ESF Community Grants in East Midlands

Small not-for-profit VCS organisations in the East Midlands can apply now for the sixth and final funding round of the European Social Fund (ESF) Community Grants programme in their area, which closes on 5 April.

VCS organisations can apply for grants of up to £5,000 for projects that support the most disadvantaged individuals to access further learning opportunities or progress to employment. People benefitting from these grants will be experiencing barriers to services and will not be in paid work or will be economically inactive.

The total funding pot is £100,000 and is expected to support 20 projects.

Small VCS organisations working with local communities can use the funding to deliver a range of skills and employment support activities that will enable people from the hardest to reach communities to make progress towards the labour market.

Activities should be designed by, or in collaboration with, the target group and can cover a wide range of activities including:

• First contact engagement activities to support people who are not normally in contact with official organisations.
• Projects to improve confidence, motivation and social integration.
• Developing local networks and groups in support of people without work or need to access learning.
• Softer skills development.
• Innovative approaches to attract underrepresented groups into learning.

Projects can include aspects of the following:

• Volunteering and work experience opportunities.
• Non accredited first steps learning.
• Tasters to encourage the take up of learning.
• Basic help with skills for life.
• Job search support.

The target group is unemployed and economically inactive people aged 18 years and over who are from the hardest to reach communities and who have difficultly accessing mainstream provision. There is a particular focus on benefit recipients inactive in the labour market, people with no qualifications and/or skills for life needs, communities of interest underrepresented in the labour market and individuals low in confidence and aspirations.

Priority will be given to projects that support the following groups:

• People with disabilities and health conditions (where progression to employment is a likely outcome).
• Lone parents.
• People aged 50 or over (but still seeking to enter the labour market).
• People from ethnic minority groups.

The programme aims to move people closer to the labour market, therefore all participants should be either registered unemployed or economically inactive. Projects cannot support people already employed.

The ESF Community Learning Grants scheme is provided by the European Social Fund and the Skills Funding Council and administered locally by Enable, the Voluntary and Community Sector Learning and Skills Consortium serving the East Midlands.

For further information click here.