Benefit take-up funds: form and guidance
Guidance and application form for two grants to support benefit take-up and income maximisation.
Scottish Benefit Take-up Fund
This £500,000 fund will be available for 2020 to assist organisations who are preparing their services and staff to support people who will be applying for Scottish benefits.
The fund will be open to bids from eligible organisations for awards of up to £50,000, and awards will be made on the basis of a set of clear and transparent criteria.
The fund will consider bids from organisations of all sizes to be ready to support their clients – for example, through the development of promotional materials or relevant training.
The preparation fund will have an emphasis on:
- reaching people who may not have applied for social security benefits before in recognition that our disability benefits are – in the first instance –only open to new claims
- activity that will have a positive impact on take-up among hard to reach groups
- reaching groups who may have particular barriers to overcome in applying for benefits
- activity that will promote the take-up of the Scottish Child Payment
Scottish Income Maximisation Fund
This £100,000 fund will be available for 2020 to assist organisations who support people to increase their household incomes, with an emphasis on ensuring people are aware of the financial support available to them.
The fund will be open to bids from eligible organisations for awards of up to £15,000, and awards will be made on the basis of a set of clear and transparent criteria.
The Income Maximisation Fund will have an emphasis on:
- activity that will have a positive impact on groups of people who have traditionally not applied for the financial support they are entitled to
- reaching groups who may be in particular need of support
- reaching groups that may have particular barriers to overcome in applying for benefits
- activity that will increase the income of target households
Who can apply
Both funds are open to applications from organisations (including registered charities) which:
- are established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes and
- provides free and impartial advice to Scottish citizens applying for, or seeking to apply for, Scottish social security benefits and
- do not gain any direct economic advantage from advice provided, for example through provision of further chargeable services
Local authorities are not eligible for either fund.
The full eligibility criteria for both funds, including a pre-application eligibility checklist is attached.
Please complete the application form. Completed applications should be emailed to: benefit_takeup_fund@gov.scot
If you are a small organisation (with an annual turnover below £200,000) you qualify for free application support. This service is provided by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations on behalf of the Scottish Government. If you wish to access this service, or if you have any questions, please email the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) at: grants@scvo.org.uk
Contact
Email: benefit_takeup_fund@gov.scot
Post:
Scottish Benefit Take-up Funds
Area 2C South (Mail Point 6)
Victoria Quay
The Shore
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
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