Deadline: 28-Apr-23
Applications are now open for the Leeds Fund Microgrants Programme to part-fund or fully-fund a variety of activities that will enable organisations of different kinds to support their communities.
The fund is aimed at small and emerging Leeds-based community organisations who may not be able to access larger grants programmes.
Funding Information
- Grant size Up to £2,500
- Duration: Up to 1 Year
Activities That Can Be Funded
- One-off projects, expanding existing activity or supporting your organisation’s development
- Past-funded themes include: health and wellbeing; providing enriching experiences; creating safe and friendly communities; and skills building
- Past microgrant activities include community gardening, training for organisation staff, mini-festivals, crafts workshops, employability programmes, sports clubs, marketing consultation, animation activities for children, and more
What Can’t Be Funded
- Activity and costs that have already taken place
- Activity targeted at a particular group (ethnic, gender, religious etc.) without a good justification for this
- Activity that promotes a particular political or religious point of view
- Activity primarily for the benefit of animals
- Capital appeals for building projects
- Grant-making to other organisations and/or individuals
- Applications from individuals
- Expeditions or overseas travel
Location: Leeds
Eligibility Criteria
- Not-for-profit incorporated Community Organisations from the third sector such as CIO, CIC or a charitable company. You will be registered with the Charity Commission, Companies House or Mutual Public Register (FCA).
- Charities that are registered with the Charity Commission but are not an incorporated structure – if grants are not used to pay staff employed directly by the charity.
- Small unincorporated and unregistered Community Organisations can only apply if your annual income is less than £10,000, and if securing the grant would not take you above this threshold for current financial year. These organisations cannot use grant funds to employ PAYE staff, but funds can be used to hire freelance workers.
- For-profit organisations, statutory organisations or activity (e.g. schools and hospitals) and overseas organisations cannot be funded. Companies should be limited by guarantee and clearly constituted for public benefit. CICs should have an asset lock with a designated company in place.
- All organisations, regardless of size and structure, must have:
- At least three Trustees/Directors/Committee Members (whichever is applicable, depending on your organisation’s legal structure) who are independent and unrelated. For registered charitable companies (limited companies by guarantee without share capital, CICs and similar) they require a minimum of three unrelated directors, and none should be registered as Persons with Significant Control
- A governing document g. constitution or memorandum and articles of association that show how your group is managed
- A bank or building society account in the name of your organisation with a minimum of two unrelated authorised signatories on the mandate and transactions requiring authorisation by at least two of those authorised signatories
- The previous year’s accounts or a record of income and expenditure for your organisation (if you are a new organisation, you will need to provide a bank statement and a balance sheet)
- A relevant safeguarding policy, if your organisation works with children or vulnerable adults
Key Information
- These grants are for formally constituted groups. This means that your group or organisation has a formal document explaining the purpose of your group and how it is organised
- Organisations must have an income under £75,000 in the most recent financial year to be eligible
- Activity must be based in Leeds, and applicants must be based in or have a demonstrable connection to Leeds
- Only one application per organisation can be considered per round
- Applications from groups who have received a microgrant in the past year will not be considered
- Microgrants rounds run every 3 months in January, April, July, and October
For more information, visit Leeds Community Foundation.