GrantRadar

Cheshire Community Foundation

Liverpool Bay CCS Limited Community Benefit Fund

A new community benefit fund from Liverpool Bay CCS Limited (the carbon capture and storage project in the HyNet North West cluster), delivered by Cheshire Community Foundation for 24 wards around Chester, Ellesmere Port, Neston, Frodsham and Helsby in Cheshire West and Chester. Charities and not-for-profits can get up to £20,000 for projects of up to 12 months on education, the local environment, and/or local heritage and culture; about six or seven Cheshire grants are expected, many below the maximum. Year one of a four-year programme (2026-2029); deadline 2 November 2026. Flintshire projects apply separately through Community Foundation Wales.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £20,000
Closes in
15 days left
2 November
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Registered charities and recognised not-for-profit organisations with an appropriate governing document, delivering projects that benefit people living in these Cheshire West and Chester wards: Parkgate, Neston, Little Neston, Willaston & Thornton, Saughall & Mollington, Ledsham & Manor, Netherpool, Sutton Villages, Strawberry, Whitby Park, Central & Grange, Westminster, Whitby Groves, Wolverham, Gowy Rural, Blacon, Upton, Chester City & The Garden Quarter, Newton & Hoole, Handbridge Park, Lache, Great Boughton, Frodsham and Helsby
  • Applicants must show the capacity and experience to deliver, a clear project plan and realistic budget, and meet Cheshire Community Foundation's minimum standards: a governing document with charitable objectives, a not-for-profit clause and a dissolution clause or asset lock; at least three unrelated trustees or directors; annual accounts dated within the last 18 months; a bank account needing two unrelated signatories; and a safeguarding policy with a named lead
  • Organisations with income over £3 million or more than 12 months' unrestricted reserves rarely qualify

What it funds

Projects lasting up to 12 months that respond to an identified local need and deliver outcomes in at least one of three themes. Education:

  • E.g. after-school learning and homework clubs
  • Adult learning, digital inclusion or basic skills
  • STEM, arts, music or creative education
  • Careers education, mentoring or employability workshops for young people
  • Community libraries, reading or literacy projects
  • Financial literacy, wellbeing or life skills
  • Intergenerational learning

Looking after the local environment: e.g. community gardens, orchards or allotments; wildlife, biodiversity or pollinator initiatives; river, canal, woodland or park conservation and clean-ups; better access to green spaces, footpaths or nature trails; community recycling and waste reduction; citizen science; outdoor volunteering.

Celebrating local heritage and culture: e.g. heritage exhibitions, festivals or cultural events; oral histories, archives or digital collections; traditional arts, crafts, music or performance; celebrating diverse local cultures; heritage education; community museums or local history societies; heritage trails, interpretation boards or digital resources.

Funding can contribute to the direct costs of delivering eligible projects.

Particularly welcome: partnership working, engaging volunteers and residents, improving access for underrepresented communities, sustainable environmental or community assets, and a lasting legacy.

Priority may be given to work in Gowy Rural and Saughall & Mollington wards.

What it will not fund

  • Projects promoting political or religious beliefs
  • Applications made on behalf of individuals
  • Activities intended to build organisational reserves or surpluses
  • Ongoing staffing costs where no sustainable future funding is identified
  • Vehicles, electrical items or other ongoing operational costs without evidence that they will be self-sustaining after the grant period
  • Work that has already taken place, or will have taken place by the time the grant is awarded
  • Projects that cannot be completed within 12 months of receiving the grant
  • Work benefiting people outside the eligible wards (Flintshire projects apply via Community Foundation Wales)
  • Statutory bodies such as local authorities, hospitals and prisons (Cheshire Community Foundation policy; some exceptions for schools)
  • Medical treatment
  • Organisations funded by this programme applying again within 12 months of their grant's conclusion (normally)

How to apply

  1. Read the Year One Programme Brief and Cheshire Community Foundation's grantmaking policy
  2. Prepare answers using the Application Questions PDF (ten questions with maximum word counts of 100-1,000 words)
  3. Apply online via 'Click HERE To Apply' on the fund page (single-stage application) by 2 November 2026
  4. An assessor from Cheshire Community Foundation will be in touch to discuss your application (assessment 3 November-16 December 2026)
  5. Funding decisions are communicated in mid-February 2027; projects start on receipt of the grant and must finish within 12 months
  6. Submit an end-of-grant report (activities, outcomes, case studies or photos, actual spend against budget) when the project ends

Projects in Flintshire apply to Community Foundation Wales instead, not through this form.

Depending on demand, not every application will go through full assessment, so you may hear sooner.

Alternative ways of applying (e.g. paper, verbal, face-to-face) and support are available from grants@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk or 01606 330607.

Have ready

  • Constitution or governing document (charitable objectives, not-for-profit clause, dissolution clause or asset lock)
  • Most recent annual accounts, dated within the last 18 months
  • Bank statement in the organisation's name from the last 3 months
  • Safeguarding policy (with incident procedures and a named safeguarding lead)
  • Project plan and budget

The documents above are Cheshire Community Foundation's minimum standards for all applicants; the programme brief asks for 'any supporting information where appropriate' before the deadline, and site owner agreements if physical works are planned.

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