How to apply for a Supporting Communities Grant

Applications for this grant are open

Before you apply, please read through our guidance below, so you can be familiar with what is needed to help the application process go smoothly.

How to apply for a grant

1. Check that your proposal fits what's described in the 'What you can apply for' section below and that you are eligible to apply
2. Get confirmed costs to support the amount of grant you are requesting. This can be a quote from a supplier, or a cost taken from a website or catalogue, but make sure you include any VAT payable, (unless your organisation is VAT registered and you can recover VAT charges), and associated costs such as delivery or installation. We will need to see evidence of costs for items of £200 value or more
3. Support for your application from your ward councillors may be taken into account at the decision stage. If you have the support of your ward councillors make sure to include the detail within your application. Please visit our councillors page to find their contact details

If you need help with your application you can contact us using the details below. Applications will close at the end of the day on 31 October.

You will be notified when your application and supporting documents have been received, and informed when a decision is made, which will be within six weeks of the closing date. You may be asked to provide other documentation or information.   

Do not assume a successful application and make any purchases unless you have received a formal grant agreement letter from us. 

Who can apply for funding

Any not-for-profit organisation that represents or works with a specific community or group of people within Rushmoor can apply. It will need its own bank account in the organisation's name and be able to demonstrate that it is an organised group with stated objectives that are for the benefit of the community and has an agreed way of working. This could be demonstrated by a constitution, statement of purpose or an annual report. This document should be recent (or recently reviewed).

This includes: 

• Voluntary or community groups that represent a specific location or group of people 
• Not-for-profit organisations such as registered charities, Charitable Incorporated Organisations, Community Interest Companies, uniformed youth groups and sports clubs 
• Schools may apply if clear and sufficient benefit to the wider community is demonstrated. The wider community relates to those other than the students, parents/guardians, governors and staff. Funding cannot be used to supplement the curriculum or other statutory duties or to improve school facilities or provide equipment that will primarily be for the use of the school and not the wider community
• Churches and faith groups, providing there is a clear benefit to the wider community other than the usual congregation
• You cannot apply for these grants if you are an individual, for-profit-organisation, political party or organisation formed to campaign on a single issue

The grants are discretionary, and subject to the availability of funds. Being an eligible organisation does not give any automatic entitlement to a grant.

What you can apply for

• The grant can be used for the purchase of items and any associated costs for a project, activity or a one-off event. We don’t want to be prescriptive about what the grants can be used for, as there are likely to be many different ideas, but we would expect to fund things like purchasing equipment or tools for community groups or activities to support health and wellbeing and aspirations for young people. We could also fund hiring equipment and other costs related to a community engagement activity such as a PA system, or costs linked to a programme of activities or a one-off event such as venue hire or sessional workers (not employed staff) where a clear community benefit is demonstrated in the application
• Your project must target at least one of the priorities from our Supporting Communities Strategy:
  
  • Improving physical or mental health
  • Helping with economic hardship
  • Easing cost of living pressures
  • Improving the sense of community belonging
• You will need to explain how the funding will make a difference to people’s lives and which groups of people in the local community will specifically benefit
• You can apply for between £100 and £1,000 and this must be sufficient to cover the full cost of the item(s) or event unless you can show that you have other funds in place to cover the difference. We will not accept requests for grants towards a larger fundraising total
• As part of the application process, applicants will need to provide quotes to evidence costs for items of £200 value or more. These will be held digitally along with all documentation submitted
• The money cannot be used to cover an organisation's core running or operating costs and funding will not be given to support the same item, project, event or activity year on year
• You must make sure that any necessary permissions related to the purchase, installation, use and storage of the item(s) are obtained to carry out the funded work including such things as planning consents, or landowner’s approval before making the application. These must be in writing and submitted with your application. Any future maintenance, repair, renewal or replacement of a funded item will be the responsibility of the organisation
• Any costs incurred prior to the date of the formal grant agreement will not be funded
• You must acknowledge the Council’s support if a grant is provided and we will tell you how to do this
• We will not fund anything that contradicts the Council’s Climate Change agenda or anything with a negative environmental impact

The criteria we use to decide applications

Contribution to the community

We'd like to know how the project will contribute to the local community, or the wider community of Rushmoor. Will it provide or improve something for local residents? Is there a legacy from the project? How many people will benefit? How will any equipment purchased benefit the community in the future?  Does the project support a vulnerable group?

Clear aims and outcomes that are achievable

We’d like to know about the project aims and the expected outcomes, what a successful project will look like and how achievable is the project plan?

We will also make sure that the fund is used as widely as possible across Rushmoor's wards. We are only able to award grants up to the amount in the fund, and we reserve the right to award a grant for a lower amount. 

What happens when a grant is awarded

You will be notified by email if we award you a grant, probably early in December. You will need to accept the terms and conditions as set out in the grant agreement emailed to you separately and provide your organisation's bank details.

We will make the payment once you have signed and returned the grant agreement and provided BACS details. You will then have up to 12 months to spend the grant and report back to us on the impact or difference the item(s) or event has made, using a form we will provide. We will ask to see photos of the purchased items in place/use and confirmation that council support has been acknowledged. 

We expect our grant funded partners to be open and inclusive to all people within their communities. The grant funded items should reflect this, and we welcome applications to support different members of the community including children and young people, families, older people, members of the LGBT+ community, refugees and asylum seekers, communities experiencing racial inequity and disabled people. 

All grants will be published on this website.

Another source of funding 

Rushmoor Community Lottery is another way of regular fundraising. For more information visit our Rushmoor Community Lottery page.