Form

Tampon Tax Fund 2021-2022 - Guidance for Applicants

Updated 23 June 2021

1. Introduction

The purpose of the Tampon Tax Fund is to allocate the funds generated from the VAT on sanitary products to projects that improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. The fund was announced by the then Chancellor during the 2015 Autumn Statement.

The launch of this round of funding demonstrates the Government’s continued commitment to ensuring that the VAT received from sanitary products is used to support vulnerable and underrepresented women and girls. The Chancellor announced on 1st January 2021 that the ‘Tampon Tax’ would cease. This was due to exiting the EU and the UK no longer being bound by the EU VAT Directive to charge 5% tax on all sanitary products. This guide introduces the final round of Tampon Tax funding and provides details of how to apply.

The 2021/22 round of Tampon Tax funding is inviting charitable, benevolent and philanthropic organisations from across the United Kingdom to bid into one of two categories: Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, and a General Programme. The criteria for each category can be found below.

We particularly, but not exclusively, welcome applications from Women’s Specialist Charities and organisations whose projects include making onward grants to Women’s Specialist Charities.

Applications should be for £350,000 or more, from organisations that can deliver impact across their chosen category and across multiple regions in one or more of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Please note that the £11.25 million total fund is allocated between each administration using the Barnett Formula as a guide. Wales is allocated £675,000, Northern Ireland £393,750, Scotland £1,181,250 and England £9,000,000.

Applications are welcomed from individual organisations or formal consortia with an identified lead organisation. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from organisations whose projects include (as a way of utilising existing expertise in the sector, increasing geographical reach, and improving impact) making onward grants to other charitable organisations. We welcome applications which aim to use Tampon Tax funding to leverage additional resources, and therefore include an element of match funding.

Notes

• This fund is open to charitable, benevolent and philanthropic organisations from across the United Kingdom
• Grants may be for 12 to 18 month projects
• All activities must be concluded and funds spent by 31st March 2023
• The value of the grant requested in each financial year must not represent more than 50% of the applicant organisation’s, or consortia’s collective, annual income for that financial year
• Applications must include details of arrangements for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults as part of their planned activities

Successful applicants will be informed towards the end of Autumn 2021. We expect individual grant agreements to be finalised with successful applicants by mid-Autumn 2021. Exact timing will vary on a case-by-case basis.

Application details

• The deadline for applications is midnight on Sunday 4th July
• All applicants should answer every question on the application form
• Completed applications should be submitted via ttfapplications@culture.gov.uk
• All applications received by the closing date will be assessed following the closing date
• Any applications received after the closing date will not be assessed
• All available information and guidance relating to this round of funding is contained within this document and the application form
• As the application process is competitive, the Tampon Tax Fund team is not able to answer individual questions or respond to requests for support in completing the application

Assessment process

After you submit your application you will receive an email confirming that we have received it.

Our Grant Making Team then use a consistent and standardised process to decide which applications will progress to the next stage, considering amongst other things whether an application:

• Is in line with the themes set out in the guidance
• Meets the minimum budget threshold
• Is delivered by eligible organisations as set out in this guidance

We will then check applications against our eligibility criteria and minimum standards for grant making before progressing to the assessment stage.

If you are unsuccessful at meeting the eligibility criteria we will contact you to let you know that you are not moving on to the assessment stage. Due to the volume of applications we cannot give detailed feedback at this stage but we will clarify the areas of eligibility not met.

If your application moves on to the assessment stage, DCMS will work through application against a set of criteria including evidence of need, geographical spread, demonstration of monitoring and evaluating, sustainability and value for money. This is not an exhaustive list. We may call you for additional information during this period. The assessment will be peer moderated. We anticipate that the Fund will be heavily oversubscribed. Depending on the volume of applications we may introduce a pre-sift which will focus on ability to deliver and suitability of monitoring, evaluation and learning mechanisms as outlined in the application. In order to reach a shortlist of applications we will consider the representation and reach of your organisation and also the sustainability of the impact of your project beyond the life of the grant.

A short list of applications will then be considered by the Grant Making Panel who will make a recommendation to the Minister for Civil Society who will make the final decision. Once the final decisions have been made, you will be informed of the decision by email and a list of successful applications will be published on GOV.UK.

