Guidance for East Dunbartonshire Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund
Introduction and Background to the Fund
As our communities continue to deal with the impact of the pandemic, a brand new community grant fund resourced by Scottish Government aims to support small and medium sized community groups, voluntary organisations, and social enterprises to deliver mental wellbeing projects across the city’s diverse communities.
The East Dunbartonshire Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund is the local part of the Scottish Government’s Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund. The new fund is designed to offer financial support to community projects which improve the mental health and wellbeing of local people. With grants of up to £30,000 being made available, the Fund is especially interested in hearing from groups who provide community based, practical support for those who have experienced distress, disadvantage or isolation, or whose mental health has been adversely affect by the pandemic.
This is the first year of a two-year fund to support mental health and well-being in communities across Scotland. The Fund will be distributed by the local third sector interface, East Dunbartonshire Voluntary Action (EDVA) and will provide significant investment into community support for adults age 16+.
The East Dunbartonshire Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund will open for applications on 29 Nov 2021 and will welcome applications from third sector organisations and Community Councils.
Overall Aims of the Fund
Across Scotland, the Scottish Government have provided funding worth £15m to be shared across the country to support community projects which play a critical role in that recovery. East Dunbartonshire will receive £275,000 of the total fund.
The Fund will aim to
Promote and support the conditions for good mental health and wellbeing at population level.
Provide accessible signposting to help, advice and support.
Provide a rapid and easily accessible response to those in distress.
Ensure safe, effective treatment and care of people living with mental illness.
The Fund is NOT intended to support clinical treatment services, such as counselling or therapy. Rather, the Fund will support community projects which help promote and support mental wellbeing.
Applications will be especially welcome from small scale, local projects. These will be well-connected projects which can demonstrate that they are encouraging people and communities within East Dunbartonshire to help each other to build good mental health, resilience and connections, and to focus on their mental wellbeing.
We would like applicants to consider how projects can result in lasting wellbeing benefits through partnership working, matched funding or increased volunteer participation.
Fund priorities
Projects funded through the East Dunbartonshire Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund will need to demonstrate how they can develop and build on one or more of the following priorities:
develop emotional resilience, strength and mindfulness
provide connection to others within the community
develop a sense of security, trust and being included
provide mobility and physical activity
promote a sense of purpose and being valued through volunteering, helping others, or paid work
build support for people who are in distress
provide access to learning opportunities and the development of new skills and knowledge
Particular priority will be given to organisations who can demonstrate that they are:
Tackling issues such as suicide prevention, social isolation and loneliness, prevention and early intervention
Addressing the mental health inequalities made worse by the pandemic
Supporting small ‘grass roots’ community groups and organisations to deliver such activities
Providing opportunities for people to connect with each other, build trusted relationships and revitalise communities
Supporting recovery and creativity locally by building on what is already there, what was achieved through the pandemic, and by investing in creative solutions
Who can apply?
The East Dunbartonshire Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund is designed to support community-based projects that bring people together to connect with and support each other. Small and medium sized organisations which can demonstrate a strong community focus for their wellbeing work or proposed project are encouraged to apply, especially those who provide support for those who are often excluded or disadvantaged, or are experiencing isolation, distress or anxiety.
It is expected the majority of applications will come from groups which are already operating to some extent, who have some infrastructure in place, or who can demonstrate the benefits of developing a new project. The main criteria are that each application must clearly demonstrate how its proposed project will benefit local people’s mental health and wellbeing within one of or more of the seven categories listed above.
Applications can be accepted from a range of voluntary ‘not for profit’ organisations, associations, groups and clubs or consortiums/partnerships which have a strong community focus for their activities. The range of organisations that can apply are:
Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIO)
Unincorporated Associations
Companies Limited by Guarantee
Trusts
Not-for-profit company or asset locked company or Community Interest Companies (CIC)
Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies
Community councils
Organisations should have an annual income no greater than £1,000,000 per annum.
