Frequently asked questions (FAQs) provide further information about our funding programmes, who can apply and the application process. We encourage prospective applicants to read all criteria carefully and contact us if you encounter any problems or need further support, please contact our Awards Team on 0161 214 0940 or email awards@forevermanchester.com Click on the links below to quickly navigate to the appropriate section. Section 1: Is my group eligible? Section 2: Application Process Section 3: Feedback & Re-applying for funding Section 4: Helpful links Section 1: Is my group eligible? What types of groups does Forever Manchester fund? Forever Manchester fund not-for-profit community groups. These groups can be constituted community groups, Community Interest Companies, Charities or Companies limited by Guarantee. Groups must also be locally led, meaning they are managed by people who live in the area where activities take place. What areas of Greater Manchester do you fund? We fund groups who are based in any of the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. These ten boroughs are: Bolton Bury Manchester Oldham Rochdale Salford Stockport Tameside Trafford Wigan Some funding programmes may be limited to applicants from specific parts of Greater Manchester and this will be specified in the programme guidance What type of management committee/board of trustees should we have? We would expect the majority of the management committee/board of trustees to live in the area where the activity is taking place. The management committee/board of trustees must be made up of at least three unrelated people and have a minimum of two unrelated bank signatories who don’t live at the same address. We are a CIC, how many Directors do we have to have? All applicant organisations, whatever their structure, must have a minimum of at least three unrelated people on their management board and have a minimum of two unrelated bank signatories who don’t live at the same address. For CIC’s this means you must have a minimum of 3 unrelated registered Directors, a majority of whom must live in the area where the activity takes place. No Directors should be registered as Persons of Significant Control. We are a CIC and have registered Persons of Significant Control, can we apply? Unfortunately, we don’t accept applications from organisations where any individuals are registered as a Person of Significant Control. This is because we want to ensure that all of the organisations we fund are led by democratic decision making and that no individual has the power to decide how funds are spent or who can be involved. We know there is some confusing information about Persons of Significant Control registration and that in some cases CIC’s may have been advised that they have to register a Person of Significant Control with Companies House, however this is not the case. Whilst a company must register any persons who do have significant control with Companies House, there is no obligation for you to have someone who holds this status. If as an organisation you do not have any individual who meets the threshold for being recognised as a Person of Significant Control, you just need to tell Companies House this. For further information please see the Companies House Guidance which says ‘If you cannot identify your PSC, or do not have one you need to tell us.’ This guidance can be found here: People with Significant Control (PSCs) – GOV.UK You may also find this video produced by Companies House helpful, whilst it talks mostly about the importance of registering People with Significant Control, at one minute 30 seconds it also clarifies you do not need to do this if you don’t have any: Companies House Video. I am an individual- can I apply? Unfortunately, individuals are not usually eligible for our funding programmes. We aren’t a registered charity, can we apply? Yes you can! You do not need to be a registered charity to apply for our funding. Please see above for the types of groups we can fund. We haven’t got a bank account or documents, once we know we can get funds we will get these in place, can we apply? Unfortunately not, your documents form part of the assessment process and without these we cannot determine if your group is eligible for our funding. These documents must be in place prior to applying and be attached to your application. Here is the guidance For Supporting Information. Our project will take place in schools. Are we eligible? We do not fund activity taking place within school hours or any school-based activities which should be covered by statutory provision. We can fund activity based at a school, but which takes place outside of school hours and is open to the wider community. Are there things you don’t fund? Yes, there are a few things we can’t fund. This includes: Activities that have already taken place or been paid for Contributions to major appeals Contributions to salaries Activities promoting political or religious beliefs Activity which should be provided by statutory services (schools, NHS for example) Redistribution of funding Organisations or projects trading for profit (not reinvested in the community) Major capital requests, i.e. building and construction work If you’re not sure about anything, please get in touch. What funds do you currently have open? All of our funds are listed on our Funding and Support page. Here you will see which funds are open right now, view the fund criteria and access the online application form. Section 2: Application Process How do we apply? Groups can apply via an online application form which can be found at the bottom of each individual funding programme page. Here you can review the criteria, save your progress and also attach your group’s supporting documents. If you have problems accessing or completing forms online please get in touch. I need help with my application, who do I contact? If you need support completing the form or have questions about a fund or whether you are eligible, please email awards@forevermachester.com or call 0161 214 0940. What evidence do we need to submit with the application? Alongside your application, there are documents you need to submit and certain things we need to see. These include your governing document, management committee details, safeguarding policies (if applicable) and accounts. A document explaining the full information can be found here. Sometimes you may be asked for more information to help create a full picture of your group and the activities you provide. Online form issues: I cannot access the online application form, can I still apply? If you are having trouble completing the form or there is an error when filling in your details or submitting your application, please send an email to awards@forevermanchester.com with your name and the group name, explaining the problem and we will get back to you as soon as we can. We have been asked for further information, why do you need this? After organisations submit an application for funding to us, we assess the information provided to check that organisations are eligible for the fund they’ve applied to and that their funding request is clear. As part of this assessment process, we frequently contact applicants for further information. As all funding programmes are oversubscribed, we do this to try and make sure your application has the best chance it can of being successful. Further Information requests are usually for missing supporting documents or clarifications about the contents of supporting documents and/or questions about the project which we think grant panels might want to know to help them when making funding decisions. We appreciate that this sometimes feels like a lot, so if you’re unsure what is needed or are having difficulty in answering the questions, please do call or email us so we can help you get the information needed together. Will I be notified even if I have not been successful with my application? Yes, all applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application. Timeframes and closing dates can be found on the funding programme page. How long will it take to receive a decision? It takes about 3 months, but it really varies from fund to fund, so it’s worth having a proper read of the specific funding page. We always make sure to include information on timeframes and closing dates. Section 3: Feedback & Re-applying for funding Can we apply for more than one award from Forever Manchester? Groups can receive one award from any Forever Manchester funding Programme at a time. Once a funded project is finished, feedback must be submitted and reviewed as satisfactory before a group can receive further funding. It is possible that an applicant may receive an award from more than one Programme, however applicants cannot reapply to the same programme within a 12-month period or apply to more than one programme for the same activity. Multiple applications are subject to fulfilment of monitoring, if you are currently in receipt of funding from us and are unsure if you can apply for further funds, please contact us before starting a new application form. For advice on which funding you can access, please contact the Awards Team at awards@forevermanchester.com or 0161 214 0940. We were unsuccessful with our last application, can we re-apply? Absolutely! Take note of any suggestions from us why it might have been unsuccessful initially, and make sure to check the criteria for the fund you’re applying to. If you’re in any doubt, please give us a call to discuss. When are we expected to submit Feedback? Subject to the purpose of the award, we would expect this to be approximately 12 months after receiving the funding, to ensure the funding has been spent and to see the positive impact it has had on the group. How do we complete our group’s Feedback? We will automatically send you a link to the feedback form approximately 12 months after receiving your award, or sooner if the funding programme requires it. If for some reason you haven’t received this or wish to complete the form sooner, please let us know and we’ll send it again. It’s straightforward, easy to complete and nothing to worry about, but please get in touch with us if you’re getting stuck, so we can help talk you through anything you might need help with. Section 4: Helpful links Funding and Support Page Full Awards Process Contact Us
