Frequently Asked Questions
What are ESF Community Grants?
ESF Community Grants provide grants to organisations in the voluntary and community sector. The Grants should be used to provide support to unemployed and inactive individuals to engage them and move them towards employment through packages of training and support.
How much are the grants for?
Grants are up to the value of £20,000 but you can ask for less. We expect the average value of each participant to be about £1,000 however this may be higher if you are working with more challenging groups or individuals or those with complex needs.
What can the grants be used for?
Grants must be used to support unemployed or inactive individuals and move them towards employment through a package of engagement, training and support. How you do this is up to you but it must be meaningful, have a significant, positive impact and help individuals move nearer to the labour market. There are outcomes that must be met for progression; some of your participants must complete your programme then progress into further education or employment, with your support.
When can we apply for a grant?
You can apply for the first round of Grants from Monday 15th November 2021 until Friday 10th December 2021 . We will release further funding rounds at other points throughout the project.
How do we apply for a grant?
You can apply for a grant by clicking on the 'How to Apply' section of this website.
How much funding is available?
We will have just over £750k to distribute in grants. The value will be split between the 6 Local Authority areas, taking into account the overall population of each area, and the total number of unemployed/inactive individuals residing in the area. Full time students, and those who are retired and not seeking employment, are not eligible to recieve this funding.
How long does it take for a grant to be approved?
All bids are anonamised and marked by an independent panel of assessors against standardised criteria. 10% of all applications recieved for each locality will be second marked to ensure accuracy and fairness. Successful proposed recipient organisations for each area will be scruinised by the Local Authority Lead, to make a judgement on how the proposed projects meet very local need. We will aim to notify all organisations of the final funding decisions on Thursday 16th December whether you have been awarded a grant, with project delivery to begin early January 2022.
How do we receive our Grant payment?
If you have been successful in your application, we will confirm in writing and send you a Grant Agreement that should be signed by the most senior person in your organisation or their representative. Once we receive this back, along with your organisations bank details and other supporting documentation, we will pay the first 60% of your Grant payment within 30 days. We then pay the remaining 40% within 30 days of the project completing and us receiving and signing off all relevant Learner and Project journey paperwork.
When do we start our delivery?
You should start delivery as soon as possible after you receive your first grant payment and by the end date you stated on your bid. This will avoid any delays that could have a negative impact on your project. You will need to download all of the documents from the 'Forms and Documents' part of this website and make sure you understand what you need to do and when. One of our team will be in regular contact with you to answer any questions and to help your project stay on track.
What happens if we can't deliver what we said we would in our bid?
From time to time, despite your best efforts, things don't always go according to plan. If you are having difficulties with any aspect of your project then please get in touch with us as soon as possible. We have experts who can help, whether it's advice on recruiting participants, helping you deal with staffing shortages or changing aspects of your bid.
ESF Community Grants provide grants to organisations in the voluntary and community sector. The Grants should be used to provide support to unemployed and inactive individuals to engage them and move them towards employment through packages of training and support.
How much are the grants for?
Grants are up to the value of £20,000 but you can ask for less. We expect the average value of each participant to be about £1,000 however this may be higher if you are working with more challenging groups or individuals or those with complex needs.
What can the grants be used for?
Grants must be used to support unemployed or inactive individuals and move them towards employment through a package of engagement, training and support. How you do this is up to you but it must be meaningful, have a significant, positive impact and help individuals move nearer to the labour market. There are outcomes that must be met for progression; some of your participants must complete your programme then progress into further education or employment, with your support.
When can we apply for a grant?
You can apply for the first round of Grants from Monday 15th November 2021 until Friday 10th December 2021 . We will release further funding rounds at other points throughout the project.
How do we apply for a grant?
You can apply for a grant by clicking on the 'How to Apply' section of this website.
How much funding is available?
We will have just over £750k to distribute in grants. The value will be split between the 6 Local Authority areas, taking into account the overall population of each area, and the total number of unemployed/inactive individuals residing in the area. Full time students, and those who are retired and not seeking employment, are not eligible to recieve this funding.
How long does it take for a grant to be approved?
All bids are anonamised and marked by an independent panel of assessors against standardised criteria. 10% of all applications recieved for each locality will be second marked to ensure accuracy and fairness. Successful proposed recipient organisations for each area will be scruinised by the Local Authority Lead, to make a judgement on how the proposed projects meet very local need. We will aim to notify all organisations of the final funding decisions on Thursday 16th December whether you have been awarded a grant, with project delivery to begin early January 2022.
How do we receive our Grant payment?
If you have been successful in your application, we will confirm in writing and send you a Grant Agreement that should be signed by the most senior person in your organisation or their representative. Once we receive this back, along with your organisations bank details and other supporting documentation, we will pay the first 60% of your Grant payment within 30 days. We then pay the remaining 40% within 30 days of the project completing and us receiving and signing off all relevant Learner and Project journey paperwork.
When do we start our delivery?
You should start delivery as soon as possible after you receive your first grant payment and by the end date you stated on your bid. This will avoid any delays that could have a negative impact on your project. You will need to download all of the documents from the 'Forms and Documents' part of this website and make sure you understand what you need to do and when. One of our team will be in regular contact with you to answer any questions and to help your project stay on track.
What happens if we can't deliver what we said we would in our bid?
From time to time, despite your best efforts, things don't always go according to plan. If you are having difficulties with any aspect of your project then please get in touch with us as soon as possible. We have experts who can help, whether it's advice on recruiting participants, helping you deal with staffing shortages or changing aspects of your bid.
