Local Communities Fund: Revenue Grants Fund

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 the link to the application form will be on our webpage, within the section ‘How to apply’.

Eligible organisations may apply for one-off revenue grants of up to £5,000 per organisation within any given funding year. Successful applicants will be offered a 12-month funding agreement.

An eligibility check has been introduced and must be completed before accessing the full application form.The eligibility check can be found on the first page of the application form.

We welcome early engagement with prospective applicants. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your project, please contact us at LCF@nottscc.gov.uk and a member of the team will be in touch.

Applications are invited from voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations that have developed effective activities in response to identified local needs or gap analyses. Priority will be given to projects that:

  • contribute to a prosperous and growing local economy
  • deliver school holiday play schemes
  • enable residents to engage in social and cultural opportunities
  • encourage innovation to strengthen communities and support vulnerable individuals
  • promote local networks that foster resilience, neighbourliness, and safety
  • increase volunteering opportunities to support vulnerable residents
  • address climate and environmental challenges
  • improve mental and physical health
  • reduce loneliness and social isolation
  • enhance access to community-based services (e.g. advice and signposting) for those most in need
  • provide early help and preventative support
  • support communities of interest, including rural communities.

Revenue grant requirements

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 that:

  • county councillor support is not a guarantee of application success
  • it is the applicant’s responsibility to contact the relevant county councillor to discuss the proposed project and to seek their support.

Applications must demonstrate at least 50% match funding and clearly show how the proposed project will:

  • address local priorities, such as improving access to services (e.g. sports, leisure),protecting the environment, reducing loneliness, or enhancing physical and mental health
  • improve local places and spaces that are valued by the community
  • bring people together and involve them in the design and delivery of the project
  • respond to climate and environmental challenges and/or minimise negative environmental impacts.

Examples of how the Revenue funding could be used include:

Revenue funding can help towards the running costs (‘core costs’ or ‘overheads’) that are essential to delivering the project or service as described in the application for funding, such as:

  • utilities (e.g. gas, electricity and water bills)
  • communications (e.g. internet, landline and telephone)
  • rent
  • insurance and professional fees
  • relevant staff salaries and staff training
  • volunteer training and volunteer expenses.

It is strongly recommended that you carefully read all the information provided in Guidance for applicants [PDF] 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 linked here.

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.   

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.

When the fund is live, you will be able to find the link to the application form here.

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.  

Check your eligibility and apply.

 

Terms and conditions

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

  • publicising the project in line with the County Council's acknowledging funding and publicity guidelines
  • providing monitoring information as requested (see below for examples)
  • 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.

Monitoring and completion of projects

Monitoring helps to demonstrate that the grant has been spent as agreed by elected members.  

Organisations awarded funding will be required to provide additional information to support project monitoring, reporting, audit and other compliance requirements. This may include periodic updates on project progress and outcomes.  

Successful applicants must submit invoices and/or receipts to verify the total project cost and demonstrate how the funding has been utilised. Organisations must also confirm whether they are able to reclaim VAT on any project-related expenditure.  

In addition, a site visit by representatives from the county council will be mandatory for all funded projects. These visits will be arranged at a suitable time and will be subject to access permissions and safety considerations.  

Organisations should raise any issues or concerns and advise the county council of any planned changes at the earliest opportunity.  

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.

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 which can be found under key documents on the following web page: Internal audit and counter-fraud | Nottinghamshire County Council Intranet