RHS Connected Communities Grant frequently asked questions 2022/23

All grants will be £2,500.

No, you will not be asked how much you want to apply for on the application form as all grants will be £2,500.

The grant can be spent on:

• Marketing, communications and promotion of the project and project resources
• Community engagement
• Training
• Access and adaptions, for example, translation, transport, subsidising sessions
• Monitoring and evaluation
• External facilitation
• Volunteer recruitment
• Participant research and idea development
• Gardening materials (such as plants, seeds, soil, tools, planters)
• Outdoor structures, for example, sheds, polytunnels
• Staff costs
• Volunteer expenses

We expect to make 20 grants.

Yes, the project you are applying for can also be funded by other organisations. We will ask you to outline other funders in the application form.

Applications are now closed for the RHS Connected Communities Grant.

Your application needed to be submitted by 5pm on 18 November 2022. If the application was open and you were still working on it after 5pm you may not be able to submit it as the application round closed automatically.

To discuss your application access requirements please email [email protected].

Your application needed to be submitted by 5pm on 18 November 2022. If the application was open and you were still working on it after 5pm you may not be able to submit it as the application round closed automatically.

You will need to outline how you will spend the £2,500 grant, but you won’t have to provide a detailed budget.

Grants will be paid in January 2023.

You will have 12 months to spend the grant money.

• Applications opened at 10am Wednesday 12 October 2022
• Applications closed at 5pm Friday 18 November 2022
• Applications reviewed November – December 2022
• Applicants informed December 2022 – January 2023
• Grant period January – December 2023

We will be looking for applications that can demonstrate a clear need for the proposed project, show a good understanding of the new group the Organisation is aiming to work with and take into account the barriers that have previously prevented that group’s participation. We are also particularly interested in projects that offer opportunities for learning and knowledge sharing with other community gardening groups. Projects should aim to create long-term connections with the new group, rather than one-off interactions.

Advice on completing the application and common mistakes to avoid can be found at the end of this page.

Due to the number of applications we receive, unfortunately, we will not be able to provide individual feedback on unsuccessful applications. We encourage you to get in contact to discuss your application prior to submission by contacting [email protected] to ensure your project is relevant.

No, only groups currently registered with Britain in Bloom (BIB) or It’s Your Neighbourhood (IYN) can apply for this grant.

No, if your organisation has received any grant from the RHS in the last 12 months – including RHS Connected Communities, RHS Community Environment, RHS Community Wellbeing or Flourish Fund you are not eligible to apply for this grant.

If you have previously applied for another grant but were unsuccessful your organisation can apply for this grant. If you applied and were successful in the last 12 months you are not eligible to apply.

Applications can be made for either new projects, or existing ones where funding would be for development work i.e. working with a new group. We will not accept applications to maintain existing projects with no element of change, as the focus of the project should be reaching new groups.

We will accept applications from community gardening groups, allotment associations, community associations, charities, social enterprises, and other not-for-profit grass-roots groups. Groups do not need to be constituted but will need their own bank account in the organisation’s name. All groups must be registered with Britain in Bloom or It’s Your Neighbourhood.

We are unable to fund the following types of organisations:

• Organisations not registered with Britain in Bloom or It’s Your Neighbourhood as of 12 October 2022
• Schools, education or childcare providers, youth groups, uniformed groups – or projects that are based in one of these settings
• Projects or organisations based outside the UK
• Organisations without a bank account. Bank accounts must be in an organisation’s name
• Individuals, either directly or indirectly through an organisation
• Organisations that have received any grant from the RHS in the last 12 months (including any partners)
• Any for-profit company or organisation
• Sole traders (either for-profit or not-for-profit)

The RHS Connected Communities Grant will provide £2,500 for projects that:

