Agenda item

Report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee received the progress report of the Chief Grants Officer and the grant application statistics. The Chief Grants Officer presented the report; Members noted the potential risk as a result of a lack of support for the software underpinning the website.  The Committee asked that IS provide reassurance that the City Bridge Trust officers’ ability to deliver their service wouldn’t be undermined.

Members discussed the success of the Stepping Stones Fund, noting £298,400 of the £1m allocated remained, with the proposal that a further £400,000 be ring-fenced from the grants budget for a new application round in autumn. This would equate to a ring-fenced sum of £700,000 from the grants budget for 2015-16, which officers hoped could be match-funded or supplemented by other funders. In response to a Member’s query, the Principal Grants & Social Investment Officer confirmed there was capacity to find applicants for the second round of Stepping Stones funding, owing to the partnership of skills from corporate volunteers from UBS and consultant Eva Varga.

RESOLVED – That:

(a)  a further £400,000 from the 2015-16 grants budget be ring-fenced for a new  application round of the Stepping Stones Fund, to launch before early October;

(b)  the clarification of the policy concerning funding to individuals, as outlined at paragraphs 42 – 47 of the report, be noted; and

(c)  funding for activities or projects which incorporate an overnight stay, as outlined at paragraphs 48 – 49 of the report, be excluded.