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FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NOW OPEN
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We are looking to fund a range of specialist women’s organisations and services to become Smallwood Trust Community Grant Partners. Organisations will be able to use the funds to provide small cash grants (up to £1,000) for individual women to help them overcome personal and financial barriers, helping them to make changes in their lives. We will also fund up to 20% management costs to run the programme.
To apply, please read the full guidance notes and download an application form here. Please also see our Grant-Making Policy which details the full eligibility criteria for individual women and our Grant-Making Toolkit which guides Community Grant Partners through the process of awarding onward grants.
The fund is open to charities, social enterprises and other non-profit organisations who have existing services and projects that support women to become financially resilient and could offer individual grants linked to the following aims:
- Employment stability; cash grants for interview clothes, travel costs, child care and funds to pay for training courses backed up with employability skills training, confidence and aspiration building delivered by support workers and organisations
- Financial stability; cash grants for debt relief, legal assistance and essential living expenses such as food and utility bills for those women facing destitution backed up with debt and money advice, life skills and financial capability skills delivered by support workers and organisations
- Housing stability; Cash grants for moving costs, rent deposits, repairs and essential needs items backed up with financial advocacy and financial education delivered by support workers and organisations
- Mental health and well-being; A cross cutting theme of support for beneficiaries for mental health support and counselling
Current Community Grant Partners are using funds to support women to access basic needs such as food parcels, utility bills, support with internet and telephone costs (including to help children access education) and to help build capacity to support women who are experiencing domestic abuse, which has increased dramatically during the lockdown.
Who is eligible to apply?
In this grant round, applications are open for organisations in the areas of:
- Stoke-on-Trent, Liverpool/Merseyside and Middlesbrough/Teesside as well as rural communities in Staffordshire and the Tees Valley.
- We are also particularly interested in applications from services led by and/or supporting BAME women.
The fund is open to charities, social enterprises and other non-profit organisations who have existing services and projects that support women.
Organisations will need to share our core values, have a strong track-record in helping women in their local community, be financially capable and have good leadership. In return, Smallwood Trust will provide funds, a Grant-Making Toolkit and full training.
In this round we are only able to accept applications in the geographical areas named above. However, if your organisation is located elsewhere in the UK and you are interested in future opportunities, you may send an email to emmacrump@smallwoodtrust.org.uk indicating your location and we will keep your enquiry on file. We anticipate further rounds in winter 2020/early 2021.
What are the groups of women the onward grants should support?
We are looking for organisations that are supporting women that fall into the following groups:
- Women in persistent poverty
- Women with multiple and complex needs
- Lone parents who are not working
- Young women aged 18-30 years who are unemployed or economically inactive, including care leavers
- Black and minority ethnic groups, particularly those deemed most at risk such as women from migrant communities and those with no recourse to public funds
- Women who have experienced or who are at risk of homelessness
- Women with disabilities
- Women looking after young children at the same time as caring for older relatives
- Women surviving abuse
- Women who are isolated
- Older women
- Women living in rural communities
- Women in unpaid care: looking after young children at the same time as caring for older relatives
What is the Smallwood criteria for individual women receiving onward grants?
All grants should meet at least one of the four aims above. For a woman to be eligible for a grant from the Trust, she must meet all of the General Eligibility Criteria:
- Is aged 18 or above
- Has the right to reside and is living in the UK (if a woman has no recourse to public funds we still may be able to help in certain circumstances)
- Is in receipt of all benefits entitled to, (including migrating onto Universal Credit) or has an income below the Minimum Income Standard threshold as detailed below
- Has savings under £4,000 and debts under £10,000
How much funding is available?
Organisations can apply for up to £25,000 each year for three years (£75,000 total). We expect to award c.£450,000 in this funding round.
What is the deadline?
The deadline for completed applications is 5pm on Friday 19th June 2020. Successful applicants are expected to be notified in late July 2020.
How do I apply?
To apply, please read the full guidance notes and download an application form here. Please also see our Grant-Making Policy which details the full eligibility criteria for individual women and our Grant-Making Toolkit which guides Community Grant Partners through the process of awarding onward grants.
Living Wage Friendly Funder
We are a Living Wage Employer and Friendly Funder, which means that we would like to see a Living Wage in place for the posts we fund. For more information, please visit; https://www.livingwage.org.uk/what-real-living-wage