Ukraine Community Integration Grant Scheme - Round 2

The aims of the grant scheme are to: 

• Ensure that Ukrainian guests feel welcome, safe and supported in Herefordshire.
• Support hosting individuals and families to feel confident in supporting their guests.
• Build strong relationships in and across communities through community integration activities.
• Sustain the relationship between hosts and guests
• Create opportunities for education, training and employment.
• Promote better understanding of refugee experiences.
• Support Ukrainians to achieve independent living in Herefordshire

You can apply for a grant to fund for a wide range of activities including:

• Community support events and activities
• Family support activities
• Community learning activities
• Access to training and / or employment
• Activities that support improved mental health and wellbeing
• Advocacy projects and activities
• Support for children and young people
• Activities that promote understanding of refugee experiences
• Services which support the resettlement of Ukrainians within Herefordshire.

The grant can also cover the following costs as long as they are clearly linked to your project:

• Translation and interpreting services if not available through the Herefordshire Language Network
• Transport expenses
• Volunteer expenses
• Direct project staff costs plus 15% overheads fee
• Project staff training costs
• Small items of equipment linked to the project up to £1500 per item. 

Example projects

We have purposefully kept the criteria for this grant scheme wide to allow the community to develop creative projects that meet local need. However, in order to give you some ideas here are a few examples of projects:

• Projects that enable Ukrainian guests to learn and practise spoken and written English. The Council already offer informal ESOL sessions, but practise is invaluable. Learning English is a key element of the integration process.
• After school activities that encourage children and young people from all backgrounds to learn about each other’s lives and foster a shared sense of community. This could be a football club, film club, Lego club or history club; anything that helps children and young people have a shared experience and a sense of achievement.
• Activities for people seeking to improve their physical fitness levels with a view to the wider output of improved mental health and wellbeing. This might include getting an interpreter along to local classes, establishing a new activity, or developing ‘learn to’ sessions so that Ukrainian guests can try new activities for free.
• Projects that support Ukrainian guests to have their skills recognised, develop new skills through training and or volunteering and support people into paid work.
• Projects that capture and record people’s experiences of resettling into Herefordshire with a view to helping us to better understand what it means to be a refugee and advocate for people seeking refuge from war and violence.

Outputs

Projects don’t need to meet all of the outputs listed below, but should meet at least one.

• Number of hosts supported through activities
• Number of Ukrainian adult guests (18 years and over) supported through activities
• Number of Ukrainian children and young people (under 18 years of age) supported through activities
• Number of Ukrainian guests supported to access formal and informal training opportunities
• Number of Ukrainian guests supported to access work opportunities
• Number of Ukrainian guests reporting improved mental health and wellbeing*
• Number of Ukrainian guests reporting that they feel integrated into life in Herefordshire 

*This can be measured using the WHO (Five) Well-Being Index.

What costs are NOT eligible?

The grant will not fund the following items / activities:

• Purchase of alcohol
• Contingency costs, loans, endowments or interest
• Paying someone else to write your application for you
• Profit-making or fundraising activities
• VAT you can reclaim
• Legal fees unless specific and necessary to the project delivery
• Promotion of religious beliefs
• Statutory activities
• Projects that do not benefit people living in Herefordshire
• Political activities
• Capital expenditure

Please note that this list is not exhaustive; applications are welcome for all kind projects that will aid community integration.

There are two grant levels:

• Under £10,000
• £10,000 and over

Applicants requesting a grant for £10,000 and above will be asked for more detail than those asking for under £10,000.

The maximum amount of grant that can be applied for is £100,000 during the life-time of the scheme.  Round 2 of the scheme is open for applications until 31 January 2024, subject to availability of funding.

• Voluntary and community organisations
• Constituted groups or clubs
• Registered charities
• Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs)
• Not-for-profit organisations
• Community interest companies (CIC’s)
• State and independent schools (as long as your project benefits and involves the community and does not deliver activities that are part of the standard curriculum)
• Town and parish councils
• Community benefit societies
• Community Amateur Sports Clubs
• Religious organisations – as long as the project or activity benefits the wider community and does not include religious content.

