Large Grant Scheme

The Large Grant Scheme fund aims to support local organisations to create new jobs, learning, training, and educational programmes through the means of arts, culture, innovation, public realm and creative placemaking in Hackney, Newham, Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets.

The Large Grant Scheme accepts applications up to £50,000 from schools and non-profit organisations, with a specific emphasis on stronger equitable partnership building.

The Large Grant Scheme is part of Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, an ambitious five-year programme that aims to invest £10 million into the local communities of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest, funded by Westfield Stratford City.

Year 5 will be announced in spring 2024. Each year we evolve the design of the programme with feedback taken from our impact evaluation and our ever-growing capacity building network.

In Year 1, we awarded a total of £150,000 to 3 projects.

In Year 2, we awarded a total of £482,746 to 11 projects.

In Year 3, we awarded a total of £394,225 to 10 projects.

In Year 4, we awarded a total of £382,098 to 9 projects.

For help and advice on applying to the Large Grant Scheme, sign up to our Capacity Building Programme events, run in partnership with award-winning social entrepreneur Lisa Stepanovic.

To find out our funding news and opportunities, please sign up to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gF6X3z

GUIDANCE NOTES

CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME

Themes

The scheme will fund projects that focus on one or more of the following funding themes:

• Employment opportunities
  • Will your project provide employment opportunities for local people, including access to paid work experience/internships, access to apprenticeships or gaining access to jobs?

• Learning opportunities
  • Will your project provide opportunities and/or mobility of progression through learning and training opportunities for local people, including accessing life-long learning opportunities from early learning, schools through to late career and post retirement and/or will the project offer bespoke career and higher education path support, training  and secondments?

• Young people
  • Will your project have a young person led approach with particular provision for local young people to access broader skills development opportunities, careers workshops and related learning and/or one-to-one coaching and mentoring?

• Business and entrepreneur support
  • Will your project provide local people with the opportunity to have business and/or entrepreneur support including freelance, business and entrepreneur set up, development and training?

Outcomes

We appreciate these four overarching areas are a broad spectrum, so to aid understanding of outcomes expected through the grants, we have developed a user-centred process.

Outcomes are the project’s short, medium or long-term goals that will lead to a meaningful impact for communities in the local boroughs. Applicants will be asked to identify a set number of outcomes that their project will achieve. The number of outcomes expected will be based on the grant scheme you are applying for.

We have provided a list of 13 short, medium and long-term outcomes to be selected.

Local Engagement

In your application, we need to understand what the need is for your project, how this has been identified and how local people and/or lived experience have been involved in the planning and development of the proposed activities. You or your organisation should be able to demonstrate that you have good links and networks in the community to deliver the activities and collaboratively address the proposed outcomes.

In addition to the above outcomes, projects that have considered the below will be weighted more favourable:

1. considered community engagement and consultation
2. considered sustainability of:

• Projects – how new ideas have been developed/how other funding has been leveraged
• Organisation – what areas of learning will happen/what best practice will be developed/how will the project help the organisation grow
• Participants – what longer term opportunities/follow up support is available/ paid work/further training and/or education

Grantees

If you are a grantee, we have a marketing and press guidance web page, which has further information and links to logos and other resources.

Case studies

Watch our latest film featuring our Year 2 grantees Eastside, Loop Labs and True Cadence.

The film was produced and directed by Chris Baker with Editor Will Cole and Colourist Harvey Gibson.

Please make sure to read our Guidance Notes before applying.

We are now using our grant management software Flexigrant for online Expression of Interests and applications: foundationforfuturelondon.flexigrant.com

The link can also be accessed via the Large Grant scheme webpage.

Additional criteria:

• A partnership and/or consortium approach to the project must be evidenced and is essential for being award a large grant. If you are a local borough or East Bank Partner applying, the partnership must be a strong partnership with an equitable budget split between the project’s partners. If you have not yet considered a partnership project, we encourage organisations to come together and explore this through our offered partnership training workshop above
• If you are a school applying, you must evidence that the funding applied for will not be for core school day/ curriculum activity
• If you are applying for the maximum level of funding, you must evidence why the full amount is needed and where it will be used.
• We will only accept applications for Large Grants from organisations that have attended one of the workshops to fully understand that outcomes for large grants. If your Expression of Interest is successful, you will be invited to meet with a member of the team to discuss your project.
• Applications for re-funding for existing Foundation funded projects must have strong evidence of previous impact, ongoing need for the project and demonstrate a compelling case of project development, growth and ongoing future sustainability plans.

Timeline

Year 5 will be announced in spring 2024 including timeline information.

Capacity Building Programme workshops

For help and advice on applying to the Large Grant Scheme, sign up to our Capacity Building Programme events, run in partnership with award-winning social entrepreneur Lisa Stepanovic.

Booking links are available via Eventbrite.

All events are free and open to individuals, organisations and businesses working and living across the local communities in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.

Review Process

Expression of Interests will be carefully reviewed by two team members and evaluated against the four key core foundation themes and suggested expected impact. Those shortlisted will be invited to complete a full application.

Full applications will then be shortlisted internally via our online system and by three team members. Final awarding will be decided by an impartially selected community panel, who will have gone through an application process to be on that panel. The decision of this panel will be ratified by the Foundation’s board of Trustees. On occasion, we may request further information to help us determine the outcome of any application. Feedback will be given to all applicants in the first instant via our capacity building programme workshop, followed by potential 121 requests, however level of feedback will be dependent on size of grant applied for.

Access Support & Flexigrant Technical Support

For access support or technical support using our Flexigrant online application system, please email:

Grants@future.london