Emergency Fund

What is the Emergency Fund?

The council has a vision to support and invest in the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) to help it improve the lives of residents.

To support this vision the council provides funding to local VCS organisations who are facing an emergency.

The Emergency Fund has an annual budget of £100,000 per year and organisations can apply for up to £10,000 per year.

What organisations will we fund?

To be considered for funding, organisations must:

1. be a VCS organisation
2. have a Constitution, Memorandum and Articles of Association or other recognised governance document
3. have a registered office in Tower Hamlets, a base within Tower Hamlets or be able to demonstrate a track record of successful service delivery within the borough, for at least one year
4. have been in receipt of council funding in the past two years
5. have a bank account in the organisation’s name
6. have a live and up to date safeguarding policy in operation if it works with children and/or adults at risk of abuse
7. have current insurance cover in operation
8. be able to show long-term financial viability, in the event of any Emergency Fund grant being awarded to the organisation
9. be in danger of closing or unable to continue to provide funded services
10. have already taken measures to address the emergency
11. not have a debt with owe the ccouncil a debt of over £1,000 or over

How much money is available?

The total budget for the Emergency Fund is £100,000 per year. Organisations can apply for a one-off grant of up to £10,000 per year.

What will we fund

The Emergency Fund will fund:

1. building repairs for essential emergency work or health and safety requirements
2. legal costs
3. redundancy costs
4. staff salaries/wages (to cover unforeseen medium/long term absences)
5. recovery from damage or accidents to an organisation’s building or other assets

This is not a complete list. If you are unsure whether the issue you are seeking funding for is an emergency, please contact the Voluntary and Community Sector team at vcs@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

Bidding process

Please download an application form and prospectus to enable you to apply for the Emergency Fund.

Download the Emergency Fund application form

Download the Emergency Fund prospectus

Assessment

The Council will assess your application against the grant criteria and will aim to let you know if you have been successful within four weeks of receipt of your application.

The assessment is to see whether your organisation and emergency meets the standards the council expects of organisations it supports with public funds.

We will ask you questions about:

• your organisation
• your emergency
• how you have previously addressed the emergency
• what you want funding for
• your reserves and financial management

Monitoring and evaluation

All successful organisations will be required to complete a monitoring and evaluation form three months after the grant award.

This will ensure that the grant has been spent correctly and that the council is able to continue to improve the fund.

Get in touch

If you have a question or need support, then please get in touch with the Voluntary and Community Sector Team by emailing vcs@towerhamlets.gov.uk.