Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Change Fund 2025-2026 Guidance Notes

Community and Voluntary Sector (CVS) organisations in the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area may apply for funding. These are understood as:

• “not-for-profit organisations that support a wide range of social, environmental and economic outcomes and rely to a large extent on voluntary contributions through their board of trustees, formal volunteering and donations. The sector spans a very diverse range of organisations in terms of scale and focus of operations and interests. Volunteers define and drive this sector, but organisations will also all have some sort of formal structure or constitution. They are self-governing and independent from government or the private sector. They have social objectives and work to benefit the community. They may operate a social enterprise or community business but any profits will be re-invested for community benefit”. 

Some of these organisations may be registered charities. It may also include, for example, arts, faith, youth and sporting organisations. The eligibility of these and other organisations/groupings will be considered against the broad definition set out above, including its emphasis on ‘not-for-profit’, ‘formal structure or constitution’ and that ‘they have social objectives and work to benefit the community’. Belonging to or being affiliated with larger organisations does not exclude individual branches from applying. 

Grassroots organisations

The term “grassroots organisations” is used to refer to CVS organisations whose primary operations and beneficiaries are at a local level and operating within the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area.
This fund is also open to umbrella organisations who have a location based within the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area.

What can be funded?

Expenditure will potentially be considered eligible if clearly demonstrated by applicants that such expenditure will equip community groups to prevent violence against women and girls. There must be clear linkage between proposed activities (and associated expenditure) and the EVAWG prevention outcomes: changing attitudes, behaviour and culture; healthy, respectful relations; women and girls feel safe and are safe everywhere. 
Examples of eligible expenditure might include event costs; design and publishing; filming/photography/animations, website and other digital content development (if directly supporting project activities); marketing and development and/or delivery and/or attendance at relevant training* and resources; research; facilitation costs; counselling and related support services; small items of the equipment (under £1,000) essential to delivery of the project; development and delivery of relevant performances and creative initiatives. 
* Training must be provided by an accredited/affiliated training provider that specialises within this area of expertise (i.e. Women’s Aid, White Ribbon, Nexus and ONUS) 
Other potential eligible expenditure includes proportionate administrative/staff costs and/or running costs directly and necessarily incurred in the delivery of the proposed activity and agreed in the Letter of Offer to the applicant. 

The EVAWG Change Fund aims to equip community groups to prevent to violence against women and girls. This means ways to mobilise grassroots action and maximise the impact of community-led initiatives contributing to the Prevention outcomes of the EVAWG Strategic Framework.

Supporting innovation

The Fund encourages and seeks to support innovation by local groups. Project proposals are anticipated to be varied and might enable groups to, for example, test new approaches, explore different ideas and ways of working, catalyse new or wider collaborations. There is no prescriptive listing of project types. The table below outlines some indicative activities which might feasibly emerge.

Tier	Funding Available	Description
1	Funding £1,000 - £5,000	Proposals might be for one-off events, projects, workshops or small clusters of activity aimed at awareness raising and aligned with all or some of the prevention outcomes in the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Framework 1, 2 and 3. (Outcome 1 is mandatory)
2	Funding £5,001 - £15,000	Proposals might include expansion/enhancement of activities described in Tier 1, as well as planned programmes of activity, longer running initiatives, educational courses aligned with all or some of the prevention outcomes in the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Framework 1, 2 and 3. (Outcome 1 is mandatory)
3	Funding £15,001 - £25,000	Proposals might be for planned programmes of activity, longer running initiatives, educational course aligned with some or all of the prevention outcomes in the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Framework 1, 2 and 3. (Outcome 1 is mandatory). Awards may also be for activities described in Tiers 1 and 2.  and Proposals must demonstrate an aspect of mentoring or significant collaboration By ‘mentoring’ we mean where a more experienced organisation with better developed capacity will assist another less experienced organisation or organisations in developing the skills and knowledge to perform more effectively. This may include sharing resources and networks. This is with a view to building the capacity of the mentored organisation.  Collaboration is defined as working with organisation(s) of a similar level/capacity and can include working with both voluntary and statutory organisations.

Who cannot be funded?

