The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has made £30 million of grant funding available to support local projects which aim to improve ties between the armed forces and the wider community.

The funding is part of the Armed Forces Community Covenant, which encourages close working between local communities and the armed forces in their area. The MoD has allocated £30 million over the next four years.

What kind of projects will be awarded funding?

Successful projects will share and pursue the more general aims of the covenant to:

• encourage mutual support between the armed forces and community
• encourage integration
• nurture understanding and awareness
• recognise and remember the sacrifices made by the armed forces community.

Who can apply?

Applications can come from any part of the community, for example, local authorities, charities, commercial organisations or community groups within Oxfordshire.

How much is available for individual projects?

Applications should be for one-off sums between £100 and £250,000.

Suggested projects

Some ideas for initiatives that would be considered:

• exhibitions and open days
• veteran outreach projects
• projects aimed at improving the health, welfare or life skills of service personnel and their families.

But don't feel restricted by the above! All projects will be considered.

An example of a successful bid

A bid for a series of play days, submitted by the Oxfordshire Play Association, was successful in the first round. The days will:

• provide opportunities for engagement between the military bases and their communities
• offer activities for both service and civilian families and would offer advice, information and guidance for parents and carers
• involve a number of key service providers such as schools and NHS, representatives from the voluntary, community and faith organisations, and local councils.

More information about the Armed Forces Community Covenant scheme is on the Ministry of Defence website.

Top tips for applications to the Community Covenant Grant Scheme

What is the aim of the Community Covenant Grant Scheme?

The aim of the Community Covenant Grant Scheme is to help fund local projects that work to create relationships or strengthen ties between members of the Armed Forces Community and the wider community in which they live.

Who can apply?

An application for funding can be submitted by any part of the community, this might include volunteer groups, charities, public bodies such as schools, and so on. The application will need to be made through your Community Covenant Partnership in the first instance who will ensure that the project meets the grant criteria and local requirement before forwarding to MOD for consideration by the Grant Panel.

What boxes should applications tick?

Projects putting in applications should:

• bring together and benefit both the civilian and the Armed Forces community in an area, encouraging integration
• nurture public awareness of issues affecting the Armed Forces
• encourage the Armed Forces to support the wider community
• try to secure matched funding or funding in kind from the non-Service element of the partnership (e.g. Local Authority, charity or commercial organisation)
• deliver tangible results so successes can be measured
• fulfil a need in the local area.

Applications should not:

• require funding for ongoing costs (e.g. maintenance or staff costs). MOD can only provide one-off
• funding and staff costs cannot be provided beyond one year
• top up existing grants and aids from other Government departments
• benefit only one person
• fund monument or memorials
• fund research or investments
• pay for ongoing costs of existing partnerships
• require money for fundraising activities
• fund endowments
• pay for activities that the state already has a legal obligation to provide
• provide medical treatment.

Successful projects have:

• clearly demonstrated a need for the project in the local area
• been clear on how they bring the Armed Forces and Civilian Communities together
• shown how the project delivers value for money
• clearly identified the beneficiary groups – and included detail on numbers of beneficiaries and timescales
• have described what the demonstrable impact will be to the beneficiary groups
• secured matched funding / funding in kind
• secured strong support from a variety of stakeholders; demonstrated strong local buy in and need for the project.

Unsuccessful projects:

• have not clearly demonstrated how the project delivers Armed Forces Community and Civilian Community benefits or bring the two communities together
• have been unclear on the need for the project in the local area
• have not secured support from stakeholders
• have not demonstrated value for money
• have not attempted to secure matched funding / funding in kind
• have received money in the past for the same project and are not clear on why that money has stopped / or funding is already provided for similar projects
• have fallen in to one or more categories that the grant scheme is not able to fund (see above).

The role of the Community Covenant Panel

• To ensure that the project meets the aims of the Community Covenant Grant Fund.
• To give the partnerships support to the project – thereby demonstrating a need for it in the local area.
• To agree that in its view, the project provides value for money.
• To show that it supports the outcomes of the project and believes that the Community Covenant Grant Fund is the best way of security funding for the project.

MOD small print

MOD reserves the right not to approve funding for a project where:

• it judges that it does not support the overall aims of the scheme
• it judges that funding should be provided to another project which, in its opinion, offers better value for money
• projects of a similar nature have already been approved
• there may well be other reasons that arise, though MOD will always provide an explanation for its decision.

These top tips should be read alongside the full guidance and criteria on the Community Covenant Grant Scheme which can be found on www.mod.uk.

Make an application

Download an application form from the Ministry of Defence website.

Send completed forms to oxfordshirecommunitycovenant@oxfordshire.gov.uk or:

Claire Moore
Strategic Partnership Manager
Chief Executive's Office
Oxfordshire County Council
County Hall
New Road
Oxford
OX1 1ND

Bids must be submitted by 30 April 2012 to qualify for the next round.

Bid panels sit on a quarterly basis. 

What happens after I submit an application?

Bids will be considered firstly by the Oxfordshire Military Civilian Partnership. Endorsed bids will then be submitted to the MOD to be considered by the Community Covenant Grant Panel.