The Community Winter Warmth and Welcome Spaces Fund is a small local grants programme funded by Essex County Council and is being delivered on their behalf by the Essex Association of Local Councils.
The £100,000 fund is for grants of up to £1,000 to support the provision of Winter Warmth and Welcome Spaces and activities for local communities in Essex. These can be the creation of new spaces and activities or to support existing ones.
This fund excludes projects that deliver their work outside the administrative area of Essex County Council (Thurrock and Southend). The Community Winter Warmth and Welcome Spaces Fund is administered by the EALC on behalf of Essex County Council.
Fund Priorities
For the purposes of this fund, Winter Warmth and Welcome Spaces are to be warm, free to access to all, safe and supportive spaces that Essex residents can visit during the winter.
They offer somewhere to:
Keep warm
Look after your physical and mental health
Get access to activities, support and advice
Projects should be delivered and all funds spent by 31 March 2023.
Successful applicants must work with Essex County Council to ensure that their project is connected into the local cost-of-living offers of support being developed in their areas to enable project beneficiaries to have greater awareness and access to support available to them. This will include agreement to sharing their contact details with relevant third parties such as District Councils, health partners and other public sector bodies to facilitate this.
Who can apply?
Registered charities
Unincorporated clubs or associations and small community groups
Community interest companies
Parish and Town Councils (Please note that Parish and Town Councils MUST provide a minimum of 50% matched funding contribution of the total project cost. If a Parish or Town Council is unable to provide a minimum of 50% contribution then they must clearly state any exceptional circumstances for the Panel to consider)
How to apply?
Please read through the guidance notes carefully for the scheme’s eligibility and criteria details.
Applications will be assessed on a weekly rolling basis until the funding is allocated so please submit at your earliest convenience as the grants will be allocated on a first come first served basis
You will then be informed whether your application for funding has been successful or not.
Successful applicants can re-apply for funding once they can demonstrate that their grant has been spent, that there is additional need and demand for the project and can demonstrate the benefits of their project using the evaluation template. This is contingent upon funding still being available in the fund at the time of re-applying.
The Essex Association wish to formally thank Essex County Council for the support provided to the EALC, Parish & Town Councils, villages and communities across Essex.
If you would like to apply for a BBC Radio 4 or BBC One Lifeline Appeal, please email the BBC Charity Appeals Unit telling us:
Name of your charity
Your Charity Registration number (you must be registered with the UK Charity Commission to be eligible)
Name of charity contact (email + phone no.) i.e. the person who is going to fill out the application form
These applications are assessed by external assessor and by the BBC’s Appeals Advisory Committee. It takes around a year to complete the process of having a broadcast appeal.
Deadlines for submitting an application
Application Deadline
Transmission Dates
5 December 2022 by 23.59
5 Nov 2023 – 28 Jan 2024
6 March 2023 by 23.59
4 Feb 2024 – 28 Apr 2024
15 May 2023 by 23.59
5 May 2024 – 28 July 2024
4 September 2023 by 23.59
4 Aug 2024 – 27 Oct 2024
The Appeals Advisory Committee meets quarterly to discuss and approve applications. You should be informed of their decision approximately 3 months after the application deadline. Please note you mustmeet the criteria in order to be eligible for an appeal.
Do you meet the criteria?
You are a UK charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
3 years have passed since you had a BBC broadcast appeal
Your work has UK-wide or international scope and/or significance
You can provide two sets of audited or independently examined accounts
You have up to date management accounts within a 3 month period
You have waited 2 years since your last unsuccessful application
Following on from the decision by the Charity Commission to change the threshold for charities needing audited accounts from £500,000 to £1 million, we have reviewed and changed the criteria so charities with independently examined accounts are now eligible.
As of 22 September 2015, all applications for BBC broadcast appeals are required to submit a completed 18 month cashflow. A template and example cashflow documents can be downloaded below:
Restoration or repair of buildings, new building or extension work
Religious organisations that are seeking to proselytise or whose beneficiaries are of a particular faith
Fund or charities which exist to maintain or establish physical memorials
Benefits provided by trade or professional organisations’ benevolent fund which are unavailable to the general public
Activities where donations would replace funding or services normally provided by central government and local authorities
Local charities that operate within limited geographical areas
Charities that are members of the Disasters Emergency Committee
Can the BBC donate merchandise or prizes for a charity auction?
The BBC receives many requests for raffle and auction prizes from a range of good causes. Unfortunately we are unable to help as it would be difficult for us to favour one charitable cause over another and would bring into question fair trading.
With increased domestic fuel costs and unprecedented volatility in the energy market, people on low incomes, including pensioners, people with disabilities and families, face profound challenges keeping their homes warm, dry and conducive to health.
As a frontline worker, you may feel powerless to respond. Still, the need to respond is greater than ever, especially because, as more people move into “fuel poverty”, the number of those who are most profoundly fuel-poor also increases. Government policy and individual action should, in the face of overwhelming need, respond to those worst affected.
Nudging the people you help, towards making changes in how they use energy, engaging in opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of their homes AND making sure they can access the high-quality, intensive energy advice the Citizens Advice service in Essex offers are all ways of responding to these needs.
