Wales Council for Voluntary Action

Supplementary information

Wales Council for Voluntary Action has prepared this paper to provide additional information to the Communities and Culture Committee about funding information currently available to the Third Sector.

Funding Advice

WCVA provides the following funding services:

A Funding Advice Coordinator is based in WCVA to offer support on all areas of funding in the Third Sector.
Funding advice officers are available to support groups with the application process of some grant funds administered by WCVA.
Funding information is carried in Network Wales and WCVA e briefing (both free to WCVA members - annual membership fee for local groups is £25)
Funding updates are also carried in Funding news which is available free to anyone who signs up as a WCVA e member and selects Funding news as the newsletter they would like to receive.
Funding news is put together by staff working on our sustainable funding project; they have also recently launched a new website, www.sutainablefundingcymru.org.uk The bilingual website provides 'one-stop-shop’ information, and further signposting on topics associated with sustainable funding of voluntary and community organisations, including:
Assembly and Central Government funding
Lottery
Europe
Trusts
Giving
Contracting/tendering
Fundraising
Loans
Trading
State Aids
Full Cost Recovery
Strategic Planning

It has set up a sustainable funding project that has developed a series of six one day training courses:

Introduction to sustainable funding
Planning (Business and strategic planning, preparing a sustainable fundraising strategy)
Grants - Fit for Funding
Earning (Trading/procurement and public service delivery)
Loan finance and Asset Based Development
Giving and Public Fundraising

These courses have been delivered to around 350 participants in the first year of the project, and the following points are highlighted:

The courses have received excellent evaluations, and at £10 per module represent excellent value for money!
In years two and three of the project, the training is also being delivered at a local level by CVCs, who have received training via 'cascade days’ from the project, which is also supplying all materials to the CVCs.
The CVC training days will be advertised locally, and WCVA’s delivery is listed in the current WCVA Training and events October 07 - July 08 brochure.
WCVA courses are planned to run in Ruthin, Brecon, Wrexham, Swansea, Llandudno, Ammanford, Aberystwyth, Llanberis, Bridgend, Dolgellau, Caernarfon and Newtown.

There is a suite of funding information sheets produced by WCVA and the CVCs as part of the infrastructure information framework; these are listed on both the WCVA and CVC websites. The sheets include information on:

Developing a fundraising strategy
Grants - fit for funding
Applying to funders
Sources of funding
Small grants
Lottery funding
Trusts and foundations
Welsh Assembly Government grant funding
Non-devolved UK Government grant funding
Europe
Funding sources for health and social care projects
Funding sources for sports projects
Funding sources for arts projects
Funding sources for environmental projects
Funding for community buildings
Funding for youth oriented projects
Loans
Fundraising events
Fundraising legacies
Fundraising donations
Procurement and Public Service Delivery
Trading
Giving (sources of funds)
Tax effective giving
Corporate funding

WCVA also hosts a national funding conference each year for organisations in the Third Sector. This conference successfully brings together a number of funders both public and philanthropic to discuss the funds available in Wales and how best to attract that funding. WCVA has an excellent working relationship with a number of funders in the sector and actively signposts organisations to funders.

Funding administration

WCVA administers a range of grants schemes on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government offering both large and small grants.

Communities First Trust Fund
Communities First (Music) Trust Fund
Mental Health Small grants scheme
Communities Investment Fund
Russell Commission International Youth Volunteering Grant Scheme 2007-08
Volunteering in Wales Fund

Previous successful grants administered include:

Gwraidd
Social Risk Fund
Wales: The Active Community
Cleanstream

As part of WCVA ethos of working with the third sector, the WCVA’s board ensures that a wide range of organisations with real expertise and knowledge are involved in the grant advisory panels that consider applications. For example the Community Investment Fund panel that has 9 members with experience in banking, law, social enterprise and funding. The Communities First Trust Fund panel is drawn down from the Communities First Support Network including: CDC Cymru, Wales Co-operative Centre, BVSNW, Valleys Kids, Can0 online, Menter a Busnes, Groundwork, Interlink (CVC) and DTA Wales