Investing in Spaces and Places Grant – United Kingdom

Deadline: 28-Jul-2024

The Asda Foundation is offering grants to support grassroots community groups to transform spaces at the heart of their local community.

Investing in Spaces and Places is the higher value grant, funding up to £25,000 to enable communities across the UK to have a safe space for people to be together. This year, there will be over £1 million in funding available for groups across the UK.

From kitchen renovations to repairing a community centre roof or providing a communal garden area, the Investing in Spaces and Places grant enables local groups to bring people together in a safe, inclusive space. Since launching this grant in 2022 they have supported 90 fantastic groups to improve or transform a local community space.

What they would fund?

• The Investing in Spaces and Places Grant can be used to fund a range of building activities. Below are the three categories this funding can support with. You can apply for one or a mixture of categories in your application.
  • Building repairs to spaces and places which already exist but are in disrepair and therefore limit the usability, safety or level of expectations for others to use the space. The repair may be internal or external and may be due to age, vandalism, accident or abandonment. It may also be more than one item/issue which needs repair. Examples include, but aren’t limited to:
    • Roof repairs
    • Doors and windows repairs or replacement
    • Central heating replacement
    • Electrical wiring upgrade
    • Plumbing repairs or replacement
  • Building development to enhance the quality of a space already in use, or give more people and groups the opportunity to use the space. Examples include, but aren’t limited to:
    • New kitchen
    • Improving toilet facilities
    • Extension on a building
    • Developing an unused internal space
    • Improving disabled access and facilities
    • Security features to keep the space and place secure
  • Outdoor development to create or improve an outside space for the benefit of the community, with benefits such as improved mental wellbeing and reduced isolation, as well as new learning environments and conservation work. They are looking for outdoor space which benefits everyone and can be accessed by large groups of people. Examples include, but aren’t limited to:
    • Improving access to a community garden
    • Transforming wasteland into usable space
    • Upgrading a local play area development or upgrading safety features
    • Creating an outdoor learning environment

Eligible Projects

• Projects must align with at least one of:
  • Create and/or develop safe and inclusive community spaces for groups to meet and bring people together. Encouraging people from different backgrounds and those facing barriers to participate, and projects that are open and accessible to the whole community, creating safe and positive places to be together.
  • Create or improve spaces which can be used by a range groups and activities on a regular basis. They’re interested in projects that increase the use of a space, encouraging a wide range of groups and activities to operate. They want to enable groups to improve community connections and reach new groups and people through the funded projects.
  • Support groups to deliver long-lasting projects focused on long-term community impact which can be maintained and continue to thrive after a grant is awarded from Asda Foundation.
• Plans should already be underway for the project you put forward and the project should be addressing an already identified need in the local area. You must have raised at least 10% of the total project cost at the time of your application being submitted.

Eligibility Criteria

• Community-led organisations supporting people from a space can apply for the Investing in Spaces and Places Grant, they aim to ensure that every organisation they support is:
  • True to their community mission, with clear aims that they consistently strive towards achieving
  • Efficiently Run, with processes in place to comply with not-for-profit requirements and the skills and ability to achieve their aims
  • People Centred, with individuals at the heart of what they do and why they do it, whilst promoting equality, diversity, and inclusivity
  • Locally Focused, with space for the local community, delivering services and support to multiple beneficiaries, and adapting to change
• They particularly encourage applications from groups who:
  • Are located in an area of deprivation
  • Are inclusive and encourage diversity
  • Are tackling food poverty
  • Are tackling local crime/anti-social behaviour
  • Have a positive environmental impact

Criteria

• All criteria below must be met in order to be eligible to apply and to be considered for this grant.
• Groups must have:
  • A total income under £100,000. Ring fencing won’t be accepted for smaller branches of national organisations, or smaller projects/groups which are managed and run by a parent organisation whose income exceeds £100,000. This is inclusive of all income for your organisation, including previous grants.
  • Governing documents. This can be a Constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association. Your group’s documents should be signed and outline  non-profit status and what would happen to assets upon dissolution.
  • A safeguarding policy. Your group’s policy should be up-to-date and specific to your group.
  • Two Years of accounts. You will need to provide copies of your group’s finance accounts for two full years. These must cover the most recent two years. If your group is registered with Charity Commission (UK/NI), OSCR, or Companies House, accounts must be showing as up-to-date with these websites.
  • A bank account that accepts cheques, and a bank statement which verifies the payee name. They are unable to make payment any other way. You must have an account in the name of the group. They can’t make payments to individual people, i.e. personal accounts. If the payee group named is different from the applicant group, they will need a ringfence email from the treasurer of the payee group stating the grant funding will only be used for the purpose outlined in the application form.
  • A visible local presence. There must be information available online which shows your group’s active work within the community.
  • No previous Investing in Spaces and Places Grant. Groups who have had a successful Investing in Spaces and Places Grant application in 2022 or 2023 are not eligible to apply for this grant.

Ineligible

• They do not accept applications from groups which:
  • Are based outside the UK or benefit people/communities outside of the UK
  • Are animal charities or groups which have animal welfare as their main focus
  • Have an income of over £100,000
  • Are third-party grant-making organisations (grantees must directly deliver the service/activity)
  • Promote ‘Pub Culture’
  • Are schools (PTAs with their own bank account are welcome to apply)
  • Have a clear affiliation with a particular political party
  • Have previously been successful in applying for an Investing in Spaces and Places grant

For more information, visit Asda Foundation.