Is your Group ready to Apply for a Grant?

Management Committee of a least three independent people, with two independent cheque signatories (typically Chair, Secretary and Treasurer).

You will need to send us a list of the names and addresses of at least three of your management committee, with cheque signatories indicated.

An appropriate governing document, which confirms amongst other things that you are operating not-for-profit and with a dissolution clause which outlines what happens to any assets should your organisation cease to operate.

If you are an unincorporated voluntary body or not-for-profit Limited Company and have annual income over £5,000 you will need to have set up as one of the recognised not-for-profit structures we support, before applying for a grant:

• Registered Charity
• Exempt Charity
• Excepted Charity
• Parish Council
• Community Interest Company (CIC)
• Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
• Community Amateur Sports Club

If you are a Social Enterprise (and not a registered charity) you should have the Social Enterprise Mark.

All organisations should adopt an Equality Policy which is a written document you can use to set out your organisation’s commitment to tackle discrimination and promote equality and diversity.The policy should identify all protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation, which an organisation is required to combat.

Policies should be signed and dated and should have the dates of the last and the next review.

For more information on Equality Policies and Procedures click here.

Groups wishing to apply to the A14 Community Fund will need a Health and Safety Policy.  Guidance on how to prepare a policy for a charity is offered by organisations such as the Cambridge CVS - click here

As part of our due diligence procedures, we require the groups that we consider for funding to recognise and understand their responsibility to safeguard against abuse the children, young people and adults that the group interacts with.   We require groups to follow Cambridgeshire County Council's Safeguarding guidance and procedures.

For details on Safeguarding Adults - visit the Council's guide to Safeguarding Adults

For more details on Safeguarding Children & Young People - please visit the Charity Commission's guidance.

Up to date accounts which summarise your annual income and expenditure and

• explain how, if you have run at a deficit over past year or more, you can be sustainable going forward
• support you are in need of a grant and not able to cover cost out of unrestricted reserves.
• evidence procedures are in place to correctly track payment of expenses based on expenditure incurred and operate a payroll as appropriate.
• show there are no payments to volunteers for their time or round sum expense allowances, as we will not fund groups that do either of these

Your organisation must have a Bank or Building Society Account requiring at least 2 independent cheque signatories.

If you have received a grant from CCF in past 24 months, all required monitoring must have been satisfactorily completed and submitted to CCF on time.

If you are a CIC you will also be required to submit:

• CIC 36 Form (if you have registered as a CIC in the last 12 months)
• latest CIC 34 Annual Report (if you have been registered as a CIC for more than 12 months)

If you are applying for funds towards maintenance or improvement of a building or an area of land that your organisation does not own, a long-term lease will be required.

For advice regarding leases, you should contact a solicitor.