Summary dashboard · method by Grant Resource Studio

Mill Lane Community Kitchen CIC · Northbridge Community Fund 2026

Internal readiness diagnostic, not the funder's assessment. Reviewed 20 September 2026. Working mode: external. Report file: Mill Lane Community Kitchen CIC - Application Review (20 September 2026).md.

Further development or evidence required

Request exceeds the published maximum. Activity already under way against a published exclusion. Budget arithmetic does not hold. Official register not checked in this teaching file.

Hard-gate check

Problems serious enough that they are never averaged into a score.

Request £9,800 against a maximum of £8,000 (disqualification). Sessions already running since January (disqualification). Stated total £9,800, lines add to £10,600, coordinator narrative implies £15,600 (correctable blocker). Companies House not attempted (unresolved).

Layer 1 · this funder's criteria

Green: met. Amber: addressed with a gap. Red: not met. Reviewer's reading, not the funder's mark.

CriterionRatingFinding
NeedAmberLibrary cafe closure is concrete. Scale of need is asserted.
Involvement of people affectedRedListening is not the same as shaping the design.
Realistic deliveryRedAlready started, broken budget, CIC a few months old.

Overall Layer 1 position: Red.

Layer 2 · independent quality

The review's own 0 to 5 scale. Separate from the funder's criteria.

DimensionScoreFinding
Evidence and specificity22,000 unique beneficiaries is precise and unsupported.
Narrative logic2Already-started sessions against the funder's exclusion.
Completeness3Each extract question has an answer.
Drafting compliance2Request and start date sit outside published rules.
Tone and voice3Plain, with a generic credibility line.

Required actions

  1. Bring the request inside £2,000 to £8,000, or stop.
  2. Recast already-started activity against the exclusion.
  3. Make the budget add up.
  4. Replace or source the 2,000 figure.
  5. Describe how people affected shaped the design.