Community Grants

Our Borough-wide Community Grants programme is now closed for 2024.

Borough-wide Community Grants of up to £2,000: 

Kingston Council’s borough-wide Community Grants of up to £2,000, per application, are available to fund projects, activities or services to benefit communities across the Borough. There is a £20,000 allocation which is available during a fixed period. Please see the timetable below.

Please note in the last competitive round we were oversubscribed and we awarded grants in the region of £500 to £2000

Timetable summary:

• Borough Grants open for applications 8 May 2024
• Deadline for applications 5 June 2024
• Notification of the outcome of your application during the week commencing 1 July 2024

Projects will be prioritised if they meet the following:

• as part of our commitment to become a City of Sanctuary borough demonstrate how your project will include a culture of welcome and inclusion for those seeking sanctuary in Kingston. 
• how your project will adapt services and activities that address the cost of living crisis.
• how your project prevents issues from emerging or managing identified health priorities issues (e.g. preventing isolation, hardship, improving health and wellbeing and addressing climate change locally) (refer to the Health and Care Plan 2022-2024)

Funding towards projects or activities can include:

• startup, 'pump-priming', developmental or piloting activities to see how they work
• one-off projects but they must be completed within 12 months of starting
• costs towards venue hire or equipment to run the activity 
• costs towards staffing on the specific project applied for

This grant funding is to support local activity that engages communities in events, projects or activities that have to contribute to meeting one or more of the Council's Strategic Outcomes and Priorities to 2024, which are:

• healthy, independent and resilient residents with effective support to those who need it most. 
• a safe borough which celebrates our diverse and vibrant communities, with local priorities shaped through participatory democracy. 
• a sustainable approach to new homes, development and infrastructure which benefits our communities, in a well-maintained borough

We welcome projects, events or activities that:

• focus on meeting the needs of marginalised or isolated people or communities
• focus on funding local initiatives provided for community benefit

Who can apply

Eligible groups are:

• not-for-profit organisations
• voluntary or community sector organisations
• faith groups

Application process

We will assess your application, if your application is not complete, we will send this back to you and give you five working days to provide any missing information. We may also contact you for further clarification.

Notification of decision

The Council aims to let applicants know the outcome of the decision within approx 6 weeks of receiving an application. If the council offers your organisation a grant it will be conditional on you signing the offer letter and accepting the terms and conditions of the grant. If your application is unsuccessful the relevant Council Officer may be able to provide you feedback upon request, as to why it was unsuccessful.

We aim to let you know during the week commencing 1 July 2024.

Please return the documents within 10 days of receiving our offer letter.

Start your project

We will ask you to complete an end of year report against your outputs and outcomes and the budget.

The Officer decision on all Borough-wide Grant applications is final. To apply the applicant needs to include the following:

• have a written constitution or memorandum and articles or set of rules that establishes that it is a voluntary, community, faith or other not-for-profit organisation
• Be able to say how surpluses are reinvested if the group is a not-for-profit.
• have a management committee or board of trustees with at least three members (in constitution)
• have a bank or building society account in the name of the organisation
• have at least two unrelated people to authorise cheques and make withdrawals (including debit card or internet purchases or cash withdrawals)
• have an accounting system such as annual accounts to record income and expenditure
• not have an ongoing deficit that the grant application could be used to fill

The organisation needs to have all of these aspects to apply. In the application form the group will also need to provide as much of the following as is possible:

• describe what the grant request will be used for
• show there is a need or demand for the suggested activity (if possible)
• show how the suggested activities contribute to meeting at least one of our Strategic Outcomes and / or local neighbourhood community plan priorities identified (showing how the project or activity promotes community integration or inclusion and/ or focuses on reducing inequalities, closing the gap for disadvantaged, isolated people and/or groups will also be advantageous)
• show that the organisation is open to the whole community, no matter the gender, race, disability, religion, age, marital status or any other protected characteristic group. 
• describe how the project, event or activities will continue once the funding has ended,  or how any legacy from the project or activities will be passed on, if appropriate.
• Have a significant proportion of beneficiaries resident in the Neighbourhood in which it submits its application if the group is submitting a Neighbourhood Community Grant application
• provide evidence of its fundraising/match funding plans as part of its application to ensure the best value for money possible for any Community Grant contribution
• demonstrate that these activities are additional and do not duplicate existing work
• demonstrate added value i.e. social and environmental considerations 
• show how the group will engage and consult regularly with users or members in developing and monitoring events, activities or services to identifying the need for changes

The organisation will also have to commit:

• good practice in terms of equality legislation, health and safety, safeguarding (children and vulnerable adults) and promoting environmental good practice
• that it will collect and use performance management data to measure the event, activity or project's impact and to monitor and improve effective delivery
• that it has adequate financial information including a budget for the event, project or  activities in the application
• a clear indication of the state of the organisation's reserves, including designated and restricted funds and the reason that they are designated or restricted

What the grants will not fund

Groups can't apply for the grant:

• on behalf of an individual or commercial organisation
• if it is a repeat application from the same organisation for the same or similar activities. However, we will consider repeat applications where the organisation can demonstrate that its activities deliver significant community benefit and can provide evidence of efforts to fundraise and/or apply for grants from elsewhere.
• for projects or activities whose primary purpose is to promote religion or belief.  However, applications are welcomed from faith organisations to carry out work with the community that is not primarily of a religious nature and does not exclude people from other faiths, or those who have no faith
• if the application is related to a current planning application, licensing application or other application yet to be determined by the Council
• Applicants should be aware that funds will be accessible only once and projects should not have ongoing running costs for the council. If ongoing costs are likely, then permissions from the relevant service Director at the Council will be required in writing. Applicants are encouraged to support project maintenance and to seek additional forms of funding, if necessary, e.g. through crowdfunding to match the amount.

Grants cannot be used to pay for:

• major building works
• a minibus or minibuses
• political activities
• teaching community languages
• activities that are part of normal day-to-day running (though not capacity building)
• activities that are normally undertaken by Statutory organisations
• organisational fundraising activities
• endowments (to provide a source of income)
• retrospective events/ activities

Help and Advice

If you are unsure of which grant funding to apply for due to the nature of your project, please get in touch with grants@kingston.gov.uk

Apply for the grant

Borough Grants Application form