Funding for Wellbeing Hubs
Funding for Wellbeing Hubs
This page provides an overview of the funding available for Wellbeing Hubs as well as a guide for applicants. If you have any additional questions or need help with your application, please contact wwhsupport@newcastle.gov.uk
Wellbeing Hubs Grant Fund
Newcastle City Council has set up a £100,000 fund which will support the following;
A £250 grant will be offered to all places registered as a Wellbeing Hub, by 6 December 2023, who sign up to the Charter and complete the essential training sessions.
It is easy to register on the directory, it is non-competitive and is not means tested.Registered hubs can also apply for an additional grant to support them in delivering a Wellbeing Hub. Funding can be used to cover:
Staff costs
Volunteer costs
Costs related to increased demand/reach or changes in provision e.g. pots, pans, crockery for a community meal/lunch club or additional equipment for regular craft group
Cost of on-site food and essential items provision
Cost of food and drink provision, including tailoring the food/food parcel to meet people’s dietary or cultural needs, e.g., Gluten / wheat free foods etc.
The fund may be used to support people with cooking items such as a microwave or slow cooker if this is preventing food support from making a difference.
This is a competitive process to be awarded a block grant in 3 tiers. It is anticipated that this grant will support your organisation/service over the Winter period to 31st March 2024.
Tier 1 – Up to £1,000
Available to organisations operating as a hub up to 1 full day/week.
We expect to make this award to smaller organisations and/or those who are not seeing a significant increase in their overheads or do not anticipate a significant change to their current service delivery (e.g., footfall to increase up to 10% maximum, no new or minimal new services/operating hours offered, likely to be existing service users). As a smaller grant, monitoring information will be light touch.
Tier 2 – Up to £3,000
Available to organisations operating as a hub up to 2-3 full days/week.
We expect to make this award to larger organisations and/or those who are experiencing an increase in their overheads or expect a change to their service delivery/operating hours (e.g., footfall increase of more than 10%, increased operating hours/days open, new services/activities offered, new resident demographic engaged). As a larger grant, monitoring information requested will be more robust but not onerous.
Tier 3 – Up to £6,000
Available to organisations operating as a hub 4-5 full days/week
We expect to make this award to larger organisations and/or those who are experiencing a significant increase in their overheads or expect a significant change to their service delivery/operating hours (e.g., footfall increase of more than 10%, increased operating hours/days open, new services/activities offered, new resident demographic engaged). As a larger grant, monitoring information requested will be more robust but not onerous.
Please read the applicants guide below before completing the application form, which can be found here.
Applicant’s Guide
What is the fund criteria?
We want to ensure VCS (Voluntary and Community Sector) organisations offering a Wellbeing Hub (registered with Newcastle City Council) can cope with increased demand and limit the risk of reduced services to best support residents at risk this winter.
We would like to prioritise organisations who are able to support key public health outcomes that will protect those most vulnerable of the social and health harms of poverty and prevent additional pressure on public services.
Reduce illness, admissions and deaths associated with respiratory disease associated with fuel poverty, cold weather, malnutrition, and isolation.
Promote healthy diets and support actions to address food insecurity
Promote physical activity and outdoor engagement
Promote mental wellbeing, social connection and reduced loneliness and social isolation
Early intervention to mental health support, substance misuse and suicide prevention
Reduce risk of crime, violence, and anti-social behaviour
This may be through universal or targeted activities for specific population groups e.g:
people in crisis including those experiencing violence/abuse;
homeless and poorly housed people;
vulnerable older people including those living in care settings;
disabled people and people with long-term limiting health conditions including mental health issues;
people on low and/or insecure household incomes;
children and young people from disadvantaged areas.
The funding is designed to ensure organisations have the capacity and resources to support local communities this winter. Grants will fund organisational costs but NOT funding for individuals e.g. payments for energy. Funding will be targeted towards organisations that are facing an increased demand on services or who are establishing new support to address the cost of living crisis.
Who is eligible?
Open access/drop-in community centres and other hubs and facilities providing advice and guidance services;
Organisations providing open access/drop-in support sessions to vulnerable groups to support resilience and wellbeing.
Applications must come from a constituted group/organisation with a bank account in the organisation’s name.
We want to hear from established organisations/services that have an existing relationship with their local community. Therefore, on the application form we will be asking a little bit about you, your current offer, and the community you serve.
We will also ask about what you will be using the grant for and for some evidence that this is needed. For example, increasing your opening hours to include the weekend as there are no other Hubs or open access spaces in your area that offer this, or you have seen an increase in demand for your service.