Some types of projects which may benefit from the Fund include (but are not limited to):
arts and creative projects
physical and recreation activities
befriending or peer support groups
lunch, food or cookery clubs
gardening and green space initiatives
mindfulness sessions
work to support people in distress
What size of grant can be awarded to applicants?
The ambition of the East Dunbartonshire Community Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund is to support initiatives which promote mental health and wellbeing at a small scale, grass roots, community level. It should be accessible to all groups, no matter how small or inexperienced they are.
There will, therefore, be three levels of grant funding:
Small-scale Grants of up to £2,000 aimed at unconstituted organisations who, hitherto, are normally excluded from such funds.
To ensure a broad reach across small community organisations, it is envisaged that the majority of Grants will be up to the value of £10,000.
Larger grants will be available for a smaller proportion of bids up to the value of £30,000. However, to access this larger amount of funding we would encourage partnership working between organisations in East Dunbartonshire allowing a grant of £30,000 per consortia from the fund.
There is no minimum grant size but organisations intending on asking for less than £1,000 may want to consider how they might expand or extend their activity.
Grant recipients have flexibility in how to use money after the award date of March 31st 2022. Scottish Government rules mean we can only fund projects that have need for the funding before the end of this financial year, by 31 March 2022. Applicants will be asked to confirm this is the case before they can submit their application.
What can be funded:
equipment, materials and capital costs
one-off events
hall and room hire, including appropriate refreshments
participation costs
staffing costs
training costs
transport
utilities and running costs
volunteer expenses
safety equipment and PPE
The Fund will NOT support applications for:
Clinical mental health treatment such as therapy or counselling
contingency costs, loans, endowments or interest
political or religious campaigning
profit-making or fundraising activities
VAT which can be reclaimed
statutory activities
overseas travel
alcoholic beverages and other harmful substances (e.g. tobacco)
How to apply and what happens next:
The East Dunbartonshire Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund will open on 29 November 2021 with applications closing at midday on 24 January 2022.
The online application form, guidance for completing the application and answers to any frequently asked questions are available at EDVA’s Website www.edva.org
If you are unable to use the online application form you can download a Word document from the website. If you require a hard copy of the form, you can get this by contacting EDVA on 0141 578 6680.
Once submitted your application will be assessed against five criteria:
Criteria - How you can maximise your chance of success
Eligibility
(Pass / Fail) Read this guidance carefully and ensure your application is eligible before you submit it. In particular, check that:
your organisation is eligible to apply
your project meets the criteria,
you have answered all relevant questions
Impact on Mental Wellbeing
Your application should make clear how your project will improve mental wellbeing for the participants of the project.
Equalities & Inclusion
Be clear about how this project is targeted towards people who would benefit from it the most. Tell us about the practical steps you are taking to ensure your project is inclusive.
Community & Sustainability
Show us how your project is embedded in your community. Be clear about how volunteers are or will be involved in your project. Tell us who you are working in partnership with
Value for Money
Ensure your budget is appropriate for the work you intend to undertake. Consider what funding you will need to make your project inclusive. Tell us about other contributions to the project (for example from other funders or local businesses).
EDVA and a local assessment panel will complete the assessment of each application. We may ask you for further information to help you demonstrate your project is fundable. The assessment panel will make the final decision on which projects are funded. If successful, projects will have until 31st March 2023 to spend their grant funding.
Please note. It is a condition from Scottish Government that all payments made from the fund to applicant organisations is completed by 31 March 2022. It is therefore critically important that if your project is successful that you respond quickly in providing any required information.
Monitoring of funded projects is still to be finalised but grantees should expect a light touch approach to monitoring proportionate to the size of the grants. Monitoring is likely to include information about the number and types of people who benefited, and a case study or project story. Where it is appropriate, we would also like to see photographs or videos of your project, and to be able to come visit the project and meet with the people involved.
We want the work of this fund to inform future policy and funding decisions. EDVA may provide opportunities for great projects to showcase their work and the impact they have on citizens and communities. Applicants will be encouraged to participate in these.