Elevate Community Mentoring & Grants Programme
Funded by
The focus of the Community Mentoring & Grants Programme is to support mentee groups to take action in their communities and help those facing health inequalities.
Mentors are experienced practitioners with a wide range of knowledge and expertise in community development practice. They will support mentees to identify their own needs and actions in relation to improving their community development practice and guide them to develop their project plans and practice to use community development to address health inequalities.
Community development is an ongoing process that has reflective practice at its core. CDHN have developed a Reflective Practice Tool (RPT) which enables the reflective process and is used within the Programme to enable mentees groups to reflect on their work and ensure that community development values underpin, inform, and present in their practice.
Mentees will receive a grant of up to £5000 to deliver their project aimed at reducing health inequalities in their community (local community or community of interest).
Through one-to-one and group mentoring, training, reflective practice sessions and other CDHN training and events, mentees will be supported to connect with Mentoring organisations, other mentee groups and the wider CDHN membership to share information and ideas and build lasting partnerships.
Opportunities for training
Mentees are required to attend Elevate Health Inequalities and Community Development Training. This session will provide an opportunity for all mentees to come together and increase their awareness and understanding on using Community Development to address Health Inequalities. It aims to support mentees to apply this knowledge to their Elevate projects and wider work. Mentees are also offered additional training on group work skills, evaluation and impact, health literacy and finance and monitoring
Why apply to the Programme?
If your community group/organisation is accepted onto the Community Mentoring and Grants programme, you will become an Elevate Mentee and will benefit from dedicated, ongoing support from the CDHN team and one of our experienced community mentor organisations.
- Mentors will work with you to identify your community needs and issues and ways to develop your community development practice
- Mentees will attend Elevate training on community development and health inequalities, and you’ll also have access to a range of additional training opportunities
- You will receive a grant of up to £5000 to deliver a project aimed at reducing health inequalities in your community
- You will be given the opportunity to connect and build partnerships with other mentees in your local area and across NI
What is expected of Elevate Mentees?
Your staff/volunteers must take part in mentoring and training
Your project must aim to address the health inequalities, focusing on the social factors that influence health
Your project will demonstrate a community development approach (CDHN and our mentors will support you with this)
You can receive up to £5000 in funding for your project, or up to £1000 if your group is unconstituted.
You fulfil the evaluation and monitoring requirements
