New Comic Relief Funding – Core Strength

Comic Relief Funding We’re delighted to hear about a new charity funding pot from the Comic Relief Funding called Core Strength. There hasn’t been much funding around recently to support the capacity building of organisations and this is much needed. The Aim of the Core Fund Comic Relief define ‘core funding’ as ‘a grant that will pay towards the core costs of running an organisation, including salaries, overheads and day-to-day running costs such as rent, heating and lighting. As well as running costs, we will also award grants to support specific work that will strengthening organisations for the future. This could include improving leadership and governance, or planning and development.’ Check out the eligibility criteria below to see if your organisation may be eligible. This fund could help to pay for consultancy support delivered by Economic Change in the areas of:

• Business Planning for Social Enterprise Development
• New Systems using Salesforce CRM for impact measurement, volunteer management, managing delivery of services, fundraising, marketing, HR etc.
• Social Impact Framework Development

If you are interested in the fund and possibly working with us on a solution, then we recommend that you:

1. Check out if you are eligible for the fund and can meet the deadline of the 27th July.
2. If YES to step 1 and interested in working with us – call us on 020 3051 8333 or email Alex Ritchie at alex@economicchange.co.uk and tell us about your consultancy requirements and wish list.
3. We can then put together a summary of what we can deliver and associated costs for you to include within your proposal to Comic Relief.

Eligibility Criteria from the Comic Relief website Comic Relief welcome proposals for up to £40,000 over 24 months of activity (£20,000 each year) from organisations in the UK that:

• deliver services in one of our programme areas (at least 75% of an organisation’s activity must fit one of these themes).
• have been in existence for at least five years, are embedded in their community and are committed to creating long-term change.
• can demonstrate regional or local significance and can work with us to raise awareness of the important issues they are tackling in their area.
• work in areas of significant disadvantage, deprivation or poverty, including rural isolation.
• have an annual income of between £100,000 – £500,000.
• have a current organisational plan and budget covering the period to at least 2017.
• do not have more than one year’s unrestricted reserves (not including fixed assets).

If an organisation is already in receipt of funding from Comic Relief, they may only apply for core funding through this programme if their current grant is due to expire within 12 months. Please read Comic Relief’s grant making policies which details their eligibility criteria for all organisations applying to Comic Relief for funding. To find out more about the fund visit https://www.comicrelief.com/grants/initiatives/core-strength