2. Criteria for categories of funding

Overall, the Tampon Tax Fund aims to support projects that improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged women and girls across the United Kingdom.

Applicants are invited to focus project activities on one of two categories:

1. Ending Violence Against Women and Girls
2. General Programme (for which we have identified a number of sub-themes)

All applications, regardless of the category applied for, will be assessed against the following criteria:

Need: Applications must provide evidence of a clear need for the project activities, and demonstrate how the specific project activities are a suitable mechanism for overcoming the issues identified.

Ability to Deliver: Applications must demonstrate the applicant’s capability and capacity to deliver the project, including through evidence of sufficient specialist expertise as well as through outlining a clear project plan. Successful shortlisted applicants will be asked to demonstrate how they will (and how they will support their onward grantees to) take into account, where relevant, the commercial principles outlined in Managing Public Money, including fairness, integrity, honesty, impartiality and objectivity and how procurement of any commercial services, as far as possible and proportionate to outcomes, will follow the principles of public procurement regulations.

Evaluation: Applications must provide plans for robust evaluation of the project, including the level and number of outputs and outcomes to be measured.

We particularly invite applicants to consider how your project will demonstrate that you have achieved the fund’s aim to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged women and girls. For example, how the project can measure the following outcomes for women and girls:

• safety and security
• move towards employment and therefore financial independence
• find friendship and support from peers
• manage their mental health

Further KPIs may be considered as part of DCMS’s monitoring and evaluation and will be developed and agreed with you prior to any grant award.

Partnership: We are particularly interested in proposals that involve partnership working. Please note that where applications are made by consortia evidence of formal partnership arrangements must be provided.

Sustainability

Bids must outline the long-term sustainability of project activities, demonstrating that the impact of the project will last beyond Tampon Tax funding.

Furthermore, we are inviting applicants to explain how they would use up to 10% of their grant funding to improve the sustainability of their organisations.

Applicants for projects which include making onward grants to small and medium sized charities are also encouraged to include a ‘sustainability’ element in the criteria for these onward grants. Onward grantees who are applying for up to £100,000 can bid for up to 25% of their funding on sustainability and those applying for more than £100,000 can bid for 10% of their funding on sustainability.

This funding could be used, for example, to:

• Upskill existing staff, improve functions such as IT, marketing or fundraising, or to employ a business development expert to develop an improved operating and strategic model
• Access support to build strategic thinking within their organisation
• Build capacity - training, leadership programmes, transformative digital investments
• Improve impact assessment
• Improve internal systems, processes and policies, most commonly in marketing, finance and IT
• Access support to improve the financial position of their organisation, particularly to develop new funding streams and/or diversify income

Any activities included in the bid for funding must be additional to current business development activity your organisation is undertaking and may not be used for core funding. This part of the application form will also be assessed.

If the applicant is an organisation applying for direct funding (and will therefore not be making any onward grant funding) then their application should explain clearly:

• What activities are required to improve sustainability and how much these activities will cost
• What evidence the applicant has of the need for their organisation to undertake these activities (the applicant may find it useful to use the National Lottery Community Fund VCSE Diagnostic Strength Checker - details below)
• What evidence the applicant has that undertaking these activities will improve the sustainability of their organisation
• What the planned outcome of these activities would be
• How the applicant will increase their impact through the use of technology

If the applicant is an organisation applying for funding that will be used to make onward grants then their application should explain clearly how the applicant will use the funding to support the sustainability of the organisations they will make onward grants to, including information about the process for them to access the funding and how the applicant will assess need.

Applicants may find it useful to use The National Lottery Community Fund VCSE Strength Checker which is a diagnostic tool to analyse organisational strengths and position, and to identify areas that could be developed to improve organisational strength. It is not linked to any The National Lottery Community Fund funding programmes and it is completely free to use.

In addition to the standard criteria outlined above, applications should set out (at question 3.8 of the application form) how proposed activities fit the category specific criteria outlined below.

1) Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)

Under this category we will consider applications from organisations that support women and girls affected by or at risk of violence or abuse. This includes domestic abuse, sexual violence, so-called ‘honour-based’ abuse, stalking, and prostitution and sex work. We also encourage applications from consortia that cover multiple crime types. Projects should include early intervention and prevention of VAWG crimes, as well as victims’ services. Victims’ services should be focussed on women and girls as these are the beneficiaries of the Tampon Tax Fund. However, support may be provided for their children if this is required to enable women and girls to receive the services they need.

Compulsory criteria - all proposals to this category will be assessed against the following criteria:

1) Proposals must provide additional activity not currently within mainstream provision. This can be through:

• Providing new services not currently commissioned locally or nationally
• New approaches to existing services already provided
• Improving understanding and responses to violence and abuse of women and girls, such as through research or capability-building projects
• Responding to new challenges, such as those posed through new technology

2) Bids must demonstrate how they align with and support the delivery of the Strategy to end VAWG, in particular one of the following:

• Preventing violence and abuse, supporting professionals to identify the earliest signs of abuse, and prevent abusive behaviour from becoming entrenched, as well as through encouraging victims to come forward and seek help
• Provision of services, through keeping victims safe and providing the right support at the right time, including through effective responses to perpetrators
• Partnership working, to ensure that services are flexible and responsive to the victim’s experience, through close working between specialist support organisations and making the links to wider vulnerability, including child sexual abuse and exploitation, substance misuse, or gang exploitation

To note, within this category, we will particularly favour proposals that:

• Address the needs of women with multiple disadvantages and complex needs where mainstream provision is not always appropriate
• Consider the needs of, and encourage engagement with, a diverse range of victims, including hard to reach groups such as Black, Asian, Minority and Ethnic groups, LGBTQI+, women with disabilities, or women with no recourse to public funds
• Develop tools that have the potential to be rolled out nationally, where a gap has been identified
• Provide specialist services that are not commissioned locally due to low density of users, but where the service would benefit women across a wider cross-Local Authority area
• Demonstrate the project need is led by the communities they serve

2) General Programme

Under this category we will consider applications for projects that will improve the lives of vulnerable, disadvantaged or underrepresented women and girls. As an indication, projects may be focused in one or more of the following areas:

• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Black, Asian, Minority and Ethnic groups services
• Consequences of Covid-19 for disadvantaged women and girls
• Education and employment
• Engaging excluded and vulnerable women and girls through sport
• Female offenders
• Gender equality
• Improving digital skills and knowledge
• LGBTQI+ specific services
• Tackling loneliness
• Mental health
• Multiple complex needs
• Older women
• Period poverty
• Women and girls with disabilities
• Women and girls with learning disabilities

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and proposals that evidence a clear need for, and offer activities to address other issues affecting vulnerable or underrepresented women and girls in the United Kingdom will be considered.

Given the nature of the General Programme it is not possible to further define the criteria. The emphasis is on applicants to:

• Evidence a clear need for project activities and can demonstrate they are led by the communities they serve
• Explain how project activities are a suitable mechanism for overcoming the issues identified
• Offer a good level and number of outputs and outcomes
• Highlight how the applicant will increase their impact through the use of technology
• Outline the long-term sustainability of project activities, demonstrating that the impact of the project will last beyond Tampon Tax funding

3. Completing your application form

General tips

• There are a number of guidance notes contained in square brackets in the application form, applicants should please read these carefully and respond to all relevant points. Information in square brackets can be overtyped or deleted once the applicant has read and understood it
• Write clearly and concisely avoiding the use of jargon or abbreviations. Remember that the assessor reading your application may not have a background in your field of expertise
• Do not exceed stated word limits. As we receive a high volume of applications, text over the word limit will be discounted from your application

Section 1 - Funding Categories

• Read the criteria for each funding category (above) before making a selection
• Tick the relevant boxes on the application form to indicate the category to which the applicant is applying. Applicants should select only one main funding category. If selecting the General Category, tick all the relevant sub-categories which apply to the project

Section 2 - Lead Organisation Details

• This section requires the applicant to input details relating to the lead organisation; we welcome applications from consortia, but require one organisation to take the lead role as the applicant, main point of contact, payee for funds, and responsible body who agrees to ensure the terms and conditions of the grant offer are upheld by all involved
• Please ensure that the contact details given are for the day-to-day contact for all enquiries relating to the project application

