Apply for community grant, HSF (organisations only

Community and voluntary organisations, town, parish and community councils can apply for grant funding to support local initiatives tailored to local need, helping to provide vulnerable families with food, utilities and keeping warm

Applications are open from

18 to 29 November 2024
13 to 31 January 2025

Grants available

The Isle of Wight Council Adult Social Care and Housing Needs Directorate invites applications from registered community or voluntary sector organisations, including town, parish and community councils, charities, faith groups, schools, colleges, and early years settings to support their community with schemes that will support with the cost of living around food, reducing utility costs and wider essential items.

What are we looking for?

Examples of the types of support that we could fund with the Household Support Fund Community Grant include, but are not limited to:

Funding to enable an existing support group (either in an area of deprivation and/or targeting a vulnerable group) to provide meals or create food parcels/hampers
Funding to enable an existing support group (either in an area of deprivation and/or targeting a vulnerable group) to provide weather appropriate clothes, shoes, and other essentials to households with children, households with pensioners and other households in need.
Funding to enable an existing support group provide essentials such as soap, blankets, draught excluders, boiler service/repair, purchase of energy-efficient white goods equipment including fridges, freezers, ovens, etc.
A contribution towards additional activities/staffing to support an organisation to deliver cookery classes where families take the meal and / or ingredients home with them.

We will be proactively encouraging organisations to apply for this grant in order to target households struggling with the cost of food and utilities.

Criteria

Applicants can request consideration of any spend that meets the identified criteria from 11 November 2024.

Applicants will need to have appropriate measures in place to ensure that the measures identified do not compromise the safety of the people accessing support throughout the project.

What expenditure is not covered by this grant?

The grant cannot be used for

Expenditure incurred prior to 1 October 2024 or after 31 Mach 2025
Applications for schemes that duplicate provision already in place
ICT related purchases
Activities which do not support the primary purpose of the Department for Work and Pensions’ Household Support Fund.
Cash awards / bank transfers to residents

How to apply for funding

1. Read this page in full, as well as the guidance document.

2. Complete all sections of the Application form in conjunction with the guidance document. Do not change the original format of the application form.

3. Make sure that the form is fully signed by the applicant.

4. Return the form, signed copy of the guidance document and any other supporting documents by email to: hsf@iow.gov.uk

You MUST ensure that the email title reads: “APPLICATION FOR COMMUNITY GRANT FUNDING – HOUSEHOLD SUPPORT FUND ” and also states the name of the organisation applying for the funding.

Application process and timescales

Applications windows will be open 18 – 29 November 2024 and 13 – 31 January 2025
All funding awarded must be spent within 6 months and evidence of that spend provided to the council – a reporting document will be provided.
Any amount of the grant not spent or allocated by the end of the grant window must be returned to the council
Panel meetings to consider applications will take place 1 week after the closure of the grant window. Applicants will need to ensure that forms are received by the deadline for their application to be considered.
Applicants will be contacted within one week of Panel meeting to inform them of the outcome. Some applicants may be asked to provide more detail or amend aspects of their project in order to meet the funding criteria.
Successful applicants will be required to sign a Funding Agreement which outlines the terms and conditions of the grant. This will usually be within one week of the final decision
Grants will be paid in two instalments. The first payment will be released on receipt of the signed funding agreement with the balance paid on receipt of the requested data.

How will the applications be assessed?

Each application will be assessed on its own merit. Each application will be acknowledged upon receipt, and then checked by a member of the Panel to ensure that it is complete, and suitable to be scored by the Grants Panel. At this stage we may come back to the applicant(s) to request further information. If the application meets the basic requirements it will then be considered at the Grant Panel meeting. If there are insufficient monies remain in the fund to meet the applications submitted, grants will be awarded according to need; value for money and proposed impact. The Panel reserves the right to consider reducing the value of awards offered in order to support a larger number of applications

Other important information

How payments will be made?

Payments will be made directly into the organisation’s bank account.

How projects will be monitored?

The Isle of Wight Council’s Adult Social care and Housing Needs directorate is committed to supporting the delivery of high-quality experiences and outcomes for those we serve. To do this we will monitor the quality of the activities we fund, using a range of means which are appropriate to the individual projects.

Following award all successful applicants will need to

evidence the expenditure and provide original receipts
evidence the impact/outcomes achieved
Submit quarterly returns as to the number and form of support provided, as required by the Department for Work and Pensions. These returns are due on 10 January 2025 (for the period 1 October – 31 December 2024) and 7 April 2025 (for the period 1 October 2024 – 31 March 2025) and will take the form of a completed spreadsheet detailing:
- How much will be used to provide direct support to households with children
- How much will be used to provide direct support to households with pensioners
- How much will be used to provide direct support to households with a Disabled person
- How much will be used to provide direct support to other types of households, including individuals

The information must be completed as figures and not percentages. Returns must be submitted by the requested deadlines or organisations risk having to return the funding.

For more information about the funding available, or if you have any queries or concerns about requirements contact: Laura Hales – Commissioning & Projects Officer email: hsf@iow.gov.uk

How to apply

Read the information provided below before completing the application form

Community Grants Guidance (Word, 47KB)

Download and complete the form

Community Grants Application form (Word, 86KB)

If you require these forms in an alternative format, you can contact HSF@iow.gov.uk