Funding round-up: April 2018

Work and Pensions select committee publishes report on European Social Funds

The Work and Pensions select committee has published a report (PDF, 200KB) following its inquiry into the future of the European Social Fund. Echoing evidence provided by NCVO, the committee calls on government to ensure the support provided through ESF funding continues following Brexit and that the planned UK Shared Prosperity Fund:

  • retains a separate fund for employment support for disadvantaged groups and communities
  • uses both longer-term and short-term programmes
  • cuts bureaucracy for providers.

The government plans to consult on the UK Share Prosperity Fund this autumn. Highlighting the importance of ESF for disadvantaged communities will be crucial for NCVO’s response, so if you have experience of delivering ESF programmes, we’d like to hear from you.

Large government providers required to report on charity subcontractor spend

The government has announced a requirement (PDF, 130KB) for its largest suppliers to report on their spend with charity subcontractors. Suppliers with government contracts worth over £5m per year will have to report on the type and value of all subcontracts over £25,000 they advertise and award, via the Contracts Finder portal.

We have long-argued that greater transparency around subcontractor spending will help improve our data on public sector income for charities, and will ultimately lead to better designed policy and public service programmes. While the government’s announcement is a welcome step in the right direction, there’s still some work to do, as Nick Davies at the Institute of Government has highlighted on Twitter (click to read thread):

[THREAD] Govt has today announced a package of measures to increase the transparency of its supply chains.

This is good news as, believe it or not, the govt currently has very little idea about which orgs ultimately deliver the services it pays for 1/https://t.co/pQltNqigJf

— Nick Davies (@NJ_Davies) April 10, 2018


Local authorities operating postcode lottery on business rates

A Charity Retail Association report has found charity shops across Britain are falling victim to inconsistent and unfair policies on business rates relief. Their survey finds that just one fifth of councils say they currently grant full rate relief to more than half of their local shops, with only 7% granting relief to all shops in their area.

Charity Tax Commission

The Charity Tax Commission has launched a consultation seeking views on whether and how the tax treatment of charities needs to be reformed. The commissioners want to hear from anyone with knowledge, expertise or experience of the system of charitable tax reliefs. The 16-week call for evidence is open until Friday 6 July. To find our more, visit the call for evidence page.

As part of its call for evidence, the commission will be visiting Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle in June and July to hold public evidence sessions. Email me if you would like to register your interest in attending either of the events.

UK Aid Match

UK Aid Match provides grants to UK based charities for poverty reduction projects in developing countries. For every £1 donated to a UK Aid Match charity appeal, the government will also contribute £1 of UK aid, to help these projects go further in changing and saving lives. Applications will be accepted from 30 April with a deadline for concept notes by 25 May. For more information on the fund, or to make an application, please visit the UK Aid Match website.

Research on corporate and charity partnerships

New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) has published a research report Charities taking charge which shows that over the next three years, 41% of charities surveyed expect to be partnering more with private sector organisations. The report also notes how around 70% of donations made by corporates to charities are under £5,000, suggesting most partnerships are ‘small and short-term’. NPC have published a guide to how the relationship between charities and corporates can be made to work better for both.

Charity Bank ‘Bank on Us’ campaign

As part of a pledge to support the social sector, Charity Bank have launched their Bank On Us campaign to reduce the costs associated with taking on a new loan or refinancing an existing loan. If you make a loan enquiry with Charity Bank by 31 August 2018 and sign a loan agreement with Charity Bank on or before 31 December 2018 for a loan of at least £250,000, they will waive the arrangement fee (if you are refinancing a loan from another provider) of make a contribution towards your legal and professional fees (for new loans).

Update from Funding Central

On 9 April, Lloyds Bank Foundation opened applications for its Invest grants programme, which provides longer term core costs or direct delivery funding for charities that are delivering clear outcomes. The Foundation provides funding to charities and charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) in England and Wales through two programmes: Invest and Enable.

  • Invest is a flexible, long-term core funding programme for charities delivering clear, targeted outcomes for disadvantaged people. These grants are from £10,000 up to a maximum of £25,000 per year for two or three years
  • Enable is a smaller and shorter grants programme for charities that have identified clear development needs. This funding aims to help the organisations deliver their mission more effectively. These grants are up to a total £15,000 over two years.

Find out more about these programmes on Funding Central

The London Homelessness Awards are considered England’s leading awards for the prevention of homelessness. This year, there is £60,000 in prize money for London-based projects that improve services to homeless people, prevent homelessness or tackle disadvantage caused by homelessness.

The awards are inviting entries, which are open until 15 May, from organisations working with homeless people, including voluntary organisations, registered social landlords, council departments, London NHS and health related organisations, or a partnership made up of any of these agencies. Projects must have been running for at least six months to be eligible to enter.

Find out more about these awards and search thousands of other funding opportunities on Funding Central

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