Lendlease Deptford Landings Community Fund

Lendlease Deptford Landings Community Fund

About

Lewisham Local has launched a new £20,000 fund in partnership with property developer Lendlease, to be distributed in small grants to support community development in the Evelyn, New Cross Gate and Deptford wards as part of the regeneration of the area.

The aim of this funding is to provide financial support to groups seeking to start a new project that will create a lasting change with the following themes:  

• economic prosperity 
• community inclusion 
• wellbeing 
• healthy people, healthy planet 
• vibrant and resilient communities 

We are looking to fund five projects that each deliver impact on one of the five aims above. 

How much money is available? 

A total pot of £20,000 has been made available which will be distributed through five grants; £4,000 grant allocations.

Application Deadline 

5pm 17^th of March 2023 – Deadline for Applications 

What we hope to achieve 

These grants are being provided to launch new projects with the potential to make a real difference for the people in the local communities surrounding Deptford Deptford Landings, Lendlease’s emerging neighbourhood in North Deptford, located between Pepys Park and Deptford Park.

Funding will support the development of new projects focused on: 

• economic prosperity (example: improvements in employability outcomes, skills or in the local economy) 

• to improve community inclusion (example: supporting marginalised communities to access local opportunities or increasing access to advice or digital inclusion)  
• wellbeing (example: projects that promote good mental health and wellbeing of residents by reducing loneliness social isolation)  
• healthy people and healthy planet (example: to improve the physical health of local people or the environment, this could be teaching cooking skills and nutrition or sports programmes),  
• vibrant and resilient communities (for example art and cultural projects that celebrate the area and foster community strength). 

What we are looking to fund 

We aim to fund projects that can demonstrate impact in one or more of the five areas above, from organisations that are rooted in their local communities and would like to test and develop new initiatives to apply. We are keen to support organisations who may not have previously applied or been successful in receiving grant funding who are in a unique position to understand and respond to their communities’ needs. 

Why are we delivering this programme?

The Deptford Community Fund has been set up to support the local community surrounding the Lendlease Deptford Landings development which started in 2018 as part of their social value commitments, Lendlease has been developing the Deptford Landings site since 2018, funding the Familia project, which provided an African, Caribbean and Asian Hot Meal Delivery Service alongside telephone befriending, group wellbeing sessions and Zoom Healthy Walks during the pandemic. Lendlease also partnered with Lewisham Local to research digital exclusion Lewisham.

Colin Murphy, Project Lead, Deptford Landings comments: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Lewisham Local on the development of this new community grants fund for 2023. Lendlease has a long history of working in partnership with Lewisham residents, and this fund means that local people will now be able to access funding in support of a wide variety of community activities for the benefit of local people”

Lewisham Local, a charity based in Lewisham that is delivering the small grants programme, encourages local giving in Lewisham to alleviate poverty, promote equity and fairness. Sam Hawksley, CEO, Lewisham Local, comments: “We are excited to work with Lendlease again to deliver this grants programme to assist new projects that will benefit local residents in the Deptford area at a time where community investment is needed more than ever.

Who can apply to the Deptford Community fund?

Applications can be from one organisation or a partnership where local projects are coming together to deliver a project. For partnerships a lead organisation will need to complete the application and will be responsible for monitoring requirements. 

The following organisations are eligible to apply: 

• A constituted group with a volunteer management committee with a minimum of three unrelated members that meets on a regular basis (at least three times per year) 
• Registered charity, with a board of trustees 
• Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) 
• Not-for-profit company such as Company Limited by Guarantee
• Community interest company (CIC)  
• Community benefit society 
• Organisations with a turnover of maximum 100k or below (this is not a requirement for host organisations)

Please note Community interest company (CIC) or Company Limited by Guarantee (that are not registered charities) will be asked to send copies of your Community Interest Statement, details of the Asset Lock included in your Memorandum and Articles of Association, a copy of your latest annual community interest report and minimum of three unrelated directors with no one director with more than 50% control. 

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, projects must meet the following criteria:  

• Must not have been previously funded directly by Lendlease – if you are unsure please contact funding@lewishamlocal.com before applying 
• Projects previously funded by Lewisham Local must be up-to-date on their project monitoring – if you are unsure please contact funding@lewishamlocal.com before applying 
• Provide community activities or services within the wards of Deptford, Evelyn and New Cross Gate, which are of benefit to the residents of these wards 
• Organisations must have an organisational bank account requiring at least two unrelated signatories  or have identified a host organisation that can provide this 
• Complete an online application form 
• Projects must meet one or more of the programme aims 
• Projects must be delivered within 12 months 
• Organisations must keep financial records of transactions made using the grant award and keep copies of any purchase receipts to provide as evidence if requested at the end of the programme 
• Adhere to monitoring requirements which includes a final impact report which details what the money has been spent on, evidence of impact on the individuals supported and case studies 
• Successful organisations will also be asked to provide publicly accessible examples of their work (e.g. case studies, photographs-where appropriate- blog posts) to promote the work of Lewisham Local giving and must be willing to engage to share learning and reflections from the project in order to inform future ways of working. 

