Grant Application Form and Guidance Notes

November 2018

Table of Contents

1. Smallwood Trust Funding Objectives 3

2. Details of the fund

3. Area of Benefit

4

5

4. How much can I apply for? 6

5. Guidelines for applicants 6

6. Criteria 6

Application form 7

Project details 7

Risks 14

Budget 15

Outputs 16

Outcomes 16

Referees 17

Declaration 17

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1. Smallwood Trust Funding Objectives (for organisations)

Our MissionTo enable women to be financially resilient.Our funding objectives are to:

Provide a range of targeted financial support that helps disadvantaged women to be have access to and control over personal economic resources, including access to flexible employment opportunities and supportive social and community networks

To support civil society organisations to access the information, skills and resources they need to provide support for, prevent and mitigate the shocks and stresses of women who are financially vulnerable

To reflect the lived experiences of financially vulnerable women to improve national and local government and employer policies

Work together with expert partners to help more women Put women at the heart of evaluating our work and provide a bridge

between practice and policy-making Identify how lessons have been learnt and good practice is being

implemented Raise awareness and support to increase our impact

Beneficiary outcomes Financial resilience – the ability of individuals and families to weather financial shocks – is central to economic and emotional wellbeing. Therefore, for women supported through Smallwood Trust programmes we would expect them to report the following outcomes:

More confident and better equipped to respond to financial adversity Thinking positively about their future Recruited into or creating their own jobs, paying at least the living wage Improving their functional, vocational and communication skills More able to manage their money and debt Reporting improved social and emotional well-being

2. Details of the Fund

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Impact goal of the Fund

To build the skills, confidence and aspirations of women on low incomes to enable them to enter into employment.

Funding for good and emerging practiceThe objective of the fund is to identify and document good practice that is achieving outcomes for women on low incomes by building their skills, confidence and aspirations to enable them to enter into employment. We will fund existing projects and ongoing work. Projects should be proven, able to demonstrate impact and evidence good practice. This includes interventions that are not currently documented extensively or are being implemented in a new context.Applications should:

Be able to evidence the good practice the project has identified and implemented

Document the lessons learnt on what works for achieving outcomes that build the skills, confidence and aspirations of women on low incomes to enable them to enter into employment

Provide evidence of success/impact and the potential for replication and scaling up in new geographical areas or to reach more beneficiaries in the future. Funding for successful projects to replicate their work will potentially be available from the Smallwood Trust in 2020.

Demonstrate how the project can contribute to local and/or national policyPlease note that for this funding round we want to fund existing good practice and learn from this funding to implement potential replication.We are keen to enhance our understanding of what works to improve outcomes for financially vulnerable women. It should be noted that part of the grant will include participation in good practice workshops to share learning. These will take place on 5th September 2019 and 6th February 2020.

3. Area of Benefit

The Smallwood Trust’s area of benefit is the United Kingdom. In this funding round we are prioritising applications from:

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Greater Manchester Newcastle, Teesside and other parts of the North East Hull and Humberside Leeds and Bradford Sheffield Merseyside Rural communities in Kent, Cornwall, Cumbria, Dorset and Norfolk

And client groups: Women who have been in persistent poverty (being in relative income

poverty in the current year and at least two of the three preceding years; Office of National Statistics, 2017)

Women with multiple and complex needs who might include some on the following groups:

- Lone parents who are not working or receiving support from mainstream services

- Young women aged 18-30 years who are unemployed or economically inactive, including care leavers

- Black and minority ethnic groups, particularly those deemed most at risk such as women from migrant communities

- Women who have experienced or who are at risk of homelessness

- Women with depression and/or anxiety

- Women with disabilities

- Women looking after young children at the same time as caring for older relatives

4. How much can I apply for?

We are able to provide funding for charities, social enterprises and other not-for-profit organisations. 

In this grant round we expect to award funds to 10-15 projects at an average size of £10,000-15,000. Funding will be awarded over one year initially. The funds are provided for by the Tampon Tax and Smallwood Trust. Further funding will potentially be available from the Smallwood Trust from 2020.

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5. Guidelines for Applicants

i. Before applying, applicants are strongly advised to look at the information and examples of projects the Trust has funded which can be found on our website www.smallwoodtrust.org.uk

ii. All applicants are expected to demonstrate how their proposal meets the Trust’s mission and intended beneficiary outcomes

iii. All applicants are requested to use this application formiv. Funding is initially for one yearv. Successful projects may have the opportunity to subsequently apply

for Smallwood Trust continuation fundingvi. All applications are reviewed by the Chief Executive and Head of

Evaluation. Further information may be requested and you may also be requested to attend a face to face or telephone meeting to discuss your proposals in more detail

vii. All final decisions will be approved by the trustees of the Smallwood Trust

viii. Please enclose with your application:

A. A copy of your constitution or memorandum and articles of associationB. A copy of your most recent set of signed annual report and accountsC. Contact details for two referees external to your organisation who are

happy to talk about your organisation

ix. If you are not a registered charity, please provide a written rationale setting out:

1. How the grant will be in pursuance of the Trust’s mission and charitable objectives;

2. How the proposed Project is providing public benefit; 3. How any private benefit is limited, necessary and incidental to the

charitable Purpose;4. Whether it is engaged in political activities (and if so, what these are), and

whether the Grant would further these activities in any way;5. How it funds any non-charitable activities which it undertakes;

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6. We expect successful applicants to work with us and any external partners on evaluating their projects so we can all contribute to the evidence base of what works in enabling women to be financially resilient

6. Criteria

Below are the criteria that applications will be assessed against:

Area for Analysis

Assessment Criteria

Good practice Is the project demonstrating good/emerging good practice?