The following cannot be funded through the Change Fund initiative:

• Organisations and individuals who would not be considered as CVS organisations are described above. The assessment process will provide adjudication as required and can apply its discretion in applying additional desirable assessment criteria based on demand.  
• Political parties. 
• Any other organisation or project proposals that councils and/or TEO may from time to time deem to be ineligible, including incompatibility with the vision, principles and outcomes of the Strategic Framework for Ending Violence Against Women and Girls; or that support to a project/organisation risks contravening legislative requirements and Executive priorities in respect of employment, health and safety, discrimination, equality of opportunity, and promotion of good relations. 

These examples are indicative only and not an exhaustive list. Projects and associated costs/expenditure will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

Exclusions

Council will not fund the following: - 

• Costs associated with projects operating outside of the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area
• Applications for specific projects which are clearly the responsibility of another statutory organisation
• Retrospective expenditure
• Applications received after the specified closing date
• Salary costs
• Unrelated professional fees
• Bank charges, loans, deficits or fines
• For profit enterprises
• Costs that are already covered by other sources of funding
• Organisations that are able to share out profits to individuals, members or shareholders
• Charity, fundraising events and donations
• Individuals
• Costs that are not clearly linked to the project
• Projects that provide no significant benefit to the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area
• Projects that duplicate what already exists
• Projects that are not in line with Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council policies
• Individuals involved in the delivery of the project, that is, staff, volunteers or board members of the applicant organisation, cannot benefit personally from the award of this grant. This means that they cannot be paid for the provision of goods or services from the grant
• It is unlikely that you will receive funding if you have previously received a grant from us that was not managed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Letter of Offer
• Thematic activity such as arts, culture, sport etc. unless the application meets the community development eligibility criteria and the programme is of a community development nature
• The purchase of balloons and single use plastics
• The purchase of flags and bunting without prior approval
• Alcohol

General conditions for funding

• All applications must be completed in full, submitted with any necessary relevant supporting information as requested and received by the closing date  otherwise they will not be considered. 
• An application must meet all of the criteria to be considered, and the applicant organisation must meet all of the conditions previously outlined to be eligible to apply as mentioned in the earlier section, “Section 1: Who can apply?” 
• Payments will only be made by electronic bank transfer to an organisation’s bank account and not to any one individual. 
• Grants will only be approved if the Council is satisfied that the applicant has the necessary expertise and resources to see the application through to successful completion. 
• Groups seeking support from Council should have a minimum of £5M Public Liability and £10M Employers’ Liability in place or be willing to obtain this cover. These are Council’s minimum requirements. However, you are advised to contact your insurance broker to ensure that these levels are sufficient to cover the activities of your organisation. 
• Retrospective applications will not be considered. 
• It is a stipulation of all successful grant applications that the Council and any other relevant funders’ logos appear on all publicity material during the duration of the grant and that the Council's support is acknowledged. If requested, applicants must attend press opportunities and participate in all media activities as requested by Council staff. All printed materials and use of the logo must be agreed and approved by Council staff. 
• Post project applicants will be required to complete the Council's monitoring and evaluation form, in order to demonstrate how the organisation met the criteria detailed in the application form. 
• Council reserves the right to request further information or clarification on any request for support and to share information on support with other funders. 
• To be eligible for funding you must have a child protection policy in place if your project involves, or may involve, children or young people under the age of 18 or a Safeguarding Adults policy if your project involves, or may involve, adults at risk. 

Applicants should note that this is a competitive process and awards are subject to the availability of funds and may be subject to change.

Eligible organisations will only be awarded one application to the opening call from the local council in which they have their primary operations and in which the majority of their beneficiaries live. Applicants are required to have a demonstrable track record of grassroots activity/impact and to detail how proposed activities will primarily support beneficiaries in the council area to which they make their application. Eligible organisations may be able to make further applications to subsequent calls within 2025/26 should funding be available and depending on criteria or conditions councils and/or TEO apply in subsequent calls. 
The level of grant funding applicants choose to apply for (Tier 1, 2 or 3) will determine how much information is needed for assessors to sufficiently consider project proposals. For example, a project proposal for Tier 1 support (e.g. between £1,000-£5,000) will require less information and associated evidence than a Tier 3 project (maximum of £25,000). The application form has therefore been designed to reflect this. 
 

Section 1 - Information about your organisation

This section of the application form gathers information about your organisation, including contact details and insight on the purpose and work of your organisation, which will enable the assessment process to check eligibility (CVS status). You will also indicate here which Tier of grant support you are applying for (Tier 1, 2 or 3). 

