The Local Communities Fund (LCF)

The Local Communities Fund will open for applications on Monday 13 October 2025 and will close on Friday 7 November 2025. Once the fund is open, a link to the application form will be on our webpage, within the section ‘How to apply’. 

You may find your new funding toolkit developed by the Communities team for the voluntary sector [PDF] helpful. The toolkit has hints and tips of how to best prepare for funding applications. 

Free workshops are also available to help equip you with the knowledge and tools when applying for funding, including LCF. Check the latest sessions here

We recognise the huge contribution that the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) has made to the lives of residents over many years.

The council has a strong record in supporting the VCS by empowering local communities to be more self-sufficient. The Local Communities Fund is a discretionary financial contribution to support the delivery of projects that help to deliver the strategic aims of the County Council Nottinghamshire Plan Vision and Ambitions.

The funding is limited, and competition is likely to be strong, therefore the County Council may also take into consideration previous funding awards. Priority will be given to applications that best meet the criteria and organisations that did not receive an award in the previous funding year. 

The Local Communities Fund consists of:

If you are looking for information on the Homes for Ukraine Fund or the Food Redistribution Fund, these are separate funds, and more information can be found here: 

If you cannot find the answer to your question through the links on this webpage, please email the Communities Team at: LCF@nottscc.gov.uk.

It is strongly recommended that you carefully read all the information provided in the Guidance for Applicants document to help decide if your organisation is ready to complete an application for funding.  

For a guide on how to complete the application form and upload the required documentation, please see the guidance document

To connect county councillors (elected members) with the LCF Grant Funding support in their communities, all Small Revenue and Capital applications must include a supporting endorsement from an elected Nottinghamshire county councillor for the area where the proposed project or asset will be delivered or installed.

As part of this phase of the fund, councillor endorsements will be collected through a dedicated form embedded within the application process. Councillors will be required to complete a brief form for each project they choose to endorse. 

It is the responsibility of the applying organisation to provide the endorsement form to their chosen councillor. The form will be accessible within the application and can be easily shared to facilitate completion. 

Please note: County councillor support is not a guarantee of application success.  

Prior to the fund opening, all Councillors will receive information in relation to the fund and guidance on the endorsement process. If you are a county councillor and you need support with your endorsement, please contact the LCF team at LCF@nottscc.gov.uk  

The Local Communities Fund will open for applications on Monday 13 October 2025 and will close on Friday 7 November 2025.

To improve our application process, we have introduced an eligibility check that you will need to complete before accessing the application form, this check is on the first page of the application form.  We are keen to talk to prospective applicants, so if you have any questions or require support with your application please email LCF@nottscc.gov.uk and a member of the team will contact you. 

When the fund is live, you will be able to find the link to the application form, along with information and guidance on the following pages: 

If you are looking for information on the Homes for Ukraine Fund or the Food Redistribution Fund, these are separate funds, and more information can be found here: 

If you are successful in securing funding, Nottinghamshire County Council must be acknowledged as a funder as part of all publicity, including any written or spoken public presentations.

Before finalising any celebration event or news release, please contact our communications team at news@nottscc.gov.uk to check councillor availability and to arrange a press comment.  

The logos below may be used to help promote the financial support of the council. If you require larger or higher quality files, please contact our communications team. 

Please follow the brand guidelines outlined in the acknowledging funding and publicity guidelines.

 

Privacy statement

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

Decision-making

All applications will be reviewed by the County Council against the funding criteria. The County council will carry out relevant checks on the information provided as appropriate.

Elected members make the decisions regarding funding awards. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application as soon as possible after completion of the decision-making process. This could be approximately 12 weeks after the closing date.

Fraud response

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.