Disaster Fund Skills Grantmaking Workshop: Hardship Funds Dr Jenny Benson

What I’ll cover IN THE SESSION: Questions: What do you want to know/get out of this workshop? Cumbria Community Foundation: Introduction and experience Focus on Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund 2015 Storm Desmond Appeal aim & priorities Who to work with? Grantmaking phases What to prepare? What to consider? Questions: Everything covered? Next steps? Purpose: To be more prepared to manage a disaster fund grantmaking programme

Cumbria Community Foundation About: Established 1999 Awarded more than £44m in grants Long term funds of £20m. More than 90 active grant making funds Supported 4,000 groups and 8,000 individuals. National Grant Making Award 2015 – Neighbourhood Care Independence Programme Major Disaster Appeals: Foot & Mouth Disease 2001: £2.1m Carlisle Floods 2005: £860K Cockermouth & Keswick Floods 2009: £3m Storm Desmond Floods 2015: £10.3m Cumbria Community Foundation

Carlisle - after Storm Desmond, December 2015

Storm Desmond December 2015: 4 districts affected 5,319 homes flooded 1,029 businesses flooded

Cumbria Flood Recovery Coordination Structure Ministerial Recovery Group Strategic Recovery Coordination Group Housing Group Health & Wellbeing Communication Community Recovery Group Environment Infrastructure Business & Economy Finance 4 x District Community Recovery Groups Cumbria Community Resilience Network Cumbria Flood Recovery Coordination Structure Local Recovery Groups include representatives from County & District Councils, Parish Councils, Third Sector Organisations e.g. CAB/AGE UK/Red Cross, Local Community Recovery Groups and Flood Action Groups, other groups e.g. Rotary, Lions, Churches Together. KEY: Green box - CCF represented on group

Community foundations are natural partners in disaster response and should be part of all multi-agency disaster response. Who to work with? Local Resilience Forum Local Authorities Statutory organisations e.g. Environment Agency Strategic recovery coordination groups (multi-agency) Local community recovery groups Local third sector organisations e.g. CAB, Age UK, Church Groups, Rotary Delivery partners e.g. Age UK, Farmer Network Other funders Local information is key….. Working together: Consider: Who is doing what/where? Who do you need to work with? Who can you partner with? What agreements do you need to have in place?

What is the aim of your appeal? The Cumbria Flood Recovery Appeal 2015 was established for charitable purposes in connection with the relief of hardship within the county of Cumbria caused directly or indirectly by storm damage and flooding in December 2015. Priorities for grant making: • Individuals and families suffering financial hardship • Community relief and ‘community rebuilding’ projects What is the aim of your appeal? How does it impact on your grantmaking priorities?

Definition of Hardship: The Foundation recognises that anyone whose home has been flooded has suffered hardship. Hardship can be emotional, physical and financial. People’s circumstances vary greatly and we assess each application on its own merits. Higher grant awards will be considered for people who are suffering significant hardship and who are deemed as being particularly vulnerable. Applicants with complex needs will also be referred to specialist support organisations. Our Approach “I was spoken to & treated with respect” “CCF made me feel human”

Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund: Grant Making HOUSEHOLDS: Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund: Grant Making Hardship Grants (Phases 1 & 2) Resistance & Resilience Top-Up Grants (Phase 3) GROUPS: Flood Damage Advice & Guidance Flood Action Groups Community Rebuilding Community Resilience Community Emergency Planning

Grantmaking Households: £7.3m awarded to 3,157 households Phase One: immediate emergency relief High volume of applications Light touch assessment, but still a personalised approach Understand household circumstances/needs (phone call) Delegated decision making Smaller grant awards Quick response expected Support for the most vulnerable e.g. applying, additional support Working with partners/local recovery groups/strategic recovery groups Level of support will be determined by the funds available… Grantmaking Households: £7.3m awarded to 3,157 households

Grantmaking Households: £7.3m awarded to 3,157 households Phase Two: recovery Medium volume of applications More detailed assessment Personalised & flexible approach – each household is different. Understand household circumstances/needs (phone call). Larger grant awards/vouchers/payments to contractors Support the most vulnerable - working with partners/case worker approach Needs of specific communities e.g. social housing, private tenants, travellers, farmers. Grant awards may impact on benefit claims – consider DWP guidance and communicate to grant applicant appropriately Supporting people indirectly affected e.g. loss of income How will you support your team???? Phase Three: resilience e.g. property level resilience measures Level of support will be determined by the funds available… Grantmaking Households: £7.3m awarded to 3,157 households

Grantmaking Groups: £2.5m awarded to 168 groups Which groups should be supported? Community emergency centres? Emergency response organisations? Support and advice organisations? Disaster affected groups? Community rebuilding & future resilience? How do you manage expectations of groups? How do you encourage partnership working? Will you cover group costs retrospectively? Who should you partner with? Should you delegate areas of grantmaking? Level of support will be determined by the funds available… Grantmaking Groups: £2.5m awarded to 168 groups

Grant Award & Decision Making Process Overnight Flood Grants Panel Group Grants: Main Grants Panel Individual grants awards over £6K Ratify all individual grant awards Group grant awards Application Assessment Individual Grants: Overnight Flood Grants Panel Individual Grants: awards up to £3K (2 members) awards up to £6K (4 members) Application Assessment (phonecall)

Being prepared: What can you set-up and/or think about in advance of a disaster? Speed of response: Applications received within days of appeal launch Expectation to respond quickly What additional resources do you need to support data input, assessment, approval, grants payments etc? What training, guidance do you need to have in place? Helping people to apply: Clear grantmaking criteria and priorities (who do you say no to?) FAQs Individual application form Group application form Worked with local partners to support people to apply

Things to consider….. Grant payments: Data Sharing: BACs/cheque Payments to pre-paid cash cards (for people without bank accounts) Vouchers/Payments to third parties Phase 1 individuals: how can you pay grants quickly? Group grants: would you consider retrospective grant awards? Data Sharing: Names & addresses of affected households from Local Authorities (ID checks/direct communication) Checking tenancy details with landlords Checking employment/loss of income details with employers Working with partners Fraudulent claims What agreements do you need to have in place with Local Authorities etc? What permissions do you need to seek? How will you seek/record permissions (on application form or part of assessment process)? Have you considered GDPR compliance? Things to consider…..

Things to consider….. Needs of specific communities: Communication: How do you support specific communities e.g. farmers, travellers? Communication: How do you encourage people to apply? How do you manage expectations and demands from press, social media etc.? How do you keep stakeholders informed of progress/direction of travel? FAQs and useful information for applicants? Support for small business owners/landlords? Hardship to the household? Hardship funds? Legal advice taken for supporting businesses? Things to consider…..

Things to consider….. Changes over times: Fraudulent Claims: How will you record changes to grantmaking policies and processes? Who do you need to inform of any changes? How will you identify and manage the risks? Fraudulent Claims: Identification Policy Monitoring and Evaluation: Evidence of spend? How will you monitor the programme? How will you evaluate the programme? Things to consider…..

Resources: Reports: Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund 2015 Report & Case Studies Transatlantic CF Network Disaster Appeal Toolkit (2007) Plan ahead: Generic Guidance inc. Appeal Document and application forms MOUs (CCF & Quartet CF) Planning checklists: Cumbria CF and Quartet CF Follow-up questions? Jenny Benson Tel: 01900 825 760 Email: jenny@cumbriafoundation.org

Why its worth it…….