Awards For All
Tips on applying for Grants
What is Awards for All?
It is a joint Lottery grants scheme aimed at local communities. Grants between £300 and £10,000 may be awarded.
Who can apply?
Any not-for-profit group may apply but:
Ø You must have a bank account that requires at least two people to sign cheques
Ø You must use the grant within one year
What are Grants awarded for?
Any project that benefits the local community. Each Regional Area of the UK does have regional criteria and national criteria - but don’t let these deter you from applying.
What about Flower Clubs?
Many Flower Clubs up and down the country have been awarded a grant and some have had more than one.
For what sort of projects have Flower Clubs applied for a grant from Awards for All?
An educational project seems to attract a grant:
Ø One club paid for all its members to visit the Chelsea Flower Show (all travel, overnight accommodation and entrance to the show) and included a visit to NAFAS Headquarters!
Ø Other clubs have had a grant to put on Workshops, pay for the tutor, the hall and in some cases the plant material
Ø Some clubs have received funding for an entire year’s demonstrations
Ø A Flower Festival
Ø Hearing loop system in the meeting hall
Ø Tables
All these were loosely described by the successful clubs as ‘educational’ in their application. You can apply for a variety of projects in the one application.
At some stage some of the projects must be a benefit to the wider community rather than just the Flower Club ie workshops you have to put on because none exist through the local education authority.
Awards are not granted for the following:
Ø Ordinary running costs
Ø Any project that has already started
Ø A project that only benefits one person
Before you apply:
Ø Be clear in your own minds what the project is
Ø Be clear who will benefit
Ø You need to cost it with great care
Ø You will need to submit original bank statements showing what the club has in funds but remember even if you have quite a lot of money it is a NAFAS requirement that you should have enough funds to run the club for two years and the grant is in addition to that
Ø Be prepared to complete quite a long application form
You will need to send with your application form:
Ø Your Constitution
Ø Your latest annual accounts
Ø Three consecutive months’ worth of recent and original bank statements
Ø Photocopies of these statements
If at first you don’t succeed!!
Ø Find out why
Ø Apply again taking into account the reason for original refusal
A few more hints
Get in touch with the Grants officer at your local council before you start to complete the form. This officer may be aware of other grants that are available from other sources.
If you are planning a flower festival it may be a good idea to open a ‘Flower Festival’ bank account and put some money in it to start with, or an ‘Educational provision’ bank account. These are then separate from your main club account.
You need to have your application form countersigned - be careful who you choose because this can make the difference in your application being accepted or not.
Getting the forms
Awards for All application forms are available on 0845 600 2040 or from the website at www.awardsforall.org.uk
There are slightly different forms for the four parts of the UK. It may be better to ring and get them to post you the application form as there are lots of pages to download and print if you do it from the website!
Extracts from a successful Welsh application
Tell us about the grant and how it will be used:
The grant will be used to provide social and educational floral art demonstrations followed by a series of educational flower arranging workshops.
As well as the educational value of the project, members and non members alike will benefit from the social side of the activities.
The demonstration and workshop will be open to anyone interested in this social activity of floral art. It will be publicised openly.
We have never before arranged educational workshops and demonstrations of this type and it will give all valuable ‘hands on’ experience in a very social way which is important in a rural area.
How will a grant help you meet the aims and focus as listed in the application pack?
The Society is a small locally run group that does not have a large income nor savings. We have not received Lottery funding before. See letter from NAFAS Area Treasurer with regard to reserved funds.
Llangollen is a rural town where access to facilities and activities is limited.
The project will increase the skill and creativity of all who participate.
The above are extracts from an application by Wendy Davis, National Officer, on behalf of her club in Wales. Wendy is quite willing to discuss her application, which at first was unsuccessful but upon re-submitting it the club received a grant. Wendy may be contacted via Headquarters - she also appears in the National Lists under National Speakers.
