“Mid and East Antrim will be a strong, vibrant, safe and inclusive community, where people work together to improve the quality of life for all”

The four themes within Putting People First are:

Good Health & Wellbeing

• Our People enjoy good mental and physical health and wellbeing

Progress in Education & Employment

• We have a skilled workforce able to adapt to the changing economy
• Our Borough provides opportunities for all and supports people to achieve their full potential

Tourism & the Economy

• Our Borough is a leading and competitive place to start and grow business
• Our Borough is a destination of choice

Community Safety & Cohesion

• Our Borough has vibrant, inclusive and cohesive communities
• Our people feel safe in their community
• Our older people live healthy active lives in their community

There is also five Crosscutting Priorities

• Tackling poverty
• Prioritising the most vulnerable
• Addressing the inequalities in our borough
• Valuing the views and contribution of our residents
• Valuing our environment

Putting People First - The Mid and East Antrim Community Plan 2022 Update

PEOPLE

Mid and East Antrim will be a borough where diversity and inclusion are celebrated.

Our people, regardless of their ability, location or socio-economic background will have equity of opportunity and support to achieve their full potential.

Through partnership working, our communities and individuals will have a shared sense of independence and empowerment to be self-sustaining, allowing us to focus our efforts on supporting those who need it most.

Our businesses will have the required support to become economically affluent, resulting in stable employment and elevated inward investment.

PLACE

Mid and East Antrim will be a safe and cohesive borough, where everyone feels a sense of belonging and pride.

Our shared spaces will be shaped around our natural and built heritage and assets.

Through our relationships with local communities and businesses our tourism offering, will be filled with diversity and a richness of culture and history, attracting visitors on a global scale.

PLANET

Through working in partnership with our citizens, communities and businesses, and through leading by example, Mid and East Antrim will be a sustainable borough, safeguarding the future of our economy, society and environmental assets.

PERFORMANCE

An internally focused pillar, not relevant to the applicants of this scheme.

OUR CITIZENS TOP PRIORITIES

In addition, our citizens survey resulted in the following top 5 priorities for our residents:

1. Supporting and developing activities for children and young people
2. Support to reduce poverty
3. Developing skills and job prospects
4. Delivering clean and attractive streets and towns
5. Supporting our parks, green spaces and the natural and built environment

All projects, programmes and organisations seeking support through this scheme must demonstrate how they are in line with and contributing to the vision of Mid and East Antrim Borough and Council.

Please note that the vision, pillars, objectives stated within the relevant plans have been developed as a result of consultation and in response to what our citizens have told us is important to them and their communities.

Mid & East Antrim Borough Council Corporate Plan 2023-2024

For full detail on eligibility and criteria please see Pages 11 - 15

In addition to the Community Grants Scheme, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council operates other grants schemes. Details of these can be found on page 15 or by going to the Online Grants Hub at the Council Online Grants Hub.

Who can apply?

To qualify for a grant under this Scheme, applicants must:

• Be a formally constituted Community Organisations/Group in good standing with the Charity Commission of NI and be based in the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area.
  • Please note the organisations fitting the above description, but NOT based in Mid and East Antrim Borough can apply to the Events Category ONLY, and must demonstrate that the activity provides a clear and direct benefit to the Mid and East Borough and its citizens.
• Be an individual who lives in the Borough of Mid and East Antrim and who can illustrate how they qualify under the appropriate category.

Making a successful application

The application will have a number of questions which will give applicants an opportunity to outline their project / event and detail how it meets the particular criteria. It will also ask about your organisation its governance, procedures, and size.

Most importantly applicants must detail on how their project / event aligns with the stated priorities of the community plan “Putting People First” and the Corporate Plan 2024 – 2028.

To be successful in securing funding under this scheme applicants must score a minimum of 50% against the response to each question within the application.

It is therefore essential that the applicant provides as much relevant detail as possible to enable their application to be assessed.

Those assessing applications will focus on both the organisation’s merit, and the project or activity for which funding is sought.

This is a “rolling” programme, where applications can be made throughout the year and grants are awarded on a regular basis.

When applying, it is advised to plan ahead and allow for a gap of approximately 8 weeks between submission of an application and a decision being made.

We expect to be able to inform groups of the outcome of their application within 8 weeks of submission (though it might take a bit longer if we were to receive a large amount of applications at the same time).

Groups are permitted to apply for a maximum of two grants per financial year plus one New Community Project grant, subject to eligibility.

Applicants cannot apply for the same category twice in the same financial year.

Should the council not receive enough good quality applications which meet its priorities, the Council reserves the right to not allocate the full grants budget.

Only fully completed funding applications with the required supporting documentation will be considered. Incomplete applications will be disregarded.

Before completing an application, applicants should make sure that they are eligible to apply and have read these guidance notes in full.

Applicants are encouraged to submit the application at least eight weeks in advance of the commencement of the event / project to ensure Council can make a decision in a timely decision.

