Ward Committee Grant Aid - Guidance for Applicants
Ward Committee Grant Aid - Guidance for Applicants
Ward Committee Grant Aid
Guidance Notes
Contents:
What is Ward Committee Grant Aid
What sort of projects can be funded
Which ward should you apply to?
Information to be attached to the form
What happens if your application is successful?
What happens if your application is not successful?
What if you want to change how you use your grant
What if you have concerns about the grant process
What is Ward Committee Grant Aid?
Every Ward Committee in Newcastle has money available for voluntary and community sector organisations that help local residents. These guidance notes explain how to apply for this money.
Who can apply?
Applications are only accepted from ‘not for profit organisations’ such as:
- community groups
- voluntary organisations
- businesses limited by guarantee with charitable aims and objectives
- community interest companies
- social enterprises
To be eligible to apply, organisations must show they have:
- An elected management committee that meets on a regular basis, or that general meetings are held on a regular basis.
- A document describing how they are governed (e.g. a constitution or memorandum and articles of association).
- An equal opportunities statement or an equalities and diversity policy. This may be contained within a governing document.
- Their own bank account with at least two unrelated signatories, who do not live at the same address.
- Systems enabling them to manage their finances (e.g. keeping accurate records and making sure accounts are examined or audited depending on the nature and size of the organisation).
- Practices and procedures for any paid employers and volunteers which conform to legislation on employment, health and safety, racial and sexual discrimination, disability discrimination and age discrimination.
- Clear procedures on how they safeguard the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. This includes taking steps to ensure that paid staff and volunteers working with vulnerable adults, children, and/or young people as part of the project are appropriately trained and vetted.
- Sufficient insurance cover in place for all relevant risks – e.g. theft, fire, employer’s and public liability and third party damages.
- Funding must go directly to the bank account of the organisation who are applying for the grant – we cannot pay money to another organisation to manage on your behalf. We cannot make payments into personal bank accounts.
How to apply
To apply, you need to fill in a Ward Committee Grant Aid Application Form. Once your form is completed it should be e mailed to wardgrantaid@newcastle.gov.uk.
What can be funded?
All Ward Committee grant funded projects and activities must:
- Target residents in the ward(s) being applied to. They must be available and accessible to all residents unless they are for a single gender or specific interest group.
- Show how the local community support the project and how they have been involved so far.
- Demonstrate value for money. The organisation will do this by keeping records (e.g. a list of people who participated) that show whether the project has been successful.
- Be suitable to receive public funding (i.e. not contradict any City Council policy or other legislation).
- Be for a single, identifiable, project, activity or event. Organisations should send in a separate application form for each project, activity or event (e.g. one for their running costs and a separate one for a residential course).
- Projects must contribute to one or more of the Council’s overall aims and objectives. These are:
|
|
|
|
|
- If the ward(s) you are applying to have set their own priorities they may consider how your application relates to those priorities. The form has a section which asks you to explain how your project relates to ward priorities. You can check if the ward committee has set any priorities or rules by checking on the Ward Committee Funding web page https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/get-involved/doing-more-in-your-city/grants-and-funding If you don’t know if the ward has set any priorities you can leave this section blank.
What cannot be funded?
Ward Committee Grant Aid will not fund:
- Projects or activities which are designed to promote religion, or where people have to take part in religious activities to benefit.
- Items or services which have already been purchased by the applicant before their completed application has been received and logged by the Council. Organisations should be aware that if they spend any money before a decision is made on their application it is at their own risk.
- Projects or activities which directly support any political party or activities that could reasonably be seen as promoting a political party.
- Campaigns which seek to obtain changes in the law or Government policies, or campaigns whose purpose is to persuade people to have a particular point of view on a question of law or public policy (although this does not affect the organisation’s right to raise awareness of issues or run campaigns using other sources of funding).
- Applications for citywide projects. Applications can only be made to up to 4 wards for any particular project. These wards need not be neighbouring (i.e. share common boundaries). Applicants will be expected to show that their project will deliver direct benefits for people in the ward(s) they are applying to. Projects should be specifically targeted at and deliver benefits to people from the ward(s) you are applying to. The majority of people benefitting must live in the ward(s) you are applying to.
- Projects that involve giving cash payments to individuals (e.g. giving cash payments to people as part of a Christmas party).
How much can you apply for?
The minimum amount you can apply for is £150. This figure applies to the total amount applied for, so for example, an application for £150 could be divided between four wards with each granting £37.50.
There is not a set maximum amount you can apply for. Individual ward committees may set a maximum amount they are prepared to give to a single application. The amount ward committees can give is also limited by the amount of funds they have remaining in their budgets at the time they consider the application. Details of the amount of money available in each ward and whether any limits have been set by the ward committee can be obtained from the Ward Committee Funding web page https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/get-involved/doing-more-in-your-city/grants-and-funding
Which wards should you apply to?
