Aims/priorities: The Homelessness Winter Transformation Fund is provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The Fund is administered by Homeless Link, working in partnership with Housing Justice. The fund aims to change the way projects are run to help transform people’s lives by offering a route off the streets and, ultimately, to reduce rough sleeping. It will help enable small-to-medium homelessness charities, community and faith groups and voluntary sector organisations to transform their winter services for people sleeping rough in response to the requirements of these individuals and the need to move away from communal sleeping arrangements as a result of COVID-19.
The funding must be for one or both of two purposes:
- To ensure that faith and community groups who provide winter accommodation can provide single room / self-contained accommodation this winter; and
- To support services that prevent rough sleeping and support rough sleepers in ways building on proven approaches such as hosting, shared houses, support and advice (such as employment training), and accessing the private rented sector.
The fudnding stream currently available is:
The Revenue stream - this will fund staff, running and operational costs, including small scale refurbishments such as painting and decorating costs. For groups applying for Capital costs as part of a Revenue application, these costs should be a small proportion of the overall budget
Who can apply? Applications are accepted from:
- Registered charities.
- Charitable Incorporated Organisations.
- Community Benefit Societies.
- Community Interest Companies (with an asset lock).
To be eligible organisations must:
- Be based and operating in England.
- Be a small to medium sized organisation with an annual turnover of up to £5 million. Organisations with a higher turnover may apply if they are the only winter shelter provider in a particular area.
- Be working directly with people experiencing homelessness, with more than 50% of beneficiaries being people experiencing homelessness.
Grant amount: Revenue grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 to be spent by 31 March 2022. Revenue bids can contain up to 10% of minor capital costs.
Application process: All relevant documents, including the initial questionnaire for the Capital stream, can be found on Homeless Link website on the grants page. Further information is available from the webinar recording which provides an overview of the Fund, outlining eligibility criteria, key objectives and aims.
Deadline: 5 July 2021
Contact information: Email fund@homelesslink.org.uk or Email j.quagliozzi@HousingJustice.org.uk
Website address: www.homeless.org.uk/grants