GrantRadar

Community Foundation North East (serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland)

Reeds Grassroots Fund

Grants of up to £3,000 for small and medium voluntary organisations in areas of high deprivation in Tyne and Wear and Northumberland, for work that improves mental health or tackles poverty and disadvantage that limit life chances, especially for children and disadvantaged communities. Priorities include mental health and confidence-building activities for children, young people and disadvantaged adults, and welfare benefits and employment advice for families in poverty. Capital items and general sports activities are not funded. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through the Community Foundation's online portal.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £3,000
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Voluntary and community organisations located in areas of high deprivation in Tyne and Wear (Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland) or Northumberland, with experience of delivering this kind of support and examples of successful outcomes already achieved
  • Mainly small to medium organisations with income of no more than £250,000 a year, though larger ones may be considered
  • You do not need to be a registered charity: charities (registered, exempt or excepted), CIOs, charitable companies and trusts, constituted voluntary groups, CICs and other non-charity social enterprises, co-operatives/community benefit societies and CASCs can apply
  • The Community Foundation requires a governing document, a board of at least three unrelated people with equal control, a bank account in the organisation's name with two unrelated signatories, approved accounts showing income, expenditure and reserves, adequate adult and child safeguarding policies, a business plan if you are a CIC or other non-charity social enterprise, and no overdue monitoring on earlier grants
  • The work must be legally charitable
  • First-time grantees must complete monitoring on a first grant before applying again

What it funds

Revenue support for activities that:

  • Focus on improved mental health for children, young people and disadvantaged adults
  • Build children's confidence, social skills and resilience and promote mental health and wellbeing
  • Provide welfare benefits and employment-related advice and support to disadvantaged individuals and families in poverty, to prevent or alleviate poverty (through increased income or the provision of food or other essentials), improve living standards, help people manage benefit claims and avoid sanctions, or overcome barriers to employment

Funding can maintain existing services or add resources to meet new or increased demand (say which in the application).

Disadvantaged communities include those affected by poverty, unemployment, homelessness, asylum seeker/refugee status, disability and learning disabilities.

What it will not fund

  • Capital items such as equipment
  • Refurbishment costs
  • General sporting activities
  • Contributions to general appeals or circulars
  • Advancement of religion
  • Advancement of animal welfare
  • Grant-making to others (provision of necessary goods such as food parcels is allowed)
  • Activities primarily intended to help a public body meet its statutory obligations
  • Activities that have already taken place
  • Privately owned and profit-distributing companies or partnerships

How to apply

  1. Contact Elaine Holdsworth, Senior Philanthropy Advisor (eh@communityfoundation.org.uk, 0191 222 0945) to discuss your application
  2. Check the Community Foundation's general eligibility rules and read the Organisation application help notes
  3. Register on the Community Foundation grantee portal (allow up to two working days for registration to be approved)
  4. Complete the online organisation application form (contact information, organisation information, supporting documents, funding request), selecting the Reeds Grassroots Fund and saying whether the grant is to maintain existing services or meet new or increased demand
  5. Upload the supporting documents and submit

Rolling; applications are accepted at any time.

The foundation recommends first-time applicants attend a 'Time to Talk' session and not submit several applications at once.

Have ready

  • Most recent financial statements approved by your governing body, no more than 22 months old (new organisations: management accounts or a cashflow forecast)
  • Governing document (constitution, rules, or memorandum and articles)
  • Bank statement dated within the last 3 months showing bank name, account name, number and sort code
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures (children and adults)

CICs and other non-charity social enterprises must also upload their Community Interest Statement (CIC36) and a business plan; local groups using an umbrella body's safeguarding policy must upload that policy and the foundation's umbrella declaration.

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.