Connect Fund

Eligibility summary: Applications are welcome from the voluntary and community sector, civic society and national representative bodies including for underrepresented voices. Applicants and partners must be formally established for public benefit and not-for-profit organisations. You can apply if your organisation is a voluntary or community organisation, registered charity, constituted group or club, not-for-profit company or Community Interest Company or a statutory body. The Connect Fund will support East-West engagement and applications can be submitted for both standalone activities and also longer term proposals that facilitate ongoing engagement between civic organisations on a national and sectoral level. Funding can also be requested to enhance pre-existing projects taking place on an East-West basis or to establish new opportunities for engagement. Capital costs and core operation costs would not be eligible for funding under the scheme. We also cannot accept applications from: individuals or sole traders, organisations based outside the UK, companies who pay profits to directors, shareholders or members, including companies limited by shares, or organisations that have an ongoing application. Please note this list is not exhaustive. Staffing costs can be considered where directly ascribable to the delivery of a project, however, this must not exceed 20% of the total cost of the project. Further eligibility criteria includes: Proposals must demonstrate that the activities directly benefit Northern Ireland. Activities are not restricted by location and can occur in NI or GB provided stakeholders from Northern Ireland are involved. NI applicants must be engaging with a partner in GB as part of their project/proposal (exceptions may be accepted if proposal is for a standalone activity; for example, attending a conference); GB applicants must be engaging with a partner in NI as part of their project/proposal Applications from national representative bodies must engage with partners/organisations in both NI and GB; If you want to apply for a new grant, you must wait until your current grant is closed. Organisations may only submit one ‘live’ application for funding (this means that several proposals cannot be submitted from an organisation while they await the outcome of their application or, where successful, until the project is complete); Organisations already in receipt of UKG funding are eligible to apply for this grant. If applying as a non-statutory body, you must have a governing document (e.g. constitution or memorandum and articles of association) which includes appropriate statements on members, Directors or Trustees not benefiting financially from the organisation or its dissolution, a minimum of 3 unrelated people on the committee, this will be unrelated trustees for charities and unrelated directors for companies limited by guarantee, and have your own bank account (which requires 2 signatories). If you’ll be working with children, young people or vulnerable adults, you will need to have a safeguarding policy in place that explains how they’ll be safe. While the Fund supports organisations collaborating with counterparts on an East-West basis, grants will be awarded to one lead organisation to support the collaborative activities set out in an application. We retain the right to review and revise eligibility and criteria ahead of subsequent rounds of funding.