Section 2 - Project proposal

This section of the application form gathers information about your project proposal – what you want to do and why. This is the part of the form where you must clearly and sufficiently demonstrate how your project supports the Prevention Outcomes (1, 2 and/or 3) of the EVAWG Strategic framework. Note that demonstrating a project’s contribution to Outcome 1 is mandatory for all tiers of grant support applied for. 
This section allows you to detail why you think this project approach will work for the proportionate impact you plan to make. For example, a low budget and well planned and delivered project, strongly supporting the Prevention outcomes, can make a significant impact on a smaller number of people. As noted previously in Section 1, projects will not necessarily score higher if multiple outcomes are selected and/or have a higher budget. The assessment process will focus on the quality, proportionate impact, and investment effectiveness (including value for money) of each proposal. 
You might reference, for example, evidence of your approach working before, or how your proposal is an innovative way to reach more people or make a greater impact on a smaller number of participants. 

Section 3 - Delivery arrangements and costings

This section of the application form is where you detail how you are going to deliver the project. It includes timescales and your budget (how grant funding will be used and on what). 
You will be asked to think about how you will manage any potential risks to delivery, and how you might capture the impact of your projects. 
If relevant, in this section you will provide assurances that all safeguarding issues are appropriately addressed by your organisation (such as projects which include working with children and young people, and other vulnerable persons). 

In this section you will detail any partner organisations involved in your project, their role and how/if their involvement requires any allocation of funds your organisation will receive if your application is successful. 
You will also declare any Change Fund applications you have made to other council areas, as well as detailing (if known at the time of your application) any proposed partnerships/collaborations involving your organisation (in a paid/funded capacity or otherwise) that other organisations will be declaring in their applications to any council. 

Section 4 - Project monitoring and evaluation

In line with current policy evaluation methods that have been introduced across the NI Executive, the Change Fund is employing a method known as Outcomes Based Accountability (OBA). You are best placed to tell us about the difference you think your project will make. The application form will allow you to start thinking about how to measure the impact of your project, and you can provide initial ideas of your project specific output measures. Do not worry if you are not familiar with OBA. If your project is awarded funding, you will receive further assistance in developing your report card and approach to data collection, monitoring and evaluation. 

Each application will be considered on its own merits. In order to deliver the programme's aim and general principles, applicants will need to demonstrate how their project meets the appropriate criteria. It is important to remember that the application will be assessed ONLY on the information provided in the application form and specifically in the box relating to the particular question asked. Any information that you do not include or that is contained in other parts of the application form will not be considered. Therefore, you MUST demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria as set out in these guidelines in the application. 

Eligibility assessment

Applications received by Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council will be logged and undergo eligibility checks. If eligibility information is missing at this point, you will be contacted and given 10 days to submit the missing information. Failure to provide all necessary eligibility information and complete forms as required will mean your application will not go forward for assessment in the current funding call.

Assessment and scoring - scoring matrix

	Tiers 1 and 2	Percentage weighting
1.	How will your project support the Prevention Outcomes of the EVAWG Strategic framework?  (Outcome 1 is mandatory)	60
2.	Ability to deliver the proposal to meet local needs	20
3.	Investment effectiveness (including Value for Money) of the proposal	20

 

	Tier 3	Percentage weighting
1.	How will your project support the Prevention Outcomes of the EVAWG Strategic framework?  (Outcome 1 is mandatory)	50
2.	The impact of the mentoring or collaboration aspects of the proposal	10
3.	Ability to deliver the proposal to meet local needs	20
4.	Investment effectiveness (including Value for Money) of the proposal	20

 

What happens if an application is successful?

If your organisation is successful, you will be issued a Letter of Offer from the Council. 
This will detail:

• general conditions of the grant
• any special conditions
• project budget and targets
• procurement requirements
• monitoring requirements
• stages which the grant will be paid 

You must sign, date and return the Letter of Offer to confirm that you are accepting the grant. You can also decline to accept.
You will not be reimbursed for any project costs you pay or agree to pay before you have returned a signed Letter of Offer and it is received by the council. 

