Funding Support

Be aware that you will need to consider probably a 16-week/ 4-month lead time before your event. For example:

• Events/projects in August - start in May
• Events/projects in September - start in June
• Anything Christmas - start in August/September

What We Can Do:

• Provide template policies.
• Help formalise your idea into a project.
• Offer advice on consulting with your team.
• Assist in creating project outcomes.
• Give advice on monitoring or evaluating your project.
• Review your written materials.
• Help you understand funder/panel feedback.

What We Can't Do:

• Conduct a funding search for you.
• Write or submit the bid for you.

Funding Search Engines:

Check criteria before signing up. Use these tools to find funders.

Thinking of becoming a CIC?

Some information and document links you need to explore and then complete to be a CIC. 

Some things to think about when considering if CIC is right for you:

• This is running your own business and therefore you will be expected to do all the elements of running a business (unless you pay others).
• There are ethical considerations and limitations on utilising volunteers for a CIC, it is a business, and it would be unethical to have a company using 'free' labour.
• Whilst open to grant funding, CICs are heavily scrutinised by funders.
• You will be taxed on all income (including grant funding and fundraising).

Some things to think about if you are looking to apply for grant funding as a CIC:

• You should have at least three directors for transparency and due diligence in decisions.
• There should be no directors with significant control (part of the registration process).
• No directors should be connected by familial, romantic, or business partnerships.
• If you are working for a cause with people experiencing something specific, you must prove strongly how they are involved (one of your directors perhaps).
• Your CIC should not be solely reliant on grant funding, you must have some element of trading/income generation
• If you are going to pay your directors, you should consider what would be a reasonable/proportionate wage for the work you are doing.

Registration

Your Governing Document

Most organisations (in our experience) are likely to use this document - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e4e75ced3bf7f39392d6b2c/model-articles-of-association-limited-by-guarantee-small-membership.doc

The form to apply/convert the company to a CIC

This is the document where you prove you are community focused - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/663ccc4eae748c43d3793841/form-cic36.docx

Completing the form online

The beginning of the online application - Are you starting a new application? - Set up a limited company and register for Corporation Tax - GOV.UK

Submitting your finances

Recently Companies House altered how they will accept submissions and are expecting your finances to be shared through specific software. Here is the 'quiz' on the finance submissions - https://www.gov.uk/software-company-accounts

CIC is a great structure if you are looking to start a community business, but it has various downsides if you think it will just be a quick way of starting up something charitable and want to rely on grant funding.  We have compiled some thoughts below as to some questions to ask yourself and some truths you may need to face.

Is CIC the right thing?

• Is a CIC or charitable organisation the best fit for you?  Are you benefiting a community and making a change to our town? 
• CICs are heavily scrutinised by funders, and could you be setting yourself up to fail?  

If you can really say that more than the just people walking through the door will benefit and you can prove it, then it's a community organisation otherwise you are a business dealing in individual benefit.

Taking on a CIC is starting a business and there you will need to decide how the business and community side complement one another.  You will also have to consider trading and what you are charging for and where the profit is going. A lot of people enter being a CIC thinking it is going to be easy, and funding will come to them because they have a promising idea or are doing a nice thing. Be critical of your own ideas and talk it through with people who are likely to be your clients.

How are you going to prove that you should be a CIC or get funded?

Is your service 'needed', like actually needed and will it change communities or is this just a fun thing that would be good to do and make some individuals feel better?  This can be the difference between you being a community focused CIC where you must juggle both community and business or should you just be a business where you choose to do nice things for individuals on top of your basic charge for services.

Funding now is all focused on how you involve the community you are serving in the decision making.  This could be through a steering group, having people on your board or finding a way to establish a constant dialogue with your people. Another part of governance to consider when you are pulling everything together.

Is everyone ready for this?

One of the hardest things that people that run CICs find the hard way is 'who is this for?'.  At the start of your journey, be honest with yourself and are you doing this because it would make you feel better or want to save people or want to create yourself a job? Ideally you should have spoken to many people and brought them along for the journey and are now heading up a community.

The best registrations tend to grow out of other projects, not just pop up fully functioning, if you are going to do this, we would generally recommend that you run some groups or services in community venues and see what it is that works and what doesn't.  Usually after a year of running as a community group most places are in a better place to register formally. How are you going to kit out a whole organisation to be impactful and ready in one go?  Whilst the ambition is admirable, it might be too much too soon. But we would never stop you or tell you it's a terrible idea; we would always encourage groups to slow down.

Where now?

Because a CIC is a business and you need to take ownership, we do this support a little differently.  You create all the material and navigate the system, and we read or answer questions as you go.  We have learned that if we do it for you or even with you, when you become unstuck it's hard for you to fix (especially after the first year).