Thirteen support and work with groups and partner agencies which make a positive contribution to the well-being and sustainability of our neighbourhoods by offering grants of up to £1500.
We welcome applications from groups and organisations working within areas where Thirteen have homes. This includes community groups, local and national charities, residents associations, voluntary organisations, public sector bodies, local authorities and Thirteen service teams.
We expect groups to demonstrate that they have match funding in place in the form of either cash, materials or volunteer time. By supporting and promoting joint working this fund aims to make a significant contribution to the improvement of local communities making them places where people want to live.
Applications must support at least one of the following themes:
- Social and Personal Development Skills
Projects and activities which support residents to develop skills to enhance their lives and life chances
- Health and Wellbeing Activities
Projects and activities which support customers to live happy and healthy lives
- Community Safety Projects
Projects and activities which ensure that our communities are safe places to live and creating a sense of belonging in a community
- Environment
Projects and activities which make our communities cleaner and greener places to live
- Financial and Digital Inclusion
Projects and activities which enable our customers to access services and facilities that are needed to participate in modern society
Key things to remember when applying
All monies approved will be paid via BACs into a nominated bank account which must not be an individual or joint person’s account. We MUST receive proof of bank details (such as a paying in slip or bank statement) and we will only request this if your funding has been awarded.
All sections on the application form must be completed fully before the application can be considered. Incomplete forms will be returned.
If this project requires assistance from Thirteen staff you must seek approval before the grant is submitted, these costs will be taken into consideration by the panel.
Grant money awarded may be staged over the delivery of the project.
If you have had funding from the Community Fund previously and have not provided feedback your application will not be considered.
Applicants can only be awarded a maximum of £1500 per financial year. Parent groups/organisations and their subsidiary groups/organisations are considered the same applicant.
Exclusions
We will not provide funding for the following activities:
- Capital appeals or running costs of fee charging residential homes, nurseries and other such care facilities
- Hospitals, Health Service Trusts, medically related appeals and medical equipment
- Individuals
- Overseas travel & activities
- Overnight accommodation
- Private businesses
- Loans, repayment of loans or retrospective funding
- National Appeals
- Religious advancement or religious buildings
- Activities that are primarily the responsibility of statutory agencies
- Political Activities
- Where Thirteen or another agency is already providing or funding similar local activity
- Funding has already been awarded by another department within Thirteen
- Wages and salaries of staff employed by your group/organisation
- DBS Checks
- Insurance
- Utility costs (including broadband, telephone and mobile phone contracts)
- Fixtures and Fittings (e.g. chairs, tables, carpets etc.)
This list is not exhaustive, and each application will be considered on merit.
If your application includes transport costs we will only provide funding for 50% of the cost.
Feedback
- All successful applicants will be expected to complete a feedback form at the end of their project/event.
- The information provided on the feedback form may be used to promote the Thirteen Community Fund and the projects/events that we support via our website and social media.
- As well as a completed feedback form we require photographs, videos, soundbites, case studies
- If you are using the funding to hold an event please invite us along so we can support with the feedback.
- If we do not receive feedback from your project future funding will not be considered.
- All successful applicants will be expected to ask participants of their project/event to complete a social value participant survey at the beginning and at the end of the project/event.
Social Value Participant Surveys
Social value plays an important role in demonstrating the effect that organisations have on the world around us. Social value allows organisations to examine the work they do in communities and attach a financial value to that work.
Social value covers three key areas:
- Social – ‘people and communities’
- Economic – ‘local economy and enterprise’
- Environmental – ‘the world around us’
Thirteen is a caring landlord providing almost 34,000 homes in the North East. We have a commercial head and a social heart and work to create opportunities for our customers and contribute to the regeneration of the Tees Valley.
We’re committed to making a positive impact in our communities which means that we look at all areas of our business to see where we can add further value.
The Thirteen Community Fund provides grants of up to £1500 to local groups and organisations for projects that benefit our communities. We need to gather information on the social value that this funding provides. Therefore, we require participants of funded projects to complete a social value participant survey before and after their project/event. The questions in the survey are specific to each individual application and we require a minimum of 40% of participants to complete these surveys.
Applications
All applications will be considered by a panel of Thirteen customers who assess the applications against the above themes and exclusions.
You will be informed either by email or letter of the outcome of your grant application within 10 working days following the deadline date.
All decisions are final, and appeals will not be considered.
Deadline date for applications:
- Monday 29th April 2019
- Monday 10th June 2019
- Monday 29th July 2019
- Monday 9th September 2019
- Monday 21st October 2019
- Monday 2nd December 2019
- Monday 20th January 2020
- Monday 2nd March 2020