The Leeds Community Foundation is seeking applications for its Ideas that Change Lives – Kickstart and Development Grants Program to ensure services help people to live independently.
The Ideas that Change Lives programme offers business guidance and financial investment to help organisations and individuals develop socially enterprising ideas which support people in Leeds with care and support needs to improve their health, wellbeing and remain independent. They welcome applications that support a particular community (non-geographically) and also to support geographic areas.
Kick Start Grants are for organizations with a socially enterprising idea that supports people to live independently in their own homes, but who need support to develop the idea into a full business plan.
Development Grants are available for services/activities that support people with care and support needs to remain independent.
Supports
They want to support ideas which made a real impact with:
Older people
People with a learning disability, physical disability or sensory impairment
People with mental health needs
People with alcohol or substance use issues
People with long term health conditions
Carers
Young people with support needs in transition between children’s and adult services
Funding Information
The grant size for Kickstart grants is £500-£4,000 and for Development grants is £4,000-£12,000 for 12 months.
Activities
Types of activities that can be funded
They encourage all applications to consider:
Alternatives to traditional day care and support services
Brokerage, supporting people with care needs to manage their personal budget and/or access the services which meet their needs
Health and wellbeing promoting activities
Employment related opportunities
Any other activities that enable people in Leeds with care and support needs to remain independent
How they will evidence learning and demonstrate and evaluate outcomes from the project; applicants should consider including costs for external evaluation or additional internal capacity to ensure they can effectively report on this
The project meets the needs and wishes of people using the proposed service, regarding health protection
Full Cost Recovery, including a relevant portion of management costs and overheads
Staff costs, which should wherever possible include paying staff at least the real Living Wage
Costs which enable the project to be fully inclusive and accessible (E.G. transport, food, childcare)
How they envisage a successful project could be sustained after this funding ends
Eligibility Criteria
Incorporated community groups such as CIOs, CICs and charitable companies from the third sector that:
Are registered with the Charity Commission, Companies House or Mutuals Public Register (FCA)
CICs, limited companies and similar must be clearly constituted for public benefit and should be limited by guarantee, not shares
Have a constitution or other relevant governance document
Have a management committee/board of directors/trustees of at least three unrelated people, none of whom have significant control
A copy of your most recent annual accounts or financial records showing your organisation’s balance of funds, income and reserves.
Have a bank account under the name of the group with at least two unrelated signatories
Are based in or supporting people living in the Leeds Metropolitan District Area
Have an appropriate Safeguarding Policy and an Equal Opportunities Policy or similar
If organising or running public events, festivals etc groups will be expected to have relevant insurance and comply with all required health and safety, food handling/preparation and other local and national statutory regulations for such activity.
Charities that are registered with the Charity Commission but are not an incorporated structure can also apply. However, grants cannot be used to pay staff that are directly employed by the charity.
Small unincorporated and unregistered community groups can apply for a maximum of £5,000. Unincorporated, unregistered groups can only apply if their annual income is less than £10,000, and if securing the grant does not take them this threshold for the year. You would be expected to have set up/or be in the process of setting up a formal legal structure with social and/or environmental aims using the support.
