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Year 5 Community Grant Scheme Guidelines

Introduction

In 2020 Foundation for Future London, through generous funding from Westfield Stratford City, opened the first community grant strand of the Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund. The fund aims to support local diverse-led organisations and individuals to create new jobs, learning, skills, training, and educational programmes through the means of arts, culture, innovation, public realm and creative placemaking.

The Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund is a pioneering five-year programme that aims to invest £10 million into the local communities of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest. The fund has gone from strength to strength each year, with a further 28 projects awarded a total of £577,000 in Year 4.

We are now pleased to open Year 5 of the community grant schemes.

Each year, we have evolved the design of the programme with feedback taken from our impact evaluation and our ever-growing capacity building network. Due to this, the application process for Year 5 has been modified in response to the smaller funding pot and to ensure the outcomes and impact have a stronger focus on priority areas and take a participatory awarding approach.

Year 5 Community Grant Scheme

Unlike previous years, Year 5’s community grants have been combined into one strand with a simplified Expressions of Interest (EOI) process.

We will accept EOIs for Year 5 for applications up to £20,000. There is a total pot of up to a maximum of £200,000.

As in previous years, the application process is expected to be competitive. For this reason, we have strengthened the expected focus of projects and legacy impacts and updated the application process to reflect the smaller funding pot across Year 5.

What Are We Looking For?

Funding Themes

At the heart of your project there must be a core commitment to one or more of the following:

  • 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 ladders of opportunity through learning and training opportunities for local people, including accessing lifelong 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 (Impact Framework)

We appreciate these four overarching areas are a broad spectrum, so to aid understanding of outcomes expected through the grants, we have co-designed a user-centered process with our grantees.

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

We have provided a list of 13 short, medium and long-term outcomes to be selected. The number of outcomes your project will be expected to meet will be based on how much funding you are applying for. We will also provide a pre-application workshop on how to approach these outcomes (Impact Framework) and, should you be awarded a grant, further training on using the Impact Framework will also be provided.

Short Term Outcomes Medium/Long Term Outcomes
Participants gain technical/sector-specific and/or creative skills Increased employability of participants
Participants gain essential skills Increased capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship
Participants gain confidence in their potential and self-initiative More diverse audiences engage with the cultural sector and benefit from community assets/available services
Participants are better equipped to process difficult emotions Participants act as agents of change within the local community
Participants are equipped to act as agent of change in their boroughs Organisations and schools integrate creative approaches within their projects
Organisations and schools are exposed to creative approaches to wellbeing

Need & Local Engagement

In your application, we need to understand what the local need is for your project, how this has been identified and how local people and/or people with 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 favourably if you can demonstrate the following:

a) You have considered community engagement and consultation

b) You have considered the 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

Project Activity & Case Studies

Our Fund is about creating inclusive and sustainable opportunity — we are keen to back a range of activities and innovative ideas that drive the proposed outcomes.

The Foundation for Future London is a strong advocate for the ability of creativity to enable levelling up opportunities and to be a strong contributor to the London economy.

Therefore, we are keen to fund project activity that has origins in:

We have a range of case studies and videos from projects we have funded across Year 1 to 4 of the Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund that will help demonstrate the kind of projects we support https://future.london/projects/

Assessment Criteria & Priority Areas

Funding decisions will be based on the merit of your application. The assessment process will utilise a scoring matrix to assess applications to a consistent and fair standard. As per previous years, we will also be taking a participatory grant making approach through the use of an impartially selected community grants panel.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion are at the forefront of the Foundation’s grant giving. We actively encourage applications from all communities including Black, Asian and ethnically diverse, disabled/living with long term health issues, learning disabled, unemployed and/or low waged, people without qualifications, vulnerably housed, Gypsies and Travellers, LGBTQ+, children and young people, older people and people with mental health issues or health issues.

The Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund aims to support diverse-led organisations. In Year 4, 92% of successful grants were distributed to organisations and individuals whose organisations’ senior management and project delivery teams identified as diverse-led.

We want to continue making sure funding opportunities reach a wide audience and support locally rooted charities and community-focused initiatives. We also encourage applications from individuals and organisations led by local people whose projects engage and serve East London’s diverse communities of Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Waltham Forest and Newham.

To get a better understanding of the support areas and beneficiaries the Foundation’s funding seeks to target, see our list of groups in the Appendix.

Previous Awarded Applicants — The Foundation does not exclude applicants who have been previously awarded grants from any strand, and this includes applicants who may have more than one funded project currently running. You are welcome to apply for future funding for new projects. You are also welcome to apply for further funding for an existing project. However in both cases, you MUST have strong evidence of previous impact from previously funded work, ongoing need for the project and demonstrate a compelling case of project development, growth and ongoing future sustainability plans.

