31 October 2011

The Voluntary Sector Grants Fund from Sheffield City Council is now open.
Grants are for registered charities or industrial and provident societies in Sheffield with a turnover of £10,000 or more. You have to be delivering services and activities under one of the following themes and support the Council's priority outcomes. You can download a document from the website with more information about these.
You can apply for any amount above £10,000. The Council expect to be awarding around 50 to 60 grants and the average grant is likely to be below £50,000. The VSGF themes and priority outcomes document (available from the website) gives an indication of the amount available for each funding theme.
Theme 1
Building social inclusion and cohesion and fostering good relations
Priority Outcomes:
• Adults and children affected by domestic or sexual abuse are empowered to be safe and move forward with their lives.
• Refugees, asylum seekers and new arrivals are able to integrate into local society.
• Vulnerable adults are able to participate in structured mainstream voluntary activity within your organisation to develop confidence and skills to engage/ re-engage in the social and occupational life of the city.
• Ethnic minority women are able to develop confidence and skills to engage in the social and occupational life of the city.
• Mental health service users are able to meet together for mutual self-help and support to manage their lives.
• Adults with limited mobility have the means to get out and about and engage in mainstream services.
• Street drinkers are able to access a constructive, enabling and safe place to be during the day.
• Adults and children are able to develop their language skills in English and in their mother tongue.
Theme 2
Supporting the local voluntary sector to thrive and deliver
Priority Outcomes:
• Local voluntary and community sector groups and organisations are able to recruit the volunteers they need and to develop their skills and knowledge to manage volunteers to best practice standards.
• Local voluntary and community sector groups and organisations are able to improve their prospects of developing and maintaining a diverse funding base in line with the existing and emerging funding opportunities available to sector.
• Local voluntary and community sector groups and organisations can access advice and support to develop their skills and capacity to function as effective groups and organisations in line with best practice.
Theme 3
Tackling poverty, promoting social justice and financial inclusion
Priority Outcomes:
• People living in Sheffield have access to triage/ initial advice and guidance and casework and representation in the following areas of social welfare law - welfare benefits, debt, housing, employment, immigration and discrimination.
• People living in Sheffield, who are most likely to be financially excluded have access to a credit union that provides savings opportunities and low interest loans in a context of maximising income and providing sustainable financial capability for the client, including assisting people to access mainstream banking, where appropriate.
• Vulnerable people in financial need or being re-housed have access, via a key worker, to free household items essential to a basic standard of living.
Funding is for service delivery and mainly revenue costs, small amounts of capital costs can be included but you need to check with the Voluntary Sector Liaison Team first to see if they are eligible. Large capital costs such as buildings, large repairs and large pieces of equipment are excluded.
The Voluntary Sector Grants Fund will replace the Council's Revenue Grants Fund which is now in it's final year. Funding will begin on 1 July 2012. This means that in year 1 applications should be for up to 9 months to 31 March 2013 (rather than 12 months).
Application packs are available from the Voluntary Sector Liaison Team or you can request one from the website.
You can get further information, a self assessment checklist, an application pack request form and full details about the themes and priority outcomes from the website.
You can look at a full list of exclusions here.
Deadline: 9 December 2011 (you need to request an application pack before 2 December 2011)
Contact: Voluntary Sector Liaison Team, Sheffield City Council
Tel: 0114 273 463
Email: vslt@sheffield.gov.uk
Website: http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/in-your-area/grants/grantsfund