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Scottish Executive Direct Funding for the Voluntary Sector
Grant Application Form

Please read the following information, which is included in the application pack, before completing this form:

• note on Scottish Executive funding
• note about the particular scheme for which you are applying
• notes on making an application (at the back of the application form)

Notes on making an application

How to complete your application form

General

• Please complete the form electronically, print off, sign and return it to the person identified on the grants guide as the contact for the grant scheme from which you seek funding. However, if this is not possible please use black ink and write clearly in BLOCK CAPITALS, as we shall need to photocopy your application. If you are completing the form electronically please note that the fields are expandable.
• Please answer each question on the application form as fully as possible. An additional A4 sheet may be attached only where extra information is crucial to the application.
• Incomplete applications will be returned and this may delay consideration of your application.
• Make sure that your application has been signed. Otherwise, consideration of your application will be delayed whilst we return the form to you for signature.
• Please ensure you complete the checklist at the end of the application form and enclose the relevant documents with your application form when you send it to us.
• If you require a copy of this application form in another language please contact the grant- giving unit.

Section A: BASIC INFORMATION

This section tells us who you are and how we can contact you.

Note 1

The contact for your application should be someone who is able to discuss the work of your organisation and the application in detail.

Note 2

Please let us know what type of organisation you are, for example if you are a charity please say so here. If you are a charity you should provide the charity number.

Section B: THE APPLICATION

This section tells us about which scheme you are applying for, the amount of money you are seeking, and over what period of time.

Note 3

The name of the scheme is included on the scheme Guidance Note contained in the application pack.

Note 4

The aim of the Scottish Executive is to provide a stable funding environment for voluntary organisations. Grants are therefore offered for up to two years. Please let us know if you are applying for a grant over a shorter period.

Note 5

You can apply for different types of funding:

• Core: To assist with the running costs of an organisation. This might include staffing costs, rent, electricity and gas, telephone costs, postage, etc.
• Project: To undertake a specific piece of work or project. This may include some of the above but also other costs related to the work to be done.

Section C: MORE ABOUT YOUR ORGANISATION

This allows you to tell us more about your organisation, how it is staffed, and with whom it works.

Note 6

Please provide as much detail as possible about what your organisation is trying to achieve and which groups it is aiming to help. Your aims and objectives detailed here should be reflected in your outcomes at Section D. Your objectives should also be broken down by funding year, i.e. what you expect to achieve in year 1, year 2, etc. You should also provide details on the structure of your organisation and how it is managed. This information will be used to evaluate your use of the grant and will inform decisions on its continuation. The Scottish Executive will not continue to fund organisations which are consistently unable to meet their objectives.

Note 7

In line with our Volunteering Strategy, the Scottish Executive is particularly keen to assist projects that have a significant contribution from volunteers. In completing your application, you should include the costs of recruiting, supporting and developing volunteers involved with the project, particularly any training required for your staff to ensure volunteers are effectively managed.

Note 8

Please provide as much information as possible on other organisations with which you currently work or have links with, or with whom you will work or have links with, on this project.

Note 9

We expect all organisations which receive Scottish Executive funding to operate inclusively and it is for this reason that we ask you to demonstrate how you promote equal opportunities/diversity. This should cover volunteers, if you engage with them, as well as paid staff. In this section please tell us about your equal opportunities/diversity policies, any equal opportunities training for your staff and volunteers, equal opportunities/diversity recruitment practice and anything else you do to operate inclusively.

Section D: ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION

This allows you to tell us: what you plan to do with any funding; why the work is necessary; who you will be assisting and how; and how your work will help the Scottish Executive to meet its objectives.

Note 10

Please tell us as much as possible about what this funding will be used for. If it is to be used to fund a particular project, please provide as much detail as you can on what the project will be doing. This could include the following:

• What type of work you plan to do
• Why it is needed
• Why your organisation should be doing it
• A timetable of the work to be completed
• What the outcomes of the work are expected to be and how these are to be achieved
• Who will benefit from the project

Please reflect your aims and objectives from Section C in your expected outcomes.

Note 11

Details of the Scottish Executive's aims and objectives and those of the particular scheme for which you are applying are given in the Guidance Notes.

Note 12

You should include full details of the costs to be incurred. These should be actual costs, not rounded amounts. Please do not forget to include any costs related to employing staff, such as National Insurance contributions, pension contributions, etc. As the Scottish Executive is committed to the principle of full cost recovery, please include the proportion of overhead costs relevant to delivering this project in your calculation.

Section A - should provide a full breakdown of VAWF spend.

Section B - should provide details of applications to other Scottish Executive funding streams.

Section C - should provide details of match funding, in kind support must be costed.

Note 13

Here you should let us know how you are going to monitor the outcomes detailed at Section D to ensure they are being achieved and making the difference you hoped for. You should think about:

• What signs will there be to show you your project is making a difference, how will you see and record these signs?
• Who will you need to communicate with to record the effect your project is having, do you need to collect this information from everyone who is benefiting or just a sample?

Note 14

It is important that we know as much about your organisation as possible before deciding whether to provide funding. Please ensure you provide the listed items. If you are applying for a Health grant you should provide audited accounts covering the last two financial years.

HOW WE CHOOSE SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS

We cannot give grant to all applicants. Factors we take into account include:

• How your objectives match Scottish Executive objectives.
• The quality of your objectives and performance measures; how you show that costs are linked to outputs and outcomes, and how you will monitor the process.
• Partnership working; community and/or business involvement and support, and effectively managed volunteer input.
• How far the work avoids duplicating that of other bodies.

GRANT CONDITIONS

Full details of the conditions that will apply will be included in the grant offer letter should your application be successful.

Conditions include the following:

• We will ask you to return grant not used for the approved purpose, or not used within the financial year.
• We pay grant only on what you actually spend. We will ask you to return any overpayment.
• The grant is not to be used for party political advocacy or activity.
• The Scottish Executive must be acknowledged in any publicity about the work assisted by our grant.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002

In accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 that comes into force on 1 January 2005, the Scottish Executive may be required to make any application for grant available for public scrutiny. In submitting a grant application, please let us know if there are any elements of it which would prejudice substantially your commercial or other interests if they were made public. Please note there may nevertheless be a public interest in publishing the material submitted.

FEEDBACK

We aim to improve our procedures continuously. If you have any comments on this form or on our process generally, we should be glad to hear them. You may write your comments below or enclose a separate letter if you would prefer.

Where can I get further information?

If you need help with filling in your application, or if you have any questions about the application process, please contact the person for the scheme to which you are applying.

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