Brent organisations supporting Windrush scandal victims urged to apply for funds - Zoom meeting Thursday January 28th 10am

 

From Brent Council

About this Event

About the Windrush Community Fund

The Windrush Community Fund (WCF) is a £500,000 fund for charitable, voluntary and community sector and grassroots organisations across the UK that work with communities from the Windrush generation.

Interested organisations can bid for an award from £2,500 up to £25,000, with projects that are designed to ensure that all people affected by Windrush are aware of the support available and are not missing out on the compensation schemes or latest information.

For more information on the fund itself, please visit the Windrush Community Fund page or read our News piece on the Voice4Change England Website.

Key Event Details

Date: Thursday 28th January

Time: 10am-Midday

Place: Zoom (Online event)*

The purpose of the event is to give organisations who are interested in applying for an award from the Windrush Community Fund more information on the fund. We will also have plenty of time and space for questions. We will focus on providing:

• Information on the purpose of the Windrush Community Fund

• An overview of the eligibility criteria for the fund

• A summary of the application process for the fund

• Ideas / key components that are likely to make a strong application

• Information about the monitoring and evaluation requirements if awarded a grant from the fund.

• A chance to speak with Grants Officers from V4CE and ask any questions that you may have.

The event will also provide background information and context to the development of the fund, with representation from the Home Office and Windrush Cross-Governmental Working Group.

*The link will be sent out to all participants who have signed up at 11am on the morning of the event. 

The closing date for phase 1 applications is 12 February 2021. Phase 2 will open for applications on 1 April 2021 and will close on 30 June 2021. Applications are welcomed from organisations representing all communities and nationalities, as well as organisations who have links with communities overseas. More information can be found at http://bit.ly/2Wl6ih6.

Life in Brent to become even more of a gamble

Monday’s Brent Council Cabinet meeting is set to approve plans for a Community Lottery in the borough.  The aim is to raise funds for the voluntary sector in the borough.  The Cabinet report includes full details and can be read HERE.

There are currently 50 or so local authorities that run such schemes.  Brent Council has in the past turned down plans for a giant casino in Wembley Park and there are sections of Brent’s religious communities that are opposed to gambling on principle. The key question will be whether a local lottery could compete with the myriad other products on offer and as the Cabinet report states much will depend on successful marketing.

There is of course a wider issue as to whether this is the way that local services, often handed over to voluntary organisations in the wake of cuts to local authority funding, should be provided at all.

The running of the Community Lottery would be out-sourced to a private company.

The report gives the following details:

How does it work?

·      ·  Tickets cost £1 per week

·      ·  All players must be aged 16 or over

·      ·  Players can buy multiple tickets for multiple causes

·      ·  Draws are conducted every Saturday at 8pm and results are posted online

·      ·  Players sign up via direct debit or payment card; payments are taken on a monthly plan or a 3, 6 or 12 month one off payment

·      ·  Winners are notified by email and receive the prize directly into nominated account or can donate the prize to a good cause

·      ·  Good Causes are paid their income on a monthly basis

·      ·  Good Causes and the council promote the lottery to their supporters

·      ·  The Central Fund is administrated by the council

Local Lottery Good Cause Criteria

Your organisation must: 

·      Provide community activities or services within the London Borough of Brent which support the ambitions and actions of the Borough Plan 2019-2023. 


·      Have a formal constitution or set of rules. 


·      Have a bank account requiring at least two unrelated signatories. 


·      Operate with no undue restrictions on membership. 


·      Have a detailed plan as to how the lottery will be promoted. 
And be either:

·      A constituted group with a volunteer management committee, with a 
minimum of three unrelated members, that meets on a regular basis (at 
least three times a year) 


·      A registered charity, with a board of trustees. 
Or:

·      A registered Community Interest Company, and provide copies of your 
Community Interest Statement, details of the Asset Lock included in your Memorandum and Articles of Association, and a copy of your latest annual community interest report.


The council will not permit applications to join the lottery from:

·      Groups promoting or lobbying for particular religious, political beliefs or campaigns. 


·      Organisations that do not work within the boundaries of the London Borough of Brent. 


·      Individuals. 


·      Organisations which aim to distribute a profit. 


·      Organisations with no established management committee/board of trustees 
(unless a CIC). 
 

The council reserve the right to reject any application in line with the criteria above and to cease to licence any organisation with a minimum of seven days’ notice for any reason. If fraudulent or illegal activity is suspected cessation would be immediate. 


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Brent Executive to agree Community Right to Challenge arrangements

The Brent Executive is to discuss the borough's policy on the Community Right to Challenge at its April Meeting.

Although it sounds like a right to challenge some of the more dubious decisions of the Council it is in fact the right of specific groups to bid to run current services which came into being under the Localism Act of 2011. It can be seen as a further move to end local government as we know it, introduction of the Big Society by the back door, and an escalation of out-sourcing. However, some Brent services such as the special needs playscheme are already run by such organisations.

This is some of the information already available elsewhere:

Only relevant bodies can make an Expression of Interest in running a service. The Localism Act lists the following as relevant bodies: 

• A voluntary or community body
• A body of persons or a trust which is established for charitable purposes only
• A parish council
• Two or more employees of the relevant authority
• Any other person or body specified by the Secretary of State by regulations. 

A voluntary body is defined here as a body that is not a public or local authority, the activities of which are not carried on for profit. It can generate a surplus provided it is used for the purposes of its activities or invested in the community.  A community body is a body which is not a public or local authority, the activities of which are primarily for the benefit of the community. The definitions of a voluntary or a community body are intended to cover a wide range of civil society organisations. They reflect the required characteristics of such bodies rather than referring to your organisational structure. This allows for flexibility to accommodate future forms of civil society organisation. The way in which groups demonstrate community benefit will vary depending on their legal form and the associated requirements. The statutory guidance gives more information.

In fact Brent is behind other local authorities in publishing details on how it will administer the scheme. An officer in response to an FOI request earlier this year said the delay was due to officer sickness.

An example of an Expression of Interest form can  be found on the Haringey Council website HERE

It is likely that in the future this, along with the Community Right to Bid, Community Asset Transfer and Community Right to Build,  may be used by campaigners seeking to save local services but sustainability, as with the library volunteer bids, is likely to be a major issue.

Further information can be found at the My Community Rights website HERE 

Brent voluntary organisations invited to apply for grants

Voluntary organisations in Brent have until 3st October this year to apply for the second round of funding from Brent Council's Voluntary Sector Initiative Fund.

Organisations can apply for cash to finance projects that meet one of the council's five priorities. They are:

• community safety
• regeneration
• supporting children and families and enabling young people to thrive
• improving health and wellbeing
• improving the environment and enhancing Brent's cultural offer.

Voluntary organisations can download an application pack with further information about the grants at www.brent.gov.uk/grantap plication.

In addition, they attend a special workshops which Brent Council is organising to give advice and guidance about the grants.

Call 020 8937 3674 or email SPI@brent.gov.uk to book a workshop place or for more information about the grants. The final close date for applications is 12noon on 31st October 2012.