The application criteria for the Armed Forces Families Fund - Supporting Partners: Innovation Fund, which has an upcoming deadline of 12th December 2022, has recently been reviewed and the requirement for charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs) to have been registered for 2 years prior to application removed.

The Armed Forces Families Fund - Supporting Partners: Innovation Fund provides grant funding for projects across the United Kingdom that will offer innovative new forms of support for the partners of those who are serving in the Armed Forces. The aim of the grant programme is pilot practical new ways that help partners of serving Armed Forces personnel, including Reservists, to reduce the challenges of service life. Projects need to be completed within 12 months of an award being made..

Project proposals must meet one of the following aims:

1. Encouraging new ways of enabling peer to peer support.
2. Enabling better access to employment, education & training, or wider support, and/or
3. Reducing duplication and making it easier for partners to access knowledge and information that is relevant to their lives.

Grants of between £20,000 and £50,000 are available to UK registered charities, Community Interest Companies, Universities and Armed Forces bases, stations and units. As far as we’re able to determine from the eligibility criteria, there is no matched funding requirement for this programme.

Project ideas can build on existing work that an organisation has previously done; but it must be innovative in nature and offer new, inclusive and distinctive approaches. Examples of possible projects are (please note that this is not an exclusive list – more examples are provided in the programme's guidance document):

o Exploring solutions to challenges arising to family life from newer forms of hybrid working and deployments.
o Finding solutions for partners facing challenging situations with overseas postings (whether going overseas or returning from overseas).
o Piloting specific new types of practical support for partners; who may have different challenges to spouses, and
o Supporting partners to access paid employment or education.

Grants can be used for:

o Appropriate clinical supervision for workers who are supporting vulnerable individuals.
o Purchasing items that can enable the project’s activities to take place (such as art materials, sport/games/outdoor equipment).
o Purchasing items that may be needed to provide support, such as additional telephones or laptops.
o Reasonable costs for storing and transporting items, including wear and tear on private vehicles.
o Reasonable overheads that reflect the cost to the organisation of delivering its services.
o Sessional staff or freelancers, and/or
o Staff time, including time required to manage volunteers.

Funding is not available for:

o Endowments (to provide a source of income).
o Excessive management or professional fees or contingency costs.
o Fundraising costs, including organising fundraising events and activities.
o Individuals.
o Investments.
o Local authorities, trusts, government departments.
o Making grants or donations of money to individuals or families.
o Paying for ongoing costs of existing partnership activity.
o Private limited companies.
o Projects, activities or services that the state has a legal obligation to provide.
o Repeat or regular projects that require a source of uncommitted funding.
o Retrospective costs.
o Schools.
o Topping up existing grants and aid from a government department.
o Unincorporated community groups.
o Where funding is not benefitting people from the Armed Forces community, or
o Where money only benefits one person.

Further information, application guidance and an online application form is available on the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust website.

The application deadline is 5pm on Monday 12th December 2022. Successful applicants are expected to be notified by Tuesday 28th February 2023 and will be required to start their project by Monday 1st May 2023.