LandAid: Routes Out of Homelessness Grant Programmes - Capital Grants

Overview

OVERVIEW

Thanks to the funds raised by their supporters in the property industry, they are able to make grants totalling over £2,000,000 per year to charities and not-for-profits who provide support and accommodation to young people experiencing homelessness.

They aim to deliver a range of programmes which

• Deliver the greatest positive impact on the lives of young people facing homelessness.
• Identify emerging needs, together with the most effective solutions and the organisations best placed to implement them.
• Are based on and showcasing best practice, or offer clear opportunities for learning from new approaches.
• Leverage the resources and skills of LandAid’s staff, networks, partners, and supporters to maximise the quality and scale of support for young people.
• Meet the national and regional strategic priorities of LandAid and our partners.

Each of their grant programmes, outlined below, are designed to create additional bedspaces of different types:

• Safe Places programme – short and medium-term hosting bedspaces for young people. This could include Nightstop or Supported Lodging type projects, amongst others.
• Capital Grants programme – a grants programme funding bedspaces which are owned or leased by not-for-profit organisations, including new builds, renovation and other innovative capital projects.
• Move-on Grants programme – funding access to private rented sector bedspaces for young people ready to move into independent accommodation.

These programmes support interventions on 3 points of the Youth Homelessness Positive Pathway Model. Based on this Pathway Model, their programmes create Emergency, Supported and Move-On bedspaces.

Grant applications are processed by their Programmes and Impact team and presented for consideration to LandAid’s Grant and Impact Committee, comprising senior figures from their industry supporters with significant expertise in investment, housing and social impact.

WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR?

They welcome applications from all charitable organisations with a project that meets their criteria, but they’re particularly interested in hearing about projects that will create bedspaces with the following attributes:

• Based in the North-East, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
• For groups of young people who may be disproportionately at risk of homelessness. This would include young people of colour, young refugees and young people identifying as LGBTQ+
• Which would be transformational for the charity and/or local area

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Organisational Information

• You must be a Charity, Community Interest Company (CIC), Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) or other form of not-for-profit organisation.
• You need at least three unrelated members of your Board of Trustees.
• Your charity must work with young people aged 16-25 who are homeless, or who are at risk of, or who have experienced homelessness. This does not have to be the exclusive focus of your organisation’s work. However, LandAid funding can only cover projects (or parts of projects) which specifically support this age-group

Project Information

• Any project we fund must take place in the UK.
• They do not retrospectively fund projects, or fund projects which are the duty of statutory funders, or projects that you could fund yourselves. They do not make unrestricted grants towards running costs
• They are open to partnership applications, with an identified lead partner who will hold the funding and monitoring duties associated with the grant

Financial Information

• You must not have free reserves far in excess of your reserves policy without a valid reason. They define this to include reserves which you allocated to a certain purpose but are free to reallocate as needed. It does not include the value of fixed assets such as buildings.

Additional documentation required

• Latest copy of your annual accounts and impact report
• The following policies: Safeguarding; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Memorandum & Articles of Association

Capital Grants programme

Through their Capital Grants Programme, they aim to create up to 300 bedspaces in accommodation which will be owned or leased by non-profit organisations specialising in support for young people.

They will seek assurances from you that the bedspace will be used for this purpose for a minimum of 8 years.

What can they fund?

They want you to tell them!

Funding can be used in a variety of ways by charities, including

• New-build projects
• Modular and other MMC (Modern methods of construction)
• Renovations to reconfigure, or extend existing housing-stock or conversions of non-residential buildings
• Renovation projects to bring out-dated accommodation up to high standards
• Other creative solutions for emergency accommodation such as these pods created for Shelter from the Storm

They may also ask you for information on the sustainability of the project and have a preference to fund projects which deliver low-carbon housing where possible.

What are the desired outcomes?

This list is not exhaustive. You may wish to take a flexible approach within your project plan, and fund a number of different methods. They look at value for money, but equally do not want you to compromise on quality. They’re keen to hear your ideas for how you can best achieve the following outcomes for young people.

• Create safe, good quality bedspaces for young people along the Positive Pathway Framework
• Young people are able to sustain their tenancies, and build on their existing life-skills
• Young people are able to access or maintain employment, training and/or education
• Young people experience feel safer, better connected and more hopeful about their future

How much funding is available?

Their capital funding usually varies between £20,000 and £100,000, however they do not have hard and fast limits on funding applications.

They welcome applications from charities who have identified a clear need and solution. They want you to clearly demonstrate how you will achieve lasting impact for young people through this increased capacity.

What is a Capital bedspace?

• A safe, good quality accommodation option for 16-25 year olds which will be available to be used for these purposes by the organisation for 8-years or more
• LandAid funding is key in adding this extra capacity
• Bedspaces have appropriate levels of staff support and clear referral routes in, and pathways out for young people.

How will they calculate social value?

• Predicted social value will be calculated across the anticipated life span of the accommodation, up to a maximum of 25 years. They will use projections for the number of young people who will achieve a successful stay and move-on to more permanent housing. Capital build costs will be amortised over the likely lifespan of the bedspace.
• They will base these estimates on the information provided in your application, and on evaluations of similar schemes where possible.
• Grant recipients will be asked to provide light-touch reporting for 3-5 years to enable them to assess the impact achieved for comparison and learning against our projected benchmark figures.

FREE PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR YOUR PROJECT

Their Pro Bono Programme seeks to match the knowledge and professional services of property industry professionals with not-for-profit organisations across the UK.

The earlier in a project that they can discuss professional support with you, the more value they are able to add in developing the project, and the more likely a corporate partner is to offer the support.

Examples of support their network of partners have provided include (but are not limited to):

• architectural / engineering advice;
• development management;
• property investment / financial advice;
• surveying services; legal advice, and
• tenant representation.

This support is available to all non-profits with an inclusive social mission, whether you are in receipt of grant-funding or not. Please get in contact with them to find out more.