The Church Urban Fund
(CUF)
CUF was set up after the publication of the Faith in the City report in 1987 to support social action in the poorest pars of England. In partnership with other organisations it supports ‘ men and women who are looking to do extraordinary things for the good of others in their communities’. It is about putting faith into action.
There are two sorts of grant available.
Mustard seed grants. These are one off capital grants to enable projects to get under way, and are limited to a maximum of £5000. Recent examples in this diocese are provision for facilities for a parish nurse at St Marks in Wellingborough, and provision of audio-visual equipment for work on the Grange Estate in Kettering
Revenue grants. These are normally for an initial period of three years, often contributing to the cost of employing a worker. For example the soup kitchen in Northampton has been able to employ a cook, and a youth worker has been actve in Dogsthorpe in Peterborough. It is important to note that CUF will only fund part of the cost of any project, and it will still be necessary for applicants to raise other funds either from their own resources or from other grant making bodies. The latter are often inclined to respond more favourably if CUF have already made an offer of funds.
Criteria for both types of grant.
Funding is prioritised to projects supporting activity in the worst 10% of areas of deprivation in England. These are identified using the Index of Multiple deprivation drawn up by the Office of National Statistics. Advice is available from CUF itself, or from the diocesan Church Urban Fund Officer. There are comparatively few such areas within Peterborough Diocese.
The exception to this rule is when a project is working with deprived or vulnerable groups of people, not limited to a specific geographical area. These might include, for example, asylum seekers and refugees, drug and alcohol addicts, prisoners’ families, victims of domestic violence and other minority groups. In these cases CUF will look for evidence to prove that the project is working with a deprived group, and details of how it will tackle the problem.
The project will also need to be identified by the diocese as being key to the reduction of deprivation in its area, and thus needs the support of the Bishop.
Community Value Toolkit
This provides a way of measuring a church’s contribution to its community in terms of personnel, services and finance. It may help in negotiating with other bodies such as local authorities, or in grant applications. It can also help to identify local changes and developments that may need new responses.
It can be downloaded from CUF’s website, www.cuf.org.uk, or obtained from the diocesan Church Urban Fund Officer.
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