Aims/Priorities: The Best Start for Life Community Fund aims to empower voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCFSE) groups to offer or grow their mental health support and services for families in pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life, to compliment the core services and ensure a strong network of support across the neighbourhoods.
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
Who can apply? We are looking within Tameside for new or existing VCFSE organisations who would like to expand their wellbeing offer and connect into the existing and growing offer around Family Hubs and perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships, via a one-off grant.
Previous and current recipients of BSFL grant funding are eligible to re-apply.
You must be:
- A voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) group locally rooted or actively working in the borough of Tameside;
- A member of Action Together CIO (you can register for free to become a member here);
- Formally constituted;
- Have at least three people on your board or committee who are not related; and have a bank account in your organisation’s name requiring at least two unrelated signatories
- a VCFSE organisations with an annual income of less than £500,000
Grant Amount: Small Grant up to £11,000
Application Process:
Please thoroughly read the fund guidance notes before submitting an application
BSFL Round 5 Guidance Notes.docx (139.14 KB) Grant Application Guidance-Reading the Guidance Notes-October 2024.pdf (239.11 KB) Grant Application Guidance-Getting started with Funding Applications-October 2024.pdf (2 MB)Please ensure all boxes of the application form are completed
BSFL Round 5 Application Form.docx (86.94 KB)- If you have any queries about the application form or application process, please contact Saman Nisar on 0161 339 2345.
- Decisions will be made by a panel with representation from the PPIMH Steering Group, Home-Start HOST, Early Attachment Service, and Action Together.
- All applications must be sent to funding@actiontogether.org.uk and you will receive the decision via email.
Deadline: Extended until Monday 29 September 2025
Contact Information: Email | funding@actiontogether.org.uk Phone | 0161 339 2345