Bristol Impact Fund 3 consultation

Forward - Councillor Stephen Williams, Chair of the Public Health and Communities Committee

I am pleased to be introducing the consultation on the proposed third round of the Bristol Impact Fund (BIF) programme 2026 - 2030.

Cohesive, inclusive, and vibrant communities with good opportunities and strong organisations provide the foundations for a resilient city. The BIF is a strategic approach to delivering grant investment. It aims to increase the capacity of the community and voluntary sector to empower and support those experiencing the greatest inequity.

Bristol has a diverse network of organisations with longstanding, trusted, and important connections to people and communities across our city. These organisations provide life-changing support and make vital contributions to the City Council’s strategic and statutory priorities.

To be able to mobilise our city to effectively respond to crises, depends on having a strong community infrastructure which is developed over time. In April 2023, community and voluntary organisations and One City partners adopted a ‘One City, Many Communities’ approach. The ‘One City, Many Communities’ approach gives us the opportunity to channel our collective experience, and creativity to tackle the challenges we face.

More citizens are seeking the support and services from voluntary and community organisations, but funding for them is stretched to the limit. Due to the financial situation, we are having to make difficult decisions.

We are consulting on the approach to the third round of the Bristol Impact Fund program (BIF3) with a proposed budget of £8 million over four years, this allows for a potential saving of £800,000.

However, we are continuing to work on proposals to balance the budget at Bristol City Council, therefore, the proposed BIF3 budget may be subject to change. If there are changes proposed to BIF3 this will form part of the wider budget consultation due to commence in October 2024. We will keep you informed of any changes.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to this consultation which sets out proposals for BIF3. Your responses will inform the decisions of the Public Health and Communities Policy Committee.

Introduction

Bristol City Council is consulting on the draft plans for a third Bristol Impact Fund (BIF) programme. The Bristol Impact Fund is a grant funding programme for community and voluntary sector organisations. The second round of Bristol Impact Fund (BIF2) finishes on 31 March 2026 when all grants come to an end. This consultation is about the approach for the four years from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2030.

We've been working with community and voluntary organisations including a steering group of BIF2 funded organisations and other city partners including equalities organisations, infrastructure organisations Voscur and Black Southwest Network and Bristol Funders Network to develop proposals for BIF3.

We're consulting on the following:

• the difference we want to make with the funding (impacts and outcomes)
• the approach to funding and how it will work
• monitoring and evaluation
• support for applicants

pdf Background to the Bristol Impact Fund 3 consultation(220 KB)

Why and how we are seeking your views

This consultation is particularly seeking the views of VCSE groups and organisations in the city to inform the council’s approach for this third Bristol Impact Fund, which will be decided by the Public Health and Communities Policy Committee on 17th January 2025.

We'd particularly like to hear from:

• small and large VCSE organisations
• equalities-led organisations
• organisations based in areas of multiple deprivation
• interested members of the public

This consultation is just one of the ways we're gathering views from the sector.

Timetable

We are working to the following indicative timetable:

• Consultation: 25 September to 31 October 2024
• Committee decision: January 2025
• Publish application process: End February 2025
• 12 week application process open: March to May 2025
• Grants evaluation: June to September 2025
• Committee decision: December 2025
• Grants decision communicated to applicants: December 2025
• Implementation: January to March 2026
• Commencement of new period of grant: 1 April 2026