• Focus on reaching new groups of people not currently involved with the applicant’s activities. The new people could be defined by a specific characteristic (such as age, health or gender), geographical location or by circumstances (such as bereaved people or people who live alone). We are particularly interested in projects aiming to work with groups that are traditionally under-represented in community gardening
• Have identified the new group and why the organisation wants to work with the new group by demonstrating the need for the specific project and how the target audience will benefit from it
• Have a long-term impact, developing meaningful community connections via ongoing gardening activities rather than one-off events or low-level engagement
• Facilitates activities that are designed with, and by, the new target group to help address any specific barriers to participation
• Will provide an opportunity for learning and knowledge sharing with other community groups
• Are trying something new or creating new connections in an inventive way

Funded projects can be new or existing. Existing projects will be eligible if the funding is for furthering activities to involve new groups of people, rather than maintaining the current project as is.

Projects will need to be running in 2023. We will accept applications for ongoing work, but the grant will need to be spent by the end of 2023.

We are looking for projects that use any kind of growing or gardening to engage groups of people the organisation hasn’t worked with before. In particular, we are interested in applications for work to adapt or create new projects with the needs of the new group in mind and address any barriers it may face to getting involved (such as transport, cost or language). Projects should aim for long-term engagement and impact, rather than one-off interactions. We would also like to see projects that offer an opportunity for learning and sharing knowledge. We will prioritise projects that aim to work with a group that is traditionally underrepresented in community gardening.

Examples of types of work that might be funded include:

• Regular ‘get-together’ activities and events
• Sharing skills and knowledge
• Making spaces
• Creating community interest, purpose or cohesion

It is possible to pay the grant into another organisation’s account if the applicant does not have their own organisational account. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis dependent on the group’s reason for not having an account and the relationship to the organisation where the grant will be paid. Grants cannot be paid into an individual’s bank account, or an account in an individual’s name (for example, a sole trader’s business account).

All successful applicants will need to sign a Grant Agreement before their grant is paid. Proof of bank details and evidence of any relevant policies will need to be provided before the grant is paid. Grantees will be expected to keep in contact with the RHS Communities Team through the duration of the grant, provide regular updates on the progress of their work and submit an end-of-grant report in December 2023. Groups will be expected to inform us of any major changes or developments to the funded project. Grantees will also be expected to collect participant data including demographics and motivations for taking part. Templates will be provided for collecting this information and no personal information will be recorded.

This guidance is based on the most common reasons for applications being unsuccessful in previous funding rounds:

• Before you start your application make sure you have read all of the information available about the grant (including criteria, eligibility and the application process) and contact us if you have any questions about your project or organisation’s eligibility at [email protected]
• Discuss the project and application with other members of your group and ensure that everyone understands and is in agreement with what you are applying for funding for. For instance, if there are volunteers who will be running the project, and a separate management committee or board, make sure that people at all levels are involved with the process and agree on what the project will be
• Make sure you highlight how your project stands out from the crowd in your application. We will be looking for reasons to fund your project over the many applications we will receive and you should make this as clear as possible in your application
• Make sure the work you are applying for reflects the core aims of the grant and that you make this clear throughout your application. For example, if the grant is about connecting with new communities, this should be the focus of your application
• Read through the whole application before starting your answers
• We would advise drafting your answers in a separate document so that you have a backup version saved. Once you have finalised your answers you can copy and paste them into the online form
• Spend time, along with the rest of your group or other staff, making sure your answers cover what the question has asked
• The questions in the application are designed to give your group the opportunity to sell themselves – make sure you are using the space to get across how your group and project meet the aims of the fund (based on the criteria provided)
• Be concise, using word and character limits as a guide to how much you should write and avoid repeating yourself across your answers
• Avoid assumptions of knowledge the assessor will have about your group or the work you’re doing. Make sure you spell out acronyms the first time you use them
• If you are using research to explain the need for your project make sure that you have made a clear link between the generic evidence and your specific project and participants (i.e. the assessors will be looking at how you have applied the generic evidence to your specific, local project)
• Make it clear what the measurable impact of your project will be (e.g. how you know if it has been a success)
• Read through your application before you submit it. You can do this using the ‘Preview’ button at the bottom of the application form