Our projects
Impact Volunteering Small Grants Programme 

WVCA Impact Volunteering

Despite the initial response to lockdowns in 2020, where WVCA and Wolverhampton Volunteers recruited over six hundred volunteers to respond to community needs, volunteering both locally and nationally has reduced substantially. This is not anecdotal and has been demonstrated in recent reports commissioned by NCVO and YouGov on volunteering trends.

Wolverhampton Volunteers are acutely aware that many local organisations are finding it difficult to recruit new volunteers.

WVCA Impact Volunteering is a project between Wolverhampton Voluntary and Community Action (WVCA) and Wolverhampton Volunteers, which has received funding from the Heart of England Community Fund to boost and impact volunteering in Wolverhampton.

As part of our work, we have established a small grants programme which will support organisations to boost their volunteering offer. This funding opportunity is for grassroots small organisations in the first instance. We anticipate organisations requesting funding towards areas like publicity/marketing, training, a celebration event, environmental tools, IT, open days, and activities.

To be eligible:

• You will be a voluntary organisation, preference will be given to smaller grassroots organisations in the first instance
• Your organisation must be based in Wolverhampton and primarily support Wolverhampton residents
• Funding requested must boost your organisation’s volunteering offer within Wolverhampton
• Your organisation must agree to complete a simple baseline survey from volunteers once the funding has been issued and also on completion of the project
• Your organisation must not already have had any the Know Your Neighbourhood Funding

If you meet the criteria and wish to apply for a grant, what next?

Please use the application form below to make your application for funding.

Your application will be assessed by a panel that consists of impartial and experienced colleagues from a range of backgrounds that are involved in WVCA Impact Volunteering.

Your answers will be scored as follows:

1 – Unacceptable: proposal is not credible or robust, and does not demonstrate how programme outcomes will be met
2 – Poor: proposal lacks some credibility and robustness, and does not clearly demonstrate how programme outcomes will be met
3 – Satisfactory: proposal is reasonably credible and robust, and reasonably demonstrates how programme outcomes will be met
4 – Good: proposal is credible and robust, and clearly demonstrates how programme outcomes will be met
5 – Excellent: proposal is highly credible and robust, and very clearly demonstrates how programme outcomes will be met

• To be successful you must score at least 3 on each question.
• The strength of your application will be considered alongside other applications we receive.
• We will also think about the range and balance of different projects we are supporting.
• We want the projects we fund to cover a broad range of activities, applicants, and geographical areas.

The panel has scheduled four meetings, but it is important to bear in mind that there is a limited amount of funding available. Thus, if the funding is depleted early, further panel meetings will be cancelled. The deadlines for you to send in your application to us are as follows:

The panel will meet 3 times and the deadlines are as follows:

Everything listed in your application must be completed with expenditure and monitoring provided to us before 31st March 2024. We can provide funding for applications of a maximum of £5,000, applicants can submit multiple applications, but must not submit a total of £5,000.

Completing the Application

Please tell us using the form below about the expense, project or activity you want to deliver, the impact it will have on beneficiaries and what you will spend the money on. Please be as clear as possible in your answers so the panel will fully understand what you are proposing and why. Once completed please return the form to: applications@wvca.org.uk.