The Voluntary Sector Liaison Team administers a range of grants to the Voluntary and Community Sector in Sheffield.
Grant aid is used to support voluntary sector organisations that deliver city-wide services and activities that support the Council’s priorities. Details about what we're funding and open grants that you may apply for can be found on this page.
Covid Recovery Fund 2022-2023
The Covid Recovery Fund provides support for the city’s voluntary and community sector with needs that have arisen from Covid. The fund will be open from Monday 10 January to midday on Monday 7 February 2022.
We asked organisations to complete an expression of interest in October and November 2021 to tell us what their needs were as a result of the pandemic. You told us that in many cases you had reduced income and increased costs as a result of the challenges during Covid and the work you have done to respond to needs across the city. We want to thank you for everything you have done for people in Sheffield over the past two years.
Funding available
The total amount available in this round of funding is £1,350,000. Applications can be submitted for amounts between £10,000 and £50,000. This can be for shortfalls in 2021/22 budgets or needs that can be demonstrated in 2022/23.
Following consideration of the responses from the expression of interest this fund will focus on:
- funding to cover a current shortfall in an organisation’s core running costs budget as a result of reduced income due to Covid
- funding to support ongoing increased costs associated with changed working practices or service redesign that was introduced in response to Covid and needs to be maintained this year. Or practical costs associated with Covid safe reopening of in person services for example
- funding to support ongoing (Covid driven) increased demand on existing services delivered by the organisation
Within this, organisations can apply for any reasonable costs including core costs. This funding will not cover applications for new innovations in ways of working.
Successful applicants will receive funding in February and March 2022 to support work until the end of March 2023.
Who can apply
You can apply for this fund if you are:
- a registered charity
- a charitable Incorporated Organisation, (CIO)
- a limited company with charitable status
- an industrial and provident society, (Community Benefit Societies or Cooperative Benefit Societies)
You should also be:
- an organisation based in Sheffield or accountable at a local level within Sheffield to users, stakeholders, or residents
- in full compliance with the document filing requirements of the Charity Commission or Companies House
Types of organisations not eligible for funding
Exclusions are:
- other City Council departments
- public bodies such as Parish or Town Councils, hospitals, or health bodies
- educational establishments including schools, universities, and colleges
- registered social landlords
- businesses other than not for profit enterprises with charitable status
- consultants
- animal charities
- organisations whose core function is to provide education, training, or childcare
- organisations whose annual turnover is under £10,000
Advice sessions
We will run two advice sessions over Zoom to answer any questions about the fund and the application form. You can register for a session on Eventbrite. They will be held on:
- Wednesday 19 January 2022 at 10:30am. Register for the session on eventbrite
- Tuesday 25 January 2022 at 1pm. Register for the session on eventbrite
How to apply
We advise that you read the Application guidance document to help you with your application.
To apply you need to complete both of the following:
- Application form
- Grant Agreement (Part 1, question 2 and 4)
You also need to send us these supporting documents by email:
- copy of your governing document
- copy of your most recent signed accounts
- copy of your most recent Annual Report or an Impact Report you have produced for funders/ management committee
- financial evidence supporting your application
Completed applications and supporting documents should be emailed to vslt@sheffield.gov.uk.
The deadline for applications is midday on Monday 7 February 2022.
If you have any queries about the fund please email the Voluntary Sector Liaison Team vslt@sheffield.gov.uk.
Decisions
Applications which are deemed eligible will be assessed on five criteria by our officers:
- Track record and Impact
- Need linked to Covid
- Urgency of funding need
- Attempts to tackle financial pressure
- Future sustainability
You must address all of these areas, but greater weight will be given to the category of urgency of need.
The officer assessments will then be considered by a Grants Advisory Panel who will meet in February to make the final decisions. Successful applicants will receive a formal offer of a grant with an updated Grant Agreement in February.
Grant Aid Annual Report 2018-19
This is the second year of Sheffield City Council’s three-year commitment to a city-wide grant aid funding strategy in recognition of the vital contribution Sheffield's local voluntary, community and faith (VCF) sector makes to life in the city.
Highlights from 2018/19 include:
- total Grant Aid investment £1,503,985
- 64 organisations received a grant
- grant recipients supported a total of 27,781 individuals
- grant recipients employed a total of 309 staff
- grant recipients had a total of 1,690 volunteers contributing 217,274 hours, equivalent to a volunteer dividend of £1,955,462 (using the Real Living Wage)
- 42% of individuals who were supported by Grant Aid report having a disability or long-term condition
- 49% of individuals who were supported by Grant Aid are BAMER (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic or Refugee)
- contact us if you would like a copy of our Annual Impact Report Infographic
What to do if you need a letter of support or endorsement from the council
If you are applying for a grant, and your bid links to the our current corporate plan objectives, and your application will be strengthened by a letter of support from the council then please contact the voluntary sector liaison team. They can talk to you and get a manager to provide a letter stating that, although your project may not be directly linked to the council, it supports our objectives for the city.
If you are applying for a fund and you need a letter of endorsement stating that your application is the only one the council supports for the local authority area, then please get in touch with the voluntary sector liaison team who will be able to assist you. If we get numerous request for an endorsement for an external fund (eg The Big Lottery), and only one can be put forward, an internal panel of officers and Councillors will make a decision about which bid is the strongest and request the Chief Executive endorses that one. If an application links to an area of commissioning that you already have a relationship with then contact your commissioning officer.