Doing What Matters

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COVID-19 – important update

A decision was made for the deployment of the Doing What Matters Grant Fund to offer grants to eligible organisations to support and mobilise the communities impacted by COVID-19.

We hope that we will be able to revert back a version of DWM in the near future.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at economy.doingwhatmatters-mailbox@devon.gov.uk


Background

The Council’s community strategy recognised four key priorities by which it wanted to lead and collaborate in its work with local people and communities:

  • To help local people connect with each other and their wider community.
  • To shift more control of local decisions to communities.
  • To challenge inequality where it exists for people and communities.
  • To do things differently in communities.

In order to meet these priorities, the council has established three new funds for people, communities and the local organisations that support them, to bid for, to effect change and improve wellbeing for people across Devon.

It is anticipated that these funds, alongside a range of matched funding from local people and partners, will support local projects and initiatives.

Each year the Council will highlight a key local priority, around which bids will be particularly welcome.

Currently, bids to understand and address loneliness and isolation across generations and communities in Devon will be prioritised.

The Council’s funding will be used alongside its wider funding and delivery of key services to improve wellbeing for people and how our communities collaborate and co-exist.

The Council hopes to support bids that help people to build relationships and connections locally, across all age groups, help people become more physically active, take notice of their local environment or to develop opportunities for culture, creativity or learning, to support giving across local people and communities, including volunteering, and to make people feel safer locally.

Doing What Matters Community Grant Fund

The Doing What Matters (DWM) Community Grant Fund has been designed by the Devon County Council Business Support and Innovation Team in conjunction with the Communities Team to support not for private profit organisations to deliver projects which meet the strategic aim of the DWM Scheme. This is one of the funds outlined above.

  • The Doing What Matters Grants Fund has a total revenue grant fund for 2020-21 of £300k. Revenue expenditure only (i.e. day to day running costs of a project – not including the purchase of any capital asset e.g. equipment).
  • Maximum grant award: £20,000 per non-repeatable project applications.
  • Minimum grant award: £5,000.
  • Intervention rate: 75%, therefore, match-funding required minimum 25% of project costs.
  • The timeline for any proposal should be limited to 12 months however an extension to 31/03/21 was granted due to the impact of Covid pandemic.
  • Up to 20% of the total project costs can be existing project management costs.

Find out more

More information, including how to apply, is at Doing What Matters Grant Fund.

Table 1. The table below shows a summary of the projects to which funds have been awarded since the launch of the fund in May 2019.

Successful Applicant Project – Activity Summary Amount awarded

Daisi

Arts partnerships

Initiate arts partnerships with groups of vulnerable young people in settings (e.g. youth clubs, voluntary sector organisations, respite care, non-formal education, schools). Deliver workshops and exhibitions         £19,076.24
Young Devon
Volunteer mentoring project
This project will ensure that young people utilising accommodation services have the offer of support from a volunteer mentor in order to be better connected with their community, reducing the isolation £12,761.83

Significant Seams

Bringing Communities together via ‘Craftfulness’

Textile and craft themed workshops, exhibitions and videos telling the stories to understand how textiles and craft bring people together. £7,786.14

Double Elephant Print Workshop

Kick Start Your Creativity

Developmental art-making programmes for mental health service users who will be new to printmaking.

Double Elephant Printmaking Course

£3,094.31

Horsemanship for Health

Wisdom, Wonder & Wellbeing For life

To improve the mental wellbeing of individuals providing a series of social education workshops facilitated with horses. £6,138.27

CoLab Exeter

Resilient women spectrum project  Link to Resilient Women YouTube video

Project supports vulnerable women (approx. 100) with complex needs that have developed due to their life circumstances. Circumstances include mental health, homelessness, loneliness due to isolation, domestic violence, sexual abuse and recovery from persecution. £14,652.17

The Filo Project (TFP) West Devon expansion

Link to The Filo Project

Provision of day care for people with early/moderate dementia who live in the West Devon community. Hosts collect each client from the client’s home, and then take them back to the host’s own home, where they spend the day and provide a home cooked hot lunch. £6,388.47

Creative Kernow

 

Creative workshops of storytelling, scriptwriting, drama and musical activities. crafted by professional artists and performers and structured to foster collaborative community relationships. £8.086.00

TRIP Community Transport Association Link to TRIP brochure

Winter Friendship

This will be in one of TRIP’s accessible minibuses that will pick up door-to-door and take service users out for the day and ensure, not only that they get out and socialise, but they get a hot meal. £ 5,082.38

Lifeworks Charity Ltd.

Ordinary Extraordinary Festival Report 2019 FINAL

To enable learning disabled young people living in rural isolation to connect, be active, take notice and give. £10,000.00

North Devon Forum for Autistic Spectrum Conditions and ADHD

Social Support

Social activities for people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and their Carers. Connecting them to each other and their community.

Tapeley Park 23 October 2019

£3,024.32

Action East Devon

Honiton Mental Health Friendly Town

Mental Health Support for Young People in Honiton. £11,819.42

St Sidwell’s Centre

The participatory place project.

Inclusive space for community socials and connecting people. £16,328.98

Free Moovement UK CIC

Light (Flight) – Freewheelin’

Promoting community exercise and community engagement. £14,987.86

Ubuntu Counselling Services 

Diversity meets mainstream

Building bridges between communities of different backgrounds. £6,295.00

The Devon Carousel Project

Music and Mindfulness

Engagement of community through music.

Link to Devon carousel Project

£9,581.25

Moorland Community Care Group

Friends out and about

An outreach project to bring people out of their homes and into the community. £6,760.50

Table 2. Summary of the projects to which funds have been awarded but were not able to take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Thelma Hulbert Gallery Open Up Arts An opportunity of volunteering to be more accessible to volunteers with additional needs. £8445.00

Organic Arts

Creativity Together

Bring groups of socially isolated people together.  They will provide a minibus to a working organic farm and there they will take observational walks and take part in creative activities £9800.00

Volunteering in Health

Chudleigh Together

A Wellbeing Co-ordinator will meet with new clients and assess their needs, find suitable services and activities for them and help to remove any barriers that might be preventing them from accessing these services/activities. £13,310.00

B Sharp

Come Together: Make Music Together

To enable young people suffering from mental health issues to take part in positive creative activities through which they can express themselves, and reduce anxiety. £15,801.00

Total Eligible Cost of these projects : £250,957.07  Total Grant Value :  £171,980.01


Table 3. Summary of costs:

Applicant  Eligible Project cost Grant Contribution paid by DCC
Lifeworks  £      29,850.75  £         10,000.00
Action East Devon  £      15,759.23  £         11,819.42
St Sidwell’s  £      21,771.97  £         16,328.98
Freemoovement  £      19,983.81  £         14,987.86
Ubuntu  £         8,393.33  £           6,295.00
Devon Carousel Project  £      12,775.00  £           9,581.25
NDF for ASC and ADHT  £         4,032.43  £           3,024.32
CoLab  £      20,350.24  £         14,652.17
Moorland  £         9,014.00  £           6,760.50
Filo Project  £         8,517.96  £           6,388.47
Young Devon  £      17,015.77 £          12,761.83
Creative Kernow  £      13,041.94  £           8,086.00
TRIP Winter  £         6,776.51  £           5,082.38
Double Elephant  £         4,162.38  £           3,094.31
DAISI  £      28,600.06 £          19,076.24
Significant Seams  £      10,630.99  £           7,786.14
Horsemanship for Health  £         8,184.36  £           6,138.27
 £    238,860.72  £       161,863.14