Winter Support Small Grants Fund

Who can apply?

Charities, community groups and social enterprises who:

• Have an annual income under £100,000.
• Have a constitution or governing document stating clearly that they are not for profit.
• Can demonstrate that they support families and individuals on low incomes within their local area.
• Can demonstrate how they will reach families and individuals and have a clear plan to distribute vouchers/cash to them.
• Can distribute the funding they apply for by 31^st March 2022.

Distributing cash or vouchers can be challenging work.  We expect that successful applicants to this fund will be organisations who are already supporting families and individuals on low incomes through other activities. This might include projects such as: children’s groups, lunch clubs, churches/faith groups, youth groups, food pantries/banks. This list is not meant to exclude applicants but to give an idea of the kind of organisations we expect to apply.

Groups or organisations who were established to help meet the needs of their community during the pandemic can apply if your purpose and activities fit with other criteria.

Who can’t apply?

• Organisations that have already received a grant through this programme.
• Organisations with no track record of supporting low-income families and individuals.
• Individuals cannot apply directly to this fund. The support must reach individuals and families through charities and constituted groups that apply to this fund.
• Sole traders.
• Groups looking for funds for political campaigning or promoting religious activities.
• Unconstituted groups.
• For profit organisations.
• Statutory organisations such as schools or nurseries.

How much is available and what can it be used for?

Groups can apply for up to £5,000. The minimum your group can apply for is £500.

This funding is to be used to provide cash payments/vouchers to families and individuals in need of extra support over the winter months. 5% of the total award can be used to cover the costs of your group (so a maximum of £250 if your grant is £5,000).

Examples of what cash payments or vouchers could cover:

• food/essential items
• fuel costs
• phone/internet costs
• warm clothing
• other essentials that you can show are needed by the people you support

The total amount to be distributed to each family or individual should be decided by your organisation depending on circumstances. There is no set minimum or maximum. We ask you to estimate the number of people you will support in the application form.  Costs are very dependent on individual circumstances and we hope that the fund can be used flexibly but reach as many people as possible.

This fund is part of the Scottish Government’s wider Winter Support Package and also aims to promote a cash-first (and/or voucher) response in line with Scottish Government’s Draft Plan to end foodbanks and aligned to Dignity in Practice project (Nourish Scotland & the Poverty Truth Commission).

What will not be funded?

This fund is to provide cash support/vouchers to low-income families and individuals in need over the winter months.  Applications for other costs are unlikely to be successful.

This fund cannot support running costs/activities of your group, other than a maximum 5% contribution to help with the costs of carrying out this work.

This fund cannot cover the costs of purchasing food or other stock for foodbanks, but foodbanks could apply to distribute cash/vouchers to people they support.

Organisations will need to complete a short online application that will ask for:

• Information about your organisation.
• Contact details for a member of the group.
• How the organisation supports low income families and individuals.
• How much money is required and how you plan to distribute it.

You will need to provide a copy of your constitution unless you are a registered charity.

A constitution is a governing document for your group or organisation. A constitution sets out aims and objectives of your group/organisation and some clear rules around how you operate and make decisions.

You will also need to provide a recent copy of your group/organisation’s bank statement, clearly displaying sort code and account number. The bank account must be in the name of your group or organisation and must be dated within the past six months.

Click here to open the Winter Support Fund criteria.

Once the application is received by Corra you will be sent an email confirming this. Your application will be reviewed to ensure it meets criteria and is eligible for support. Should there be any questions or missing information someone from Corra will be in touch.

We will aim to let you know the outcome of your application within three weeks of receiving the form.

If successful, the main contact listed on your application will receive an email advising them of the grant amount, grant conditions, and payment information. The email will also tell you about what will be required in terms of feedback and evaluation. You will be expected to report on the grant in April 2022. This will be a straightforward process to tell us about how you spent the money, who you reached and supported through this grant.

If unsuccessful, you will receive an email to let you know why the application did not fit the criteria and why we could not support your request.  There is not an appeal process but if unsuccessful you can reapply if you have addressed any feedback.

Please send any questions to us at communitygrants@corra.scot.