
c/o Devonport Guildhall
Ker Street,
Devonport,
Plymouth
PL1 4EL
Or you can email them to:
Or you can complete them online by visiting our website at:
Who can apply ? :
Anyone ! Applications are welcome from community or interest groups and organisations. You can be :
A registered charity, CIC, CIO or social enterprise
A community or neighbourhood group
A network or partnership
We need to be careful about responsible funding so we would prefer you to have the following in place:
You will need to let us know that you have… :
A formal constitution, charter or adopted Terms of Reference
A ‘Steering Group’, Board or ‘Management Team’ that could manage the fund.
A bank or credit union account to transfer it to.
(Don’t worry if you don’t have these in place….we can always help you to secure them.)
Why is this important ?
The projects we fund will be part of a bigger commitment to Plymouth. POP+ will be legally responsible to the EsméeFairbairn Foundation for making sure that the money is spent in line with their grant conditions and any legal requirements of the Charity Commission.
If you are unsure, or would like advice on developing these for your group, please do not hesitate to contact us as we can help you to get the right things in place to progress your application.
What can we apply for ? :
We’d like to see ideas for change that are innovative creative and community led. There are very few restrictions (see below) but these are mainly to ensure that all of the projects can contribute to positive change. If we have any concerns we will be in touch to talk through your ideas…..they will not simply be dismissed.
Everyone involved in developing ideas and in deciding on how the money will be spent will need to keep in mind what the funding is for – and what it is not for!
What it is not for…. / What is can support….It is not a small grants programme for routine, day to day costs / It is money to encourage long term change and sustainability.
It is not a commissioning programme / It is a way of encouraging participation and democratic decision making in the voluntary and community sector.
It is not money to be paid to individual organisations / It is to help creative the collaborations and collective decisions on what is best for the city.
It is not to fund existing projects that need grant funding (unless they have the chance to develop a clear place in a collaboration) / It is to break down barriers, to allow innovation and risk and to encourage participation.
It is not to take over work that the statutory organisations like the City Council do. / It can be used to establish and grow partnerships with the statutory and private sector organisations on projects that will bring change to the city.
There is not enough money to fund major changes alone. / It can be used to bring other contributions to meeting the funds key objectives (matched funding).
It is not to routinely fund networks simply for existing / It is to build a VCS sector where everyone contributes to agreed directions and where key people are rewarded.
It is not to support competitive working / It is to build a sector where resources are shared a fully utilised.
The fund will not support anything that has party political motives, incites violence or hatred, encourages criminality or cruelty, or environmental damage or contributes to any form of discrimination. Any applications requesting support for activities of this kind will be discarded.
We would encourage you to include the priorities for the funding (see above) in your applications.
To deliver the projects we will also consider whatever you need to kick start your project. This could include ‘Project Management’ costs to cover the help you need to manage or deliver the project, overheads (if you need to hire services or pay for utilities or transport), volunteer expenses, materials and equipment, travel and subsistence, training, insurances (such as the public liability needed for safe events) or marketing, promotional and printing costs.
We would encourage you to be as sustainable as possible when delivering your projects and to try and limit your impact on the environment.
Advice is available to help with budget setting and with limiting environmental impacts (i.e. applying the principles of reuse, reduce, recycle or avoiding single use plastics or non-recycled paper). Please ask POP+ if you need help with this.
How will we know we are making a difference (Monitoring)?
In your applications we’d like you to tell us how you will measure progress so how will you know if your project has been a success?
What you include is up to you. It’s your project.We are open to all sorts of ideas……for example ways of improving levels of safety, happiness, cleanliness, improved diets, warmer homes….even ways having more fun !
We won’t be asking for a written report on what you’ve achieved. The only thing we’d ask is that you come along to a meeting of all the projects to share your successes so that we can all learn. And, if things aren’t going so well, come and share the problems too……there is no such thing as failure, only successes that haven’t been achieved yet. By working together we can find a way forward.
Who makes the decisions?
We are all used to making applications and then waiting to hear if we’ve been successful. It’s a very traditional way of allocating money.
However, we want this process to be different and to involve the community as much as possible. Everyone has agreed that the decisions about the funding will be participatory and democratic. Money is seldom given out in this way – so there isn’t much out there to learn from. We need to try things out – then we can all learn from what works and what doesn’t and do better next time.
Once application closing dates have passed, a Network of Networks (with representatives elected by the community from the city’s leading, and any new, community networks) will work with the POP+ Trustees to consider the bids received and decide upon the funding to be allocated.
If brilliant ideas come through that might cost more, we may be able to help with fund raising ideas and introductions to other partners who might be able to support them. We will get in touch if we think there is scope for this.
Taking Responsibility for the Money
If you are successful:
Your grant will be formally signed off by the POP+ Board.
You will be sent a letter offering you the grant and advising you of what you need to do next. This is where we will ask for your bank details.
Your grant will be transferred to your named account or a cheque (made payable to the organisation) will be sent to the named contact.
Everyone who receives a grant will be asked to complete a short financial report on how it has been spent, so that POP+ can fulfil its responsibilities to the Funder.
You will be asked to come and share your learning at regular meetings of all the funded projects.POP+ will also establish a database of funded projects so to comply with the new GDPR regulations, we will request your permission to include your email address. This will not be shared without your permission and you can unsubscribe at any time by contacting POP+.