Section 3 - Project Overview

This section asks applicants to provide an overview of the Tampon Tax funded project. They are required to:

• Identify the Tampon Tax funded project by name
• List all consortium partners involved in the project – the lead organisation in a formal consortium should complete this section. It is expected that partnership agreements are already in place, or that there is correspondence from authorised representatives at each partner organisation that confirms involvement in the project and acknowledges submission of the application
• List all the delivery partners involved in the project. If applying as a single organisation, but intending to work with other organisations to deliver the project, please complete this section
• Evidence the need for the project. What are the key issues that the Tampon Tax funded project will help to overcome
• If applicable, outline plans for sustainability funding
• State the overall aim of the Tampon Tax funded project
• Describe what the project will actually do
• Explain how the project fits with the category criteria outlined above
• Explain how the project complements national and local strategies relevant to the regions or countries in which the project will be delivered
• Where relevant, describe the mechanisms for awarding and managing onward grants
• List the expected outputs that will be directly attributable to Tampon Tax funding
• List the expected outcomes that will be directly attributable to Tampon Tax funding
• If applicable, explain how and where the Tampon Tax funded project fits into any wider projects or programmes being run by the organisation or consortium

Section 4 - Project Delivery

This section asks the applicant to provide details about:

• When (in terms of start, finish and key milestone dates) the project will be delivered
• Where the project will be delivered (in terms of country, region, locality)
• Who the intended beneficiaries are
• Who will deliver the project, i.e. what staff or volunteers will be in place or recruited to deliver project activities
• How the project will be delivered – this includes demonstrating that applicants have the capacity and capability to deliver the proposed project

In particular this section asks the applicant to detail specific project activities by quarter. It is important that they offer as much detail (bullet point format is acceptable) to help us understand what will be achieved during each time period. If an application is successful, this part of the application will be used to inform the project progress and monitoring report.

We also ask applicants to set out details of your Safeguarding arrangements.

Section 5 - Project Finances

This section asks the applicant to set out the:

• Total cost of the project
• Amount of funding being requested
• Split of funding across England and the Devolved Administrations
• Amount of funding the applicant has requested (optional) for sustainability funding in £’s and as a percentage of their total grant request

Please note that we can not fund capital projects or items of capital expenditure which exceed the lead organisation’s capital de minimis.

Applicants are also required to:

• Submit a detailed budget breakdown which clearly shows expenditure by financial quarter and year, noting that our financial year runs 1st April to 31st March
• Set out the proposed drawdown schedule
• Set out the financial management and control mechanisms explaining how the applicant will ensure that Tampon Tax funding can be accounted for, on a quarterly basis, accurately and transparently, and tell us how much match funding has been secured, if applicable

Section 6 - Mandatory Documentation Checklist

We have provided applicants with a quick reference checklist outlining all the documents they need to submit as part of their application. Please use the checkboxes to indicate which documents have or haven’t been included.

Section 7 - Authorisation

Application forms must be signed by someone with the authority to represent an organisation in making the application. For example, the CEO, Head of Finance, or Head of the Board of Trustees.

The Assessment Process

Applications will be assessed on their individual merits according to the following:

• Evidence of need for the project
• Overall clarity of application – how easy it is for us to understand what the applicant is proposing and how well this addresses the issues outlined
• Fit with Tampon Tax Fund criteria for the relevant category or categories of funding
• Fit with government or local authority strategies and services relevant within the regions and/or Devolved Administrations in which the project will be delivered
• Ability to deliver, including suitability of timescales, capacity and capability
• Suitability of monitoring, evaluation and learning mechanisms
• Sustainability
• Value for money through minimising costs and maximising efficiency
• Suitability of financial management mechanisms
• Representation and reach, including the evidence provided by the applicant, or their delivery organisation, of their expertise, experience or specialism in representing and supporting women and girls, within the communities they intend to work with

An organisation will also need to pass our due diligence checks which ensure:

