Each District Councillor is allocated a small budget and has the discretion to award grants to community activities that will benefit the community within their respective electoral ward areas.
Any application for a Community Grant must be discussed with the relevant Ward Member(s) in the first instance. If in agreement, the Ward Member will provide you with a blank application form which you will need to complete. This needs to be signed off by the Ward Member(s) before submitting it to the Member Support Team.
Guidelines for the Councillor Community Grants Application
Eligibility criteria:
- All projects, initiatives and activities seeking support must be located in Bassetlaw or be of significant benefit to people living in Bassetlaw.
- Applications should be for a minimum value of £100 to minimise administration costs.
- For electoral wards with multiple councillors, applications can be submitted to all ward members.
- A councillor can fund up to 100% of the total cost of a project (budget permitting).
- The application should meet at least one of the strategic pillars of the Council’s 2040 vision.
- All projects, initiatives and activities applying for funds must be willing to work with the Council’s press team if desired to make residents aware of a successful grant application.
- The project must complete within 12 months of the award decision.
- All projects, initiatives and activities applying for funds must be willing to report back to the Council on how the grant was spent and how it has benefited the receiving community.
- Unsuccessful applicants are unable to re-apply for a Councillor Community Grant in the same financial year (April to April).
The Council’s 2040 vision will be delivered through the following strategic pillars which Councillor Community Grants should align to:
- Build a stronger sense of identity for Bassetlaw as a place to live and work, rooted in its commitment to powering the net zero economy.
- Develop the skills that will be needed to power the UK’s manufacturing industry and green economy, using wage growth to address deprivation and inequality.
- Become a great place to ‘do business’ by proactively investing in offices, connectivity and supporting infrastructure.
- Mitigate the impacts of climate change through green energy planning, improving building efficiency and enhancing natural environments.
- Promote partner investment in high-quality education, health and other facilities which are easy to access.
- Encourage sustainable living and promote good mental and physical health for local residents.
Funding applications for the following are unlikely to be considered:
- Applications which cover an area that is the primary responsibility of another funding agency.
- Applications from bodies which already receive funding from Bassetlaw District Council via other means.
- Applications which do not support Bassetlaw residents.
- Applications which promote religious belief or political activities.
- Applications to cover expenses that have already been incurred or retrospective funding.
Who we cannot fund:
- Other local authorities or public sector bodies (for example, Nottinghamshire County Council, NHS Trusts, Schools).
- Groups who raise funds on behalf of, or whose project will mainly benefit, ineligible organisations (such as PTAs who directly support their school).
- Funding individuals to participate in specific charity or fundraising activities.
- Costs associated with the management of an organisation (e.g. training courses).
- Profit-making organisations.
- Private businesses.
- Political, lobbying and campaigning groups.
- Town and Parish Councils (unless it is a part of a wider community-based project, initiative and activity in the ward).
- Nationwide organisations, unless there is a branch in the ward or District and the activity is solely for the benefit of that area and not further afield.
- The purchase of items to then be resold to generate income for a project (e.g. buying raffle prizes).
What we cannot fund:
- Recoverable VAT (if your organisation is VAT registered and able to reclaim VAT, we cannot fund the VAT element of your project costs).
- Depreciation (as this is not a real cash cost).
- Bank, finance or audit charges.
- Repayment of loans or interest costs.
- Retrospective costs (we cannot fund any expenditure that has already been incurred or you are committed to incurring before the grant is approved).
- Endowments (to provide a source of income).
- Statutory obligations.
- Ordinary activities of a statutory body.
- Contingency costs.
- The purchase of alcohol, medication or drugs.
- Projects, initiatives and activities that directly promote a religious belief (this does not exclude applications from faith-based groups who want to deliver community-based projects that can clearly demonstrate a benefit to the wider community and include participation from the community).
Last Updated on Monday, February 3, 2025