About Us
How to apply
When you can apply
The Community Fund is a rolling programme so you can apply for support at any time of year.
We hold quarterly panels in March, June, September and December, where our Independent Customer Panel will make decisions on which of our larger applications (over £10,000) have been successful.
Applications for under £10,000 are reviewed on a more regular basis, in between the quarterly panel meetings.
Your project must start within 3 months of the grant offer date and be completed within 12 or 24 months of award date, dependant on grant size.
So, please make sure you submit your application in time for your required Panel, and only when you are ready to start your project since we can’t allow grant money to sit untouched unfortunately.
The cut-off date for an application to be considered at a panel is the middle of the previous month, with successful projects paid on average within a fortnight of the meeting.
The size of grant you’ve applied for will influence how long the decision process takes, but we will always let you know the final outcome of your application within an absolute maximum of five months of submission, depending on the date you submit your application.
Provide us with reports and updates on your project
We can’t wait to hear how your project is progressing and see it completed, so there will be some required monitoring.
We expect all successful applicants to provide us with at least one interim report and a final completion report.
For the biggest grants, we may ask for multiple reports.
Complete your project on time
For all grant sizes, you must start your project within 3 months of the award date.
For grants up to £75,000, you must complete your project within 12 months.
For applications in excess of £75,000, we allow up to 24 months for project completion.
Extensions may be given in exceptional cases, but these cannot be guaranteed. Requests may need to be taken to vote at a Community Fund Panel meeting.
What to do if you project is delayed or encounters problems
If you project runs into difficulties, please don’t panic!
If you need help or support, get in touch with us as soon as possible. The earlier you can tell us about a potential problem, the more likely we will be able to help.
Applications for other projects
We will happily consider future projects for funding once your funded project is completed, all required monitoring has been received, and at least 12 months have passed since the date on your previous grant offer letter.
We cannot, however, provide more funding for the same project you have already received funding from us for.
If your application is unsuccessful you are welcome to reapply to the Community Fund with a different project.
We only reject applications with good reason so if you want to re-apply with a different project, please take the time to understand why your application was not successful. We really would not want to disappoint you again.
Our Fund Officers are always available to discuss further applications with you.
Before you apply
Read our guide
This guidance provides you with everything you need to know about applying for the Fund. You may find it handy to refer back to throughout the process.
Check your eligibility
Before you apply, please check both your project and organisation are eligible to apply to our Fund
Grant use
Check whether you can use the grant to pay for your proposed costs.
Unfortunately, there are some costs we cannot fund, so please ensure you check before applying. You can find a full list of eligible and ineligible costs in our guidance document.
Correct documentation
Ensure you have the correct documentation handy whilst you fill out your application. Check what you’ll need in our guidance document.
Get planning permission
If your project involves capital works, you will need to fill out our project consent form before you apply.
Secure any match funding
We want to maximise our impact when we support projects and that’s why, if you are applying for more than £10,000, you must provide at least 10% financial match funding. You’ll need to have this match funding secured before applying.
Check your timescales
Check your timescales fit with ours.
We recommend that you allow a minimum of five months between submitting your application and project start date to allow time for processing and decision making. More details can be found in our guidance document.
Getting help with your application
Our Fund Officers are here to support you at all stages of the application process.
Please email us if you'd like Fund Officer support or call our Community Fund Administrator on 07866158208.
We’ve put together a guidance document (PDF) for anyone who would like assistance with their application.
To help you plan your application, you can view the application questions (PDF), please remember you will need to fill out the online application form to apply.
Contact the Community Fund team
Our Community Fund team work tirelessly to ensure you have a fantastic experience during the application process.
If you have any feedback about the process, you’d like to ask a question about your application, or if you’d like to raise an issue, you can email the Community Fund team. We’ll endeavour to get back to you within three working days.