Monitoring and reporting

If your project receives grant support, you will be in receipt of public funding, and this must be accountable. Monitoring and reporting are an essential requirement for you in delivering your project. As noted previously Outcomes Based Accountability (OBA) will be used to capture the progress and impact of your project. Assistance will be available to help you finalise your report card and approach to data collection, monitoring and evaluation. 
We will also ask all organisations for auditing purposes, to check how the grant was spent and that the terms and conditions of the funding were met. You will be contacted by a Council Officer and asked to provide invoices and bank statements for all the items you are claiming through the grant.
If your project does not meet its targets and outcomes, we can review and reduce the amount of funding awarded.
If any information in the application, monitoring or supporting information is found to be untrue or misleading, we will withdraw any grant. If we have already paid part of a grant to your organisation, you must repay it. This will have implications for any future applications or requests for funding. We may also review grants made to your organisation in the past.

Marketing and promotion

Raising awareness of EVAWG and the prevention outcomes of the Strategic Framework is fundamental to helping to realise the vision of “a changed society where women and girls are free from all forms of gender-based violence, abuse and harm - including the attitudes, systems and structural inequalities that cause them”.
The EVAWG team in TEO will support Council staff across the region to work alongside successful projects to help maximise their impact and reach. This can include promotional support and help with sharing stories of the difference your project is making. Additional guidance will be issued to successful projects on the support available, which might, for example, include photography and filming. This guidance will include details on branding, logos and related requirements for all printed and other promotional materials developed by your project.
Your organisation’s involvement in the Change Fund, both as an applicant to the fund and/or recipient of grant support, provides access to a wider EVAWG network of CVS groups and other organisations working to end violence against women and girls. Further information will be offered to your organisation on ways it can connect with the insights shared across this network and become more involved with this growing EVAWG coalition. 

Breach of Letter of Offer and Claw-Back arrangements

If the grant purpose ceases to be carried out during the relevant grant period as a result of any act, omission or default on the part of the grant applicant organisation, including any breach of the terms and conditions contained within the Letter of Offer, the council will invoke clawback procedures to demand that the applicant repays in part or full the grant funding awarded. 
The applicant will be considered in breach of their funding offer if: the following apply – please note this list in not exhaustive: 

• They provide misleading or inaccurate information, by accident or deliberate during the application process 
• Members of the organisation funded, including volunteers and staff at any time during the project act dishonestly or negligently causing directly or indirectly any detriment to the activity or bring into disrepute the reputation of the Council by association through funding award(s) 
• The organisation funded is in receipt of duplicate funding from any other source for any element of the activity 
• The organisation does not take positive steps to ensure equality of opportunity in its employment practices, delivery of and access to services 
• The organisation by their own actions makes their facilities and/or activities less inviting to any sections of the community 
• There is a change of purpose, benefit, ownership or recipient, either during the project or within a reasonable period after its completion 

Any reported or identified breaches or potential breaches that cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the council will result in the grant award in part or in full being clawed back by the council. 
If funding is withdrawn or clawback procedures invoked the applicant organisation will have no legal redress to have funding reinstated. The decision of council in this case will be final. 

What happens if your application is ineligible/unsuccessful?

If your application is ineligible/unsuccessful for funding you will be notified via email. Feedback will be available on request however, please note that there is no appeals process for funding decisions.  

Fraud and corruption

The council is committed to the prevention and detection of fraud and the promotion of an anti-fraud culture. 

Application process

Applications open	Applications close	Assessment and Approval period	Notification of outcome	Project delivery period
17th January 2025	14th February 2025	Late February/early March 2025	Mid-March 2025	1st April 2025 - 31st March 2025

 

Grant Information Sessions

Grant information sessions will be arranged. Further information will be available in the next few days. 

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council is entitled to disclose your details to other government agencies and departments and bodies engaged in distributing funds (subject to the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998, known as General Data Protection Regulations GDPR from May 2018). 

In order to process your grant application, applicants are advised that: 

• Council will use the information you give us on the application form during assessment and for the life of any grant we award you to administer and analyse grants and for our own research. 
• Council may give copies of this information to individuals and organisations we consult when assessing applications, when monitoring grants and evaluating the way our funding programmes work and the effect they have. These organisations may include accountants, external evaluators and other organisations or groups involved in delivering the project. 
• Council may also share information with other departments, organisations providing match funding and other organisations and individuals with a legitimate interest in applications and grants, or for the prevention or detection of fraud. 
• Council might use the data provided for our own research. We recognise the need to maintain the confidentiality of vulnerable groups and their details will not be made public in any way, except as required by law.