Capacity Building Programme

The Foundation aims to make the Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund as accessible as possible. You may have already taken part in this and are part of our excellent network, but if you haven’t signed up to the Capacity Building Programme, delivered by our commissioned partner, Lisa Stepnavoic MBE, this programme is free for all new and old applicants, and can make a great difference for applicants both in terms of application advice, but also support and sharing of best practice. The programme offers free workshops and a Whatsapp network.

We encourage you to join this programme by emailing capacitybuilding.ffl@outlook.com

The ongoing aim of the Capacity Building Programme workshops is to support grantees to develop skills and ideas for current or future projects and funding applications. Upcoming workshops will be added to the Foundation’s Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund Capacity Building Programme webpage.

Specific application guidance workshops for each scheme can be booked on the links listed under each scheme section below.

Grant Guidance workshops

  • Wednesday 4 September 6.30-8.30pm New guidance workshop
  • Monday 9 September 1-2.30pm New guidance workshop
  • Friday 13 September 5.30-7.00pm New guidance workshop

Booking links will soon be available via Eventbrite.

Year 5 Community Grant Scheme Overview

Value: up to £20,000

Project Duration: 6-12 month projects. We expect projects to be completed by December 31 2025, at the latest.

Outcomes: Minimum of three short, medium, or long-term outcomes must be demonstrated.

Additional Considerations:

  • As we move into Year 5, we are keen to ensure the Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund supports the legacy and sustainability beyond the project you may be seeking funding for. To support this, successful grantees will be expected to attend a minimum of 2 peer-led training, networking and evaluation workshops delivered by the Foundation for Future London. We encourage applicants to budget for this accordingly and to think about what this might mean for their long-term personal or organisation development.
  • Comprehensive provision of youth-focused training, workshops, bursaries, travel expenses and London Living Wage
  • Applicants for larger amounts of funding (above £10,000) must focus strongly on their commitment to delivering long-term outcomes. These applications will be marked more strictly, so we expect you to clearly evidence why a higher level of funding is needed and how it will be used.
  • Applicants with larger turnover (over £500,000) should evidence a partnership and/or consortium approach to their project with an equitable budget split between the project’s partners.
  • We are expecting a strong demand, therefore we will prioritise projects where our funding is likely to make a bigger difference, such as projects with lower levels of matched funding, not in receipt of statutory funding or projects delivered by equity-led grassroots organisations or those that have not received support from the Foundation previously.

Eligibility: individuals; schools; not for profit organisations with less than £1.5 million turnover (London Boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest and East Bank partners are exempt from turnover limit).

Additional Criteria:

  • If you are an individual applying, you are eligible to apply for a max of £5,000.
  • 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 have not applied to the Foundation previously, we recommend that you discuss your project with a member of the team before applying to assess whether you are eligible and what additional info may be relevant to supply.

Timeline of Process

  • Expression of Interest opens on Monday 22 July 2024 and closes at 12pm noon on Friday 20 September 2024
  • Shortlisted projects notified by Tuesday 1 October 2024
  • Shortlisted full applications portal opens on Tuesday 1 October 2024 and closes at 12pm noon Monday 2 December 2024
  • Awarded – January 2025
  • Commencement of projects — January 2025
  • Completion of project — December 2025

Review Process: Expression of Interests will be carefully reviewed by two team members and evaluated against the four key core funding themes as well as short, medium, and long-term goals, expected impact, user and beneficiary groups and budgetary spending.

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 the Foundation’s Community Grants 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 unsuccessful applicants in the first instance via our Capacity Building Programme workshop, followed by potential 121 requests, however level of feedback will be dependent on size of grant applied for.

HOW TO APPLY

We are now using our grant management software Flexigrant for online applications.

foundationforfuturelondon.flexigrant.com

The link can be accessed via our website page for the Fund: https://future.london/grant/year-5-community-grant-scheme/

Additional Information

Applicant Requirements

  • 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.
  • Be a not-for-profit organisation that is formally constituted i.e. has a signed governing document in the group’s name. This includes unincorporated associations and community groups, registered charities, social enterprises (including those run as a sole trader), schools, Community Interest Companies (CIC), Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO), companies limited by guarantee and faith groups where the project clearly does not promote a particular religious or political view
  • Local Boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest and East Bank Partners may apply.
  • An individual applying must be able to provide two references.
  • If you are an individual or non-registered group applying, you must be living, working, or studying in one of the four London Boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest
  • Be connected with and meet the needs of the local communities in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest
  • Have good financial management procedures, including keeping records of income and expenditure
  • Have a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place if working with children and young people under the age of 18 or vulnerable adults
  • Have a commitment to, or are working towards, London Living Wage where possible
  • We will expect you to sign up to the Foundation’s pledge for commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Access Support

We recognise discrimination is an issue that impacts much of our society, and we are proud to be a part of a community that counters this at any given opportunity.  As a result, we actively encourage applications from people of all faiths, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, economic circumstances, and backgrounds. No educational qualifications are needed to join our programmes.