Organisations must have the following policies and procedures in place in order to be eligible and submit them on application:  

• Children’s & Adults Safeguarding  
• Health & Safety  
• Public Liability Insurance  

If you require help with any or all of these , or do not yet have these policies and procedures in place, please contact us before submitting your application to funding@lewishamlocal.com. 

Safeguarding

• If you or members of your group will be working with unsupervised children or vulnerable adults as part of your project, you should have completed a risk assessment to ensure you have considered all child protection and safety implications.
   
• You are required to possess a completed enhanced Disclosure and Baring Service (DBS) checks for any staff or volunteers working unsupervised with children or vulnerable adults.

If you require any help in this area please contact us prior to sending in your application.

Upon successful award, projects must be committed to demonstrating: 

• A commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion  
• Risk prevention through conducting a risk assessment (a template risk assessment and project agreement can be provided if needed.)  
• Engaging with Lewisham Local and Lendlease to share learning from the project to inform future programmes of work 

We will not permit applications from: 

• ‘For profit’ organisations 
• Local offices of larger regional or national organisations/charities 
• People under the age of 18 
• Organisations that do not do work within the boundaries specified above 
• Individuals 
• Organisations with no established management committee/board of trustees (unless a CIC) 

What can the funding be used for?

Any associated costs of running a project, including:  

• Activity Costs 
• Staff  
• Volunteer expenses  
• Refreshments 
• Publicity  
• Reasonable capital costs 
• Other reasonable costs associated with running the project 

What can’t use the funding be used for? 

• Costs incurred before the project began 

Application Timeline  

• Monday 30^th of January 2023 – Applications Live   

• 5pm Friday 17th^th of March 2023 – Deadline for Applications 
• Applicants will be notified by 1st of May 2023 and projects begin 

Scrutiny 

Applications will be assessed by a panel of community stakeholders with knowledge and lived experience of the area and the issues the programme is trying to address. Due diligence checks will be conducted by the Local Giving Team at Lewisham Local who will be administering the grants. Your data will be shared with the grant representatives. 

Applications will be scored using the marking criteria below.  

The panel will also consider: 

• Project scope and potential lasting impact 
• Demonstrating the difference this project will make to the people why they want to support with the grant 
• Demonstrating the need for the intervention and provide evidence of the need 

Marking

The following marking scheme will be used to assess each section of the application form. Note that all applications must score a minimum of 50 for each section in order to be considered.

0	Failed to provide confidence that the proposal will meet the requirements.
25	A poor response with reservations. The application lacks convincing detail with risks that the proposal will not be successful  in meeting all the requirements.
50	Meets the requirements. The application generally meets the requirements but lacks sufficient detail to warrant a higher mark.
75	A good response that meets the requirements with good  supporting evidence. Demonstrates good understanding.
100	An excellent, comprehensive response that exceeds the  requirements.

Given that we anticipate a high number of applications, we encourage all applicants to include as much detail as possible within the word limit to support the project application.

If you have questions regarding eligibility for this grant or you would like to discuss any aspect of your project proposal, please email funding@lewishamlocal.com.

Application process

1. Confirm your interest by filling in the online application form by Friday 17th of March at 5pm

2. Lewisham Local and the community panellists assess applications and inform applicants within six weeks of the programme deadline

3. Successful applicants will be asked to read, sign and return a Terms and Conditions form along with bank details and provide a copy of the organisation’s safeguarding policy, health and safety policy and public liability insurance and the requested documents where appropriate

4. Upon receipt of the signed T&Cs and requested documents, Lewisham Local will transfer the award total within 10 working days to grant recipients

5. Grant recipients will have one year to deliver the projects

6. Grant recipients will be asked to complete a monitoring and evaluation form and return to Lewisham Local by 30th of June 2024.

Monitoring

Successful projects will be required to undertake project monitoring as part of the grant agreement. Grant recipients will be asked to prepare and submit a short mid-point monitoring report to evaluate how grants have been administered and any impact recorded, and may be asked to host a site visit from a member of the Lewisham Local Giving Grant Making panel or Lendlease representative to hear more about the work. Organisations will be asked to submit a final project impact report including budget expenditure, case studies, photos and all learning from the project to demonstrate impact to inform an end of project evaluation which will be made public and shared with the grant funder Lendlease and other local stakeholders. 

Data Protection

In completing this form, you understand that Lewisham Local has a requirement to process your personal data.

Lewisham Local will only ever process your personal data where it has a clear lawful basis for doing so in full compliance with data protection legislation – UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act (2018).

We will always ensure security and confidentiality of your personal data.

You can save your application at any time throughout the process. We encourage you to save an offline version of your application (e.g. in a Word document) to avoid losing your work.