Panel Members needed at Groundwork for Funding Bid Shortlisting

Groundwork UK has been awarded a two-year contract to act as an intermediary funder for Comic Relief in England, to build a new approach to support grassroots community organisations with ‘lived in’ experience, drive change. As the intermediary funder in England, Groundwork UK will provide support and grants to grass roots organisations with an annual income of less than £250,000. The programme will fund projects applying up to £4,000.

Groundwork are looking for panel members with some experience of one of Comic Relief’s 4 key themes:

• Children Survive and Thrive (e.g. has used early years services with their children and has an understanding of the needs of 0-5 year olds and their parents/ carers)

• Mental Health Matters: (e.g. has experience of mental health issues and experience of accessing services to support recovery).

• Fighting for Gender Justice: (e.g. has experience of women’s/LGBTQIA+ equality issues, or has experienced domestic violence or exploitation and has experience of accessing support services).

• A Safe Place to Be: (e.g. has experienced homelessness or forced migration and has experience of accessing support services).

The meeting will be taking place in Birmingham on Monday, 24th February. The exact location and time to be confirmed.

The panel’s task is to choose which projects should receive Comic Relief funding. Panel members will be sent around 10-15 projects to read through before the panel meeting on the 24th. At the meeting they will need to discuss each application with the other panel members and decide which projects they believe should get funding. The panel itself should take approximately 1-1.5 hours with a further 1 hour of preparation beforehand.

The panel member role is a voluntary role, but reasonable expenses will be paid.

If this is something you wish to consider, further information attached.  You may wish to speak with Jenna Small, Community Project Officer at Groundwork West Midlands, on 07769 346033 or email Jenna.Small@groundwork.org.uk.