The Community Foundation of Northern Ireland is seeking applications for the McCall Social Care Fund.

The fund aims to make a small number of awards to those organizations working in the community and voluntary sector, who are delivering innovative and new projects offering additional value in social care at this time, in areas where statutory support is falling short of need, is limited, or in some places at the moment nonexistent, as the public sector focuses on emergencies. The area of benefit is County Antrim only.

What can be supported within the fund themes?

There will be four grants offered of £10,000 to four different organizations.

Examples of potential projects that we may be able to support include:

• Initiatives, such as enhanced befriending. The funding will prioritize those groups who are thinking about how they can befriend in an innovative way, and in line with guidance around social distancing and isolation. The support also must include encouragement to become as independent as possible, if appropriate, and directing the beneficiary to further support if needed.
• Pilot projects linked to addressing social care, in particular geographical communities where existing provision may be limited or nonexistent.
• Training to better coordinate services working in social care, or for organizations to build their capacity to coordinate, and become more strategic.
• System updates and organizational capacity support for those organizations providing social care, to better accept referrals, either by calls, or online, enabling better coordination of volunteer support, as well as to relevant services that might help.
• Home based nursing provision and social care.
• Bespoke services for patients, careers and loved ones, through terminal illness.
• Any project that supports enhancement in skills or knowledge within the applicant organization, innovation, increasing reach, scaling up or across, building collaborations to deliver efficiency, strengthening your structures and processes, or strengthening your organization’s reputation or connections – but, importantly, in a planned and strategic fashion that may deliver sustainable change in social care.

They expect projects to include:

• An innovative, expanded, and/or more efficient and effective service offer
• Strong leadership and governance
• Improved management systems
• Sound impact measurement systems
• Thoughts around future strategic planning and direction in relation to social care
• Collaborative approaches, where possible
• Strengthened networks

Funding Information

Grant size: £10,000

Criteria

• Applications are invited from community and voluntary sector organizations that are supporting social care needs in Northern Ireland during the COVID 19 threat.
• The threat of COVID 19, and the further isolation of older people, is likely to continue to remain for a number of months.
• Funding will be focused on those organizations who can adapt and have been innovative, to enable them to support those most in need at this time

Who can apply?

• Registered charities and,
• Constituted community organizations, and CICs, within Northern Ireland, who are working to support social care in the County Antrim area only

For more information, visit Community Foundation.