All applications will need to be able to demonstrate their organisational status, relevant skills and have a bank account in the same name.

• If applying for substantially different projects
• If seeking follow-on funding for an existing Round 1 project. Consideration will be given to performance to date (quarterly returns and any further evidence the applicant provides) plus evidence of continuing need (to be demonstrated in the new application).  Applicants will need to forecast in their application whether continued activity will be required after 31 January 2025 and if so how this will be supported, without further recourse to SUCIG.
  
  

What happens next?

Once received, Herefordshire Council will acknowledge receipt of your grant application.  The grant application will be assessed by a project panel who will make recommendations either for the application to be approved or rejected, or the panel may ask for further information before a decision can be made.  This will require approval.

Grant applications are assessed on their individual merit by an independent panel against the grant funding eligibility criteria, the impact of the project and that it demonstrates value for money.  All applications are subject to funding availability.

Based on your application and any further information you may have been asked to provide, we will advise you of the decision to either:

• Offer a grant; or
• Offer a grant with some specific conditions; or
• Reject the application detailing the reasons why the application was not accepted. 

When can I start my project?

If your application meets the eligibility criteria and you are offered a grant, you will receive an offer letter setting out how much grant has been approved and detailing any specific terms and conditions.  If you are happy to accept the grant offer and associated conditions, you will need to return a signed copy within 10 working days. 

What are grant offer terms and conditions?

If you are offered a grant, you will be sent terms and conditions specific to your project. 

Key points to consider are:

• You should not start your project until you have signed the acceptance of grant and returned it to the Delegated Grants Team.
• You need to keep all paperwork relating to your project. i.e. all invoices, receipts and bank statements as they will need to be submitted as evidence with your claims.
• Information relating to user feedback and progress towards the outputs of your project should also be kept.
• The grant will only be paid on invoices or receipts that have been paid, and are dated after the offer letter has been agreed by all parties.
• Other specific conditions of grant will be included within your offer letter.

What happens if my project / budget changes?

• The Council won’t be able to give you more grant money if your costs increase, but will consider variations within the agreed budget as long as these are approved in advance.
• You need to notify the Delegated Grants Team in writing as soon as you realise that you may need to make some changes to your project or budget in order to deliver your project.

How do I submit my claim for payment?

For grants of under £10,000, the Council will make a payment of up to 50% of the total grant sum upfront in order to help you get your project up and running (depending on the scale and scope of your project). The balance will be paid upon the submission of your final report and claim which will need to include invoices/receipts and satisfactory evidence that you have spent the funding in the way you had planned.

For grants of £10,000 and above, the Council will make a payment of up to 25% of the total grant sum upfront in order to help you get your project up and running (depending on the scale and scope of your project). You can then draw the rest of the funding down by submitting quarterly reports and claims, with the final sum being paid upon competition of your final report and claim. Claims will need to include invoices/receipts and satisfactory evidence that you have spent the funding.

For follow-on grants you will continue to submit quarterly claims.

By exception the Council may agree to more regular claims, depending on the cash flow situation of the organisation.

All grant funded work must be completed and claims submitted by the deadline date specified in your offer letter. The claim form will be sent to you with your offer letter.

When do I need to submit my report?

Depending on the nature and length of your project, you will need to complete either an interim, or a final report within six months of claiming your grant summarising what your project has achieved.  If you are successful, your offer letter will set out the information that you need to collect and provide to the Council.

Keeping in touch

We would really like to hear about your projects as they develop and love sharing your good news with the community.  If you have a story you would like us to share please contact the Homes for Ukraine Team on supportforukraine@herefordshire.gov.uk

Useful information

• Translation and interpreting services are available locally via the Herefordshire Language Network which is co-ordinated by Herefordshire Council

If you want to promote your project you can use the Talk Community Directory