You should apply to the wards where the people who will benefit live.
Apply to one ward if you can show that most of the people who will benefit live in this ward. If some of the people who will benefit live in other wards the ward committee may ask those other wards to also consider your application. Fill in questions 10, 11 and 12 to tell us:
- which ward you are applying to
- how much you would like
- what information you have included to show why you are applying to this ward (this could also be a written explanation in the box provided)
Apply to more than one ward if the people who will benefit live in more than one ward. Fill in questions 11 and 12 to tell us:
- which wards you are applying to
- how much you would like from each ward
- what information you have included to show why you are applying to these wards (this could also be a written explanation in the box provided)
You can apply to up to four Ward Committees. The amount you apply for should be proportionate to the number of people benefiting in each ward. So, if half the people benefiting live in one ward you should apply to that Ward Committee for half the money, and so on. Most of the people who are expected to benefit from your project must come from the ward(s) you are applying to.
For advice about where to apply and for how much then please contact Adam Taeger – 0191 277 7523 or by e mail wardgrantaid@newcastle.gov.uk
Please remember:
- We ideally like to see a list of postcodes for people who will benefit. If you are applying to more than one ward we can use this list to calculate how much each ward will be asked to contribute. If you’d like us to do this just tick the boxes in question 11.
- We store lists of postcodes securely and only use them to identify the wards where people live.
- If you can’t provide a list of postcodes please fill in the box to explain how your project will benefit the ward or wards you are applying to. This could be:
- An explanation of how funding would be used for an event which targets residents (e.g. telling us where publicity would be sent out)
- An explanation of how funding would raise awareness of a particular organisation or project (e.g. for publicity advertising services or inviting new members)
- Details of how equipment being funded would be used by residents in a certain area (e.g. play equipment which would mainly be used by children in the ward or wards you are applying to)
- Even if you are applying to more than one ward only fill in one application form. If you are applying for different projects in different wards you should complete a separate form for each project
- We know it can be difficult to work out which wards you should apply to. If you would like help with this please contact Adam Taeger – 0191 277 7523 or by e mail wardgrantaid@newcastle.gov.uk before you complete the application form.
- The people who will benefit from your application should determine which wards you apply to. This may be different to the membership of your group or where your group is based.
- We cannot accept applications for citywide projects but this does not prevent citywide or even national organisations from applying as long as they can demonstrate that their project will be specifically targeted at and will benefit people who live in up to four wards.
Information to be included with your form
Make sure you include all relevant paperwork with your application form. If you don’t include this your application will be delayed.
To help you do this a checklist is provided with the application form. You should make sure that everything on this list needed for your application is included.
We keep information submitted by groups on file. If you have previously submitted your governing document, equalities and diversity policy, or safeguarding policies you do not need to send them again unless there have been any changes made. You will normally need to submit a recent bank statement (less than 3 months old) and details of your current insurance policy with each application.
Constitution
We can only fund formally constituted groups and will need a copy of your constitution or governing document. This is a document that has been formally adopted by your organisation that sets out how you are governed. The most common types of documents are a constitution or Articles and Memorandum of Association but the exact type of document will depend on the your legal structure. We keep these on file so if you have provided them with an earlier application there is no need to send them again unless it has changed.
Equal opportunities statement or equalities and diversity policy
You must have an equal opportunities statement or an equalities and diversity policy. If you do not have either of these, we will ask you to adopt one as part of the conditions of your grant. If you need help with this please talk to your Communities Officer.
What happens if you don’t have an equal opportunities statement or an equalities and diversity policy?
To apply for Ward Committee Grant Aid, you must have an equal opportunities statement (which may be included in your governing document) or an equalities and diversity policy. If you do not have either of these, we will ask you to adopt one as part of the conditions of your grant. To find out where to get help with this please contact Adam Taeger – 0191 277 7523 or by e mail wardgrantaid@newcastle.gov.uk.
What evidence do I need to provide to support my application?
In Question 10 we ask how many people you think will benefit from your project. We would also like you to explain how you have arrived at that figure. For example you might already know how many people will be involved. If you are running an event that is open to the public, for example a community festival, you might know from previous years how many people usually come.
Question 17 – Evidence of Cost – If you are planning to purchase things or pay for work or services with your grant you must provide evidence to explain those costs. For goods, e.g. tables and chairs, or gardening supplies you could provide a link to a web site or a copy from a catalogue showing the items and prices. If you are planning to pay for work or services, you should provide a quote from the intended supplier.
What information needs to be provided if you are applying to fund an activity or event involving members of the public?
If you are applying to hold any event or activity which will be attended by members of the public you will need to provide risk assessment information. Question 20 lists the sorts of events that require risk assessment information. Please tick the one that applies to your project.
