Voluntary Action Fund

Community Chest

We are now accepting applications for the final round of funding, which closes Sunday 15 January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: You cannot apply for a Community Chest (CCP) grant if you already received a European Year of Volunteering (EYV) grant in 2011.

Due to its success, the Community Chest programme has been extended for a further year. Community Chest is our small grant programme providing grants of up to £1,000 and free training to help small community groups in Scotland sustain and develop their activities. Groups can apply for funding for a wide range of activities or operational costs. However, we are particularly keen to fund activities that will help build and develop strong organisations, for example: training for committee members and volunteers, visits to other organisations or conferences; professional support or consultancy.

Priority for funding will be given to groups working with:

• Disability or health related issues;
• People excluded due to their ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity;
• Families and young people;
• Older people.

Applications for the Community Chest programme are welcome throughout the year with the remaining deadline being the 15 January 2012. Groups wishing to apply for a Community Chest grant can download an application form and guidance notes from the right-hand side of this page. We will let you know within 12 weeks of the applicable deadline whether your application has been successful or not.

Free training will be offered to all groups applying for a grant on topics such as charity law, making successful funding applications, and monitoring and evaluation. The training events will also provide information on where groups can go for further support and funding. Groups receiving a grant will be expected, as a condition of the grant, to attend at least one of the free training events.

Groups will be considered for a grant if they have:

• An annual income below £25,000 per year (excluding any income for capital items such as buildings or equipment);
• A signed constitution or set of rules (if you do not have a constitution you should approach your local Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) who will be happy to advise you);
• A bank account in the name of the group with 2 signatories on all cheques;
• An independent referee, such as a community worker or a CVS or volunteer centre worker, who can vouch for the group and has knowledge of the plans for using the grant.

Groups that are not charities will be considered for a Community Chest grant if:

• their purpose and activities could be considered charitable, and
• their constitution or set of rules makes it clear that any assets or funds that belong to the group can only be used for the group's purposes and cannot be distributed amongst members.

Groups not eligible for funding include:

• Individuals.
• Activities that promote a political party or religion.
• Groups that have had a Community Chest grant within the previous 12 month period, or who have received a European Year of Volunteering small grant.
• Parent Councils or Parent Teacher Associations (PTA's).
• Groups providing benefits to private businesses.
• Hobby groups and private clubs with a restrictive membership that do not provide a service wider than their members will be a low priority and are unlikely to receive a grant.

If you require any further assistance please contact Patricia at the Voluntary Action Fund on 01383 620780.

The Community Chest grant programme is managed by VAF with funding from the Scottish Government. The programme has £100,000 available for the year April 2011 - March 2012.

For information on the who has been successful in the latest Community Chest funding round click here.