If you require adjustments or access support to take part in the application process or to participate in the Capacity Building Programme due to a disability, neurodiversity, caring responsibilities or for any other reason, you will be able to provide details in the application form or contact us to discuss further.

If you need any of the information about this Fund in a different format, please contact us at Grants@future.london

What We Will and Wont Fund

You can apply for funding to cover project activities and staffing, running costs related to the project and the purchase of equipment you need to deliver your activities. We can fund a mix of project activities, operating costs and organisational development but all costs must directly relate to the delivery of proposed outcomes.

The Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund will not fund:

  • Expenditure or activities that have already taken place
  • Religious or political activity (we will accept applications from religious organisations if they can clearly demonstrate wider community benefit)
  • Services that are a statutory responsibility (i.e. are the responsibility of the Council, Government or Health Authorities)
  • Projects or activities that have no community or charitable element
  • Foreign travel
  • Projects that do not have a strong arts/cultural component
  • Personal projects or activities that have no public benefit for residents of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets or Waltham Forest
  • Activities placed in a formal education setting as part of the core curriculum
  • Recurring or on-going projects costs such as regular workshops/existing provisions

Documents

Depending on the level of funding required, the following documents may be requested at application submission or upon awarding of the grant, so please be ready to submit them. If you are concerned that you do not have these documents in place, please speak to a member of the team who may be able to offer advice, support, or alternatives.

  • Two references for applications from individuals
  • Constitution or articles of association
  • Approved accounts or a record of income and expenditure for the organisation
  • One bank statement dated within the last three months evidencing the organisation’s account details. If this is not possible, alternatives may be explored with the team
  • Public Liability Insurance
  • Licenses and Risk Assessments
  • Confirmation of partnerships/references
  • Equality & Diversity Policy
  • Safeguarding Policy

Tips For Applying

  • Answer all the questions
  • Consider access and inclusion as a central part of your proposal
  • Make sure the idea fits the criteria of the fund and is focused on delivery against the Fund’s short, medium and long term outcomes
  • Use simple, clear language to sell us your idea
  • Evidence local community connection and involvement in your project
  • Apply for the amount of funding your project requires and not the maximum amount available

If You Are Not Successful

We have limited funds, and all applications are assessed carefully against the Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund Outcomes to ensure a fair spread of funding across each of the boroughs.

If your project is not successful, we will email you to let you know our decision. Where possible, we will endeavor to provide feedback on your application.

If You Are Successful

If you are successful in being awarded a grant, you will receive an offer letter and a copy of a grant agreement setting out any conditions relating to the offer.

This will also be an opportunity for us to raise any questions, project changes or suggestions identified during the application assessment, define future check-in points, and discuss further wrap-around capacity building support. To accept the grant offer, the signed grant agreement will need to be returned to the Foundation along with an invoice to release the funding, which will be paid to your bank account or nominated account via BACS, in staged payments as applicable.

If the applicant no longer wishes to receive the grant, or to terminate the application at any point, this must be received in writing.

Monitoring and Reporting

You will be expected to keep and provide the following:

  • Financial records of how the grant is spent, including receipts and invoices
  • Records and evidence of the identified outputs e.g. number of people benefiting, number of sessions, audience numbers, records of attendance etc.
  • Records of the identified outcomes e.g. the difference the project has made to participants, participant feedback, staff observations, external reports from partners
  • Anything that your organisation has learned from delivering the activities
  • Photographs and videos of the project activities (if appropriate)
  • A case story from at least one participant

It is important to gather information throughout the duration of your activities. These pieces of information must be submitted in an end of grant report.

We are aware that monitoring and reporting, particularly demonstrating impact, can be a daunting process. Therefore, the team, plus expertise from an external evaluator will be available to support you and your project through the process.

The contribution of Foundation for Future London/Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund/Westfield Stratford City must be acknowledged in any promotional literature or annual report issued in line with the marketing and communications guidelines, which will be provided and can also be found on our website. We reserve the right to use any photographs or details of the project in any future literature and/or promotion.

Contact Details

For any initial programme queries or to arrange a call please email: Grants@future.london

For any general queries regarding the Capacity Building Programme and workshops please email: Capacitybuilding.ffl@outlook.com

FAQS

Do I have to complete my application in one go?

