The generosity and kindness of Wolverhampton residents, visitors and business community is an asset worth nurturing. Alternative Giving provides a way for people to give donations at a number of locations across the city that aims to reduce street begging. The charity also aims to attract business support and Corporate Social Responsibility to help and then ensures that people’s and businesses’ donations and volunteer time are constructively directed to local charities and other organisations to support long term assistance for Wolverhampton’s most vulnerable and homeless. Wolverhampton boasts several organisations and charities that do excellent work in assisting the homeless and most vulnerable in areas such as accommodation, education and employment and drug and alcohol rehabilitation, many of which may benefit from any further support.

The Alternative Giving CIO will enable local charities, communities and organisations to showcase local initiatives that offer practical support to our homeless and most vulnerable people. It will also dispel some of the myths and misunderstanding about vulnerability and homeless, entitlements to welfare and access to treatment.

We believe that charities, communities, and organisations have the potential to contribute to the improvement of the most vulnerable people and homeless presenting in their local area of the City of Wolverhampton.

Therefore, we provide grants of between £500 and £5000 to help put ideas into action and to run projects that benefit those who are homeless and most vulnerable in the City of Wolverhampton.

When we assess projects, we are looking for:

• Charities, communities and organisations that exist in Wolverhampton who support the homeless and most vulnerable.
• Homeless and most vulnerable people who access services in Wolverhampton.
• To help those in need improve their current circumstances by offering them accommodation, assistance and advice.
• We want to help the homeless and most vulnerable people on the streets who have complex needs and struggle to access services – by directing them to benefits, housing, alcohol and substance abuse services or mental health support.
• The Wolverhampton Alternative Giving charity will help support our work with the homeless and most vulnerable in the city to secure the right accommodation at the right time, also working with our most vulnerable people that we work with every day in Wolverhampton who are part of our community.

We can fund homelessness or project costs including, for example:

• accommodation
• provision of items such as furniture, bedding, clothing, food, fuel etc.
• Electrical’s such as kettles, toasters etc.
• payment for services such as house decorating, insulation and repairs, outings and entertainment, rates and utilities etc.
• provision of facilities such as tools or books, travelling expenses, vocational training, computers and technology.

• Non-homelessness or non-housing related issues
• Individuals
• Research projects

We cannot fund projects whose beneficiaries are situated outside of Wolverhampton.

We require two references. Your referees should be from people who work in a professional capacity (not a friend or relative) and that you have known for at least a year. Your referees should not be involved in your project.

Applications for grants, of between £500 to £5000 Alternative Giving CIO, are invited from groups who believe their actions to be in pursuit of the aims of Alternative Giving CIO. For exceptional projects, applications over £5000 may be considered.

We ask all applicants to provide a detailed project budget as part of their application, with a breakdown of exactly what the funding is for and how the funding will be spent.

Please send your completed application addressed (Alternative Giving CIO) by email to jo@wolverhamptonbid.co.uk

Download the Application Form including the following information:

• Full contact details including name, address, telephone number, email etc.
• Confirmation of legal status e.g. constituted group (we will require a copy of your constitution if you are successful), charity (please include registered charity number) or community interest company (CIC) (please include registered company number)
• A clear overview of the group’s aims and objectives
• Precise details of the project for which funding is sought including:
  • Project activities
  • Proposed start and end date
  • A detailed budget breakdown
  • Project outcomes
  • Arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the project

Before submitting your application, please ensure that you have included all of the required documentation.

• Confirmation of charity registration or business incorporation
• Covering letter
• Project budget
• Concise proposal of approximately 3-4 pages with references

Previous applicants to the Alternative Giving CIO are welcome to re-apply for funding.

Application start date 1^st February 2023
Application end date 20^th February at 5pm

The next round for applications will be open on: 1st February 2023

All applicants are welcome to re-apply for funding.

Funding Decision Process

By applying to the Alternative Giving CIO, you are agreeing for the Charity to use your details to contact you in the future with the details provided in the application form. The Charity will store your details for 12 months after you submit your application.

The Board of Trustees reviews applications and decides which projects to fund on a quarterly basis. For applications that we would like to fund, a trustee contacts the referees and (subject to satisfactory references) will inform the applicant that they have been successful. Sometimes a trustee may contact you to find out more about your project if more information is needed to decide upon a decision.

What happens if my application is successful?

If you are successful, we will contact your referees. Subject to satisfactory references, we will contact you for your organisation’s bank details.

We ask all our successful applicants to send us an update after 6 months – this could be a short write up of what has happened since you applied or photos of the project in action – so that we can see the difference that your project is making.  All updates will be shared via the charity’s website www.wolverhamptonchange.co.uk

What happens if my application is unsuccessful?

If you do not hear from us within 2 weeks of the quarterly trustee meeting, then it is unlikely that your application has been successful. Unfortunately, we are not able to give feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Top Tips for Applicants

Please do not apply for funding if your beneficiaries are not situated within Wolverhampton. Your application will not be considered.

• DO make sure that your project fits what the Charity funds, before starting to write your application.
• DO explain how your project will make a difference, and what problem it addresses
• DO give a detailed budget breakdown as part of your application
• DO give details of who will deliver the project and what the roles entail
• DO be creative. We are interested to hear innovative new ways that groups are tackling homelessness and vulnerability issues in their communities.
• DO provide referees who you know in a professional capacity, but who are not a part of the project.
• DO ensure you are able to run a project without any technical/compliance/regulation issues (e.g. consider what qualification or checks you might need, such as Safeguarding Policy/DBS checks etc.)
• DO be patient. Trustees meet every quarter. It takes time after each meeting to contact applicants and issue funding to successful projects. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to give feedback about unsuccessful applications.