Funding
Welcome to the Funding Advice and Support page.
If you are a community or voluntary group looking for free advice, information and support then this is the place to start.
This can include advice on how to start a new group, help to create a constitution, advice on preparing applications or help to find appropriate funding from a range of funding sources including charitable trusts, lottery and public sector contracts.
We are happy to meet with you, receive email or talk over the phone.
Advice
If you would like us to show you and your group how to use the Merseyside Funding Information Portal or do a funding search on Grant Advisor for you, please contact Contact Zel Rodgers on 0151 203 2111 or email zel.rodgers@vcawirral.org.uk.
If you are looking for advice on starting a new group, trustee roles, writing a constitution or related support then contact the Community Support Team on 0151 203 2111.
Information
Funding Searches
A free funding search facility called Piggy Bank is available through the Merseyside Funding Information Portal
Government funding – free access (if your group’s income is less than £500k) to a list of all sources of government grant funding.
European Funding - access to sources of European Funding.
Factsheets
Useful factsheets on a range of topics are available on the MFIP website. These information sheets can be accessed by clicking Factsheets
NAVCA - National Association for Voluntary and Community Action
NCVO - National Council for Voluntary Organisations
The Charity Commission - Regulator of charities in England and Wales.
Newsletters
Monthly newsletter highlighting a variety of funds for the month from the MFIP website. If you would like to be on the mailing list please e-mail your full details to zel.rodgers@vcawirral.org.uk
Sustainable Funding
Have you thought about Sustainable Funding?
The Sustainable Funding Project (delivered by NCVO) is aimed at helping groups look at diversification of income streams, the importance of planning and full cost recovery. VCAW have some valuable resources and training from the project to share with groups including toolkits e.g The Sustainable Sun Needs-Analysis Tool, which can be used by itself or alongside other toolkits and training.
“There are lots of key questions you need to ask when choosing a legal form for your trading venture, social enterprise or trading subsidiary. Use this tool developed by the Sustainable Funding Project at NCVO and legal experts Hempsons to work through the relevant issues such as trading purpose, ownership, governance and tax status. Download it here (pdf 605 kb)”
The Knowledge Asset Review (KAR) tool enables Merseyside third sector organisations to identify opportunities to generate income - Knowledge Asset review diagnostic tool. In conjunction with this, VCAW have also had some valuable training from Licencenet (funded by Changeup) with regard to copyright and licensing of intellectual property to create new income streams.
Bassac provide support and training on the benefits of collaboration. Bassac - Axis of influence workshop is a discussion-based tool specifically designed to help community groups and networks.
Funders
Most large funders with charitable grant programmes have their own websites. Some are listed below:
Community Foundation for Merseyside
Big Lottery Fund – Awards for All
Some key words used in funding
Evidence of need – Evidence that you collect, that shows a need for your kind of work. Statistics, results of consultations, interviews, surveys, your own experience, official reports or plans.
Beneficiary – The types of people who are intended to benefit. It may be a community in a city area, or a group of people with a particular illness or disadvantage.
Aim – The overall purpose of the project, in general terms.
Activities – What you actually do. The times, amounts of people, etc.
Outcomes – The long-term end result of what you do. The changes or differences that your work will make over time, for the beneficiaries. They should be related to your aim.
Did you find this page useful?
We are always trying to make sure that the information on this site is useful.
Please let us know what you think of the information on this page by completing the form below. If you have any other comments, we'd love to hear them too!
