Near Neighbours has launched the 2020 Small Grants Program for local groups and organisations who are working to bring together neighbours.

Near Neighbours brings people together from communities that are religiously and ethnically diverse, so that they can get to know each other better, build relationships of trust and collaborate together on initiatives that improve the local community they live in.

Near Neighbours have two key objectives:

• Social interaction - to develop positive relationships in multi-faith and multi-ethnic areas i.e. to help people from different faiths and ethnicities get to know and understand each other better.
• Social action - to encourage people of different faiths and of no faith and of different ethnicities to come together for initiatives that improve their local neighbourhood.

Priorities

In addition to criteria, they also assess applications by a few priorities. Applications showing the following qualities will be prioritised for funding: 

• Where the purpose is first and foremost to bring neighbours of different faiths and ethnicities together to build trusting relationships through an activity or project.
• Projects that help local people develop leadership and organising skills.
• Projects that focus on
  • Improving community resilience and cohesion in helping solve divisions and tensions between ethnicities and communities: especially in areas where Covid has increased these tensions; Or
  • Projects which combat loneliness and promote connectedness, for groups and individuals, especially those in need of support following lockdown and isolation; Or
  • Projects which support vulnerable women, and they welcome applications which support those who have suffered during lockdown, such as from domestic abuse and mental health issues; Or
  • Supporting vulnerable young people, especially those at risk of grooming into gangs, extremism or crime, and those who have been adversely affected in lockdown.
• New and innovative projects with a high local impact at the neighbourhood level.
• Projects that take place in neighbourhoods with deprivation or disadvantage.
• Proposals from minority faith communities.
• Proposals from small faith or community organisations or groups.
• Where a project shows sustainability; with relationships, sustainable change and/or further work together likely to continue naturally beyond the period of funding.
• Where it is clear what difference the activity will make to the local community.
• Proposals that are run by volunteers or have a strong volunteer base.
• Organisations which have not been given Near Neighbours funding before.
• Projects that source goods and services from businesses in the local community or use ethically sourced goods and services, such as Fairtrade refreshments.
• Proposals that pay staff the Living Wage, as set by the Living Wage Foundation.
• Where a proposal shows value for money.

Funding Information

Grants between £250 and £3,000 are available for local groups and organisations who are working to bring together neighbours, to develop relationships across diverse faiths and ethnicities in order to improve their local communities.

Eligible Areas

The programme works in several key locations across England. They have Hubs in West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, the Black Country, Leicester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Peterborough, Luton, West London, and East London.

Criteria

Below is an exact list of grants criteria. A project should:

• Bring together peoples of two or more different faiths and/or ethnicities, to build friendships and develop relationships of trust.
• Work locally: They want to see people who are living very locally (i.e. in the same street, estate or neighbourhood) come together.
• Work sustainably: They want to see long term and natural relationships grow, that will last beyond the period of funding.
• Work to improve the community: They want to see people working to make their communities a better place to live.
• Involve a diverse group of people in planning and implementation: People from more than one faith group and/or ethnicity are involved in running the project.

In addition, a grant must be for:

• New or developed work: They won’t support repeat or ongoing activities.
• Specific activities: Funding is given for a specific project or activity.
• Immediate activities: Grants should be claimed within three months of approval, and projects should aim to finish within six months or before the end of March 2021, whichever occurs sooner. If your area is put into lockdown, however, activities can be suspended until lockdown is lifted. They can also discuss adapting activities.
• Small initiatives: They like to fund small projects, so the total cost of the project needs to be £15,000 or less.
• Grassroots organisations: They particularly seek to fund emerging local groups as well as charities, religious organisations and other not-for-profit organisations whose focus is on local work. They will look especially favourably on small organisations with a low annual turnover.

Near Neighbours welcomes applications from faith groups, places of worship, partnerships of different faith groups, and informal local groups comprising people of different faith groups and backgrounds. They also encourage applications from secular organisations that are working with faith communities.

For more information, visit Near Neighbours