No, the online form can be completed in your own time. Please ensure to save your progress as you go.

Can I apply if I am already receiving funding, training, or any other support from Foundation for Future London?

You can still apply if you are either already receiving funding from the Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, or from a different Foundation for Future London programme. However, you must be clear if this application is for a new project or an extension to the already funded project. The need for the new project or additional funding must be evidenced by the provision of an impact report from the previous project.

What do you mean by Diverse-Led?

The Foundation aims to prioritise support to organisations that are led by people from marginalized communities and work that is developed and delivered with people and communities who are most underrepresented in order to recognise the urgent need to address historical power imbalance between who leads, creates and makes work.

As part of your application we ask you to state whether your organisation or project team identifies as ‘diverse-led’. Please ONLY select where 75% of your organisation’s Board/Management Committee and more than 50% of senior staff are people from the community or communities that you serve or have lived experience of the issues that your organisation is tackling.

If your organisation serves more than one marginalised community, then the percentage of your Board and staff could also be from more than one community.

Can I submit more than one application?

Applicants can only submit one application to the Year 5 Community Grants Scheme. If you submit additional applications, they will NOT be reviewed.

Can I apply to fund a project that aligns with a previously funded programme of work?

The Foundation is keen to fund projects where our funding is likely to have a greater impact but your project can be linked to other work or a wider project. What is key is that the idea you’re proposing should be new, additional and demonstrate a clear project development.

Would it be good to have match funding?

We encourage applicants to explore other avenues of funding to match our funding and enhance the project outputs and outcomes, but it is not essential for our funding scheme.

Can I talk to you about my project before I apply?

Please contact us on grants@future.london to arrange a pre-application conversation. Attending the pre-application workshops will also be beneficial.

How do I appeal a decision made by the grants panel?

If unsuccessful in your application, you will receive feedback. Feedback detail level will be dependent on which strand you are applying for and at which point you have been unsuccessful. If still dissatisfied at that point of the decision, you can email grants@future.london to lodge an appeal. You must evidence why you are appealing. This will be taken to the Foundation’s Grant Committee for a final decision.

APPENDIX

Funding Support Areas and Beneficiaries Priorities

Equality, diversity, and inclusion are at the forefront of the Foundation’s grant

giving. We actively encourage applications from all communities. We want to make sure funding opportunities reach a wide audience and serve to support locally rooted charities and community-focused initiatives.

To get a better understanding of the support areas and beneficiaries the Foundation’s funding seeks to target, see our list of groups below. We encourage applications from these support areas, as research and feedback from the communities indicate the highest need.

However, projects with other areas/beneficiaries can still apply for grant funding and will be considered the same if a need is demonstrated.

Issue/Support Area Project Is Tackling User Group/ Beneficiaries Ethnicity of Beneficiaries/ User Groups Age Group of Beneficiaries/

User Groups

Community Support and Heritage Young Families/Lone Parents White British/Irish/ Welsh/ Scottish, Northern Irish/ any other White background Early Years (0-4)
Research and Innovation Older People Gypsies & Travellers Children (5-12)
Health & Wellbeing including Mental Health & Long- Term Illness Children/Young People Black Caribbean British & White Young People (13-18)
IT/Technology LGBTQ+ Black African British & White Young Adults (19-25)
Covid-19 Recovery NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) Adults (26-65)
Creative Placemaking Long Term Unemployed Asian British & White Seniors (65+)
Arts and Culture Substance Misuse/Addiction Other Mixed Ethnicities/Multiple Ethnic backgrounds
Education,

Learning & Training

Physical or Learning Difficulties All ethnicities
Domestic Violence Mental Health Issues Asian & Asian British
Crime & Safety & ASB Refugees/Asylum Seekers/Immigrants Indian
Poverty & Disadvantage Women Pakistani
Social Inclusion & Fairness Men Bangladeshi
Discrimination Ex Offender/Risk of Offending Chinese
Supporting Family Life/Caring Responsibilities Local Residents Any other Asian background
Environment/ Improving Surroundings People in Care Black, African, Caribbean or Black British
Homelessness Low Skill Levels Caribbean
Cultural/Racial Integration Living in Poverty African
Refugees/Asylum, Immigration Victims of Crime/Violence/

Abuse

Any other Black, African or Caribbean background
Sport & Recreation Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Community Arab or Arab British
Substance Abuse and Addiction Vulnerably Housed Latin American/Latinx or Latin

American/Latinx British

Violence, Exploitation, Sexual Abuse Any other backgrounds
Disability/Access Issues

 

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