Suffolk Carers Fund

This Suffolk County Council funded grant programme offers funding to organisations that support adults who provide unpaid care to adult family members or friends who are older, disabled, or seriously ill, including those with frailty, physical health needs, mental or emotional health issues, or addiction. The support offered by unpaid carers is critical to these people and is one of the most valuable assets within our communities but can be incredibly difficult for those in the role.

Caring for our relatives and friends when they are in need, is a challenge that many of us will face at some point in our lives. Carers are as diverse as society itself. They may be any age and come from any cultural background. Many carers are invisible to the health and care system. When a family member or friend becomes sick or experiences ill-health, it has the potential to change lives forever and can have a profound and lasting effect on the health and wellbeing of family members who look after them.

This funding programme aims to ease the challenges faced by unpaid carers by supporting projects that offer recreational or creative activities, counselling, dementia cafés, and similar forms of help. This fund cannot provide grants to individual carers; it can only support community groups, registered charities, and similar organisations.

The objective of the fund is to enable our adult unpaid carers (aged 18+) who are supporting other adults, to sustain their caring role and increase their feelings of wellbeing, choice, and control by meeting one or more of the following themes:

• Helping family members and friends recognise their role as unpaid carers at an early stage and identify and access the support they need.
• Supporting unpaid carers to access opportunities which sustain and improve their physical and emotional health and wellbeing.
• Enabling those with caring responsibilities to fulfil their educational and employment potential, build and maintain their social connections and have time for relaxation/recharging.

Due to the current challenges which we know carers are facing, we are particularly interested in hearing:

• From small grassroots and community organisations run by/for adult carers
• About innovative/start-up projects and those that will fill gaps in the current provision for adult carers
• How organisations will support carers to have short breaks away from their caring responsibilities
• How organisations offering face-face learning, employment or leisure activities will make sessions as accessible as possible to carers i.e. what arrangements for the cared-for person will be put in place to enable the carer to attend
• How organisations will support carers to become more competent and confident with using technology

Funding available:

Grants are available for activities within communities that enable adult unpaid carers to sustain their caring role by supporting their feelings of wellbeing, choice, and control as follows:

• Microgrants of up to £5,000
• Multi-years grants of up to £10,000 per year for three years
• One-off grants of up to £30,000

The funder is particularly interested in projects that meet one of the following:

• Helping family members and friends recognise their role as unpaid carers at an early stage and identify and access the support they need.
• Supporting unpaid carers to access opportunities which sustain and improve their physical and emotional health and wellbeing.
• Enabling those with caring responsibilities to fulfil their educational and employment potential, build and maintain their social connections and have time for relaxation/recharging.

Further information to strengthen your bid – applicants should clearly demonstrate (where appropriate):

• the need for the project, with evidence
• the expected impact of the project – on carers individually, and statutory organisations
• the expected outcomes of the project, including how these will be validated by carers. Note for grant requests of over £5,000 – please also provide details of the outcome indicators and monitoring/assessment tools to be used to capture baseline and progression data to demonstrate the impact on carers and their families
• where additional funding or in-kind contributions have been requested or made
• how applicants will seek to ensure the sustainability of the project going forward where it has demonstrated positive impact on unpaid carers
• how applicants will ensure that unpaid carers are aware of their statutory entitlement to a carers assessment (via Suffolk County Council Customer First or Suffolk Family Carers), and will signpost to this and further statutory support as appropriate
• applicants should show how they have engaged carers in the development and design of their project
• applicants should demonstrate how they will work in partnership with other organisations/groups where possible
• how the project will be promoted to carers and how it will be made as easy as possible for them to participate i.e. the accessibility of the environment, facilities e.g. car parking, communication/language needs
• how the project could be extended/scaled-up/widened if required, including using technology if appropriate
• if appropriate, how the project will help support carers after their responsibilities have changed, e.g. the cared-for person has moved into residential supported care or following bereavement

Existing work will be supported if it can show additionality, i.e. being offered in a different area.

For further information on carers in Suffolk – State of the Sector – Suffolk Communities: carers