Investing in Communities Fund round two: final funding guidance

Eligible applicant organisations

Eligible applicant organisations that will be considered for support from the ICF are:

• community/voluntary organisation
• registered charity
• housing association/housing co-operative/registered social landlord (RSL)
• Community Council

• social enterprise/community benefit society/Community Interest Company (CIC) 

And, must also be:

• incorporated i.e. the organisation holds legal status with corporate liability for finances and assets evidenced through registration with a regulatory body such as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) or a charity based in Scotland that is also either registered with Companies House (as a company limited by guarantee) or is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); or
• a Community Benefit Society regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); or
• a Community Council that has an agreed Scheme of Establishment with the Local Authority and a written constitution; or
• a Community Interest Company (CIC) where the organisation continues to meet the Regulator of Community Interest Companies’ community interest test and asset lock provisions;

and

• has a registered office in the UK with an official operating base in Scotland that is rooted in the community or communities they serve and operates on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of the community;
• openly involves and engages with all sections of their community or communities, consistent with the National Standards for Community Engagement;
• has a governing body such as a board or committee and a governing document that has been formally adopted and involves local people and community representatives in their decision making structures;
• is solvent, holds a UK bank account, with annual accounts that have been approved by their management committee or board, or current projected annual accounts, and control over all project income and expenditure.

As part of the online application process, the portal will prompt you to provide documentary evidence from one of the above regulatory bodies to confirm your eligibility to apply for ICF funding. 

If your organisation does not meet the eligibility criteria then we will be unable to consider an application from you. However, you may instead wish to consider working in partnership with an eligible organisation to access support from the fund, which may have the additional benefit of strengthening the proposal and service for your community.

If forming a partnership application all parties involved need to be fully sighted on the application. If you don’t have one it may be helpful to develop a partnership agreement or memorandum of understanding so that all partners understand their role and what is expected of them. This will not be a requirement of the funding application but may help avoid any issues later on.

As our communication/engagement regarding project proposals will be with the eligible applicant organisation we are unable to accept applications that are prepared or submitted by a third party on the applicant’s behalf (for example, by an agency). We are also unable to support projects that are managed by a third party on the applicant organisation’s behalf.