Fund Name: Comic Relief

Before progressing with an application for this fund it is important to read the booklet:
Success - How to apply to Derbyshire Community Foundation
(click above to open as PDF file in new window)

Then carefully read the fund criteria set below.

We would also advise contacting the grants team to discuss your project ideas before applying.

Brief Description: Comic Relief has partnered Derbyshire Community Foundation to help distribute some of its funds into the City and County.  All the criteria has been set by 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.
The funds available have been split into two distinct pots:
- one related to sports and the other
- one for general community groups carrying out certain types of work. 

More Information: 

The ‘Sports’ Pot:
Applications should feature projects that aim to:

• Increase access to sport and exercise for people who face social exclusion and isolation.
• Alternatively the project could be helping people who are experiencing difficulties in their lives

This means your activity should be trying to engage people who would not normally participate in exercise or sport because of where they live (examples such as rurally isolated communities, residents in a refuge or hostel with limited access to exercise opportunities, a housing estate with no gym or sports clubs combined with financial barriers) or because of a perceived barrier /lack of opportunity (individuals who may not feel able to participate in sports or exercise because of confidence issues or a lack of resources – this could include individuals with mental health problems, disabilities, carers for example).

The ‘Community’ Pot:
Applications should feature projects that aim to:

• Increase local services
  Has your community group spotted a gap in the local services on offer? If you can provide something needed and new then you may be eligible? Is your community group already providing a valuable service but could do with extending the hours that the service is offered?

• Builds skills of local people
  Could your community group offer an opportunity for local residents to learn new skills and gain new experiences either through volunteering or training?

• Increase community cohesion
  Will your project lead to lots of residents working together towards a goal?
  Will it create a sense of community spirit?  Will it promote a better understanding of who is living in our neighbourhood?

• Respond to local economic needs.
  Do you have a project which is developing because of people requesting support and advice linked to the current recession?

The community pot  funds are aimed to support work in small geographical areas such as an estate, town or village not wide areas such as a city or district borough unless the project is aimed at a specific target group of people with a distinct shared theme i.e. such as a Derby City wide group supporting individuals with eating disorders or a project supporting homelessness issues across the Bolsover district.

Type of Project costs funded:

Revenue Costs – Ongoing costs to support the running of a group or project
Capital Costs – Pieces of equipment to help run your project or support your groups work.

As the programme is supposed to support long term change it is unlikely to support one off events unless it is a pilot or consultation to attract further funds.
Unfortunately Comic Relief will not fund any building works or access adaptations to a building. It will also not fund the purchase of mini buses or consider bids from community transport schemes. It will fund travel costs as part of an overall project idea.

Priorities: 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.  Comic Relief has not stipulated what their definition of ‘small’ is – the panels will therefore most likely prioritise bids based on group income size.  Please note though that this is a priority issue and does affect eligibility.

Area: Derby City and Derbyshire wide

Amount:
Minimum grant amount: £1,000
Maximum grant amount: £10,000

Groups can apply for up to £10,000, however given the limited sums available this means we will only be likely to fund around 3 groups per financial year should all applicants apply for the full amount.

Closing Dates: There are no fixed closing dates.

Examples of grants made:
Examples of awarded projects will be placed here during 2009/10

Apply:
If you would like to apply to the Comic Relief pot please contact us for an application form. The Form is different to our standard application and as such we will want to ensure you are eligible before progressing.

Please remember to include the documentation requested in the Success booklet.

Also remember to make a copy of your application for your own records.
You will need this to track spend and complete monitoring if you are successful.