Capacity-building and enhanced grants programme
Strengthening the hyper-local VCSE ecosystem at the heart of neighbourhood health
Learn how funding from the SEL Integrated Care Board (ICB) is supporting grassroots VCSE organisations to grow, sustain and lead community‑led prevention and health creation.
Partner organisations
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Funded by
Our impact at a glance
About this work
Grassroots VCSE organisations are essential to how communities stay well, connected and supported. They build trusted relationships, respond to local need and deliver prevention in ways that are culturally relevant and accessible.
However, many organisations face structural barriers - including limited capacity, infrastructure challenges and difficulty accessing funding.
This programme responds to that by combining relational, tailored capacity-building support with aligned grant funding - strengthening individual organisations while also building the wider VCSE ecosystem that underpins neighbourhood health.
This reflects a wider shift towards more equitable, trust-based partnership with the VCSE sector, moving away from short-term or transactional approaches.
What this work enables
For VCSE organisations, this programme provides practical support, skills and funding to help them grow and sustain their work.
For the wider system, it strengthens the conditions needed for effective community-led prevention, health creation and reduction of inequalities.
Through this approach, the programme helps to:
- Strengthen the sustainability and resilience of grassroots organisations
- Enable “By and For” organisations to lead, shape and influence locally
- Build a stronger, more connected hyper-local VCSE ecosystem
- Improve access to funding and increase organisations’ readiness to secure it
- Support more diverse and representative VCSE leadership within the system
- Strengthen collaboration between VCSE organisations and statutory partners
Who this is for
This programme is aimed at:
- Micro and small VCSE organisations
- “By and For” organisations led by and for specific communities
- Groups working with communities experiencing the greatest inequalities
- Organisations that are early-stage or looking to grow and stabilise
- VCSE organisations that may not typically access mainstream funding
If you are a grassroots or ‘By and For’ organisation
If you are part of a grassroots organisation or a group led by and for your community, you can access support through this programme.
Support is delivered locally through trusted VCSE partners who understand your community and context. They will work alongside you to identify what support would be most helpful - whether that’s strengthening your organisation, developing new ideas, or accessing funding.
You do not need to have everything in place already. The programme is designed to meet organisations where they are and provide practical, hands-on support to help you take the next step.
You can typically access support by:
- Connecting with your local VCSE infrastructure or support organisation
- Being referred through local networks or community partnerships
- Expressing interest when new funding or support opportunities open
If you’re unsure where to start, local partners can help guide you to the right support.
What support looks like
Capacity-building support
Support is tailored and flexible, recognising that every organisation is different.
This may include:
- Governance, leadership and organisational development
- Becoming constituted or strengthening existing structures
- Developing policies, systems and day-to-day operations
- 1:1 advice, mentoring and hands-on support
- Peer learning and connections into networks
- Building confidence, skills and leadership capability
- Becoming “funding-ready”
Support is delivered in a relational, place-based way, building trusted relationships over time.
Enhanced grant funding
Alongside capacity-building, organisations can access flexible grant funding to support:
- Core organisational development
- Strengthening infrastructure and systems
- Piloting or expanding delivery
- Sustaining vital community-led activity
By aligning funding with support, organisations are better able to use investment effectively and build long-term sustainability.
Our approach
This programme is grounded in the SEL VCSE Charter, which prioritises:
- Fair and sustainable funding
- Stronger VCSE infrastructure
- Strategic partnership and shared leadership
- Reducing bureaucracy and supporting innovation
It is designed to reach organisations who are often underrepresented, while strengthening relationships between VCSE organisations and the wider health and care system.
Why this matters
Investing in grassroots VCSE organisations is essential to building a more effective and equitable system.
These organisations:
- Reach communities most affected by inequalities
- Build trust and social connection
- Deliver prevention and early support
- Bring lived experience into system design
Strengthening their capacity creates impact beyond individual organisations - enabling stronger collaboration, more inclusive decision-making and more responsive services.
As the Alliance’s work shows, this kind of investment builds the relational infrastructure that allows community-led prevention and health creation to grow across neighbourhoods and the wider system.
Key learnings so far
Learning
‘By and For’ organisations are often the first to spot and respond to shifts in their communities – they quickly adapt activities, create new offers and mobilise trusted relationships when issues emerge.
Why is matters
This reactive capacity means they can put appropriate, culturally relevant support in place faster than larger, more formal services. It makes them critical to early response, prevention and recovery when circumstances change.
How to put this into practice
- Fund flexibly so ‘By and For’ organisations can adapt activities without lengthy re‑approval.
- Invest in core capacity (people, infrastructure, small reserves) so they have the stability to pivot when new needs arise.
- Build feedback loops (forums, check‑ins, light‑touch reporting) that encourage organisations to share emerging issues quickly, so systems can respond alongside them.
Learning
Utilising and resourcing VCSE leads who sit in cross‑system spaces is essential to making this way of working possible.
Why is matters
These roles translate between community realities and system language, broker relationships, and ensure grassroots insight is visible in strategic conversations.
How to put this into practice
Fund roles that explicitly connect VCSE and statutory partners (e.g. VCSE leads, alliance coordinators, neighbourhood connectors), with time protected for relationship‑building.
Learning
Lighter, trust‑based processes can still be robust if they are combined with ongoing relationships and support.
Why is matters
Reducing unnecessary bureaucracy makes programmes more accessible to micro and grassroots organisations, while ongoing contact provides assurance and learning for funders.
How to put this into practice
Simplify entry requirements and use relational follow‑up to capture learning and manage risk, rather than relying only on complex paperwork.
Learning
Capacity-building for grassroots organisations is a form of prevention and health creation in itself.
Why is matters
Stronger grassroots organisations are better able to provide early, relational support that prevents crises, reduces pressure on statutory services and builds community resilience.
How to put this into practice
Frame and fund capacity-building as preventative investment, and make this case explicitly when agreeing priorities, outcomes and evaluation measures.
Learning
Networks work best when they serve a dual purpose: peer support for organisations and structured routes to influence decision‑makers.
Why is matters
This creates a feedback loop where lived experience and practice insight can regularly inform strategy, while organisations feel less isolated and more connected.
How to put this into practice
Design networks with clear, two‑way flows – space for mutual support and space to gather and feed shared insight into ICBs, councils and system boards. Those spaces can also be used to regularly connect grassroots leaders with decision makers.
Learning
Targeted support for ‘By and For’ organisations is a core part of tackling inequalities, not an “add‑on” to general VCSE support.
Why is matters
When ‘By and For’ groups are supported to strengthen their governance, leadership and voice, systems gain invaluable access to trust, reach and insight that would otherwise be missed.
How to put this into practice
Name ‘By and For’ organisations explicitly in programme design, and shape eligibility, outreach and support around their realities (e.g. size, structures, language).
Learning
Small grants have more impact when they are combined with tailored capacity-building before, during and after the funding.
Why is matters
Using grant processes as a diagnostic (spotting governance or finance gaps and offering help) turns barriers into support and increases organisations’ ability to use awarded grants well and secure future funding from diverse sources.
How to put this into practice
Design funding so that every interaction (application, assessment, reporting) is also an opportunity for learning and support, not just compliance.
Learning
Investing in VCSE infrastructure (networks, convenors, capacity‑builders) is one of the most effective ways to reach and support the smallest organisations.
Why is matters
Infrastructure roles act as connectors, making sure funding, information and opportunities actually reach grassroots and ‘By and For’ groups – not just the already‑visible organisations.
How to put this into practice
Fund posts and networks that support many groups, not only individual service projects (e.g. dedicated By and For capacity‑building roles, convenor posts, thematic/local networks).