How And Why To Change Your Community Investment Gateway Tier

Hear from a fellow Gateway member about their experience of changing tiers.

The Community Investment Gateway has three different tiers of membership, which means VCSE organisations in Wakefield District, regardless of size, capacity and experience, can join and benefit from access to funding opportunities.

But we know that organisations change and may grow overtime, so we’ve got plenty of support in place if you decide to change Gateway tier. Why might you do that? Well, for some larger grants it can give funders confidence in your previous experience and capacity to deliver.

Before applying to change tier though, it’s worth considering what this involves, and whether it’s the right move for your organisation. It might not be – there is absolutely nothing wrong with sticking at the tier you were originally awarded, and for many members this could be the best course of action.

Coming soon! More information to support you in applying to change tier.

Hear from another member about their experience

Evergreen Active have been a Tier 3 member since 2021 and, earlier this year, successfully applied for Tier 2 of the Community Investment Gateway. A couple of months on, I sat down for a chat with Andy, one of the directors at Evergreen, about the work that went into this process and what he thinks the organisation has gained from it.

Evergreen started operating in 2019 as Family Fit Yorkshire CIC. Since then, the organisation has grown steadily, not just in financial terms but in the services, activities and programmes offered.

What has Evergreen learned from changing tier?

“A big step forward”

Going through the Tier 2 application process prompted Evergreen to review every area of the organisation. Andy talks about ‘going through things with a fine toothcomb’ to get everything they needed ready.

Of course, reviewing your organisation is a continuous process – Andy acknowledges there are areas where work is ongoing, but feels they now have more robust and effective processes in place that will support them in running the organisation.

Evergreen's Top Tips

1. Find out what is required to move to another tier. You can do this by using our handy Tier Change Checklist (Coming soon!)

2. ‍Get everything in place before you start the application – this will make the process more straightforward for you. The move from Tier 3 to Tier 2 can feel daunting because you are asked to provide more information and evidence than you have before, but this brings extra reassurances for funders.

3. ‍Use the available resources – a great starting point is the Members Area of the Nova website. Andy says that the resources he used to help with governance ‘kept him on the right path’, and Evergreen also received support through training and resources provided by Nova partner WYCAS (West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service) CIO.

And of course, there’s always support available from the Gateway team (gateway@nova-wd.org.uk) and partner organisations.

What has Gateway membership brought Evergreen Active?

Evergreen Active have been a Gateway member for 4 years now, and Andy sees two main benefits of having joined:

• ‍Funding: being a Gateway member has opened up a lot of opportunities for funding. A particular highlight for Evergreen Active has been the Thinking Differently Development Fund, funded by the Mental Health Alliance. This two-year funding that ran from 2022 aimed to provide stability for organisations, allowing them to focus on their development needs, and was instrumental in helping successful organisations to become more sustainable. The funding was open to Tier 2 and 3 Gateway members only and, being a relatively small organisation, Evergreen appreciated that this meant they could develop without competition from organisations with larger staff teams and resource.

• ‍Connection: through their Gateway and Nova memberships, Evergreen are more aware of what is happening around the district, have better access to information, and have made connections with other VCSE organisations and Gateway members, something they feel brings a lot of value to their work.

Looking forwards, Andy plans to use support through the Gateway to make sure Evergreen Active can continue to meet the requirements of Tier 2 membership, and even potentially become a Tier 1 organisation in the future.

We want to support all our members, no matter where you are on your Gateway journey. So if you have any questions, please do get in touch!