If you are organising a large outdoor event on council land, private land or the public highway (such as a sports day, barbecue or fun day), we will need you to complete an event checklist. This checklist and other information about risk assessment can be posted or emailed to you by the main contact listed above or downloaded from https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/get-involved/doing-more-in-your-city/grants-and-funding
Note on Covid-19
The form asks you to confirm that you will follow any relevant Covid Guidance and asks you to briefly describe any measures you are taking to prevent the spread of Covid at your activities. This might include control measures such as social distancing, requiring face coverings to be worn, increased hygiene measures, limiting attendance etc.
Further information and guidance about the Covid situation and the guidance that must be followed can be found on the following web sites:
Newcastle City Council - https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/public-health-wellbeing-and-leisure/public-health-services/coronavirus-covid-19
National Guidance can be found at - https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
NHS Guidance - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
If you have questions or need further advice about Covid and how you should ensure that your activities are planned to avoid spreading the virus you can contact Public.health.guidance@newcastle.gov.uk
What extra information needs to be provided if you work with children and young people or vulnerable adults?
Organisations who work with children and young people and/or vulnerable adults need to have an up to date safeguarding policy/child protection policy in place. We will ask you to confirm that have a suitable policy in place and tell us when it was last reviewed and is next due to be reviewed. Copies of your policies must be provided if requested. Organisations must also give details of their vetting procedures.
A vulnerable adult is someone who:
- is aged over 18
- may need care services because of mental, physical or learning disability, age or illness
- Cannot always protect themselves from harm.
Further information on this requirement can be posted or emailed to you by the main contact listed above or downloaded from https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/get-involved/doing-more-in-your-city/grants-and-funding
What information needs to be provided to show you have insurance policies for your project and organisation?
You must have sufficient insurance cover in place for all relevant risks. Question 21 asks you to tell us what cover you have. You must also include a copy of the front sheet of your policy document(s), showing when the policy expires, with your application. We will keep these on file but you will need to include your current policy so that we can be sure that it is still current.
Further information on this requirement can be posted or emailed to you by the main contact listed above or downloaded from https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/get-involved/doing-more-in-your-city/grants-and-funding
Grant decisions
The decision to approve or decline your application is made by the three Ward Councillors who make up the Ward Committee. All eligible applications will be considered. In the past applications were normally considered at Ward Committee meetings. Ward Committees generally only meet once a year now so most applications are considered by a written decision process although applications may still be considered at a meeting if the timing of the meeting makes it convenient to do so. If you are requested to attend someone from your organisation should attend this meeting to explain more about your application and answer any questions. If no one attends the Ward Committee may defer consideration of the application to a future meeting or refuse the application.
Most applications are now made outside of Ward Committee meetings. This is done if:
- The ward committee meeting is inquorate (this means there are fewer than two ward councillors at the meeting).
- At least two of the ward councillors have declared an interest in the application, and therefore cannot take part in making the decision.
- There is a need to make a decision on an application before the date of the next meeting.
- Ward committees may also defer applications and consider them by delegated decision at a later date to allow additional information to be obtained before a decision is made. This is particularly likely if no one is able to attend the meeting to answer questions about the application.
If your application is considered in this way we will write to you to let you know the decision once it has been made. We may also contact you to ask for additional information if councillors have questions about your application. You should reply to any requests for information as quickly as you can to avoid the decision being further delayed.
Application Deadline
Applications may be submitted at any time up until 1 December. There is a risk that ward budgets will be spent up before the end of the year. The sooner you can submit your application the better, particularly if you are applying for a relatively large amount in relation to the budget of the ward or wards you are applying to.
Applications are not normally considered between the start of the financial year (1 April) and the Annual meeting of council which is held near the end of May. If you are planning activities to take place during the period between January and May you should try to get your application in before the December deadline to ensure that it can be considered before your project goes ahead.
You should aim to submit your completed application, together with the necessary supporting documents at least 28 days before the funding is required.
What happens if your application is successful?
If a decision is made at a ward committee meeting you will normally hear if your application has been successful at the meeting. Shortly after the ward committee we will write to you to say how much money you will receive and notify you of any conditions the ward committee have set. If the decisions is made outside of the ward committee meeting we will write to you to inform you of the decision within a few days of the decision being made.
The money will be transferred directly into your bank account. This can take up to 28 days after decision has been made.
If your grant is over £500.00 you will also receive a monitoring form with your decision letter so you can keep this and fill it in as you run your project.
Payment – We ask on the form when you need to know if you have been successful and when you need to receive payment. These dates may be different, for example, if you are planning an event for Christmas you might need to know whether you have been successful by September so that you can start planning and making arrangements but you might not need to actually spend any money until November.
Payments will be made by bank transfer directly into your bank account. If you are applying in advance of your project taking place, we will inform you of the decision when once it has been made but the money will be paid nearer to the time of the event.
