Deadline: 31-Mar-21
The Member Grants are inviting applications to support small scale, local community projects such as those which bring cultural, sporting, recreational, health, environmental, heritage, community safety, crime reduction or educational benefit to the local community.
This includes voluntary and community groups which are addressing the current challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Grants cannot be used to support items which should be funded by mainstream public expenditure or awarded to individuals. Councilors are able to ‘pool’ their allocations to support a project.
Objectives and Priorities
- Building the right homes in the right places and supporting quality jobs for all
- Develop a new economic improvement strategy to encourage the role of a living wage and expand the range of employment opportunities in the borough, including higher-skilled employment.
- Support residents and businesses to improve the borough’s vocational skill levels, and vigorously pursue all opportunities to enhance the provision and accessibility of further and higher education for Swale residents at all stages of their careers.
- Implement the visitor economy framework to increase investment, address new visitor demands and grow the value of the sector to the Swale economy.
- Investing in our environment and responding positively to global challenges
- Develop a coherent strategy to address the climate and ecological emergencies, aiming for carbon neutrality in the council’s own operations by 2025 and in the whole borough by 2030, and pursue all opportunities to enhance biodiversity across the borough.
- Encourage active travel and reduced car use, including through the permeability of new developments, and work with partners to address air quality issues.
- Establish a special projects fund to provide much-needed capital investment in the borough’s public realm and open spaces.Recognize and support local heritage to give people pride in the place they live and boost the local tourism industry.
- Ensure that the borough is kept clean, that recycling remains a focus, and that the council acts as an exemplar environmental steward, making space for nature wherever possible.
- Tackling deprivation and creating equal opportunities for everyone.
- Undertake targeted interventions to identify our most disadvantaged families and communities, improve our understanding of the issues they face, and develop new ways of working to reduce social exclusion and enhance opportunities and quality of life.
- Reduce health inequality by developing more productive relationships with local health partners and making health and wellbeing a central consideration in all relevant council decision-making, recognizing especially the link between housing and health.
- Develop a communitarian approach to partnership working based on shared objectives with likeminded agencies in the voluntary and community sectors.
- Ensure that the council plays a proactive role in reducing crime and antisocial behaviour, including through the modernization of CCTV provision.
- Promote wellbeing and enjoyment of life by signposting and encouraging a wide range of sporting, cultural and other leisure activities appropriate and accessible to each age group.
Funding Information
- £2,400
What can the grant are used for? (Refers to Project and Activity)
The fund is to support local, small scale community projects such as those which bring cultural, sporting, recreational, health, environmental, heritage, community safety, crime reduction or educational benefit to the local community. This includes voluntary and community groups which are addressing the current challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund cannot be used to support items which should be funded by mainstream public expenditure such as highways or footways. Grants should also not support political or directly religious activity.
Eligibility Criteria
- Unincorporated associations such as community groups
- Incorporated organizations such as registered charities
- Companies limited by guarantee
- Social enterprises
- Voluntary and community groups can apply if they have:
- A governing document that has as a minimum the name, aim/purpose, objects, a dissolution clause for the organization, a list of Trustee/committee members and Trustee/committee member signatures. This can be known as a terms of reference, please contact the office if you are unsure.
- A bank or building society account in the organization’s name.
- Up-to-date annual accounts (for groups over 12 months old), or a 12 month cash-flow forecast for new organizations.
For more information, visit https://swale.gov.uk/news-and-your-council/grants-and-funding/member-grants