Funding for local voluntary and community organisations

Small Grants of up to £2,000 are designed to enable community groups and voluntary organisations to deliver activities or projects which support our key priorities. There will be two rounds of Small Grants in 2021/22, one in the Spring/Summer and one in the Autumn/Winter

The 2021/22 Small Grants Fund is now open for applications.

Applicants will need to be nominated by a Councillor; they will then receive a link via email to the online application to complete.

The deadline for applications is 22 October, midnight.

Please see below full Guidance for the Small Grants Fund.

If you have further questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Guidance 2021/22

1. The purpose of the Small Grants Fund

1.1      The Small Grants Fund will distribute up to £45,000 of funds in 2021/22 to support our local voluntary, community and faith sector (VCFS) partners to deliver activities or projects which benefit our residents and which:

• Respond to local community needs
• Encourage engagement between the voluntary, community and faith sector organisation and the Council to support our residents
• Promote the role of Councillors as community leaders
  This year we would also welcome applications that are focused on addressing new or increasing needs within local communities as a result of Covid-19.

1.2     The Small Grants Fund will award grants of up to £2,000.

2. Who we will support

2.1       Registered charities working for the benefit of the people in Reigate and Banstead.

2.2       Not for profit organisations such as a Community Interest Company with a clear social purpose and who are working for the benefit of people in Reigate and Banstead

2.3       Local faith groups, where the project clearly benefits the wider community.

2.4       VCFS groups should ideally be constituted in some way or as a minimum have a written statement of purpose that is understood by the stakeholders of the group

2.5       Only one application per organisation will be considered.

3. Projects we will fund

3.1       Awards will be considered for provision of activities, projects and one-off initiatives.

3.2       Funding must be spent on projects that support one or more of the Council's corporate priorities. (See our Corporate Plan 2020-25, https://www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/info/20205/plans_and_policies/280/reigate_and_banstead_2025), specifically:

• Communities and community safety: Work with partners to create strong, safe and welcoming communities.
• Vulnerable residents: Provide targeted and proactive support for our most vulnerable residents.
• Leisure and wellbeing: Provide leisure, cultural and wellbeing services that are accessible to, and meet the needs of, communities and visitors.
• Towns and villages: With our partners, invest in our town and village centres, so they continue to be places where people choose to live, work, do business and visit.
• Environmental sustainability: Reduce our own environmental impact, support local residents and businesses to do the same, and make sure our activities increase the borough's resilience to the effects of climate change.

3.3       Only projects with no maintenance implications for the Council will be considered.

3.4       This year the Council is also interested in applications that are addressing new or increased needs within local communities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

3.5       Applications for £1,000-£2,000 are more likely to be successful if they can demonstrate some or all of the following:

• Added value through the involvement of the community in their delivery, building the skills of volunteers.
• Accessibility and diversity.
• Sustainability of the project / activity beyond the life of the grant.
• Evidence of working in partnership with other charitable organisations.
• Planned impact measurement.
• Use of original and creative approaches to respond to changing local needs.
• Long term solutions for the people they are helping.
• Evidence of match funding or how the remainder of funding will be realised.

3.6       We will not fund activities that are statutory responsibilities or retrospective projects.

3.7       We will not award grants to be used to provide grants / bursaries. 

4. The process

4.1       The application process for small grants will have two stages.  It will be initiated by Councillors who will identify local community organisations / charities they wish to nominate.  The Councillor will then complete a nomination form as stage one of this process.  Following a nomination, a stage two form will be sent to the VCFS organisation to complete, providing more detail on their proposal and how it meets the criteria in the guidance.

4.2       For applications up to £1,000 one Councillor is needed, for applications between £1,001 and £2,000 a second Councillor nomination is needed.

4.3       The Councillor needs to be satisfied that the application meets one or more Corporate Plan priorities and will benefit local residents before nominating a local community organisations/charity.

4.4       Councillors may not nominate organisations where there is a conflict of interest.  This may include where the Councillors' spouse, civil partner or equivalent have a role in the management or leadership of the nominated organisation or if it could be implied that the Councillor has a financial interest in the organisation, including if they are a trustee of that organisation.

4.5       Councillors will need to complete and submit nominations no later than 11 June 2021 for round 1 and 8 October 2021 for round 2.   Councillors can make up to 3 nominations for a Small Grant in any given year.

4.6       The completed stage 2 application form must be submitted by the VCFS organisation before the deadline of 25 June 2021 for round 1 and 22 October for round 2

4.7       The Partnerships Team will then evaluate the bid against the application criteria.

4.8       The Council's Head of Community Partnerships will consult with the Executive Member for Community Partnerships to make a final decision.

4.9       The Partnerships Team will then notify the applicant and nominating Councillor(s) of the outcome of their application and provide feedback.

4.10      Notes on using the online application form:

• The application form needs to be completed online
• If the application page is left open for 30 minutes without activity it will time out
• Save the application if you want to stop and come back to it. This will send you a link via email which you can use to access your application form later
• Applicants will get an automatic confirmation email once the form is submitted, please check the junk folder if it doesn't arrive. If you do not get a confirmation email please contact [email protected] to confirm your application was received.
• If you cannot complete the online application, please contact the team for support

5. What we will ask for  

5.1       Applicants must have a bank or building society account, in the organisations name, with two unrelated people authorised to sign cheques or make withdrawals.

5.2       Copies of the following may also be requested, if relevant:

• The organisations constitution or document that sets out the purpose of the organisation
• The organisations 2021/22 operating budget
• The organisation's most recent year end accounts
• The previous three months bank statements in the organisation's name
• The organisation's Constitution, Safeguarding and Equality & Diversity policies
• Evidence of what the spend is to go towards (e.g. quotations).

6. Conditions of the award

6.1       All monies, awarded in the summer must be spent by 31 March in the financial year in which it is awarded or by the 30 June in the following financial year if awarded in the winter.

            You will be asked for evidence that the money has been spent in the correct way and in the agreed timeframe.

6.2       Confirmation of outcomes will be sought within 1 month of the end of the permitted period for spending the grant to ensure that the aims of the projects are suitably achieved.

6.3       Failure to provide evidence of the delivery/outcomes of the project as required may prevent the organisation from re-applying for small grants in future.

6.4       You will be required to enter into a funding agreement that sets out the conditions for the award.

7. Publicity

7.1       Successful applicants will be required to acknowledge the Council's funding. This could be through a variety of ways, for example including the Council's logo on relevant publicity materials, recognition on social media, a plaque (for capital works). Successful applicants will be notified of requirements as part of the process of grant offer.

7.2       Details of grants made will periodically be published on the Council website.

Councillor support         

Please see the Your Councillors page for a list of current councillors in the borough.

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2021/22 Round 1 Small Grant Recipients

You can find previous Small Grants recipients listed here:

• Round 1 2019-20
• Round 2 2019-20
• 2020-21