Grants Over £2,000 Policy

Document Version Control
Version No. Date Changes made by Comment
00.01 Apr 2021 LS New Policy to be reviewed Finance Committee 26th April 2021
00.02 May 2021 LS To be approved at Full Council 14 06 2021
1.00 Jun 2021  

Approved by Full Council 14.06.21

Agenda Item 9.2
1.01 Oct 2021 LS

In order to be completely clear that the Town Council expects match funding for large grants, it is removed on page 2 ‘Any match funding would be advantageous’ as on page 6 (point 5i) it states ‘it is essential that large community grants demonstrate a match funding commitment’. Therefore, the above point on page 2 and also point 5h on page 6 will be removed.
2.00 Dec 2021  

Replaced references from EU GDPR to Data Protection Act 2018/UK GDPR as approved at Full Council 06/12/21

Amendments at 1.01 approved at Full Council 06/12/21

 

Contents

toc goes in here

1. Introduction

Macclesfield Town Council’s community grants are available for projects or organisations which provide benefit to the local community.

For the purposes of this policy, donations and grants differ only in that a donation is given without the need to be specific about how it is used whereas a grant must be spent specifically for the purpose agreed. For example, a donation may be given to a village hall towards the general running costs without being specific about what it is spent on whereas a grant would be given towards the cost of specific project such as installation of a new security system.

For grants up to £2,000, please see the MTC Grants and Donations Policy.

2. Applying for Grants Over £2,000

Macclesfield Town Council wholeheartedly supports the Voluntary and Community sector and in exceptional circumstances may give a grant in excess of the maximum amount of the large grant of £2,000.

If applying between £2,000 and £10,000, a request can go to the Services or Finance Committee.

A request in excess of £10,000 must go to Full Council.

In order to apply, a document covering the following points should be sent to the Clerk [email protected]

1.       Your legal name, registered address and Charity number if applicable.

2.       What you want to deliver

3.       The geographical area the activity / service will take place

4.       How long will the project/ service last?

5.       How it fits with the Macclesfield Town Council Strategy

6.       How many people you will help?

7.       Who will benefit?

8.       How will you monitor the service/project to show impact and value for money?

9.       A detailed budget and your organisation accounts.

10.     An explanation of why the circumstances are exceptional.

11.     Evidence that you have sought funding from other sources

3.  Criteria for funding

Grants are available for organisations/projects/events which can demonstrate a proposed benefit to the community of Macclesfield. Requests will only be considered from the following categories of applicant:

  • A Macclesfield Town based charity.
  • An organisation serving the needs of the citizens of Macclesfield.
  • A Macclesfield based club/association/organisation serving a specific section of the community or the community as a whole.
  • It must be exceptional circumstances and evidence of seeking funding from other sources must be demonstrated.

Applications will be considered based on the following:

  • The ability to demonstrate how the activity or project will benefit the residents of Macclesfield.
  • Priority will be given to those projects which progress one or more of the Council’s objectives within the MTC Strategy

4. Monitoring and Evaluation

Any funding approved will be subject to an agreed SLA with Macclesfield Town Council, with interim monitoring reports based on the application to be submitted to the Clerk.

5. All funding application terms and conditions

  1. An award of a grant must give direct benefit to all or some of the inhabitants of the Town, and the size of grant should be commensurate with the benefit delivered.
  2. All grant forms received will be shared with CVS Cheshire East, an infrastructure organisation supporting charitable, not for profit organisations or voluntary groups to grow and develop the communities they serve. CVS Cheshire East are contracted by MTC to support the voluntary sector. We have a data processing agreement with CVSCE in place, so your data will be kept in line with the Data Protection Act 2018/UK GDPR requirements. Grant applications will be scrutinised to ensure they meet the criteria set out in the Grants and Funding Policy. Micro Grants will go to the decision makers set out in section 2.  Small and large grants will be put forward for decision at the Finance Committee. Applications which do not meet the criteria will be rejected and returned  with feedback where and CVSCE can offer help to support future funding applications.
  3. The Town Council does not affiliate to any political party and legally cannot provide grant or support to any party-political activity.
  4. The Council does not affiliate to any religious group; however applications will be considered where there is a clear community-wide benefit.
  5. Applications will only be considered when made on a formal application form.
  6. The Council will normally require details of the structure and funding of the organisation and may request copies of budget/accounts and business plans.
  7. The Council will require details of any project which is the subject of the application, including quality standards, costs, timescales and how the remainder of the funding will be provided.
  8. It is essential that large community grants demonstrate a match funding commitment.
  9. Applicants will be required to state the amount of grant sought from the Council and provide details of other grants or awards applied for or gained, which must be disclosed in full.
  10. Where projects cross financial years, the Council may “ring fence” an approved amount of grant. It will reserve the right to withdraw approval where a project does not look likely to go ahead within a 12 month period from the grant approval date.
  11. Payment will be made against a formal acceptance of the grant and terms. Staged payments may be approved for larger projects.
  12. The Council will usually only consider requests for specific projects, not on-going or core costs. The exceptions to this will be “pump-priming” to help organisations get established or organisations which deliver a substantial part of the Council’s priorities.
  13. The Council may, where it appears to be a more cost effective or efficient use of resources, prefer to act in partnership with another organisation, or provide support “in kind”, rather than provide grant assistance.
  14. An evaluation of the project must be provided once the project is complete to provide evidence that the benefits and outputs have been achieved. The evaluation form must be returned to the Council within 4 weeks of the completion of the project.
  15. The Council will advertise its Grant Scheme on their website.
  16. The applicant acknowledges and agrees that all decisions made by the Council for such a grant request are solely a matter for and at the discretion of the Council. The applicant will provide to the Council all such assistance as is reasonably necessary to enable the Council to comply with its requirements under the Freedom of Information Action.
  17. Where an educational establishment in the town applies for a grant, there is a cap of £10,000 total value for all applications per annum. Applications from education establishments should demonstrate innovation. Once the cap is reached no further grants will be issued in that financial year to educational establishments unless scrutinised and approved by Full Council.
  18. Where a religious establishments and primarily faith-based organisations applies for a grant there is a cap of £10,000 total value for all applications per annum. Applications from such establishments should demonstrate innovation. Once the cap is reached, no further grants will be issued in that financial year to such establishments unless scrutinised and approved by Full Council.
  19. Please be aware that if your project involves working with children and/ or vulnerable people, the Council will need to be assured that they are safeguarded and so may come back to you for more information, in addition to your safeguarding polices.
  20. An applicant organisation is allowed one successful grant application in a single financial year (financial year running 1st April to 31st March
  21. All event or activity promotion in the public realm (banners, posters, flyers, etc) must comply with our Banners, A-boards and Signage Policy There can be no fly posting.
  22. Where an application is successful, the terms and conditions must be accepted in writing within the same financial year in which the grant is offered.

6. Standard conditions for all grants will be:

  1. That Macclesfield Town Council’s support of the group/charity/organisation will be recognised in all associated publicity and information material. A high-resolution MTC logo will be provided and must appear on all literature related to the project or the service the funding is for.
  2. That any equipment purchased will be branded with the Macclesfield Town Council ‘supported by’ sticker which will be supplied by the Town Council where appropriate.
  3. That all successful grant applicants with social media accounts tag the Town Council in posts related to this grant funding and where possible use the hashtag #macclesfieldcommunities
  4. That the grant is to be used only for the defined purposes in the committee resolution and associated grant application.
  5. That update information is supplied to the council on request and as a requirement following the completion of the funded activity.
  6. That successful grant applicants agree for details of their project to go on the Macclesfield Town Council website, social media pages and any other promotional literature.