Aims/priorities: The Force for Change Programme is a new local grants programme that aims to support Armed Forces communities in the UK to become less isolated and engage more in their local area.
Eligible project must fit under one of two main themes:
- Empowering Armed Forces communities to become more engaged in their local area.
- Providing opportunities for isolated members of the Armed Forces community to take part in activities that improve general wellbeing.
The funding can be used for existing work if this will make a clear difference to Armed Forces communities or to new work.
Projects should:
- Reduce loneliness or isolation in Armed Forces communities or improve their wellbeing.
- Offer a project that people want to take part in, and not duplicate other local work.
- Be able to start within a month if awarded a grant.
Funding can be used for a wide range of projects. The following are some examples of the types of projects that might be prioritised:
- Projects that encourage veterans and Armed Forces families to be less isolated.
- Projects supporting children and young people from Armed Forces families who found lockdown challenging. This might include play projects, sports or arts projects and projects encouraging friendships and interaction with children and young people from local civilian communities.
- Projects supporting parents from Armed Forces families with pre-school aged or very young children.
- Projects that will have a positive impact on wellbeing for veterans or carers of veterans, or Armed Forces families.
- Projects that help local Armed Forces charities or CICs to keep delivering help to local Armed Forces communities, where COVID has made this more challenging.
Who can apply? To be eligible to apply, organisations must be one of the following:
- An established registered charity or community interest company (CIC) with substantial recent experience of supporting Armed Forces communities.
- An Armed Forces unit or base.
- A local authority.
- A school.
The following apply:
- CICs must have been registered and operating for over a year and their Companies House details must show that they have a minimum of three unrelated directors.
- Registered charities must have been registered and operational for over a year and must be able to evidence that they have a minimum of three unrelated trustees at the time of applying.
- Other public sector organisations cannot apply but could work with one of the types of organisation listed above as a delivery partner.
- Schools will need to be able to show how their project will support children from Armed Forces families (and their wider families if appropriate).
- Schools that are run by Academy Trusts are eligible to apply; however the umbrella Trust itself is ineligibile unless it is a registered charity. Academy Trusts that are exempt charities are not eligible to apply.
Grant amount: Maximum value: £10,000
Application process: The guidelines and online application portal can be found on the Trust’s website.
Deadline: There will be three application rounds in 2021.
The deadline for the first round is 12 April 2021 (midday).
Contact Information: Email: info@covenantfund.org.uk
Website address: https://covenantfund.org.uk/programme/armed-forces-covenant-fund-force-for-change-programme/