The Voluntary and Community Sector Committee of Islington Council met on Monday 25 March 2024 and agreed to continue the council's financial support of the Islington Community Chest small grants programme. The committee also made decisions on which organisations to award funding to from the Local Initiatives Fund, and on which organisations to offer free hire of the Islington Assembly Hall and Town Hall committee rooms to.

Islington Community Chest (ICCC)

The committee voted to continue the council's long-standing partnership with Cripplegate Foundation to administer the Islington Community Chest grant for another year.

The ICCC programme awards grants of up to £5000 to small, locally based voluntary sector organisations, with a particular focus on groups working in the most deprived parts of the borough and organisations with an income of less than £50,000 a year.

The council has committed to contribute £190,000 to the programme for 2024/25, with Cripplegate Foundation continuing to contribute £50,000 (of which £36,000 is deducted to cover the costs of managing the scheme).

This represents a reduction of £10,000 in the council's contribution to the programme, compared with previous years. £10,000 will instead be spent on exploring new, experimental funding programmes that would see grants given directly to residents, or to support the creation of new resident-led groups, with a particular focus on the most deprived parts of Islington. This new programme would launch in 2025/26.

The committee noted that this is the final year of the current ICCC partnership arrangement and that a full review of the programme's administration, priorities, criteria, and governance will need to take place before a new agreement can be signed.

Local Initiatives Fund

The Local Initiatives Fund (LIF) is a grant programme that allows each ward councillor in Islington to award grants of up to £1000 to organisations working in their ward. Grants of more than £1000 require the agreement of more than one councillor.

The committee voted to approve 37 new applications to the LIF from across Islington's 17 wards, with a total value of £61,289.

The applications include a mixture of funding for one-off events, like the annual Eid in the Park event at Highbury Fields, and for longer term projects like the Elfrida Society's sports programme for people with learning disabilities and autism.

Several of the applications were for match-funding existing projects.

This round of the LIF was significantly oversubscribed. More than £126,000 of grants were requested.

The committee agreed that no more than £1000 of unspent funding from each ward can be rolled over into the next financial year.

Councillor Paul Convery, the Executive Member for Homes and Communities, said that the large number of applications showed the value of the LIF scheme but also suggested that there was a significant unmet need for funding for very local community projects in Islington. He said:

It’s great to be able to back so many excellent local projects. Clearly, there is huge demand for this funding, which reflects the amazing work being done by the voluntary and community sector in this borough, particularly in such challenging times.

Islington Council Venues Community Free Hires Scheme

The Islington Council Venues Community Free Hires Scheme allows the council to offer a limited number of free bookings of the Islington Assembly Hall and Town Hall committee rooms to Islington-based community groups each year.

The committee considered 14 applications for free hire of council venues.

Applications for free hire of the Assembly Hall were assessed on their ability to promote community cohesion, their focus on young people or diversity, and on the extent to which they creatively engaged with Islington residents. The council received 11 applications for the Assembly Hall and decided to offer free hire to two organisations:

• Proud Sports - for a one-day 'All-Inclusive Yoga and Tai Chi event' aimed at LGBTQ+ people and people from minority ethnic communities.
• Prior Weston Primary School - for a one-day summer music concert.

Applications for free hire of the Town Hall committee rooms were assessed on the same criteria. The council received 3 applications and decided to offer free hire to two organisations:

• Imece Women's Centre - for a one-day event for professionals and service providers on tackling violence against women and girls.
• Cape Adventure Playground - for a one-day staff training and development event.

The committee instructed officers to work with the successful organisations to ensure that their events take place within the next financial year and that, in the event that this is not possible, the spaces are offered to other organisations.