Comic Relief
There are still many communities in the UK that suffer from economic and social deprivation and the current economic climate may make this situation worse. This programme aims to empower local people enabling them to create lasting change in their communities. Projects should be run by people directly affected by the issues they are dealing with and priority will be given to small, locally based groups or organisations in areas of disadvantage that have a clear understanding of the needs of their community. This can also include “Communities of Interest” which cover a wider geographical area.
We want to support community groups running projects that are working towards the following outcomes;
- increase local services,
- builds skills of local people,
- increase community cohesion
- respond to local economic needs.
Work can cover a small geographical area such as a housing estate or village, but we will also consider work covering a slightly larger area such as a town or borough where there is evidence of community involvement.
Grants are available between £1000 and £10,000. Any grant awarded must make up at least 30% of the total cost of the project.
Comic Relief is proud to have become a founding member of the Living Wage Friendly Funders scheme (please click here for more information). This means they are supporting paying The Living Wage to charitable workers through their direct UK grantmaking. As part of this we would like to encourage applicants to the Local Communities programme to budget any staff costs at The Living Wage (£7.85 per hour).
Applications for this round of funding will be accepted until 5pm on Saturday 14th January 2017.
Who and What Can You Apply For
Who can apply?
- Community Groups
- Resident Associations
- Community Centres
- Social Enterprises/Community Interest Companies
- Credit Unions
Examples of the type of activities we will fund
- Community sport activities
- Furniture Projects
- Projects providing access to benefits advice
- Projects combating fuel poverty
- Community consultation exercises
- Community employment projects
- Food Co-ops
- Running costs; including salaries, core costs and project costs
- Committee and volunteer/staff training
Exclusions
The criteria does not include the award of the Grant:
- to individuals;
- to statutory organisations, including schools;
- to fund trips abroad;
- to fund buses, mini buses or other community transport schemes (not including transport costs forming part of a project);
- to fund building costs, including access adaptations to buildings;
- to organisations who are in receipt of a grant directly from Comic
What you must provide with your application
- A copy of your governing document, (constitution or Memorandum & Articles of Association)
- A list of your management committee, (if not included in your governing document)
- A copy of your most recent set of accounts
- A copy of your financial policy, or if you don’t have one, a list of your cheque signatories
- A recent bank statement, (within the last 3 months)
- A copy of your Child Protection policy, (if your project is working with children)
- A copy of your Vulnerable Adults policy, (if your project is working with Vulnerable Adults)
- Quotes for any item or service costing more than £500
- A copy of any appropriate insurance certificates
How To Apply
To apply for a grant please click the ‘Apply’ button below to be taken to our online application form. You can complete this form in stages and save your work as you go, so you do not need to complete everything in one go. Once completed you will be e-mailed a copy of this form for your records. You will be able to e-mail your supporting documents, as detailed above, to us.
If you’d prefer to e-mail your application or complete your application by hand please download a copy of the application pack, containing the criteria on this page, our standard grants guidance and an application form by clicking here. Documents will be in both Word and PDF version.
