WINTER WARMTH COMMUNITY GRANTS SCHEME
Thanks to tremendous support from the general public, especially Yorkshire Evening Post readers,
we are delighted to be launching the 2013 Winter Warmth Community Grants Scheme. The
fund will support a range of community-based projects that target helping vulnerable people in
Leeds.
TIMETABLE
The deadline for the receipt of all applications is 5pm on Friday 10th January 2014. We aim to
make decisions on applications very quickly and distribute grants by the end of January 2014.
GRANTS CRITERIA
Applicants need to be voluntary or community groups, charities or social enterprises. We cannot
make grants directly to individuals, statutory organisations or commercial entities. The maximum
you can apply for is a grant of £2,500. If you are working in partnership with a number of groups
you can apply for up to £5,000.
Your organisation does not need to be based in Leeds but the project you apply for must benefit
residents of Leeds.
We are looking for innovative ideas that, in particular, address issues around social isolation and
that help reduce the levels of death and morbidity due to vulnerable people living in cold housing.
We prefer to fund practical projects that provide real, tangible help as opposed to purely the
onward distribution of information. Further information is given below.
We can pay for extending a current scheme / project or introducing a new idea/activity/pilot. We
are not able to fund the following:
 Research costs
 Capital Projects: buildings including upgrades and refurbishment; vehicle purchase (but will
fund general transport costs as part of your project)
 Costs associated with a project which you are already undertaking and for which you have
funding (although we will pay for extending / expanding a current project)
Vulnerable households include those with:
 Families with young children, living in deprived circumstances
 Families who are fuel poor (needing to spend more than 10% household income on heating
their home)
 People aged over 65 years or who are frail, suffering from arthritis, limited mobility or
otherwise at risk of falls or elderly people living on their own
 People with pre-existing cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses and other chronic medical
conditions;
 People with severe mental illness, dementia, learning difficulties
 Homeless people or those sleeping rough
As we are looking for innovative ideas, we don’t want to be prescriptive. However, we have given
examples of the kind of projects we might be willing to fund below:

Delivering warm meals to vulnerable households

Provide blankets, warm clothes, duvets and other things that help keep people warm

Schemes that enable vulnerable people to get to medical appointments in cold/adverse
weather conditions


Projects around support to shopping for frail or otherwise housebound people who are unable
to get out safely in cold and inclement weather
Introducing / extending a “buddying” scheme for local residents to help others in a period of
severe weather – shopping, walking the dog or simply popping in with a hot drink
We are also willing to fund information/awareness-raising projects but only in the following
circumstances:


Campaigns or activities in a specific, local area to target “new” people that may not have had
access to information before
Information and advice services to maximise income and reduce the risk of fuel poverty e.g.
through providing benefit entitlement checks or referring to existing support such as Warm
Front
We would also expect successful applicants to be familiar with the other agencies providing related
support including schemes such as Wrap Up Leeds ECO, Care & Repair, Groundwork and
CAB/Welfare Rights or agencies providing similar support. Further information will be provided in
due course.
To apply for a grant please go to http://www.leedscf.org.uk/open-grants-programmes/ and look for
Leeds Winter Warmth Community Grants Scheme.
For further information contact: Leeds Community Foundation, First Floor, 51a St Paul’s Street,
Leeds LS1 2TE or ring 0113 242 2426 or email info@leedscf.org.uk.