Yorkshire and the Humber News
Message from the new RAC chair
My professional background is in community development work in Bradford, first
on a large outer housing estate for eight years, followed by five years in the
inner city. Since 1991 I have been working at a more strategic level, developing
the Church of England�s contribution to the regeneration of Bradford District
as a whole. Alongside that, I have had the opportunity to become involved in
a range of grant-making, from the tiny St. Monica�s Fund which gives grants
to hard-pressed lone parents, through to the Church Urban Fund, which gives
out �3million to Parish Projects. In addition it has been my task to create
a Millennium Awards scheme for Bradford Centenary-Millennium Project (C2M).
On the other side, as a project worker, I have filled in countless funding applications
including one to The Charities Board!
It is a great privilege to succeed Martin Wainwright as Chair of the Regional
Awards Committee. Along with fellow committee members, the regional manager,
Helen Wollaston and the staff team, Martin has developed a strong commitment
to openness, accountability and innovation. The Yorkshire and Humber RAC is
noted for its key contributions to the development of The Charities Board policy.
These contributions have been based on listening to applicants, to colleagues
and to communities which The Charities Board strives to serve. The RAC is an
experienced team of people, in touch with the voluntary and community sector,
and keen to see The Charities Board achieve its targets through the development
of best practice. The committee has been further strengthened by the addition
of three new members: Neelam Devesher, Vas Patel and Roger Thompson. My aim
over the next three years is to do all that I can to build on these excellent
foundations.
Elaine Appelbee � RAC Chair
Update on Awards for All
We are receiving a large number of applications under the Awards for All Programme.
The team is working hard to push assessments through However there is some concern
that over 50 percent of applications returned are incomplete. Please advise
groups to read the information pack carefully when filling out the form.
When groups send in the completed application form we require the original
bank statement not a photocopy, a set of annual accounts signed and dated
by a senior member of the group and a constitution.
These are the most common errors on forms received. If the stated documents
are not enclosed the application form will be returned which will delay the
assessment process and we have had to decide only to go back to each group once
for additional or missing information.
Despite the large number of applications received we are still welcoming good
quality applications from groups.
The second Awards for All Committee meeting took place in October and announcements
will be made on 24th November.
Core costs
ACENVO (Association of Chief Executives of National Voluntary Organisations)
has recently published a book on Core Costs. This issue is being fully debated
within The Charities Board which has subsequently decided that there should be a consultation
about this issue.
At the time of writing we do not have much information on the form of the
consultation, but it is likely to involve some structured meetings with focus
groups across the country.
More information on this issue will follow as soon as we receive it.
As a result of this we have decided to postpone the focus group sessions that
had been advertised in our briefing sessions schedule.
�Deadlines� for completed forms ?
Please note we do not have deadlines. We have had a number of enquiries from
some fairly frustrated applicants concerning our �deadlines�. We do not have
�deadlines�. We try to emphasise that there is a five month turnaround on applications.
In practice occasionally applications are processed more quickly, but we cannot
guarantee this. Please help us and groups that you support by stressing to them
that there are no guarantees as to which committee applications will go forward
to.
One, two or three year funding?
The bulk of applications we receive under our main grants programmes are for
three years funding, we do actually fund projects for one or two years and obviously
we cannot afford to commit all our money to 3 year projects. You may want to
consider this further when advising groups on their applications. For example
some organisations may benefit from a one year grant for a feasibility study
or a pilot project or it may be possible for them to consider one year capital
projects separate from longer revenue projects.
Staffing Changes
Grant Officers: Colette Monks has obtained a permanent position as a Grants
Officer. Ian Street previously the Awards for All Officer has changed jobs and
is now a Grants Officer. In December we will be joined by Sharon Elliot, taking
up a new Grants Officer post.
Vacancies: We have currently advertised for a Senior Awards Officer to manage
Awards for All in the region.
Adverts for an Enquiries Officer and 1.5 Grants Officers will be in the papers
in the last week of November.
If you know of anyone who might be interested in applying please let them
know or tell them to contact our Personnel Department on 0171 7475219.
Endpieces:
Watch out for details of the Main Grants Announcements and the second tranche
of Awards for All with the next issue of Y& H Update.
Enclosures:
Some new leaflets for you, if you would like more copies give us a ring.
Revised Main Grants Leaflet
Revised Grants Programmes Leaflet
Regional Contacts :
Helen Wollaston Regional Manager
Anne McGrath Regional Development Officer
Zarqa Tabassam Policy & Research Assistant
Louisa Jones Interim Enquiries Officer
National Lottery Charities Board,
2nd Floor,
Carlton Tower,
34 St. Paul�s Street,
Leeds LS1 2AT
Phone: 0113 224 5301
Fax: 0113 244 0363
Textphone: 0113 245 4104
email : [email protected]