Does the initiative identify how lessons have been learnt? Does the application provide evidence of success/impact? Is there evidence of consultation with beneficiaries and

other stakeholders? Is there potential for longer term sustainable benefits for

the beneficiaries? Does the project demonstrate how the project can

contribute to local and/or national policy?Project Activities and Benefits

Does the organisation and its activities fall within our mission and the outcome(s) of the fund?

Is there a clearly defined employability pathway goal? Are the activities focused on the priority target groups? Is there evidence of need / demand? Is the project working with other partners / stakeholders? Does the project have potential to be scaled / expanded? Is the project open and accessible to the targeted

beneficiaries?Evaluation Are the outcomes clear and measurable?

Is there evidence of any evaluation methodology or previous experience in reporting outcomes?

Do the activities, outputs and milestones relate to the outcomes?

Organisation and governance

Is there evidence of a robust governance structure in place?

Do the team and/or trustees have relevant experience to deliver the project?

Are there appropriate safeguarding measures, policies and data protection in place?

Finances Is the project budget sensible and transparent? Is the organisation financially sustainable? Have any risks been identified and mitigated? What are the level of reserves? Is there an unqualified audit opinion? Are the financial statements / accounts submitted clear

and transparent?

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The deadline for submission of the grant application form and accompanying documents is 5pm on Monday 4th March 2019.

Completed applications and supporting documents should be emailed to grants@smallwoodtrust.org.uk.

If you have any questions on the application process or guidance notes please email emmacrump@smallwoodtrust.org.uk.

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1. Details of your organisationName of your organisation:

Charity Registration No (if applicable):

Company Registration No (if this applies):

A brief description of the charity’s purpose:[maximum word limit: 30]Contact name for enquiries about this application:

Job Title:

Address and post code:

Post code:Telephone number (Office):

Telephone number (Mobile):

Email address:

Website address:

Size of your organisation: Micro (1-9 staff) Yes / NoSmall (10-49 staff) Yes / No

Medium (50 -249 staff)

Yes / No

Large (250+) Yes / No

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2. Project DetailsProject Title:

Project description:

a. Please describe the project you are applying for funding for

b. How it is demonstrating good practice and producing outcomes and

c. the evidence to support this including lessons learnt

As well as describing your project, explain how your project will deliver the outcomes the Smallwood Trust would like to achieve

Project Period:(We expect to announce decisions in May 2019)

Duration:Start / End date:

Project cost: £

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2. Project DetailsWhat is the total cost of your project?Project cost:What is the amount you are seeking from the Smallwood Trust?

£

Other funding:Total contribution from other funders

£

Other funders:Please list your other funders together with their contributionBeneficiaries:Who are your target beneficiaries with this project and how many people do you expect to reach?[maximum word limit: 150]

The need for your project:Explain the wider context and reference any research which supports the gap your project is intended to address[maximum word limit: 400]

Policy:Explain your experience and/or interest in campaigning and advocacy around the issues your project addresses.How could your project contribute to local and/or national policy?[maximum word limit: 400]

Track record:Explain your track record as an

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2. Project Detailsorganisation and specifically related to the target beneficiaries you will be working with[maximum word limit: 400]

Other providers:What other providers are there that are working with the same cohort of people you will be targeting?

[maximum word limit: 250]

Sustainability:What happens to the project at the end of the grant period?

[maximum word limit: 250]

Reporting, monitoring and evaluation:Please describe the outcomes you plan to achieve and how these will be measured

If successful, it will be a requirement of the terms and conditions of the grant to complete any Smallwood Trust monitoring and evaluation template.

[maximum word limit: 400]

Future replication/scaling up:Describe how your project could be replicated/scaled up in new

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2. Project Detailsgeographical areas or to reach more beneficiaries. What future resources might you need after year one?

[maximum word limit: 400]

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3. RisksUsing the template below, please identify three main risks and any mitigating steps.

Potential Risk

Potential Impact Risk LevelHigh / Medium / Low

Risk Manager

Existing Control Procedures

Action Required &Timing

Likelihood

Consequence

1.2.3.

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4. Project BudgetEnsure your budget is sufficiently detailed to enable us to relate it to your activities. We are able to cover revenue costs for staffing/sessional fees, travel, training, resources and other related project delivery costs. We can make a contribution to project overhead costs.Please note if you are not a registered charity, we may request further information to ensure that all funded activities are charitable by law.

Budget heading Year 1 Description

Project Total £ £

If offered less funding:Please explain if there are potential options for scaling back the project should less funding be awarded (we would only consider this if we have more fundable projects than funding available).

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5. OutputsThese are the tangible products, services or facilities created by your project and are usually quantifiable. They should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Resourced and Time-bound and an explanation should be included as to how they will be measured.

Key deliverable/output By when How they will be measured

6. OutcomesThe outcomes of your project are the changes, benefits, learning or other effects that happen as a result of your project delivering its objectives.Please provide details of up to three outcomes you hope to achieve, both short and long-term, and how these will be measured.

Outcome How they will be measured

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Referee 1Name:

Organisation/Job Title:

Telephone and Email:

How known:

Referee 2Name:

Organisation/Job Title:

Telephone and Email:

How known:

DeclarationI declare that to the best of my knowledge, the information provided in this application is truthful and correct.I understand that the Trust may reject this application if there is a failure to answer all relevant questions fully or if false or misleading information is provided.

Signature:

Name:

Job Title:

Date:

Telephone number:

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