Our services seek to tackle some of the underlying causes of fuel poverty – not just “hard to heat” homes but also low incomes, issues with benefits and debt.
In this FREE, 90 minute course, delivered by Citizens Advice energy experts, you’ll learn:
What is fuel poverty
What are the causes and effects
Who is most vulnerable
Practical steps your service user can take
Grants and schemes available to improve energy efficiency
The vital role income maximisation plays and how we help including a run down of government support measures
Other ways Citizens Advice can help and how to refer
The role of emerging voluntary and public sector responses such as “Warm Spaces.”
CHARITIES in north and mid Essex are being encouraged to apply for a lifeline grant which could see them secure essential funding.
The Saffron Building Society has officially launched its Saffron Community Fund in partnership with the Essex Community Foundation.
The initiative is designed to help small non-profit organisations in the county survive the cost-of-living crisis, which is resulting in less donations to charities.
Successful applicants could receive hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds from the building society, which has branches in Colchester and Halstead.
The grants are accessible to charities, community projects and volunteer groups, with each application being considered individually to ensure funding is fairly distributed.
Claire Hunnable, community business partner, said: “Our fund is an essential source of funding for the smaller charities and community groups around our branches.
“Every year we are amazed by the diversity of the applications and are always delighted to be introduced to groups we may never normally have been aware of.
“I also have the pleasure of meeting the people behind the projects and to see the amazing work that is happening all around our communities.
“We are pleased to say applications are officially open, but you must be quick as the deadline for the first entries for 2023 close on December 9.”
To find out more information visit saffronbs.co.uk.
Thank you for your interest in this project. If you are reading this information sheet it means you have been invited to participate in the joint Mind in West Essex and Essex Partnership University Trust diversity inclusion project targeting 18-25 year olds. Before you decide whether to take part, please read the following information carefully. You may email the researchers if you have any questions or would like more information, contact details are provided at the end of this document.
Purpose of the research
Everyone should have an equal opportunity at accessing mental health services when needed, yet many people continue to face significant barriers with accessing support. By engaging with diverse and marginalised groups in West Essex and understanding their personal experiences, it is hoped that this survey will inform, educate and bring awareness about the barriers people face when accessing mental health services.
Can I take part?
To take part in this survey you need to
Be aged between 18-25,
Live in the West Essex area,
Have an experience or understanding of mental health difficulties,
Self- identify as part of a marginalised group (this might be related to ethnicity, gender, sexuality)
Do I have to take part?
Participation is voluntary so it is up to you to decide if you would like to complete the survey. If you agree to participate, we will then ask you to sign a consent form. If you later decide that you no longer wish to participate, you may withdraw at any time without giving a reason and with no consequences.
These grants are aimed at local groups and not-for-profit organisations who share our vision for place shaping and creating positive futures.
We will support schemes which develop new ways to reach and include Saffron Tenants and the wider community.
We are looking for schemes and projects which will:
encourage community engagement and cohesion
promote and enable training and education-based activity
reduce social isolation in all age groups
promote Saffron community rooms
increase engagement in activities with underrepresented groups
We will prioritise schemes and projects which
make the most of existing provision
include those who are hard to reach
encourager new participants and address social isolation
address gaps in local provision
make the best use of other local services, partnerships and networks
enhance life chances
If you have any suggestions or projects for the Foundation, our Grant Window for 2022 is now open and we can begin to consider application from our communities. The deadline for applications to reach us is the 31st August 2022. You can email the below application form back to us at [email protected]
We are hosting a webinar from 10am – 11am on Wednesday 23 November for voluntary organisations that want to find out more about unrestricted funding available soon from our new Future Communities Fund.
This is the first fund we’ll launch from our new strategy, Building communities of the future together. This strategy outlines our plan to pioneer a more co-operative way of funding organisations to help create future, fair communities.
Read on to find out more about what we’ll fund, and our eligibility criteria. A link to sign up to our webinar is at the bottom of this page.
Let’s build communities of the future together.
Future Communities Fund
We believe co-operation is at the heart of strong communities and this makes us a different kind of funder.
Our Future Communities Fund will focus on supporting voluntary organisations passionate about helping us achieve our Future Communities Vision, created by young people. This, in turn, will help us deliver on Co-op’s vision of ‘Co-operating for a Fairer World’.
In this first round of funding we’ll look to support organisations building communities that are:
Diverse, equitable and inclusive, and
Prioritising youth activism, shared power and transparent governance
Our fund will offer unrestricted grants of up to £30,000 per year for up to five years.
Are you eligible?
Eligible charitable organisations will:
Have an annual turnover of £250k or less
Have young people’s voices from all backgrounds and abilities at the core of their delivery
Advocate for diversity and inclusion in all areas of society
Actively engage with young people from diverse communities in a meaningful and inclusive way
Have experience of removing barriers and providing opportunities to young people
Have experience of delivering meaningful youth social action that supports young people into leadership roles
Are able to demonstrate they have experience of co-operation/collaboration.
Join our webinar
We’re running a webinar from 10am on Wednesday 23 November where we’ll share more information on our new fund and how to apply. You’ll get to ask questions, too.
