Tackling Local Poverty & Financial Insecurity
Poverty means not being able to heat your home, pay your rent, or buy the essentials for your children. It means waking up every day facing insecurity, uncertainty, and impossible decisions about money. It means facing marginalisation – and even discrimination – because of your financial circumstances. The constant stress it causes can lead to problems that deprive people of the chance to play a full part in society.
– Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2022) definition of poverty
Purpose of the fund:
There are many complexities and challenges that cause poverty. It is first on the list of the UN global ‘Sustainable Development Goals’, which set the blueprint for prosperity for global society by 2030. But poverty and financial insecurity are major and multifaceted issues that requires significant resources and cross-sector thinking to tackle effectively.
As local grant-makers, we want to think global, and act local. We want to make a difference by working together, to tackle a challenging and deeply concerning area of focus within Buckinghamshire. Through the creation of this collective fund, we want to provide the local non-profit sector with additional resources to deliver a larger local safety net than would otherwise exist.
Grant size:
£160,000 – a single grant will be made to the lead applicant of the successful bid.
Criteria:
Projects should provide at least 12 months of additional capacity, supporting at risk households across the county of Buckinghamshire (excluding Milton Keynes administrative area).
The project/initiative that receives the funding will contribute significantly to Buckinghamshire’s response to the rising costs of living for vulnerable, disadvantaged, and insecure-income households. The project will be comprehensive and capture as many of those households who might otherwise ‘fall through the cracks’.
What can we apply for?
We will be able to consider funding for groups wanting to extend and enhance an existing service, as well as new and innovative approaches.
Applications can include capital expenditure, core costs and project costs such as training, venue hire, volunteer expenses etc.
Priority:
We will prioritise applications that:
- Demonstrate how their work would provide support for, or reduce the number of, households living in poverty (as defined by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation) in Buckinghamshire for at least 12 months from date of award.
- Demonstrate clear partnership/collaboration with at least one other NfP organisation.
- Consider how they will work closely with organisations outside of the NfP – for example the local authority, Buckinghamshire Business First, the healthcare trust, and other relevant agencies.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the local context, and how to work effectively within Buckinghamshire as a distinct and unique ‘place’.
- Can show how they will be inclusive of people who are more likely to experience financial insecurity and/or are less represented in existing support services.
How to apply:
For this fund we are running a two-stage process.
Stage one: Complete
Stage Two:
December 2022:
- Following a review of all EOIs, two groups/partnerships will be selected to complete the full application process. A full application form will be provided and we will ask you some more detailed questions about your project and the partners you may be working with.
- The two shortlisted applicants will have the opportunity to attend a 1:1 meeting with the funders to discuss how the aims of the fund and their project align and to make any necessary refinements.
- Shortlisted groups will be expected to use data or other evidence to illustrate the need for their intervention.
- Full applications will be required by Sunday 15th January 2023.
What happens next:
February 2023: The two full applications will be considered by a panel of the grant funders. The outcome will be notified to both applicants and the grant paid to the successful applicant.
March/April 2023: Projects start
Other important information
The lead partner will be responsible for holding the grant award, for providing the end of grant monitoring and any other reporting required. Ideally, they will have developed a partnership agreement with other partners.
The successful applicant will be asked to commit to adding anonymised data to the Bucks Data Exchange platform (unless this is not appropriate).
- The successful applicant will be expected to provide an end of grant report, including a narrative on what has been delivered and how communities were supported, alongside what you have learnt from working in partnership, and a breakdown of expenditure.
- This collective fund is provided by the Anson Charitable Trust, Heart of Bucks, Rothschild Foundation, and the Tony & Sheelagh Williams Foundation.
