The Local Communities Fund (LCF)

Applications are invited from Community Organisations supporting people who have arrived in Nottinghamshire as part of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

An allocation of £200,000 has been approved by Nottinghamshire County Council to support proposals up to a maximum of £5,000 per application.

Examples of the kind activities that may be supported include:

• Supporting English language classes
• Employment support
• Activities for Children and Young People
• Advice and support on financial matters
• Tackling loneliness and isolation through for example befriending schemes and support networks
• Promoting health and well-being
• Organising community events
• Supporting and encouraging volunteering

Register and apply on https://grants.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/

You only need to register once, even if you decide to apply for multiple projects across more than one fund.

Find out more about projects funded through the Homes for Ukraine Fund.

The Food Redistribution Grant Fund is currently closed for new applications

This is available for the community and voluntary sector to establish food redistribution schemes to help families and households access affordable good quality and nutritious food.

Organisations, which also include local authorities such as parish, district, and borough councils, can apply for up to £10,000. Applications closed on Sunday 26 February.

This is the first of three funding rounds, with applications expected to re-open at a date to be confirmed.

Successful applicants will be able to use the funding to establish or support food redistribution schemes to meet local identified need.

This is part of a package of support by Nottinghamshire County Council to help those most affected by rising food costs.

Please read the criteria before applying. To apply for funding visit: https://grants.nottinghamshire.gov.uk

The Cost-of-Living Community Grants Fund is currently closed for new applications

This is available is for community groups who need a contribution towards rising energy bills to help keep their welcoming and warm hubs open across the county, or groups helping people who are struggling to buy nutritious food to help improve health and well-being. This may include projects such as ‘cook and eat’ sessions where residents can better plan, cook and share nutritious, affordable meals.

Groups can apply for up to £5,000 towards increased energy costs and up to £5,000 towards costs associated with supporting people with rising food costs.

The first of three funding rounds is closed and 87 projects were awarded £149,965.

The second round of applications is expected to open in Spring 2023.

This is part of a package of support by Nottinghamshire County Council to help those most affected by rising food and energy costs.

Please read the criteria for this grant before applying.

The Talented Athlete Fund is currently closed for new applications

The Council is expanding on its previous Talented Athletes programme with an increased maximum award of up to £1,000 towards:

• Supporting Nottinghamshire athletes aspiring to compete or already competing at the highest level in their sporting category
• Encouraging up-and-coming athletes
• Providing more support to athletes who face the greatest challenges.

Further information about the LCF Talented Athletes programme is available here.

The current round is open for applications until the end of December 2022.

The Revenue Fund is currently closed for new applications

Applications for revenue funding are invited from VCS organisations that have developed effective activities in response to a local need / gap analysis. Examples of activities include:

• Offering early help and prevention to those who most need it.
• Providing support to communities of interest, including rural communities, and helping those who face particular challenges.
• Increasing opportunities available for advice and signposting for the most vulnerable residents and communities.
• Increasing pathways to volunteering, providing opportunities for individuals to contribute to their community whilst enhancing the sector’s reach.
• Helping to address climate and environmental change.
• Enabling Nottinghamshire residents to contribute to social and cultural opportunities.

The Revenue programme consists of 2 parts:

Revenue Small Grants

The maximum award will be £5,000 per project in any financial year. Successful organisations will be offered a 12-month funding agreement.

The next round of applications is expected to open in Spring 2023.

Further information about the Revenue Small Grants criteria is available in the Guidance for Applicants .

Revenue Large Grants

The application window for the Revenue Large Grants Programme (i.e. funding requests for £5,000 or more), is now closed.

Find out more about the projects funded through the small Revenue grants and large Revenue grants.

The Capital Fund is currently closed for new applications

Eligible organisations can apply for one-off Capital grants up to a maximum of £20,000 per organisation in any funding year.

Applications for Capital funding should have in place at least 50% match funding and should show how the proposed project:

• Helps to address local priorities, e.g. improving access to new or existing services such as sports and leisure, protecting the environment, reducing loneliness, improving physical and mental health
• Improves local places and spaces that are important to communities
• Brings people together and involves them in the design and implementation
• Helps to address climate and environmental change and/or minimises any negative impact on the environment.

Further details are provided in the Guidance for Applicants .

Brown Tourist Signs / Information Boards / Gateway Signs / Interactive Signs
If you wish to apply for funding towards brown tourist signs / information boards / gateway signs / interactive signs, please read the ‘General Guidance and Example Costs for Signs’ document.

“Once again we want to invest in capital projects with full match-funding already in place, so they are ‘ready to go’ to make best use of these funds.” Cllr Cottee

Find out more about projects funded through the Capital Fund 2022-23.

Before applying for the Revenue or Capital Funds please read the Guidance for Applicants, or the Cost-of-Living Community Grants criteria if you're applying for energy- or food-related costs, which includes information and examples of projects that the funding can be used for and how to apply.

To improve our grant process, we have introduced a new online system. This new system brings lots of benefits for applicants, such as: saving applications part-way through, downloading applications and uploading supporting information.

Register and apply on https://grants.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/

You only need to register once, even if you apply for multiple projects across more than one fund.

In line with the principle of involving County Councillors (Elected Members) in their communities, all applications for revenue and capital funding must provide a supporting statement from an elected Nottinghamshire County Councillor for the District in which the proposed project will be delivered. Further information is provided in the Guidance for Applicants.

Nottinghamshire County Council must be acknowledged as a funder as part of all publicity about the funded project, including any written or spoken public presentations. Guidance, logos and support with publicity messages and arrangements will be provided by the Communications and Marketing Team to organisations awarded funding. Further details will be posted here when the first batch of awards are announced.

All applicants will need to confirm that they have read and agree with the Council's Privacy Statement.

Funding awards are decided by Elected Members. For applications received from January 2022, please check this webpage for updates about decision timescales or sign up to Email Me to receive updates by email.

If your application is successful, the organisation must be willing and able to comply with the funding terms and conditions which include:

• publicising the project in line with the County Council's Acknowledging Funding and Publicity guidelines
• providing monitoring information as outlined in the Guidance for Applicants 
• repaying to the County Council any grant money not spent and/or where the organisation / project does not comply with the terms and conditions of the funding.

The Council takes a zero tolerance stance towards fraud and corruption and will investigate and take the necessary action in cases of suspected fraud in line with the Council's Fraud Response Plan.