• The grant award does not exceed 50% of their annual income or collective annual income if applying as a formal consortium
• We have received and reviewed at least 2 positive references
• They are registered with the Charity Commission and/or Companies House website and have filed all required returns
• If they have been funded by another part of Government, we seek feedback from that department
• They are not already receiving funding for this project from Government, meaning their project is funded twice
• Trustees are not related and there is no indication of fraud
• Where multiple organisations are located at the same postcode, there is an indication of fraud - if you do have the same postcode as other organisations you will be asked to provide an explanation
• We are satisfied they have a proportionate Risk Register in place (to note, we will not assess Risk Registers but may ask questions or work with an organisation to improve their Risk Register if we are not satisfied with it)
• We are satisfied they have a suitable Safeguarding policy in place (to note: we will not assess Safeguarding policies but may ask questions or work with an organisation to improve their Safeguarding policy if we are not satisfied with it)

Please note that in the event that an organisation’s last financial year end was more than 6 months prior to submitting their application, we may request further accounting information at a later date as part of the due diligence process.

The decision about which applications receive funding will also take into account the need to ensure a geographical and thematic spread of activities across the United Kingdom.

Please note that although DCMS will make the final decision:

• Applications which focus on Ending VAWG will be assessed by colleagues from the Home Office
• Colleagues in the DCMS will assess applications that respond under the General Programme, seeking input from colleagues in other departments with specific expertise where required
• Applications which include delivery of activities within the Devolved Administrations will also be assessed by colleagues in the relevant Devolved Administrations

Applicants will not be contacted for clarification or further information. It is their responsibility to ensure their application is concise, fully completed and that they supply all necessary supporting documentation. The only instance where a government official may contact an applicant is where the level of funding they have requested cannot be met and a lesser amount is being offered. In this case, they will be invited to consider a lesser amount and submit a summary of activities, outputs, outcomes and budget, realigned to fit the revised funding on offer, for consideration. If contacted under these circumstances, please note that the time frame for providing an initial response may be very short.

When making decisions

• We will give equal consideration to all applications that meet our criteria
• We will be open and accountable in our procedures
• All staff will be required to declare conflicts of interest. If there is a conflict of interest, they will not be involved in the assessment process or the decision to award a grant

If offered a grant

Our standard terms and conditions apply to every grant we award.

The grant offer letter will set out any additional conditions that apply specifically to an organisation’s grant. The letter will also set out what the grant is for and the payment schedule. Once we have awarded a grant, we will ask for regular financial and performance monitoring reports and a final project report at the end of the funding term.

Please note:

• Grant funds will not be paid until we have received written acceptance from an organisation of the terms and conditions attached to their grant offer letter
• If applying as a formal consortium, all partner organisations will also be required to provide written acceptance of the terms and conditions. It is the lead applicant’s responsibility to seek this acceptance
• Organisations must acknowledge they have received our grant in their annual report and accounts covering the period of the project
• If there is any breach of the terms and conditions, or an organisation ceases to operate before the grant has been spent, grant monies may have to be repaid
• At the end of the funded period, the Tampon Tax Fund does not have a commitment to provide any further funding for the project
• Anyone found to be acting dishonestly in making an application for funding or spending the grant will be reported to the police and may be liable for prosecution

If applicants have any questions or complaints about the application process, please contact the Tampon Tax Fund team at ttf@dcms.gov.uk in the first instance. Please don’t use this email address for applications - these should be sent to ttfapplications@dcms.gov.uk.

4. Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Who is running the fund?

The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will run and manage the fund.

Who can apply to the fund?

This fund is open to individual, and consortia of, charitable, benevolent and philanthropic organisations from across the United Kingdom, that propose clear projects that fit the criteria for the relevant category of funding.

How much funding will be given?

We will consider applications for £350,000 or more. We cannot fund capital projects or items of capital expenditure which exceed the lead organisation’s capital de minimis.

The amount of grant a grant recipient, or consortia, receives per financial year should not exceed 50% of that financial year’s annual collective turnover/income. As an example: if an organisation (or consortia) applied for a £350,000 grant to be received in an equal split over two financial years (i.e. £175k per annum), the collective annual turnover needs to be £350,000 or more in order that the grant is not more than 50% of the annual turnover/income.

If applicable, we may seek to adjust this figure based on income of the parent organisation.

