GrantRadar

Cornwall Community Foundation

Manor Solar Farm Fund

The Manor Solar Farm Fund, a community benefit fund from renewable energy company Low Carbon administered by Cornwall Community Foundation, gives grants of £250 to £5,000 to charities, CICs and community groups in Charlestown, Grampound & Creed, St Ewe, St Mewan, St Dennis, St Stephen-in-Brannel, Sticker, Treverbyn and central St Austell. Grants must be spent on improving the sustainability and/or carbon footprint of the organisation or community, and projects with an educational element are favoured. Projects must run between 7 December 2026 and 6 December 2027; the deadline is 21 October 2026.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£250 – £5,000
Closes in
3 days left
21 October
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Charities, CICs and community and voluntary groups working in Charlestown, Grampound & Creed, St Ewe, St Mewan, St Dennis, St Stephen-in-Brannel, Sticker, Treverbyn and central St Austell (Cornwall)
  • Projects and groups must be based in one of these areas and be for the benefit of people within them
  • Applicants must also meet CCF's general eligibility criteria: a not-for-profit organisation whose activities are charitable (registration as a charity is not required) with a governing document setting out its objectives and including a dissolution clause; at least three unrelated management committee members, trustees or directors; up-to-date annual accounts (new groups without accounts can say so); a bank account in the organisation's name needing two unrelated signatories; and a safeguarding policy naming the safeguarding lead
  • CICs need a social purpose and asset lock in their articles, at least three unconnected directors (most unpaid), up-to-date Companies House filings and a system so paid directors do not set their own pay
  • Organisations with significant free reserves, statutory bodies (including schools and parish and town councils), and groups with an overdue CCF monitoring report are not eligible

What it funds

  • Projects that improve the sustainability and/or carbon footprint of the applicant organisation or the community; the grant must be spent on this
  • Projects including an educational element will be looked upon favourably
  • Full cost recovery elements and core costs such as room rental and salaries can be included if towards a specific project, but not for an organisation's ongoing costs
  • Projects must start from 7 December 2026 and end by 6 December 2027 (and be completed within one year of the grant offer unless agreed otherwise)

What it will not fund

  • Ongoing core costs of an organisation not tied to a specific project
  • Projects or groups not based in one of the listed areas
  • Commercial profit-making organisations
  • Organisations with significant free reserves
  • Statutory/public sector organisations such as health authorities, schools, hospitals, parish and town councils
  • Contributions to an endowment, deficit funding or repayment of loans
  • Grant-making organisations or bodies that fundraise or distribute grants for other organisations
  • Retrospective grants
  • Regional offices of national bodies that do not benefit local people
  • Organisations whose beneficiaries are not people
  • Organisations or projects intended to influence people's religious choices or promote a particular belief system
  • The promotion of political causes

How to apply

  1. Check your organisation against CCF's general eligibility criteria (the online eligibility checker helps) and the fund's specific criteria
  2. Gather the supporting documents as PDFs
  3. Complete the online application form via the 'Apply now' button on the grant page before the deadline (you can save and return to it)
  4. You receive an automated confirmation, then an email acknowledging the application, asking for anything missing and inviting you to register for the grant portal
  5. CCF's grants team (sometimes external assessors) assesses the application, and may phone or visit
  6. The grants panel makes the decision and all applicants are told the outcome by email
  7. If successful, return the signed declaration; the grant is paid by BACS

An online monitoring form is due within a year of the funding or when the project ends, whichever is sooner.

For help or accessible submission contact the grants team on 01566 779333 or grants@cornwallfoundation.com.

Have ready

  • Constitution, Articles of Association or set of rules (with a dissolution clause)
  • List of trustees, management committee members or directors (at least three unrelated people, with any connections highlighted)
  • Most recent annual accounts
  • Bank statement dated within the last three months showing account name, number and sort code
  • Up-to-date safeguarding policy naming the designated safeguarding lead
  • Two competitive quotes for any single item of expenditure over £2,000

Documents are uploaded as PDFs; CCF keeps checked documents on file for three years, and new organisations without accounts should say so in the application.

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