Aims/priorities: The priorities of the Best Start for Life Community Funding is to build the capacity of the VCFSE sector to support parents with 0-2 year olds facing challenges relating to the experiences and relationships with their developing baby, including:
- Reducing stigma around perinatal mental health
- Reaching and empowering diverse communities with respect to culture, disability, gender and family structure
- Inclusion of dads and co-parents
- Increasing access through digital offers
- Promote healthy parent-infant relationships, improve the emotional well-being of children and contribute to improved school readiness
- Build relationships with families to enable early identification of mental health issues and support accessibility to services
We are looking within Tameside for new or existing organisations who would like to expand their wellbeing offer in Tameside, and connect into the existing and growing offer around Family Hubs and perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships via a one-off grant. The grant may enable existing groups to fill a gap such as expanding times or accessibility, or reaching out to a wider range of care givers including foster carers, fathers and co-parents.
The successful applicants would form part of the Perinatal and Parent-Infant Mental Health (PPIMH) network across Tameside to prevent silo-working, be encouraged to take up workforce training offers and collect mutually agreed data to measure the outcomes of the project, relating to the size of the project. Successful applicants will also have an opportunity to access to general awareness training around PPIMH.
Organisations will be expected to complete an outcomes framework to collate the information requested and the template will be shared with successful groups in due course.
Organisations can apply for projects of up to 12/18 months but must be able to demonstrate measurable outcomes by March 2025.
Who can apply? To be eligible to apply, an organisation must:
- Be a VCFSE organisation who have completed a recent Action Together Membership Form (membership is free)
- Be constituted/have a written set of rules that constitute what they do (governing document)
- Be based in Tameside or currently delivering in Tameside
- Have or be developing experience of parental support and working with expectant parents or parents with children aged 0-2.
Grant amount: Groups can apply for:
- A Microgrant of up to £1,000
- A small grant - between £1,000 - £10,000
Application process: Please consider your eligibility and commitment to the values and expectations of this grant scheme before making an application by carefully reading these Guidance Notes.
Application forms can be found below:
- Best Start for Life Community Funding Microgrant application form
- Best Start for Life Community Funding Small Grant application form
Meet the Funder webinars will be held each quarter and you can register a place here:
- Meet the Funder: Best Start for Life Community Funding - Monday 10th July 23, 10am – 11am
- Meet the Funder: Best Start for Life Community Funding - Monday 9th October 23, 10am – 11am
- Meet the Funder: Best Start for Life Community Funding - Monday 15th January 24, 10am – 11am
Deadline: There will be three application rounds spanning across nine months (July 2023 – March 2024). Organisations can apply within the application windows below:
- Round 1 - Tuesday 4th July 23 09:00 - Tuesday 12th September 23 23:59
- Round 2 (will only open if there are remaining funds) - Tuesday 3rd October 23 09:00 - Tuesday 5th December 23 23:59
- Round 3 (will only open if there are remaining funds) - Tuesday 9th January 24 09:00 - Tuesday 12th March 24 23:59
Contact information: Email Anna Hynes - anna.hynes@actiontogether.org.uk