Harborough District Council

Ward Member Community and Rural Grants

Two new Harborough District Council grant schemes running through one application process. Each ward member holds an allocation of £35,000 to support projects in their ward, with a minimum grant of £500 and no stated ceiling; a separate £500,000 Rural Grant Scheme funds smaller villages and rural communities in eligible parishes, in the range £500 to £20,000. The two can be combined, and councillors can pool allocations across wards for larger projects. The distinctive part is the route: you approach your ward member first and they decide which projects to back — there is no open application.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: £500 – £20,000; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Moderate; full application with documents

Who can apply

Not-for-profit, constituted organisations whose community project will benefit residents in the Harborough district and which hold a bank account in the name of the organisation
For the Ward Member Community Grant the minimum grant is £500 and the project must benefit residents and communities in the relevant ward, with each ward member holding a £35,000 allocation
The Rural Grant Scheme is a separate £500,000 pot for smaller villages and rural communities, restricted to a published list of eligible parishes, with requests in the range £500 to £20,000; the council created it because rural areas received a smaller share of funding under previous programmes
The two grants can be combined, and councillors can combine allocations across wards for larger projects
In every case the decision on which projects to support rests with the ward member, not with council officers

What it funds

Capital or certain revenue projects, including:

Organising community events or activities to bring residents together
Making improvements to public spaces or community facilities, subject to the lease length requirements in the Applicant Guidance
Funding volunteer training or workshops to support local initiatives
Providing equipment or resources for community groups
Start-up funding to get projects going and provide evidence of need and impact for future funding, where the organisation can explain its future sustainability plans
Match funding for another grant, for example a feasibility study to support a Section 106 grant
Hosting workshops or delivering programmes, for example promoting health, education or wellbeing
Providing marketing and promotional material for groups and events
Supporting emergency or seasonal initiatives, such as distributing supplies during cold weather or resources for flood preparedness

What it will not fund

Regular or recurring expenditure to sustain an organisation's core operations, except where linked on a full cost-recovery basis to a specific eligible project
Party-political activities
Activities that promote or advance a single faith
Work that duplicates or replaces statutory services that public bodies are already required to provide
Retrospective costs
Purely commercial or profit-making activities
Activities that would create a future cost for Harborough District Council
Work that is beyond the capacity of council grants or other council staff or departments to undertake

How to apply

Use the council's published checklist to judge whether your organisation and project are likely to be ready for funding
Find your ward councillor on the council's Councillors by Ward page
Discuss the project with your ward member, explaining the project, the local need or opportunity it addresses, the expected community benefit and the amount of funding sought
If the ward member wishes to support it, they tell the Grants Officers
The Grants Officers send you a link to apply formally on the online grant portal, together with an application pack
Submit the formal application; officers then assess eligibility and complete due diligence checks
The application goes to the next scheduled internal moderation meeting, and the officers' summary is sent to the ward member, who makes the final funding decision
Complete the relevant terms and conditions or legal agreement before payment is made

ward members may also approach organisations with a suggested project, so the first move is not always yours

officers offer one-to-one appointments at grant surgeries to help develop a project, bookable through the council's website

Have ready

Evidence that the organisation is not-for-profit and constituted
A bank account in the name of the organisation
For improvements to public spaces or community facilities: evidence of a lease meeting the length requirements set out in the Applicant Guidance

the full requirements are in the Applicant Guidance, which the council sends with the application pack once a ward member has agreed to support the project

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.