We will fund up until 31st March 2023. Applicants will be informed whether or not they have been successful in late Summer 2021. Although exact timing will vary on a case-by-case basis, we expect individual grant agreements will be finalised with successful applicants in Autumn 2021. Projects may start at risk from the date they are directly informed by DCMS that the application has been successful. Expenditure incurred prior to this date cannot be claimed for.

If the project will provide onward grants (made on the basis of open competition), the applicant will need to detail how much funding will be used for this purpose, and clearly outline in their budget breakdown how much funding will be allocated to project management, services to support recipients of the onward grants, other project activities, etc. It should be noted that if providing onwards grants forms a predominant element of the applicant’s project, we will provide no more than 6% towards project management costs.

If the Tampon Tax Fund will leverage additional resources for the project, please outline any match funding secured, including information about the source of the match funding and it’s restrictions.

What is meant by “we cannot fund capital projects or items of capital expenditure which exceed the lead organisation’s capital de minimis”?

This is the value of ‘capital spend’ which is below the de minimis amount agreed which can be charged to revenue. These will be low value items which will not be included on the balance sheet to be depreciated each year.

Geographical reach of proposed projects

The Tampon Tax Fund is a United Kingdom-wide fund.

DCMS will ensure a fair distribution of funding reaches beneficiaries in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. As such, we are seeking to award funds to a range of organisations that collectively support the whole of the United Kingdom.

Additionally, all applicants must demonstrate that they have planned how lessons learnt from the funded work will be disseminated through relevant networks. If the work addresses issues specific to one of the four United Kingdom nations, lessons learned or insights should be applicable elsewhere.

Please note: successful applications which support more than one Devolved Administration may be required to sign grant offer letters with each of the relevant Devolved Administrations (e.g. if the project offers activities in England and Wales, the applicant may need to sign an agreement with DCMS and the Welsh Government).

How many categories can an applicant apply for?

An applicant can apply under one main category, either Ending Violence Against Women and Girls or the General Programme. If applicants select the general programme category, they can then select one or more of the sub-themes.

If the project addresses more than one of the main categories the applicant should consider the main focus of their project and select the category most relevant to this.

How many grants can an applicant apply for?

If applicants would like us to consider more than one project, they are welcome to submit more than one application. They must submit a separate, stand-alone application for each project. However, an applicant will only receive grant funding for one project - the cumulative funding received from the Tampon Tax Fund cannot exceed more than 50% of an applicant’s income in the financial year it is received.

User involvement

All applicants will have to demonstrate how user involvement is built into their work. This means that the users (or potential users) of a service or project must be involved in an appropriate way at all stages. The aim should be to give women and girls more choice and control, both individually and collectively, and to ensure that the organisation working with them operates in a way that best meets their needs.

Equal opportunities and diversity

All applicants will be expected to show how their project activities are inclusive and operate within an equal opportunities and diversity framework.

Safeguarding

DCMS is committed to protecting people from harm. All applicants must include a copy of their safeguarding policy, along with a statement detailing how the applicant has assured there are effective and appropriate safeguarding procedures that protect employees, beneficiaries or volunteers from harm, and that explains how any concerns and incidents are managed. DCMS has developed resources to assist organisations with safeguarding policy which applicants may find useful, please see here. Further useful guidance can be found from NCVO Knowhow here.

Payment model

All applicants will be expected to clearly set out a proposal for how much funding will be drawn down in each financial quarter and therefore in each financial year. They will need to support this with a detailed budget breakdown. Their drawdown requests and budget must fit the DCMS financial year. This grant fund will straddle two financial years.

Please note: The DCMS financial year runs 1st April to 31st March.

If the applicant’s application is successful, their formal grant offer letter will set out the total amount of grant we will pay in each financial year.

Payments will be made quarterly and in arrears. Applicants will need to provide a breakdown of actual, eligible expenditure in order to make a claim. We will only pay out the amount the applicant can evidence as spent.

Variations between proposed drawdown amounts and actual drawdown requests across quarters of the same financial year will be accepted, with explanation and justification. However, we will not be able to vary funds across financial years. Any funds not drawn down by the end of the financial year will become unavailable. Organisations must notify us of changes to their budget as early as possible.

