Living Well with Psychosis – Community support

Key information

Funding call: Living Well with Psychosis – Community support

Summary: We will fund trusted, established community and voluntary organisations that provide excellent support to people affected by severe enduring mental illness in southeast London (Croydon, Lewisham, Southwark and Lambeth).

Amount available: Up to £30,000 for up to 18 months. Bids can be for core costs, or in the case of an existing project, project costs.

Aimed at: Trusted community organisations (charities, community interest companies (CICs)) already working with people affected by severe enduring mental illness, particularly those organisations that can show how they effectively cater for the needs of racially minoritised communities.

Key dates: The programme will be open for submissions on 1st October with a deadline for expressions of interest on 12th November. Please check back for further information on submitting on 1st October.

About the funding call

The Living Well with Psychosis programme funds initiatives and research to improve the treatment and support the recovery of people affected by psychotic disorders; support families and carers; and help to address inequalities in the experiences of racialised communities have with mental health services.

This funding call is specifically focused on building sustainable capacity in the community and voluntary sector. We want to fund trusted and established organisations already providing support to people affected by psychosis that is fundamentally different from that provided by statutory services (for example, the NHS or social care). We are particularly keen that people from racially minoritised communities receive appropriate support.

When we consulted charities and CICs about the programme, many told us they spend all their time dealing with urgent issues or managing crises, leaving little capacity to think about future development or to connect with other organisations and learn from them.

We have designed a funding call that focuses giving organisations the time and space to think beyond immediate tasks and challenges.

After this first round, there will be a second tranche of funding available in autumn 2026 to support the core costs of organisations for a longer period.

We expect the majority of grant holders in the second round will come from those awarded funding in the first. We see these grants as building on each other. The first phase will allow organisations to have the space and time to think about and plan for their future, the second phase of grants will provide further stability to be able to deliver that. We expect to fund roughly 20 organisations with an even spread across the four boroughs we work in.

Maudsley Charity intends this funding to be used to support people affected by psychosis. However, we know that often services that support people with severe mental illness including conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, appropriately do not ask for or need to know if the users of their services have a specific diagnosis. We also recognise some people reject what is inherently a medical term. For these reasons, we’ve chosen to use the term “severe enduring mental illness”. We know people will use other terms they are comfortable with, and we don’t want our language to exclude anyone. To be clear, we do not expect organisations to be able to provide detailed data on the diagnoses of the people they support.

Eligibility

Who can apply?

The types of organisations which can apply for funding are:

• Registered charity: This is a formal type of voluntary or community organisation that has gone through a process to gain special tax benefits and recognition from the Charity Commission. They work for charitable purposes.
• Community interest company (CIC) (with two or more directors): This is a special type of business that has a social purpose and is locked into reinvesting its profits back into the community. It needs at least two directors to oversee its operations.
• Companies Limited by Guarantee: These are companies that are not set up to make a profit, and any profits they do make are reinvested back into the company.

To be eligible for funding, all organisations must be working on projects/services that are considered to be legally charitable under the Charities Act 2006. This means that the project’s purpose must fall within one of the 13 charitable purposes outlined in the Act and be for the public benefit.

Religious groups and charities with religious values are welcome to apply for funding as long as they meet the standard criteria above and support is not dependant on individuals participating in religious activities.

Additional requirements that organisations must meet to be eligible for funding

• Have been providing services which mostly benefit people living in Southwark, Lewisham, Lambeth, and/or Croydon for at least 24 months. Organisations do not need to have a postal address in one of these boroughs, but they must be able to evidence their ongoing commitment to working in these locations.
• Be formally constituted with a governing document that sets out their charitable aims and objectives
• Have a bank account in the UK registered to their organisation
• Have at least three non-executive trustees or directors
• If the organisation is a CIC there must be an asset lock or other mechanism in place to ensure that their assets are used for charitable purposes
• Have financial statements showing your income and expenses each year

Who can’t apply

• Individuals, for example, sole traders or consultants
• Organisations not based in the UK: funding is only available to organisations located within the UK
• Someone applying for another organisation: applications must be submitted by the organisation itself, not by someone else on their behalf
• Companies for personal profit: funding isn’t for businesses that aim to make money that gets distributed to private individuals
• Organisations working exclusively with people under the age of 18 years old

Selection criteria

What we are looking to fund

We will provide core funding to existing well-trusted organisations that provide support to people affected by severe, enduring mental illness. We recognise some groups have experienced disadvantage in conventional services and funding has not been readily available for certain cultural and social needs. This funding will therefore prioritise funding submissions that can show how they meet the needs of the community they serve, particularly racially minoritised communities.

What your work must focus on

• Delivering culturally competent services that are designed for or particularly benefit people affected by severe enduring mental illness
• Commitment to creating user/person centred approaches and trusting relationships with people
• Delivering services in the London Boroughs of Southwark, Lewisham, Lambeth and/or Croydon
• Working with people over the age of 18 years old
• Well established work (i.e. we will not fund new projects)

How your submission will be evaluated

At the Expression of Interest Stage

Meeting the needs of people affected by severe enduring mental illness: how your support specifically meets the needs of people affected by severe enduring mental illness

Building Relationships and Trust: how your organisation actively builds trust and strong relationships with people who are affected by severe enduring mental illness

Track Record of Cultural Competency: Whether your organisation has a proven history of delivering culturally appropriate services for people with severe enduring mental illness, and which groups of people are your services designed for

Involvement of people with Lived Experience: How you involve people who access your services to participate in, and/or inform, decision-making within your organisation

Use of funding: What difference would core funding would make to your organisation and how you would use the funding

If you are invited to progress to the next stage

If your Expression of Interest is successful, you will be asked to provide further details on:

Future plans/ambition: Whilst we are expecting to will be providing core funding for existing work, we are interested in organisations who have thought about their future potential. What, if anything, would core funding free your organisation up to think about? We don’t need concrete plans and costs at this stage, just a sense of what you think the issues are with the capability and capacity of the organisation and how a greater sense of security and sustainability would help you.

Inclusion: How your organisation actively involves people with lived experience of serious mental illness and/or their carers in its design and delivery or your plans to do so in the future. How your approach is tailored to the specific needs of the delivery and people you work with.

Impact: Demonstrating a clear understanding of the challenges faced by people with serious mental illness, particularly from racially minoritized communities, and of how your project has the potential to improve their lives.

Learning: Your approach to learning to improve your services.

What grant funding can be used for

You can apply for up to £30,000 of core funding. If you have an existing project that you would like funding for, this would also be eligible. We will not be funding new projects.

The aim of the funding is to help give organisations the time and space to think beyond immediate tasks and challenges and we are keen to hear in your application how you would use the funding to do this.

Any size of organisation can apply for the maximum of £30,000 but you must show very clear evidence that you have the capacity to manage the level of funding you are applying for. If you are using the funding to recruit your first paid member of staff, you must be able to show evidence that the board understands best practice and is able to provide effective staffing policies/processes/structures or how you will develop these.

Application process and timeline

The programme will open for submissions on 1st October. Please check here closer to the time for details on the way bids will be assessed and the questions that will be asked.