Tenants And Residents Groups
Grants
Grants
River Clyde Homes provides grant support to ‘recognised’ tenants and residents groups. To be recognised by River Clyde Homes a tenants / residents association must:
- Have a committee that has been democratically elected at a public meeting.
- Have a constitution which takes into account River Clyde Homes’ policy on equal opportunities.
- Sign and return a copy of the Grant Aid Agreement.
Once an association meets the above criteria it can apply for funding from River Clyde Homes.
What are Grants for?
Typically an association’s grant is used for:
Stationery; postage; phone calls ; public transport or petrol costs; small items of equipment e.g. cash box etc; modest refreshments for meetings.
Sometimes associations become involved in activities that help raise the profile of the group or improve services or information to the area that they work in, such as newsletters, open days etc, and grant money may be spent on these. If you are unsure of this you should seek advice from the Tenant Participation Co-ordinator.
Starter Grants
New associations meeting the above criteria can receive a starter grant. An application form is supplied on request, and the association must complete and return this (along with a Grant Aid Agreement form) in order to receive funding. The form asks for details such as; names and addresses of committee members, area covered by the group, details of meetings with local housing staff and other association activities. If grant is approved the request is processed and a cheque is forwarded to the associations or a transfer is made into their bank account.
Continuing Grants
Continuing grants can be awarded to groups. The form should be completed and returned along with the other information requested which is; a current bank account statement, a current balance sheet and a signed copy of the Grant Aid Agreement. This helps to asses how much money the group will need and assess if previous grant money has been spent within the guidelines.
Along with the above information the form asks for similar details to the Starter Grant form and also asks for the date of the last Annual General Meeting.
This information helps us to keep up-to-date with the association’s contacts, activities, and lets us know that the democratic process of election of committee members is being observed. The form also requests an up-to-date copy of the association’s constitution if this has been recently amended.
Disputes
If an association has had a request for a grant award turned down it will receive a letter explaining the reasons of this. As mentioned above, this decision is not final and may be reversed if it can be shown that there is a need for extra funding.
Summary
All forms should be completed fully and with the information requested – bank statements, balance sheets and constitution (if necessary). Failure to do so will delay the receipt of the grant. All forms must have a copy of a completed Grant Aid Agreement attached.
If an association wants to request a Continuing Grant, but has a large amount of funds, information should be included with the application form explaining why more money is needed and what it will be used for.
Where no grant award is made a letter explaining the reasons for this will be sent to the association. Groups can dispute this decision and such decisions may be reversed depending on circumstances.
Associations who have raised money themselves should either keep this money in a separate account or identify such funds if they appear on balance sheets included with grant applications. This helps the Tenant Participation Co-ordinator to make the right decision when awarding grants, and also means that associations who do raise funds themselves are not penalised for doing so.
Any queries on the subject of grants should be directed to:
River Clyde Homes
Jim McNee
Scarlow Street
Port Glasgow
PA14 5EY
Tel: 01475 712639
