GENERAL GRANTS POLICY
SWAYFIELD PARISH COUNCIL
GENERAL GRANTS POLICY
Swayfield Parish Council has a small grants scheme which offers grants to community groups and projects within the village. The amount of money available will be set annually within the Council’s budget.
Eligibility
Applications must be submitted from recognised not for profit community groups (such as The Art Club, The Bowls Club, Coffee Corner, the Church, the Village Hall etc) with a membership of at least 10 people and a bank account in the name of the organisation.
Applications from individuals will not be considered.
The Council will not support applications for revenue expenditure – this covers day to day running costs, rates, gas or electricity costs, grounds maintenance, or rent/hire costs.
The Council will consider applications for small scale capital expenditure such as the purchase of special equipment.
Any grant awarded will be for not more than 50% of the total costs, and any application must show evidence that other sources of funding have been explored.
Only one grant will be awarded to an organisation in any one financial year, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Where the application is for the staging of an event, the Council will treat it as a request for a loan which will be repayable (at the Council’s discretion) from excess income following the event.
Submitting Applications
Applications must be submitted on the Council’s Grant Application Form (copy attached). They may be submitted at any time to the Clerk to the Council who will acknowledge the applications and inform the applicants when the Council will consider them.
Applications must be supported by recently audited accounts and a copy of the organisation’s constitution. For new organisations, a business plan must be submitted in place of accounts, together with projected income and expenditure figures.
Applications must include evidence of self-help – ie funding from other sources and fund raising proposals.
A reference from a responsible member of the community to support the organisation and its application must be included.
After Receipt of a Grant
Organisations awarded grants for specific capital expenditure must produce proof of that expenditure within 6 months of the award of the grant together with evidence of the benefit to which the grant has contributed.
Any grant money that is not spent within this 6 month period must be returned to the Council.
For non-capital expenditure (ie for an event or for forming a new community group) the grant must be returned to the Council if the activity is not completed.
The Council must be included in any publicity material that is produced in connection with the application.