Grants and Funding Available

Community Grants Fund

• There are lots of different funding opportunities available to community organisations, or anyone leading a project with a public benefit, in line with our Policy for Funding the Voluntary and Community Sector [pdf] 1286KB. As a local authority, we offer lots of funding schemes you can apply for directly. There are more schemes to explore from other local authorities, public bodies or businesses too.

Funding available

• Capital (one-off) grants – up to £10,000.
  Capital grants can provide funding to help purchase equipment or furniture, for example, or to refurbish a building or improve an open space.
• Ashford Community Amenities Grants (UK Shared Prosperity Funding)
  UK Shared Prosperity Fund Grant (Ashford Urban Area): A grant of up to £10,000 for an organisation wishing to make improvements to community facilities such as community halls or playgrounds. 

  Rural England Prosperity Fund Grant (Ashford Rural Area): A grant of up to £10,000 for an organisation wishing to make improvements to outdoors community facilities such as playing fields or village hall outdoor spaces. 
  
  The deadline for the second round of Community Amenities Grant applications is 11:59pm on Sunday 4th February 2024.

• Event Reset Grants – up to £1,000 revenue funding to help deliver community events and festivals.
• Loans – up to £25,000 in exceptional circumstances only.
  Funding is linked to specific Funding Priorities relevant to the council's strategic objectives. This will ensure that the projects we fund will have a positive impact and support the council's aims and objectives
• Ward Member Community Grant – The ward member community grant scheme provides each ward councillor with the ability to financially support local projects and services and therefore to play a more active role in their ward.
  Each ward councillor has £3,000 in the financial year to allocate to projects within their ward. The minimum grant under this scheme is £100.
  Community Grants funding is always subject to the council's budget position. We may be unable to fund every eligible application
• Disabled Facilities Grant - Disabled Facilities Grants are dealt with by the Council's Housing Department.

Other grants available

To find details of, and search for, a wide range of other funding sources for community projects visit Kent County Council's funding pages.

Eligibility and other important information

It is important that you read the information provided on our web pages before you apply for funding as they will give you the full details of the Community Grants Fund.

They will help you decide if you are eligible to apply and will tell you about our Funding Priorities and Conditions of Funding [docx] 17KB. They will also provide details of the funding available.

If you are a voluntary, community or charitable group or organisation delivering a project or service in the Ashford borough and need financial assistance to be able to do so, you may be able to apply for a grant from Ashford Borough Council. Grant applications are made through the Council's Community Grants Fund.

In order to be eligible to apply for any grant from Ashford Borough Council, you must meet all of the basic criteria below:

You must:

• Be a not-for-profit organisation with a formal charitable status OR an unincorporated organisation with a constitution and a formally appointed voluntary management committee OR a parish council
• Be non-political
• Operate in Ashford borough and serve borough residents
• Ensure your service(s), project(s) or facilities are open to any resident in the borough (or have a clear, non-financial justification for targeting or prioritising a client group)
• Have a bank or building society account in the organisation's name
• Have relevant insurances in place e.g. public liability insurance, buildings insurance 
• Demonstrate you have relevant safeguards and policies in place i.e. risk assessments, health and safety policy, safeguarding policy
• Have support for your project from an Ashford Borough Council Ward Councillor

Other eligibility criteria applies depending on the type of grant you re applying for – please see details for specific funding streams by clicking the links at the top of this page.

In addition, a grant from the community grants fund cannot be used to meet a shortfall in a Borough Council service budget or to fund any costs related to an asset or project run or delivered by the Borough Council

We do not accept applications from:

• Individuals
• Sole Traders
• Organisations that are aimed at generating profits primarily for private distribution
• Organisations that can pay profits to directors or shareholders
• CICs limited by shares
• Mainstream public services e.g. health, education
• Churches to fund their core purposes e.g. religious instruction

Who to contact for help

Grants and Funding Team

Email: grantsandfunding@ashford.gov.uk.

Safeguarding 

Ashford Borough Council is required by law to safeguard children and to protect public funds. We may use the information you have provided for the prevention and detection of criminal activity and fraud. We may also share this information with those bodies responsible for auditing or administering funds for these purposes.