FUNDING

Calderdale Community Asset Fund

Calderdale Community Asset Fund

This grant fund has been created to support VCSE organisations in Calderdale to manage community assets (community buildings). It is open to VCSE organisations in Calderdale who currently manage community buildings owned by Calderdale Council, or are going through the community asset transfer (CAT) process.

Grants of up to £3,000 per organisation are available for costs required to support the operation and management of assets.

What will we fund?

The fund supports groups with any vital capital or revenue funding to contribute to the successful management of their asset. Examples of eligible costs include (but are not limited to):

  • Professional advice
  • Technical surveys
  • Urgent or unforeseen costs relating to building / health and safety
  • Inclusivity / accessibility related works or advice e.g. accessibility audits/ adjustments
  • Small capital works such as unforeseen / urgent repairs
  • Specialist maintenance plans
  • Specialist consultancy that cannot be delivered through current VCSE support locally
  • Technical expertise in preparing their business case.
  • Feasibility studies
  • Training costs related to the successful management of community assets or organisational sustainability
  • Energy saving measures.
  • Running costs – this is ringfenced for early stage CAT groups or organisations in crisis and is capped at £1,000 per organisation.

Eligibility and Terms

  • The group must be an incorporated VCSE organisation and have a bank account. The only exception to this is if you have been formally invited to submit a business plan following a successful EOI for a Community Asset Transfer (CAT) by Calderdale Council. In this case we will accept applications from unincorporated groups, but they must show evidence that they are linked / accountable organisation to hold the funding and that they have approval from Calderdale Council to prepare a business case for a CAT.
  • The community asset must be owned by Calderdale Council – this includes a) council assets currently leased to or managed by community organisations; b) assets currently in the CAT process. 
  • All applications must include a quote from the supplier with evidence of scope of work, timescales, and day rate. The day rate cap is £600 +VAT.
  • Grants can be used to contribute to larger pieces of work, but you must show how you intend to meet the additional costs over the max £3,000 available from this fund.
  • Funded work should be completed by 31st March 2026.
  • A final report with evidence of the work completed and invoice must be submitted to evidence the grant expenditure. Any underspend must either be applied for reallocation or returned.
  • Eligible work under this fund is specialist and technical work that cannot be provided by the VSI Alliance (including Locality and WYCAS).
  • All applicants need to supply their governing document, bank account information and list of policies before award is made. The panel may also request additional information from applicants to assess eligibility.
  • Organisations can apply for up to a maximum of £3,000 from this fund – this can be split into multiple applications over the life of the fund. 
  • In some exceptional cases an award of over £3,000 may be made. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis and will require additional assessment criteria. If you think you have an exceptional or urgent case, please contact Lucy Darragh lucy.darragh@locality.org.uk

 

In some exceptional cases an award of over £3,000 may be made. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis and will require additional assessment criteria.

If you think you have an exceptional or urgent case, please contact Lucy Darragh lucy.darragh@locality.org.uk or Faye Calvert Faye.Calvert@calderdale.gov.uk

Deadlines / timescales:

The grant programme will remain open until March 2025 or until all funds are committed (which may be before that date).

Grant panels will be held around the 15th of every month. The cut off for applications to be considered at those meetings is the last day of the preceding month. For example, applications received from 1st – 31st July will be assessed on/around 15th August. We aim to notify applicants of the outcome within 10 working days of the date of the grant panel.

Please contact Lucy Darragh lucy.darragh@locality.org.uk or Faye Calvert Faye.Calvert@calderdale.gov.uk if you have any questions or challenges with completing your application.

The assessment panel may seek further information to determine the outcome of your application, they will make contact with you to request this.

How to apply

Please check eligibility and then complete the application form: https://forms.gle/WBKd3RyNdfPeUwJB9

Please e-mail Lucy Darragh lucy.darragh@locality.org.uk or Faye Calvert Faye.Calvert@calderdale.gov.uk once you have completed the application to confirm it has been submitted.

The application requires you to answer a series of questions and upload supporting documents. The documents required are:

  • Your governing document
  • Quote from the supplier with evidence of scope of work, timescales, and day rate. The day rate cap is £600 + VAT.

VAC + Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector.

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

40% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

25% Discount on Virtual Office – Perfect for start ups or smaller organisations, our Virtual Office service offers a postal address, pigeonhole and reception facilities.

25% Discount on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.  As a VAC + Member, you will receive a considerable discount on all VAC Training and Events.

VAC Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector. 

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

20% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

Competitive rate on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.