Access to resilience

This Fund is now closed.

This funding is for organisations who provide capacity building support to other VCSE groups.

To apply you must be a:

• support organisation
• network organisation
• membership organisation
• umbrella body
• community anchor organisation
• established organisation that has a history of providing capacity building support to other groups.

You must also be a:

• unregistered voluntary or community organisation
  An organisation set up with a governing document - like a constitution. But is not a registered charity or company. If you get funding we'd expect you to incorporate or become registered with a regulator (For example, the Charity Commission or CIC regulator).
  
• not-for-profit company
  A company limited by guarantee - registered with Companies House. And might also be registered as a charity.
  
• registered charity (unincorporated)
  A voluntary or community organisation that's a registered charity. But is not a company registered with Companies House.
• Community Interest Company (CIC).
  A company registered with Companies House. And the Community Interest Company (CIC) Regulator.
  

You must support underrepresented VCSE groups

You should use this funding to support smaller VCSE groups with an annual income of around £10,000 up to £100,000.

The groups you support must focus on representing the needs of one of the following:

• older people
• disabled people
• women
• ethnically minoritised people
• faith-based communities
• LGBTQ+ people
• rural communities.

You can apply if you’re a generalist or a specialist support organisation

You might be a generalist support organisation that helps a diverse range of VCSE groups. Your aim might be to improve access to underrepresented VCSE groups who are not currently benefiting from your support.

Or you might be a specialist support organisation that already specialises in helping underrepresented VCSE groups. Your aim might be to get more resources to meet the needs of these groups.

If you're a generalist support organisation

We expect you to:

• identify the sector of one of the underrepresented VCSE groups you want to improve access to – for example, women's groups, older people's groups, disabled people's groups, rural groups
• collaborate with groups from that sector to work out what those groups need – for example, a women’s group, disabled people's group etc.
• improve access to your services by designing or delivering them in a different way that encourages and supports participation
• use diagnostic tools (or other methods) to assess the skills and capabilities of the groups you’ll support - find out more about diagnostic tools
• measure the impact of the support you give to each group.

If you're a specialist support organisation

We expect you to:

• Tell us which sector of under represented VCSE groups you specialise in e.g. women’s groups, rural groups etc
• improve access to your services for groups that support people – for example, by delivering them in a different way that encourages and supports participation
• use diagnostic tools (or other methods) to assess the skills and capabilities of the groups you’ll support – find out more about diagnostic tools
• measure the impact of the support you give to each group.

Who cannot apply

We cannot accept applications from:

• organisations that do not develop the skills, capacity and resilience of other VCSE groups
• individuals
• sole traders
• religious institutions - like churches, synagogues and mosques (although faith-based community groups are eligible to apply)
• organisations based outside Northern Ireland
• companies that can pay profits to directors, shareholders or members (including Companies Limited by Shares)
• statutory organisations
• schools
• one organisation applying on behalf of another.

We do not accept applications written for you by private businesses or consultants

Be careful of businesses or consultants who say they can support you with your funding applications. They might say they’re acting on the Fund’s behalf, or they’re a preferred supplier of the Fund. They could even offer to write an application for you. We do not accept applications from these types of businesses or consultants.

But it’s ok to get help from support organisations - like your local council or Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA). They may be able to give you support and advice on writing your application.

This Fund is now closed.

This programme is part of Dormant Assets NI funding. Dormant Assets NI awards money from dormant financial assets to support voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in Northern Ireland. It aims to help them be more resilient and prepared for the future by funding activity that increases capacity and sustainability.

The first phase of this funding (The Dormant Accounts Fund NI) closed for applications in March 2023. You can find out more by looking at Dormant Accounts Fund NI Awards.

We can fund

Under the Access to Resilience programme we will fund projects that help small underrepresented VCSE groups improve their capacity, sustainability and resilience. Activities might include increasing skills in:

• financial planning and budgeting
• project management
• good governance
• diversity and inclusion
• digital skills
• impact measurement
• strategic planning
• volunteer management
• collaboration
• leadership
• succession planning.

We cannot fund

• core capacity building or support programmes for the wider voluntary and community sector. This funding is to improve access to support for underrepresented community groups who are not currently receiving capacity building support
• you to give grants to other organisations
• applicants who are unable to demonstrate sound governance and financial management
• capacity building or support programmes for religious institutions like churches, synagogues and mosques. However capacity building for faith-based community groups is eligible.

If you already have funding from us

You can apply if you have a current grant from us from another programme. For example, you can have a Phase One Dormant Accounts NI grant and still apply.

This Fund is now closed.

The grant can be used to pay for staff and programme costs to deliver the project :

• giving advice, mentoring, coaching and training
• guidance materials
• staff costs

You can also include costs that will support engagement and participation in the project:

• travel and room hire – so that you can deliver support where it’s needed.
• refreshments – if you need to meet groups at lunch time or after work.
• costs to cover the time and resources of community groups that will be collaborating with the generalist support organisations.
• any costs associated with meeting access needs – for example, creating materials in Braille or providing a sign language interpreter.
• payments that will encourage participation – we understand that some small community groups need to be incentivised to participate in this type of capacity building programme. You can offer incentive payments of up to £1,000 per group, per year to complete the project.
• reasonable out of pocket expenses for participating groups.
• interpreting and translation costs.

You cannot spend the money on:

• fees for private consultants – we want organisations to build skills and mutual support through partnerships with experts in the sector. We’re therefore unlikely to cover the costs of private consultants, unless a clear rationale has been provided for why the consultant's skills are not available within the sector
• capital refurbishment – like improving buildings or land
• alcohol
• IT (Information Technology) – including software or hardware upgrades
• establishing new groups or organisations (but you can help formalise or develop existing unconstituted groups).

If you get funding, you must use our logo

This programme is part of Dormant Assets NI funding.

You should use the Dormant Assets NI logo on any materials you produce, like posters or leaflets. You should also display it on your website and social media if you have them.

You can find out more on our logo guidance page.