[WiLT] vcash for young volunteers - next round closes 17th August 2009

[WiL Admin]

vcashpoint

vcashpoint is giving away £1 million to 16-25 year olds in England with good
ideas. If you've got an idea for a volunteering project to improve your
community, you could get your hands on a grant to make your idea a reality.

Interested in bringing your ideas to life, learning new skills and transforming
your community?

The next 3 rounds of vcashpoint are now open for application!

Make sure you read the vcashnotes guidance to check your eligibility before
applying.

Deadlines for application are:
. Round 6 - 12 noon Monday 17 Aug 2009;
. Round 7 - 12 noon Monday 25 Jan 2010;
. Round 8 - 12 noon Monday 10 May 2010.

To apply and for guidelines and criteria please visit the website:
http://www.vinspired.com/vcashpoint

If you need help please contact the help desk Tel: 0800 089 9000 Email:
vcashpointinquiries at bss.org


Vcashnotes

Who can apply?

vcashpoint will fund projects that:
. Are designed and run by 16-25 year old volunteers ("youth-led")
. Take place in England
. Clearly benefit a chosen community - this could be the community where you
live, or where you spend most of your time, or a group of people that you would
like to help
. Are either NEW or an idea you've used in the past and would like to try again,
doing things a bit differently
. Create at least 3 NEW volunteering opportunities for 16-25 year olds (in
addition to you). Volunteers give their time to help others, other than just
taking part in an activity - so, for example, coaching local children to play
football is volunteering, but playing in a local football match isn't
. Cost £2,500 or less - and spend the money wisely.

vcashpoint will not fund:
. Applications from organisations (applications must come from individuals)
. Projects that already exist and are seeking funding to continue
. Part-funding of larger projects - vcashpoint must be the only funding for the
project
. Projects that have already been funded by vcashpoint in a previous round and
do not include any new ideas or new volunteers.
. Projects that involve raising funds - for example, charging participants to
take part, selling goods or services or raising funds for other charities,
organisations or activities
. Projects that support religious activity
. v will not accept applications from YAT members or another groups to carry out
projects directly related to their YAT activity, as this is funded through our
vinvolved programme. Young people who are YAT members can apply to run a
vcashpoint project as long as it is completely independent from their YAT or
other v-funded activities.

To apply for vcashpoint funding, you must be:
. Aged between 16 and 25 on the deadline of the round you applying for (see
below for specific date).
. Prepared to run your project as a volunteer (without getting paid) and act as
the main contact for the project
. If you have a job, your project can't be part of your paid role and must be
carried out outside of your working hours
. You can only submit one application for each round of vcashpoint

Managing your grant
. If you have any problems which mean that you may need to make changes to your
project, please make sure you contact v immediately to discuss the best way
forward and to seek v's approval on any changes to the project
. If at any point and for any reason you are no longer able to carry out the
project you will need to contact v immediately. If another young person is
willing to take the project on we will support you in the process of handing
over the project.
. Failure to comply with the vcashpoint guidance and your terms of grant may
lead to the withdrawal of your grant and you may be required to refund any grant
money that has been paid to you

Support for your project
. If you need support from a youth worker or other professional(s) or adult(s)
in applying for or carrying out the project, the person providing the support
must complete the relevant section of the application form clearly explaining
their role. It's important that they tell us how they'll make sure that you stay
in charge of the project.
. If you did not have support when you submitted your application, and decide at
a later stage to request support from a support worker or another adult you
still need to let us know and the person supporting you will need to contact us
to complete the relevant question on the application form.
. Contact us on: vcashpointapplications at vinspired.com

Your project's funding
vcashpoint is looking to fund small youth-led projects which are aimed at
filling a gap within a given community. We want you to think creatively about
how you spend your grant and want to know you're spending your money wisely. As
a result:
. If your project requires more than £1,500 funding, you will have to complete
the "extra funding" box on the application form to explain why you can't access
cheaper or free alternatives.
. If your project has budgeted for a celebration or recognition event for the
volunteers, this budget item cannot account for more than 5% of the overall cost
of your project.
. If your project includes money for training, this cost cannot account for more
that 25% of the overall grant. This training has to be specifically for the
volunteers to enable them to deliver the project
. if you need equipment to run your project, think carefully about what you
need, as vcashpoint will not generally fund equipment and will consider such
requests on a case by case basis. Equipment approved will remain the property of
v and applicants will be required to donate it to a charity approved by v at the
end of the project. Bank Account
. If your application is successful, you will need to open a new bank account.
This is to keep your grant separate from your own finances.
. The bank account must be in your name or your vcashpoint project's name. This
bank account must be opened after 5 June 2009, and must be set up before your
project starts.
. If you ran a vcashpoint project in the past, you may use the same account you
used for your previous project - you will need to provide us with a statement
covering the three month period before your project start date. If you have any
issues opening an account, please contact us at
vcashpointapplications at vinspired.com

How to apply
. Complete the online application or download an application form from
http://www.vinspired.com/vcashpoint
. Send in a clear and readable copy of your ID as proof of identity and age -
this could be a copy of your passport, birth certificate or drivers' licence.
Applicant details on the application form, ID and Bank account (see below) must
refer to the young person who will be responsible for the grant and delivery of
the project.
. Completed application forms and ID should be sent to -
vcashpointapplications at vinspired.com or by post to: vcashpoint, 5th floor, Dean
Bradley house, 52 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AF
. For applications submitted by post, the post office stamp date on the envelope
must be a day before the deadline or earlier. To ensure your application is not
lost in the post we recommend you send it by recorded delivery.
. Make sure you submit/email/post your form in time as unfortunately we are not
responsible for postal delays. To ensure that we receive your application within
the deadline we recommend you submit/email/post it three days in advance of the
deadline.
. If we like your idea, we may give you a call to talk about it. In your
application, you will be asked to choose a time for us to call you. If we do
need to call you we will let you know in advance. We will then make a decision
about whether to give you the funding you've applied for.

Round 6 12 noon Mon 17 Aug '09
Round 7 12 noon Mon 25 Jan '10
Round 8 12 noon Mon 10 May '10

All projects must be completed within 6 months from their project start date.

Need help?

Call us on: 0800 089 9000
or email: vcashpointqueries at bss.org

Definitions

Local community: Where you live, where you spend most of your time, a group that
you identify with or a group that you would like to help - these will be the
participants or the beneficiaries of your project.

Participants/Beneficiaries: are the people within the community you have chosen
who will benefit from your project. These people do not need to be within the
16-25 age range.

Volunteer: Someone who does something that benefits individuals, groups, or the
wider community. These are the young people (16-25) that will help manage and
carry out a project including the applicant - and this activity is unpaid.
Note: Participants do not count as volunteers.

Youth-led: A project that is designed and carried out by young people aged
16-25. It's ok to have support from an adult (e.g. a youth worker or a parent),
but the project should be created and managed by young people.

Download full Guidance Notes from
http://www.vinspired.com/opportunities/articles/pdfs/doc_download/115-vcashnotes-guidance?tmpl=component&format=raw

Apply online or download a form at
http://www.vgrantfunding.com/cashpoint/init.pl