Young Foundation Report on Small Grants Published
A new report by the Young Foundation outlines how financial support should best be provided to local, voluntary and community organisations. With small community organisations playing a crucial role in local areas through their contribution to social capital and community cohesion, community organisations are still losing out to larger voluntary organisations, both in terms of public donations and public contracts.
The report finds that the key principles for grant making are:
1. Decentralisation- community organisations will benefit from working with grant making bodies that are ‘close to the ground’ and have local knowledge and expertise.
2. Capacity- small community organisations benefit from support before, during and after the grant has been given to build their capacity and confidence to seek further, longer term funding from elsewhere.
3. Accountability- the grant making process should aim to be transparent and fair. This will give reassurance to small community organisations that they have an equal chance of receiving funding.
The report finds that there is no single policy that can transform the position of small community organisations, but recommends that:
1. Local independent funding organisations- these should complement any funding that comes from either from central government or from local authorities.
2. Links to elected bodies- longer term independent local organisations should have a closer relationship to stronger community governance structures – including elected neighbourhood councils and parish councils.
3. Better evaluation methods- further research should be done on better ways of assessing how well community organisations are rooted in local communities.
Access a copy of the report from the Young Foundation's website.