• Applicants must register with the MEA Online Grants Hub.
• You submit your online application any time through the MEA Online Grants Hub.
• Officers aim to assess your application within two months of receiving it. You may be contacted if further information is required.
• Organisations will be notified about the outcome of their applications, usually within two months after submitting it.
• Organisations will be required to submit a monitoring report, detailing how your grant has been spent (e.g. providing receipts) together with the outcomes of the service or activity. Failure to provide this information will affect any future applications for funding.
• All funding must be spent within the current financial year.
• The council’s decision on your application will be final. Should your application not be successful, you will be given a reason why.

If you require assistance please feel to contact the Grants Team:

T: 028 2563 3342
E: grants@midandeastantrim.gov.uk

Equality of opportunity

While administering the Community Grants Scheme, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council will ensure the promotion of equality of opportunity between:

1. Persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status or sexual orientation;
2. Men and women generally;
3. Persons with a disability and persons without; and
4. Persons with dependants and persons without;

In addition, due regard will be given to the promotion of good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council WILL NOT fund the following:

• Commercial ventures/organisations (with the exception of the International Events category).
• General running/revenue costs of an organisation. Ineligible items include salaries, electricity, heating, telephones, internet, websites, rent, subscriptions, bank fees and membership fees.
  The purchase of equipment relating to the administration of the group, such as IT equipment and mobile phones.
• Items of equipment which would be deemed capital spend, i.e. non-portable, permanent fixtures etc.
• Ongoing hire of a Council facility (funding for one-off hire for events will be considered).
• Hire of a Council facility as part of a wide scale service or programme external to Council’s remit.
• Single issue organisations whose primary focus is campaigning or lobbying.
• Parades.
• Fundraising events for either the group itself or events that are heavily branded with charity branding or deploy potential sources of income from a festival or event to a charity or other third-party organisation.
• Umbrella groups/branch organisations not represented in the Mid and East Antrim Area by a locally based committee.
• Activities within an area of work which is principally the remit of another public sector body, e.g. schools, pre-school groups, childcare facilities, PTAs, activities forming part of a vocational qualification, gap year or outward bound activity for students and residential courses etc.
• Projects that have already commenced or expenditure incurred prior to making application to this scheme.
  Council at its discretion will however consider funding costs associated with payments to secure venues, the booking of transport and accommodation, which are relevant to the project and demonstrate value for money.
• Creation of books (tourism leaflets and programmes produced as part of an event will be eligible).
• Groups who, at the time of application, are not in good financial standing with the Council.
• Items of personal team kit, clothing and uniforms including purchase of flags and/or emblems. (See Jonathan Rea bursary for exceptions).
• Alcohol.
• Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)
• Sports not recognised by Sport NI.
• Prize monies
• Payments to suppliers/service providers that are members of the applicant group, such as Tutors/Coaches/Facilitators etc.

• Council reserves the right to amend and open or close the scheme as required throughout the financial year.
• The scheme will close for applications on 31 March 2025 or upon full allocation of the overall budget.
• Groups are permitted to apply for a maximum of two grants per financial year plus one New Community Project grant, subject to eligibility. Applicants cannot apply for the same category twice in the same financial year.
• Individuals are permitted to apply for a maximum of one grant per financial year plus one application for Jonathan Rea Bursary, subject to eligibility.
• Applicants/projects that have been awarded funding through this or other Council grants schemes will not be permitted to obtain additional funding for that particular project or through another applicant.
• All projects awarded funding within the 2024/25 financial year must be completed by 31 March 2025 and have final claims submitted by 30 April 2025.
• It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all statutory licences and permits are in place prior to an event taking place.
  Typical licences required for a community event include Entertainments, Street Trading etc.
  For information on licences and fees, please visit Council's Licensing section
• Any sports clubs or activity to be eligible to apply for a grant they must fall into one of the categories defined by Sport NI as a sport.
  Sports activities by any group must also fall into one of the categories defined by Sport NI as a sport.
  A list of recognised sports for the purposes of this policy is available on the Sport NI website.
• Further specific terms and conditions for successful are available on the Council Online Grants Hub.

The following procurement procedures must be adhered to when purchasing any individual good or service relating to the project or event.

Applicants are required to upload the necessary written quotations as outlined below to the application form.

Failure to do so will result in the application not moving to the next stage of evaluation and may be deemed ineligible for funding.

Quotations:

Payment of grant

Payment of grant will be made after the project or activity has taken place and upon submission of the Claim Form and the completion of Council’s vouching and monitoring processes.

All successful applicants will have the opportunity to request a 50% advance payment.

This can be done online via the Grants Portal.

No further payments will be made until completion of the project and satisfactory vouching has taken place.

N.B. Council, at its discretion, may contact suppliers directly to verify expenditure has taken place in accordance with the funding awarded.

Cases of suspected fraud involving Mid and East Antrim Borough Council funds will be reported to the police.

Marketing

Successful applicants will be required to acknowledge the contribution made by the Council in proportion to the level of funding awarded.

Guidance will be provided in the Letter of Offer.