Community Grant Scheme

1. The council will set an annual budget for grants and will adhere to it rather than exceed it. The total amount of grant money available may vary from year to year.
2. Requests for grants will only be accepted for consideration provided that the council’s ‘application for grants’ form has been completed and appropriate supplementary information provided.
3. Applicants may be required to attend the meeting to answer any questions councillors may have about the project.
4. Grants will be available from £25.00 to a maximum of £10,000.00 and will not be made retrospectively.
5. If an application for grant aid is requested that would result in an increase in the annual precept of 5% or more then all residents of Scothern will be consulted prior to making an award.
6. The parish council may not resolve to fund the full cost of the project to which a grant application pertains and, in such circumstances, should expect to see evidence of other funding sources. (eg. contributions from the district or county council, local business sponsorship, other fundraising events such as jumble sales, etc).
7. In the event of there being more applications than the council has budgeted for, the successful applications may be scaled down to fit the budget rather than deleting applications which merit a grant.
8. Applications for grants of less than £250 can be made at any time but at least eight weeks should be allowed a grant application(s) to be considered by the parish council.
9. Grant applications over £250 will need to be made prior to 30 September each year for consideration by the council when preparing its budget for the following financial year.
10. The council requires all recipients of grants in excess of £500 to provide a written report of how the grant money has been used within 12 months of receipt of the grant.  This may take the form of an annual report or set of accounts that clearly identify the manner of spending.  The written report must be deposited with the clerk to the council and becomes a document which members of the public have a right to inspect under the provision of Section 228 of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).
11. Grant recipients may be requested to provide evidence of purchase.
12. Recipients may be asked to acknowledge council support on stationery/promotional material.
13. The parish council will usually only consider one application for each project in any one financial year.  However, an organisation may apply for funding for more than one project within a financial year.
14. If the organisation making the grant application owns or leases property which other bodies hire for use, the council will expect them to demonstrate that they make a distinction between not-for-profit and for-profit hirers in the rates they charge (businesses should not be subsidised with public funds).
15. The council may require an organisation requesting a grant to provide evidence of suitable workplace policies such as safeguarding, equal opportunities prior to the awarding of a grant.   
16. Extended grants – ie. grants that run over a period of more than one year will not normally be considered.  However, in exceptional circumstances the council may consider such an application which should be supported by a business plan or a service plan in respect of the period for which a grant is being sought.  If you wish to make an application for an extended grant please contact the clerk to the council in the first instance to discuss the matter.
17. Factors the council will take into account when considering an application:

• Has the parish council the power to make the grant?
• Will all or part of the parish or all or some of its inhabitants benefit?
• Has the applicant demonstrated some degree of fund-raising on a ‘self-help’ basis?
• Has the applicant applied to other authorities/sources for funding?
• If the applying group employs paid staff, is it a registered charity?

GENERAL GUIDANCE

1. The council will not normally make grants to organisations outside of the parish, unless there are direct benefits to the parish
2. Applications should be made for ‘one-off’ grants (ie. applications for small capital items or ‘one-off’ projects and should not result in recurring expenditure for the parish council)
3. Applicants may be expected to show a degree of ‘self-help’
4. When the council considers the grant applicants, it will arrange for applicants to attend the evaluation meeting if necessary to answer any questions.

APPLICATION FORM

Applicants must request a grant form from the clerk to the council and return it to the clerk, together with appropriate supplementary information.  Only an original, with original signatures, will be accepted.

PAYMENT OF GRANTS

In the case of organisations/projects receiving a single grant from the parish council, they have the choice of a single one-off payment, or the funding can be retained by the parish council and released by the clerk on receipt of an authorised request.

In the case of organisations/projects in receipt of match funding, of which the parish council is one of the partners/funding agencies, the parish council will only pay its contribution against an invoice.

Copy of Grant Form for information purposes

Send to:

Scothern Parish Council, 20 Monkton Way, Dunholme, Lincoln.  LN2 3QL

or

scothernpc@yahoo.co.uk

Please return your completed form to the above address/email before 30 September if your application is in excess of £250.00.

Grant applications are considered during budget discussions in November, for payment in the following May. You will be advised in February if your application has been successful.

Organisations receiving grant aid of more than £500 will be required to provide a brief report to council showing how any funding has been used, together with sight of any supporting paperwork requested.