Funding, Work and Resilience

The Funding Resilience Group meets weekly to mitigate any risks to the sector and focusses on designing, planning and agreeing what support and training we anticipate is required in the short to long-term. Intelligence & feedback is gathered through partners which includes the CAS Survey (Impact of COVID-19 on VCSE Organisations in Suffolk - Currently sent out monthly) which help us to develop a strategy to provide the right help and to support the sector and the valuable role it plays in many people’s lives.

Partners include:

• Community Action Suffolk
• Suffolk County Council
• Suffolk Community Foundation
• East Suffolk District Council
• West Suffolk District Council
• Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils
• Foundation East
• The National Lottery Fund
• Power to Change
• Ipswich Borough Council
• MENTA
• Ipswich & East Suffolk CCG
• New Anglia LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership)

SCC External Funding Team have produced a series of funding podcasts to help organisations during Covid-19 in collaboration with CAS. These are now available on the CAS website and provide valuable information and tips on bid writing to support organisations to apply for funding at this time:

https://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/covid-19-response/covid-19-webinars-and-digital-resources/

Due to popular demand Community Action Suffolk and Suffolk County Council’s External Funding team are teaming up to offer further pre-bookable opportunities for a 1 hour online 1-1 funding surgery on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 1pm-5pm.

These surgeries are open to voluntary, community and social enterprises who need help reviewing their finances as a result of the Covid-19 emergency.
These 1-1 surgeries will be delivered by telephone/ video link and can cover a range of topics related to:

• Identifying appropriate funding opportunities
• Carrying out bespoke grant searches
• Assistance with developing a project idea into a bid
• Support with writing your application
• Ensuring your application meets the needs of the funder

The session will last a maximum of 1 hour, allowing time to discuss your project in a little more depth.

If you cannot find a time that fits in with your way of working please email vcsesupport@communityactionsuffolk.org.uk to arrange an alternative time.

Please note that booking is essential:
https://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/events/

Funding needs related specifically to COVID-19 in Suffolk is updated regularly and found here:

https://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/organisation-support/sustainability-and-funding-advice/coronavirus-funding-and-sustainability/

For all Non-C-19 Funding please visit: 

https://www.idoxopen4community.co.uk/suffolk/

(However many funders have switched priorities to focus on those relating to supporting with the Coronavirus pandemic at the current time).

East Suffolk District Council

https://www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk/business/covid-19-business-grant-funding/

Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Council

https://www.midsuffolk.gov.uk/news/payment-of-covid-19-business-grants-fund/
https://www.babergh.gov.uk/features/our-covid-19-response/businesses/
https://www.babergh.gov.uk/communities/grants-and-funding/babergh-and-mid-suffolk-district-council-funding/

West Suffolk District Council

https://www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/coronavirus/covid-19-support-for-business.cfm
https://www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/coronavirus/upload/WSCOVID-19BusinessSupportFundingScheme.pdf

Ipswich Borough Council

https://www.ipswich.gov.uk/businessratesgrant

Suffolk Community Foundation

SCF Coronavirus Community Fund

The generous people of Suffolk have kindly generated 1.25m of a 2m target set for the Suffolk Coronavirus Community Fund. 200 totalling 1m in grants have now been awarded to charities and community and almost 100,000 local people across the length and breadth of our County have received vital support during these often dark and difficulties times. https://www.suffolkcf.org.uk/grants/

NLCF Coronavirus Community Fund COVID-19 applications - INUNDATED
but still apply!

The Government’s Coronavirus Community Support Fund, managed by the National Lottery Community Foundation, has been inundated with applications.

However the fund is still OPEN for applications.

Full details of how to apply can be found on the NLCF website.

COVID-19 Loan Fund Expanded & Improved - What is RRLF?

The Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund (RRLF) is an emergency loan fund which will provide repayable finance to charities and social enterprises who are experiencing disruption as a result of COVID-19 and is intended for such organisations who have an otherwise viable business model. It has been established to make the Government’s existing Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) more easily accessible to these entities.

RRLF is not appropriate for everyone and will not work for all charities and social enterprises. For many, grants or other support may be more appropriate (for potential alternative sources, see our COVID-19 Emergency Funding page) and organisations should also consider other government schemes (see our COVID-19 Resource Hub for more information). For smaller loans of up to £50k organisations can consider the Government’s Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

What are the RRLF’s key product details?

Key features of the product include:

• loans will be for between £100k and £1.5m.
• these loans will be interest-free and fee-free to the customer for the first 12 months
• the loan term will be a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 3 years.
  interest will be charged at 6.5% per annum for years 2 and 3 (after principal payments start).
• Applicants should also be aware that any monies received under the CBILS does not reduce the borrower’s liability in any way – as with any loan product, the borrower remains 100% liable.

Applicants should also be aware that changes may be made to RRLF as the CBILS scheme evolves. It may take some time for these changes to filter through to the SIB website.

Is my organisation eligible?

This Fund is only for UK charities and social enterprises which fulfil the eligibility criteria of both the Fund and CBILS – the full list of eligibility criteria can be found on the SIB website.

How can I apply and how long will it take?

There is an application portal on the SIB website and the first page of the application is intended to give clear guidance on your likely eligibility. The aim is for the process to take 2-4 weeks from start to finish.

NCVO Webinars

Financial Management & Accessing Government Funding

On Friday 22 May, The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) announced that the government’s new coronavirus community support fund is open for applications. This is a significant step for many small and medium-sized charities who are trying to manage the financial impact of covid-19. In this webinar, in association with the Charity Finance Group, you will hear from NLCF about this new fund: who it is for and what is expected from organisations in their application. You will also get some top tips on how to manage your finances during this crisis. Throughout the webinar, we will be signposting you to the latest resources and sources of support.

Watch a recording of the NCVO/CFG webinar: Financial management and accessing government funding

https://www.slideshare.net/NCVO/ncvocfg-webinar-financial-management-and-accessing-government-funding-combined

Many organisations have been #NeverMoreNeeded than now.

The sector is asking for significant social media noise using the hashtag #NeverMoreNeeded.

Share your stories, share your members' stories and keep telling the world why your organisation is #NeverMoreNeeded.

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