The Local Communities Fund (LCF)

Images of outdoor activities and community with the words Investing in our communities to help Nottinghamshire thrive

All applications to the LCF capital and revenue grants require an endorsement from the county councillor in your area.

Local county council elections were held on 1 May. Due to the recent sad death of a candidate, an election for the two-seat division of Mansfield North will be held on 12 June 2025.

This means that until the two councillors in the Mansfield North area have been elected, the new round of funding for capital and revenue grants won't be able to re-open as planned in May.  Due to strict pre-election rules, all other LCF funds which were also due to open this month, will need to be postponed too. 
 
In the meanwhile, take a look at our new funding toolkit for the voluntary sector in Nottinghamshire [PDF] which has hints and tips of how to best prepare for funding applications.
 
Dates for the new LCF funding rounds will be published as soon as possible and will be promoted across council channels.  Thankyou for your patience.

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.

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.

We have also introduced a new eligibility check you will need to complete before accessing the application form.  We are keen to talk to prospective applicants, so if you have any questions please email LCF@nottscc.gov.uk and a member of the team will contact you.

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

The latest round of the Local Communities Fund are due to open for applications in Summer 2025.

These consists of:

Here you can read about guidance for an application and the processes involved.

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 for:

Capital grants (now closed)

Revenue grants (now closed)

Homes for Ukraine grant (now closed)

Talented Athletes Fund

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

Nottinghamshire County Council must be acknowledged as a funder as part of all publicity, including any written or spoken public presentations.

The logos below may be used to help promote the financial support of NCC:

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

If you require larger or higher quality files, please contact our Communications Team at marketing.team@nottscc.gov.uk

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.

Disclosure and Barring Service for voluntary and community sector groups

Nottinghamshire County Council offers a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for community and voluntary sector groups. All groups in receipt of funding from Nottinghamshire County Council are exempt from any DBS application administration fee for volunteers and employees. For further information about charges and how to apply, please see our DBS webpage.

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.