If you’re not eligible but know someone who is, please forward on this blog so they can find out more.
Louise Snelders, our Head of Funding and Partnerships, said:
“This new fund comes at an exciting time for us, just after the launch of our new five-year strategy, ‘Building communities of the future together’. As a funder, we want to empower those with the knowledge and skills to create future, fairer communities. Through sharing power and funding flexibly, we hope to make a real impact on their local communities. We encourage everyone eligible and to join our webinar and find out more about the Future Communities Fund.”
We’ll open first round applications for our new fund on Friday 25 November. This will close at 12pm (midday) on Friday 23 December.
Information
Sometimes it only takes a small amount of money to bring a good idea to life in your community. The Community Challenge Fund is the simplest way to access a small amount of money and make a difference, with awards of between £300 and £5,000.
The Community Challenge Fund forms part of the Council’s commitment to reducing the inequalities between different areas of our County, and Levelling Up Essex.
For more information on the Challenge Fund Criteria, please visit our website: Essex Partnership (essexfuture.org.uk)
Community Challenge Fund criteria
1. All applications must demonstrate how they support one or more of the following themes :-
Giving everybody a chance to get involved in where they live
Increasing and spreading opportunities
Creating places or spaces where people are happy to spend time
Helping people who experience difficulties in accessing services and/or economic opportunities*
Providing support in rural areas experiencing disadvantage *
*Themes 4 and 5 only apply to applications being made from rural areas of Braintree and replace themes 1-3
2. Funding must be for a new, not for profit, scheme/group/initiative or idea, and applications must show how their initiative will have long term benefits and longevity.
3. Applications to the Community Challenge Fund can only be made by people who live or work with communities in the areas on the following page (any awards must be used in the same area).
4. Applications that support one or more of the following groups will be looked on positively :-
Children and adults with SEND, learning disabilities, or mental health conditions (taking an all-age approach)
Children on free school meals
Working families
Young adults (16-25) who have not been in education, training or employment for around 6-12 months
Who can apply:
You can apply as :-
You (applying as an individual)
You and other individuals you are working with (applying as a group)
A non-constituted group (small scale voluntary groups who do not have any employees and who do not pay trustees or staff)
A Registered Charity, Community Interest Company (CIC) or Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) (where this is a new proposal and not a part of your core business)
The Comic Relief Community Fund is supporting community led organisations with an income of less than £250,000 to deliver projects within four strategic themes.
We are pleased to be managing this new fund on behalf of Comic Relief in England. It will provide grants of up to £10,000, supporting project delivery and organisational capacity building, helping organisations flourish.
The funding is split as follows:
Up to £1,000 for capacity building
Up to £9,000 for project delivery
We will fund applications from grass roots, community led organisations that can demonstrate how people with lived experience of the issues being tackled are involved in the organisation and the project.
Applications must sit within one of the four key themes:
A Safe Place To Be: Supporting people to rebuild their lives because of homelessness or forced migration.
We want to support projects that help people to recover from homelessness or those who have been forced from their homes to have access to the help they need to start a new life, free from conflict persecution or trafficking.
Children Survive & Thrive: Every child has the right to the best start in life.
We want to support projects aimed for children up to the age of 11 that break the cycle of inequity and inequality. This includes, projects that boost a child’s development, improve access to quality relevant, non-formal education and training, as well as initiatives that protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse and build confidence and belief in their ability to improve their opportunities in life.
Fighting Gender Justice: Supporting safety and equality for women and girls.
We are looking for projects that support people who identify as women and girls to be safe, healthy, educated and independent. This includes initiatives that help women and girls take control over their lives, reduce gender based violence while shifting public attitudes and improving understanding about the influence of gender norms on choices and life outcomes.
Mental Health Matters: Supporting better mental health in your community.
We want to support projects that improve and increase access to mental health support especially for those from marginalised groups. We hope to support alternative, community based approaches. We welcome projects that contribute to change, help shift attitudes and tackle stigma and discrimination.
You are warmly invited to the latest Compassionate Communities in Tendring network event Demystifying EOL Care in Hospital, which is taking place on Wednesday 23rd November at Clacton Town Hall, from 10am-12noon.
This is part of a series of Compassionate Communities in Tendring events aimed at improving end of life care for everybody through sharing, learning and collaboration. The event is suitable for anyone who has a personal or professional interest in the care provided for people at the end of life and will include presentations and open discussion relating to community led support and acute services, delivered in collaboration with ESNEFT.
Please email [email protected] to confirm your attendance or accept the calendar invitation you may have already received. And please do also share this opportunity to support a Compassionate Community approach in Tendring with colleagues, friends, family. Refreshments included.
Schedule
09.30 – 10.00: Arrival and refreshments
10.00 – 10.10: Scene setting
10.10 – 10.50: Hospital Community care at EOL
10.50 – 11.20: Hospital Acute care at EOL
11.20 – 11.30: Butterfly Volunteer Service
11.30 – 11.40: Chaplaincy and spiritual care
11.40 – 12.00: What next?
12.00 – Close and refreshments
Future dates
Please do pencil the following dates for future Compassionate Communities in Tendring events: