Do you have a project you are setting up to support children, young people and families?
The Local Alliance Group (LAG) are once more inviting applicants to apply for:
- funding up to £5000 for individual groups/schools, or
- funding up to £20,000 for consortium applications from a group of settings (such as schools, individuals or organisations are also encouraged)
A simple process has been set up to enable:
- community groups and organisations
- early years settings
- schools
- and individuals
To request funding to enable evidence-based and innovative interventions to take place. Do not miss this opportunity to make a difference.
The Local Alliance Group priorities for each area are:
Weymouth
The priorities in Weymouth are to:
- Promote and support good health
- inspire a love of learning
- support good relationships
- support financial wellbeing
Portland
The priorities in Portland are to:
- encourage ambition in young people and their families
- build an inclusive community for everyone
- promote a clean and green environment
- provide fun and affordable activities for all ages
- create safe and enjoyable public spaces
Dorchester
The priorities in Dorchester are to be confirmed
Purbeck
The priorities in Purbeck are to:
- deliver solutions for transport across Purbeck that meet need
- develop a joined-up approach to mental health and wellbeing across Purbeck
- offer young people to have opportunities to be involved in environmental issues and for people to listen to their views on this matter
- manage the inappropriate use of social media and proving safe spaces for education, training and recreation
- support parents and carers of children with special education needs emotionally and practically
West
The priorities in West are to be confirmed
East
The priorities in East are to:
- support young people by guiding them toward positive activities
- while simultaneously working to divert and disrupt antisocial and criminal behaviour
North
The priorities in North are:
- good mental health
- poverty
When applying for this fund, we will ask you to demonstrate:
- the need for financial support for your project
- value for money
- that you are not legally required to provide the project or service you are applying for funding
- that you are not receiving money from anywhere else to provide the project / service (but allowing for matched funding)
- how the project meets at least one of one of the local alliance groups priorities
- what you would like to achieve for children and young people
- how will you know your project has made a difference and what outcomes you will achieve
- the expected start date of your project
- that you have taken an inclusive approach with your project
- clear involvement of young people and / or families in making decisions and the development of your project
- that you can provide the required documents set out in the compliance and supporting documents section, this gives clear guidance for individual, school / college and consortium applications
The following are not eligible for funding:
- loan repayments
- projects outside the Dorset Council area, for example Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole, or other surrounding areas
- individuals or personal equipment
- commercial organisations
- external bursary schemes or grants programmes administered by the applicant
- projects for services that are already commissioned by Dorset Council which have been awarded to other organisations or agencies
- promotion of religious or political beliefs
- projects which in our opinion could harm the reputation of Dorset Council
Dorset Council has a responsibility to take upmost care with public funds and will require evidence of the following documents. Some funds may require additional documentation.
| Document | Individual (up to £5000) | School/ College | Consortium (up to £20000) | Why do we need it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constitution/Memorandum of Articles and Association (within the last 12 months) | If appropriate | No | Yes | Demonstrates the organisation has guidelines to its purpose and how it is governed. A management committee, Board of Trustees or Board of Directors with at least 3 unrelated people as members. |
| Annual Accounts | No | No | Yes | These can be audited or independently examined accounts or an income/expenditure spreadsheet depending on the size of the organisation. Demonstrates the financial position of the organisation regarding income, expenditure, loans, liabilities etc. New organisations without annual accounts may submit a financial forecast as an alternative. |
| Bank Statement (Copies of the last 3 months) see guidance if you don’t have bank statements. | Yes | No | Yes | Demonstrates that the organisation has a bank account in their name with 2 unrelated signatories, and we can confirm bank account details. Important that it shows account name, sort code and account number clearly of applicant. |
| Safeguarding Policies / Equal Opportunities | If appropriate | Yes | Yes | To demonstrate that the organisation has robust policies in place. |
| Environmental Policy or Statement | If appropriate | Yes | Yes | To demonstrate the organisation considers how their work has an environment impact. |
| Employers (if applicable) and Public Liability Insurance | £5,000,000 | £10,000,000 | £10,000,000 | To demonstrate the organisation has appropriate safeguards in place. |
If you don’t have bank statements
For new/emerging or micro-organisations who do not have their own bank account, Dorset Council recommends that their local Town or Parish Council be the bank account holder. Dorset Council cannot make a grant payment to individuals or provide bursaries to individuals. For new/emerging groups set up within last 12 months, or micro-organisations we may ask to have any grant we agree paid to another organisation such as a town, parish council, school, or a professional body.
Documentation is mandatory
Provision of all these documents is mandatory, and they should be uploaded with your application at the time of submission. If for any reason this is not possible, we can make arrangement to submit these by another means.
If we have not received all documents before the panel meets, or the documents do not meet the criteria above, we reserve the right to refuse your application.
Our online form is accessible and easy read. Read our accessibility statement for more information.
Applicants are reminded that we only accept completed applications made through the online application form. You will need an email address to submit the form.
You should also make sure that you have provided all the supporting documents requested, you can upload them when completing your application. If having read the guidance you are still unsure, please contact your locality.
Do not upload large data files (larger than 3MB per file) when completing the form. You can use PDFs or use a zip file if needed. Only upload the documents that we ask for.
The application form is divided into 7 sections. These sections are:
- organisation details
- about you
- project details
- finance
- supporting documents
- additional help
- declaration
On submission you will receive a confirmation email which also has a PDF copy of your application form.
Any individual or consortium applying for funding are recommended to join the local alliance group to demonstrate commitment to enhancing outcomes for children and young people in their local area. To join, please see email addresses above. If your bid is approved, you are expected to spend the funds and start the project within the same financial year
The Local Alliance will assess your application for funding in the following ways:
The Panel
A small panel will review requests. The panel will have a minimum of 4 members, including the Chair or Vice Chair and the Head of Locality and Strategy. The named members can vary each time, but the Head of Locality and Strategy will always be a constant. Members will declare any conflicts of interest as appropriate.
Decision making
The final decision will be agreed by the Independent Chair or Vice Chair (or a nominated Vice Chair for the purpose of the panel) and the Head of Locality and Strategy (or a delegated representative, e.g., Service Manager).
The decision of the panel is final. However, feedback will be provided if requested.
Evaluation
As part of the application process you will also be required to complete an evaluation. This can be via a traditional form we will send you, or you can provide something more creative. We would love to see TikToks, videos, presentations, artwork or any other format that covers the evaluation questions.
The kind of questions we will ask are:
- How much money did you spend on the project?
- How many children, young people and families accessed the project?
- What was the impact of the project? Including feedback and photos
Fund Closure
Once all funds have been allocated, the Local Alliance Groups reserve the right to close the fund.
As Dorset Council, we will share basic data information about your application with other local grant managers or funding streams. This will enable us to:
- make informed funding decisions
- avoid duplication of funding
- ensure value for money is achieved through our grant making processes
Dorset Council will also ensure that applicants data is stored appropriately. See details of our Data Privacy and GDPR policy. Dorset Council will promote all successful grant awards on the Dorset Council website and relevant media.
You can apply for funding using our online form. Before you start it is recommended that you have read and understood all of the above, and have your documentation ready.