DCMS makes payments in arrears and will only vary that by exception. If applicants wish to be paid at the point of need, they will be asked to explain and justify their reasons in their application, including ensuring that their request fits with one or more of the ‘payment at the point of need’ criteria outlined in the form. Their request will be considered as part of the assessment process. If the application and request to be paid at the point of need are approved, they will be expected to provide quarterly reconciliation details for the duration of their project detailing any underspend against funds received. Organisations will be required to reconcile any underspend before further funding is released. They will also be required to complete a formal Financial Reconciliation Statement (FRS) form at the end of each financial year.

In all instances, organisations must be able to transparently report on a quarterly basis and provide evidence of expenditure on the use of Tampon Tax funds. Tampon Tax funds must be shown as restricted funds in their accounts and they must be able to identify separately the value and purpose of the grant in their audited accounts. Applicants will be asked to describe in their proposal the financial management systems and processes they will put in place to ensure they can achieve this.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

We are committed to ensuring that funded work is appropriately monitored and evaluated and that lessons learnt and examples of good practice are made widely available; evaluation and sharing of good practice should be built into every application.

Applicants will be expected to list anticipated outputs and outcomes, and to explain the data collection and monitoring systems that will be put in place to enable these to be evidenced and for projects to be properly evaluated.

Applicants must also demonstrate how lessons learnt from the funded work will be disseminated through relevant networks.

Risk Management and Assurance Approach

We require applicants to set out their approach to managing the risk related to delivery of the grant activities and outputs by sending us their Risk Register and a document setting out their approach to risk management. This should set out how the applicant’s organisation has assessed and captured risks, the consequences of these risks and the likelihood and impact of each risk. They should also explain how each risk is mitigated and how often risks are reviewed. They should please also explain how they will obtain assurance that actions to mitigate these risks are effective, as well as other assurances that basic controls are effective. This information will not be assessed as part of the application, but will be considered as part of DCMS’s due diligence process, should the application be shortlisted. If the applicant is successful, we will request a copy of the risk register, and a fraud risk assessment that they will maintain to give us confidence that risks are being managed.

Exclusions

We will not fund:

• Academic research. We will not fund academic or desk-based research projects. However, applications for action research, including pilot projects to test new ideas, are welcomed (please note that funding for any follow-on work is not guaranteed)
• Advocacy and lobbying
• Appeals
• Campaigning and awareness raising
• Capital projects. We cannot fund capital projects or items of capital expenditure which exceed the lead organisation’s capital de minimis
• Continuation of projects already in receipt of Tampon Tax Funds - there is no automatic guarantee of continuation funding from the Tampon Tax Fund. Applications will be considered for projects that are genuine new developments of previously funded projects provided there are new outcomes and there is a proven need for the proposed service. Any new applications will be processed through the competitive application process
• Core costs, other than for those that can be evidenced as directly related to the project outlined in the application; Debts or loans
• Fees for professional fundraisers
• Individuals
• Organisations that are mainly fundraising bodies
• Party political organisations
• Projects outside our funding priorities
• Promotion of religious beliefs
• Rapid response to emergency situations
• Retrospective funding
• Schools, colleges and hospitals
• Services run by statutory or public authorities - we will not support work that is a statutory duty. However, we welcome applications for projects working in partnership with statutory organisations and those involving both the voluntary and public sectors, provided they are led by a voluntary organisation
• Vehicles

The purpose of the Tampon Tax Fund is to allocate the funds generated from the VAT on sanitary products to front line projects that directly improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. The Fund’s purpose is not awareness-raising or campaigning.

Successful applicants can use Tampon Tax funding to promote their project to potential beneficiaries, and to organisations and individuals which may refer beneficiaries to the project, i.e. successful applicants may raise awareness of the project and the services provided by that project.

As part of a funded project, Tampon Tax funds may be used to provide vulnerable and disadvantaged women with one to one support, including advocacy to access services, for example by attending sessions with her to help her to ensure she can clearly express her needs.

However, the following cannot be funded by the Tampon Tax Fund: activity intended to influence or attempt to influence Parliament, government or political parties, or attempting to influence the awarding or renewal of contracts and grants, or attempting to influence legislative or regulatory action.