Chelmsford City Council

Active Chelmsford Small Grants Fund

Grants of up to £750 from Chelmsford City Council's Active Chelmsford team for projects that get inactive residents of the Chelmsford district moving: new activity sessions, volunteer training, equipment, new teams or junior sections. Voluntary and sports clubs, charities, local organisations and sole traders can apply through a short online form. The same page offers a separate Hardship Fund of up to £500 for clubs supporting members who cannot afford to take part because of the cost of living.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: Up to £750; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Light; short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

Voluntary and sports clubs, charities and local organisations or formally constituted clubs, and sole traders, running projects for residents of the Chelmsford district
Projects must be based in and mainly benefit the Chelmsford area
The separate Hardship Fund (up to £500) is for voluntary and sports clubs, charities and local organisations or formally constituted clubs, to support members on a low income who live in Chelmsford and the surrounding area and are struggling to keep taking part because of the cost of living

What it funds

Projects or work aimed at engaging inactive residents of the Chelmsford district, for example:

Facilitating a return to activity after lockdown
Tackling inactivity
Increasing female participation in sport and physical activity
Encouraging residents to take part in sport and physical activity in outdoor spaces
Using sport for social change, including targeting specific audiences such as young people, difficult to reach audiences and those not in education employment or training (NEETS)
Supporting active aging
Using sport to improve mental health
The grants could be used for:
Introducing new physical activity projects
Running training courses to upskill your volunteers or workforce
Buying new equipment
Creating new sporting opportunities
Developing new sports club sections or teams, such as a new junior section

What it will not fund

Projects based in or predominantly benefiting residents outside the Chelmsford area
Items that will only benefit an individual, such as bursaries, or kit and equipment that is not shared (playing kits for new teams or teams that have not had a kit may be funded; kit for training or coaches and other clothing is unlikely to be)
Salaries (coaching costs or fixed-term posts for a specific project may be funded if clearly additional to usual spending and the coaches are appropriately qualified)
Used road vehicles
Activities the government has a legal obligation to fund, such as sports sessions in school during curriculum time, or replacing state funding
Projects that take place or incur costs before the date of the offer letter, including deposits and costs of applying
Contingency costs and VAT you can recover
Projects involving travel to another country where a similar sporting benefit can be gained in England
Sponsorship, endowments or loan repayments

How to apply

Apply online through the Small Grant Fund form linked from the Active Chelmsford grant funding page

for the Hardship Fund, use the separate Hardship Fund form on the same page. If neither fund suits, the team's enquiry form can signpost you to other funding. Questions: contact form or 01245 606569.

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