What happens if your application is unsuccessful?
If your application has been unsuccessful you will hear at the ward committee meeting along with the reason why you have not received funding. If your application has been considered outside of the ward committee you will be notified of the decision and the reasons for it, in writing, shortly after the decision has been made.
Monitoring
We measure how successful ward committee grant aid has been. Every organisation receiving grant aid must complete and return a monitoring form if requested to do so. Monitoring forms will be automatically requested for all grants of over £500. If your grant is less than £500 you will only need to submit a monitoring form if requested, you should however make sure you keep any receipts, in case you are asked for them at a later date.
Question 6 asks you to explain how you would know if your project is successful and how you would demonstrate this. This will depend on the sort of project you are running. For example if you were running a community clean up you might consider your project successful if 10 people took part and the streets looked cleaner afterwards. You could demonstrate this with a list of people who took part and some before and after photos. We will ask you to provide this evidence with your monitoring form.
You will receive a monitoring form with the letter telling you your application has been successful – this is so you can fill this in as you run your project.
The form asks for the following information:
- Details of how the grant has been spent
- Confirmation that all of the grant has been spent
- Details of how the organisation has benefited from the grant
- Invoices and/or receipts for all purchases
Evidence that shows whether your project was successful
It’s particularly important to ask for and keep all receipts for any spending relating to your project. You will need to send these with your monitoring form.
- You should send in your monitoring form and receipts as soon as possible once your project is completed. If we have not already received them we will send you a reminder 28 days after the completion date for your project to ask you to return your monitoring form and receipts. If your project is running over a long time, e.g running costs for the year we may ask you to submit interim monitoring forms to let us know how you are doing. You must send these back as soon as possible –You cannot apply for any more grant aid if your monitoring form from any of your previous grants is overdue.
- If we still don’t receive a completed monitoring form and receipts after reasonable attempts have been made then future applications from your organisation will not be considered and money may be reclaimed.
What if my project is not completed when the monitoring is due?
We are aware that many projects have had to be delayed because of the Covid Pandemic. If your project has been delayed, either because of Covid or for other reasons you should get in touch as soon as you are aware of the problem. Where there is a good reason for the delay we can extend the monitoring period to allow more time.
What happens if you need to change what you said you would spend the funding on?
You must spend the funding for the purpose you put on your application form. If there are any changes to your plans (e.g. if an event has to be cancelled, or the costs of items are different to your original estimates) you must tell us immediately. You should do this by contacting your Communities Officer.
We will not normally refuse permission to spend the money in a different way if the overall aims of the project are not being changed. If you want to do something significantly different to what you applied for the ward committee will have to consider your request and in some cases you may be asked to submit a new application for consideration.
You must not spend your grant money for anything other than the agreed purposes until you have received confirmation that the ward committee have agreed to the variation. If you spend the money for different purposes than those agreed by the ward committee you may be asked to pay back the grant.
If you have not spent all of the money there is a pace on the monitoring form to explain why not and you can also explain if there is something else you would like to do with the money. If your grant was less than £500.00 and you have not been asked to complete a monitoring form contact Adam Taeger – 0191 277 7523 or e mail wardgrantaid@newcastle.gov.uk.
The Councillors will consider whether they are happy for the money to be used in the way you suggest. You should not spend the money until you receive confirmation that it is OK to do so because if your proposal is not accepted you may be asked to return the unspent grant.
What can be done if you have any concerns about the process?
There is no appeal against decisions of the ward committee but if you have any concerns about the process then you should the Communities Team Manager to discuss your concerns.
If this doesn’t resolve the problem, you can make a formal complaint in writing. This will be investigated by a senior manager in accordance with the Council’s complaints procedure.
You can contact the Local Government Ombudsman (0845 602 1983) about the handling of your complaint at any time.
You can also raise concerns under procedures relating to the voluntary sector compact (see below). In addition, the council operates a policy for confidential reporting of concerns (‘whistleblowing’).
Information about these procedures can be obtained from the City Council’s Complaints Officer on 0191 211 5116 or complaints@newcastle.gov.uk
Further Information
Voluntary Sector Compact
The relationship between the council and the voluntary and community sector is governed by the Compact and the supporting codes of practice.
For further information contact:
Newcastle Council for Voluntary Service – 0191 232 7445 or by email ncvs@cvsnewcastle.org.uk
What if the council has concerns about an organisation?
If you have financial problems or other difficulty that may affect your grant, you should tell the council about the situation and any action you are taking as soon as possible.
If the council becomes aware of any problems, it will formally notify you in writing.
In both cases, the Council’s lawyers and auditors will be consulted to decide what action needs to be taken.
Who can be contacted for further information?
If you have any questions about the ward grant aid process please contact us by e mail - wardgrantaid@newcastle.gov.uk
Related Pages
If you would like to give us feedback on our website, please complete this short online form.