GrantRadar

Wessex Community Bank

Wessex Community Bank Community Grant

Quarterly grants (not loans) of up to £500 from the Wessex Community Bank Foundation, the charitable arm of the member-owned community bank (Hampshire Credit Union Ltd), for small grassroots groups, clubs, local charities and community projects in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Bournemouth, Reading, Newbury, Bracknell, Woking, Guildford and surrounding areas. Grants pay for specific, practical costs such as equipment, venue hire, accessibility or safety items and reusable resources, not running costs, wages or food. Rounds close on the 15th of March, June, September and December, with outcomes within 10 days.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £500
Deadline
58 days left
15 December
Effort
Light
short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

  • Small grassroots organisations, clubs, local charities and community projects that operate within Wessex Community Bank's common bond (membership) area, where the event, project or activity takes place
  • The grant guidance names Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Bournemouth, Reading, Newbury, Bracknell, Woking, Guildford and surrounding areas; the bank's postcode checker covers PO, SO, SP10-11, BH, GU and RG districts reaching into Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole, parts of Dorset, West Sussex (Chichester and Bognor areas), Surrey and Berkshire
  • Applications are considered from people living or working in the area on behalf of a local charity, community event, project or activity
  • National charities, schools, organisations funded wholly or partly by local government, organisations set up, supported or run by housing associations, corporate bodies, organisations with access to internal, statutory or corporate funding, socially disruptive groups, and organisations promoting political activities or religious beliefs are not normally supported
  • Payment is by cheque payable to the event, project or activity, never to individuals

What it funds

Specific, practical costs for activities with a clear and direct impact on community engagement, community development or local support:

  • Local projects
  • Community events
  • Practical support activities
  • Equipment
  • Venue hire
  • Accessibility items
  • Safety items
  • Reusable resources
  • Materials or other meaningful costs that help the activity take place

Examples given include venue hire and activity materials for a community event, equipment for a disability sports group, a camera for a riding group for disabled children, reusable games or tables for a community association, and repairing a leaking roof in a building used for disabled children's facilities.

Up to £500.

What it will not fund

  • Wages or salary costs
  • Food or refreshments
  • Household or organisational bills
  • General running costs
  • Coaching fees
  • Debt repayment
  • Fundraising costs where the benefit is not directly local
  • Vague or unclear costs, or applications where it is not clear what the grant will directly pay for
  • National charities
  • Schools
  • Organisations primarily or partly funded by local government, including local authorities and their organisations and subsidiaries
  • Organisations set up, supported or run by housing associations
  • Corporate bodies, and organisations with access to internal, statutory or corporate funding sources
  • Groups which may be considered socially disruptive
  • Organisations promoting political activities or religious beliefs
  • Grant payments to individuals
  • More than one application for the same beneficiary

How to apply

  1. Read the grant guidance on the Community Grants page
  2. Complete the online application form on the page, explaining what the grant will pay for, who will benefit, where the activity takes place, how it will make a difference, why the cost is needed and whether the item can be reused
  3. Submit by the 15th of March, June, September or December
  4. You should hear the outcome within 10 days of the closing date; payment is made by cheque payable to the event, project or activity within 14 days of the closing date

Any beneficiary must be told about the application and its conditions and agree to it going ahead; successful applicants are published on the bank's website and social media, and the bank may ask for its logo on related promotional material.

If the funded event is permanently cancelled, the grant must be refunded.

Have ready

  • Online application form

No supporting documents are listed in the guidance.

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