Will we support new or partnership projects?
We know there is an existing infrastructure in Newcastle which we want to support, however we will consider partnership/pilot projects that are able to demonstrate the project meets the fund criteria and the proposed delivery is needed/the right approach.
If a partnership project is proposed, we will expect one organisation to act as the lead organisation and for you tell us a little more about the arrangement in place for the partnership. If this project is offered funding, we would need to find out a bit more about this arrangement as part of the conditional grant offer.
Do I have to be signed up as a Wellbeing Hub to access the grants?
Yes, we want to use this funding to support local people to access Wellbeing hubs which are open access and based in communities, especially those who may never have had to consider accessing community-based support before.
How much can I apply for?
An automatic £250 grant to all places registered as a Wellbeing Hub who sign up to the Charter and complete the essential training sessions.
This payment will automatically be made if you sign up to become a Wellbeing Hub.
Registered hubs can also apply for an additional grant to support them in delivering a Wellbeing Hub.
Tier 1 – Up to £1,000
Available to organisations operating as a hub up to 1 full day/week.
We expect to make this award to smaller organisations and/or those who are not seeing a significant increase in their overheads or do not anticipate a significant change to their current service delivery (e.g., footfall to increase up to 10% maximum, no new or minimal new services/operating hours offered, likely to be existing service users). As a smaller grant, monitoring information will be light touch.
Tier 2 – Up to £3,000
Available to organisations providing operating as a hub up to 2-3 full days/week.
We expect to make this award to larger organisations and/or those who are experiencing an increase in their overheads or expect a change to their service delivery/operating hours (e.g., footfall increase of more than 10%, increased operating hours/days open, new services/activities offered, new resident demographic engaged). As a larger grant, monitoring information requested will be more robust but not onerous.
Tier 3 – Up to £6,000
Available to organisations providing operating as a hub 4-5 full days/week
We expect to make this award to larger organisations and/or those who are experiencing a significant increase in their overheads or expect a significant change to their service delivery/operating hours (e.g., footfall increase of more than 10%, increased operating hours/days open, new services/activities offered, new resident demographic engaged). As a larger grant, monitoring information requested will be more robust but not onerous.
How will funding decisions be made?
Officers from Newcastle City Council will consider the applications. This will be a cross council team with representatives from communities, public health, and finance. The panel will also have the option to include other officers or partners to support the decision-making process.
We will develop a decision-making criterion which takes into consideration:
Geographical location
Opening time, including any out of hours provision
The number of people accessing the Wellbeing Hub/you expect to support
What services people can access if they attend a hub, i.e. basic welfare advice, digital access, courses, a meal when attending the hub.
Monitoring (proportionate to grant allocation)
How will applications be scored?
We will consider the funding criteria when scoring the applications as well as the information provided on the services delivered and identified need.
When will I hear back?
Decisions will be made within 2 weeks of the closing date and decisions will be communicated as soon as possible after the panel.
If I am unsuccessful, can I request feedback?
Unfortunately, due to the anticipated interest in the fund we will be unable to provide individual feedback.
What monitoring arrangements will be in place?
We will talk to you about this if you are offered a grant as part of the conditional offer.
As a council we are interested in feedback from the residents you serve about what activities or services they would like to see. As a condition of the grant, we would like you to implement a suggestions box and provide comment cards for residents to share their feedback and ask for support discreetly should they wish. This feedback should be shared with council as part of the grant monitoring process and to support referrals/signposting.
We are also interested in organisations that are keen to feature as a case study and help share their experience of being a wellbeing hub. This could be used in council publications such as Citylife, the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report and the Council’s social media platforms.
What are the timescales of the fund?
The fund is intended to support organisations during the 2023/24 winter (October 2023-March 2024)
Fund will launch 16 November 2023
Deadline for applications 06 December 2023
Panel will meet on 13 December 2023
Contact Information
If you have any questions or need help with your application, please contact wwhsupport@newcastle.gov.uk
Wellbeing Hubs Training
Your organisation will be able to access a range of training and support that will help you to know where to signpost people should they need further information or support. A general induction session to the range of training available will be held at Newcastle Civic Centre on Thursday 14 December 2023.
We would also encourage you to register on InformationNow, if you have not already done so. InformationNow is for people in Newcastle to find information, events, and local services, helping them stay informed, make choices and plan ahead.
If you would like to give us feedback on our website, please complete this short online form.