New round of grants for Charnwood's community groups

During the previous round of funding, nearly £50,000 was awarded to 14 organisations across the borough.

Community groups and voluntary organisations in Charnwood are being offered another chance to apply for grant funding.

Charnwood Borough Council has launched the latest round of its Charnwood Community Grants scheme which helps local voluntary organisations, charities and community-led projects access funding support.

These grants run alongside the Member Grant scheme where local ward councillors can offer some financial support to groups or projects in their area.

Cllr Leigh Harper-Davies, lead member for community support and equalities said: “We had a fantastic response to the last round of funding as voluntary and community groups started to get back on their feet after being severely impacted during the pandemic.

“We have a wide range of community groups and voluntary organisations in Charnwood. We hope our grant schemes will help them to continue delivering activities and services which we know are valued by residents and communities.

“We want the funding to benefit as many organisations as possible and would encourage those interested in applying for this round to get in touch with the team if they need any help with their application.”

Following positive feedback from the last round of grants, the Council’s voluntary and community sector support officers are hosting a number of Grant Surgeries this month to help people with their application.

Those interested in applying for a community grant can book a 30-minute Zoom or telephone chat to discuss through their project and application.

The surgeries will take place on the following dates between 9am-12pm.

• Tuesday August 24
• Wednesday August 25

To book an appointment, please email VCSupport@charnwood.gov.uk.

During its previous round of funding, the Council awarded a total of £49,400 in Community and Facilities Grants to 14 organisations across the borough.

This is the final grants round for 2021/22 and organisations are encouraged to submit their applications by the deadline of September 10.

In addition, groups and organisations can apply to their ward councillors for funding as part of the Council’s Member Grants scheme. Each member has £500 to allocate to a maximum of two organisations in their ward. Applications for the Member Grants scheme are open until February 28, 2022.

The different grants are open to properly constituted community and voluntary groups for activities not conducted for profit (retrospective applications are not eligible). The grants include:

• Charnwood Community Grant – Round 2 deadline September 10, 2021
  • These grants can provide up to £5,000 for organisations currently running projects with community benefit in Charnwood, including organisational running costs (for up to one year), environmental projects and one-off contributions for equipment costs.
  • The maximum amount of grant that can be applied for in one year is £5,000. Applications can be made in both rounds to a maximum combined total of £5,000.
• Community Facilities Grant – Round 2 deadline September 10, 2021
  • The community facilities grant scheme can award funding of up to £20,000, to a maximum of 50% of the cost of a project which assists with the renovation, improvement, and provision of community buildings, including fitting out and provision of facilities for people with disabilities 
• Member Grants – Applications close on February 28, 2022
  • These grants give each borough councillor the opportunity to award up to £500 to projects which bring benefits to their ward each year.  Those interested in applying for a member grant are advised to speak to their ward councillor before applying.