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Dear Sutton Coldfield Groups and Organisations
Fairer Futures Fund – Locality Small Grants
We wish to tell you about a grant programme which was launched last week by Heart of England Community Foundation and BSol ICS (Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System), called Birmingham Fairer Futures Fund – Locality Small Grants.
The ten Neighbourhood Network Schemes (NNSs) in Birmingham have been asked to support local community organisations who wish to apply for these latest grants. The north locality area is made up of two NNS teams, Sutton Coldfield NNS led by Age Concern Birmingham and Erdington NNS led by Witton Lodge Community Association. In Sutton Coldfield and Erdington we have a mutually shared partner, Compass Support (part of the Pioneer Group).
The north locality area (Sutton Coldfield and Erdington) has been allocated a combined grant budget of £384,163, which could fund applications up to the individual value of £15,000 each per year for three year projects. If sufficient assets (community organisations) from the north locality make successful applications to this grant programme, it would fund around 8.5 projects at the maximum value of £45,000 each over 3 years.
Some key points we want you to be aware of about the Locality Small Grants programme:
- Fairer Futures Fund
supports improved health and care services, reduction in inequalities and
enhances access to care.
- The Locality Small
Grants programme will fund projects that meet priorities within four main
themes. It is imperative that organisations read and understand these
themes and address interventions in your application which specifically
support one of the sub-priorities.
- Your application should
be innovative and specific to the themes and sub-priorities in the
guidance, the fund won’t pay for existing services and should be evidenced
with local need.
- Your application must be
seen and approved by either Erdington or Sutton Coldfield NNS teams (in
the north locality) before final submission on 9th January
2025.
- There is a relatively
short window in which to develop and submit an application to this fund,
we advise groups to work within this schedule:
- Late October to early
November 2024 – find out about the fund, read all the guidance, attend a
community event in Sutton Coldfield/Erdington, make contact with our NNS
teams to discuss your ideas and explain your interest.
- November to early
December 2024 – Produce a draft of your application and send it to the
NNS team by 15th December.
- Late December / early
January 2025 - Liaise with the NNS team in order to make changes if
needed and produce your final draft.
- Submit your final
application to the Programme website by 9th January 2025,
prepare to submit all information and answer all questions indicated in
the application guidance.
- Successful awards will
be made from March 2025 onwards.
We are planning to hold a north locality event for assets from both Erdington and Sutton Coldfield on Friday 25th October 2024 at Witton Lodge Community Association, 87 Witton Lodge Road, B23 5JD, between 12 and 4pm. At the event we will provide fuller information and guidance about the programme and answer questions about your ideas and whether the fund is for you.
In the meantime, please read the detailed information about the programme at these links:
Information about the
programme on Heart of England Community Foundation website:
Includes a video of Zoe Sweeney, Programme Manager at Heart of England Community Foundation, explaining the applicant guidance.
Applicant Guidance on FFF Locality Small Grants Programme including the four themes and sub-priorities:
Application questions and guidance:
Please let us know if you can come to the event or if you are interested in applying to this programme so that we can mail you further information.
Groups in Sutton Coldfield please email nns@ageconcernbirmingham.org.uk with the subject line Fairer Futures Fund – Locality Small Grants
Groups in Erdington please email enns@wittonlodge.org.uk (subject line as above).
