GrantRadar

Action Together

Rochdale Communities Fund – Micro Grants

Micro grants of up to £1,000 from Action Together, funded by Rochdale Borough Council's Public Health team, for constituted voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups in Rochdale Borough with an annual income under £25,000. Projects must tackle poverty and inequality or promote health and wellbeing; micro and small groups are prioritised. On a group's first successful application Action Together adds 20% of the award towards overheads (full cost recovery). It is a quarterly rolling programme that pauses when each quarter's money is allocated and reopens the next quarter.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £1,000
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Light
short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

  • Formally constituted voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) groups locally rooted or actively working in the borough of Rochdale, with an annual income of less than £25,000 (including grants and donations)
  • Applicants must be members of Action Together CIO (free to join), be non-profit with surpluses reinvested in the community, and have a governing document and a bank account in the organisation's name with at least two unrelated signatories
  • Micro and small groups are prioritised
  • Groups that have had Rochdale Communities Fund money before can apply if the project is different or builds on the earlier one, all previous monitoring is submitted to a good standard, total Action Together grants have not reached £3,000, and they are in contact with their Community Development Worker
  • The two contacts on the form must not be related or live at the same address

What it funds

Equipment, project resources and running costs; staff time; and staff and volunteer expenses, for projects meeting one or more priorities:

  1. Challenging poverty and driving equality — practical support, advice or peer support, reducing inequalities and helping people reach their potential, strengthening community voice and action
  2. Promoting health and wellbeing — supporting social, mental and physical wellbeing, challenging health inequalities by working with marginalised groups whose needs are not met by existing services, and building strong relationships in and across communities

Trips and days out can be considered if the application explains who it is for and why, why that activity was chosen and who shaped it, and the real benefit beyond a trip (e.g. respite for carers, social connection).

Constituted groups get an extra 20% of the award for overheads on their first successful application.

What it will not fund

  • Discretionary funds, e.g. one-off food vouchers
  • Items or expenditure bought or incurred before the funding decision is communicated
  • Groups with annual income of £25,000 or more
  • Groups that have received grants from Action Together up to or totalling more than £3,000
  • Groups that have not completed monitoring for previous Action Together funding
  • Unconstituted groups (the Seed Fund is the route for them)
  • Repeat funding for the same project (further applications must be for different projects or build on previously tested ideas)
  • More than one application per organisation

How to apply

  1. Read the updated guidance notes and check eligibility (constituted, Rochdale-based, income under £25,000, total previous Action Together grants under £3,000)
  2. Become a member of Action Together CIO if not already (free)
  3. Download and complete the Word application form, filling in every box, with a costed budget showing how each figure was worked out and how you will measure impact
  4. Email the completed form to rochdalecommunitiesfund@actiontogether.org.uk
  5. Action Together decides (awards over £1,000 are scored by its community panel) and emails the decision
  6. If successful, supply the supporting documents before any money is released
  7. At the end of the project, complete a monitoring form (story of the project, numbers benefiting, future plans, photos or other materials)

Do not buy anything in the application before the decision; prior purchases cannot be funded.

The fund pauses each quarter once that quarter's money is allocated and reopens the next quarter.

Action Together strongly discourages using AI to draft answers and may ask for more information if it suspects AI drafting.

Queries about the form: Hayley Tomlinson, 0161 339 2345; general enquiries: Laura Augustine, 0161 339 2345.

Have ready

  • Completed Micro Grants application form (Word)
  • Copy of a bank statement for an account in the organisation's name with at least two unrelated signatories
  • Governing document
  • Insurance details (public liability and employers' liability)
  • Safeguarding policy

The supporting documents are required from successful applicants as part of the grant agreement, before funding is released.

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