GrantRadar

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council

Community Facilities, Programmes and Activities Grant

One-year grants from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council for constituted community and voluntary groups whose primary aim is community development: up to £5,000 towards the running costs of a community facility they own or lease, and up to £5,000 (including up to £1,000 insurance) for a year-long community programme, up to £10,000 in total. This call covers 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2028 and closes on 1 December 2026.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £10,000
Deadline
39 days left
1 December
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Properly constituted community, voluntary and charitable groups in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough with community development as the primary objective of their application
  • The group must be democratically accountable through regular public meetings, hold an AGM, have a constitution with a decision-making process acceptable to the council, be run by a publicly elected committee with at least a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, show a fair and equitable ethos under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, not duplicate other activity, and produce independently verified or certified annual accounts (or a bank statement if new)
  • The Facilities element needs ownership or a lease/rental agreement covering 2026-2028; groups using a building casually can claim room hire under Programmes instead
  • Groups need a child protection or vulnerable adults policy where relevant, and £2m public liability and £10m employer's liability cover (or be willing to get it)

What it funds

  • Community Facilities (up to £5,000), for groups that own or lease a facility: rent; utility bills including heating, rates and water charges, phone, internet, broadband and website hosting; cleaning materials; stationery, postage, photocopying and promotional materials for the premises; health and safety such as refuse collection and hygiene services; maintenance (max £1,000); licences; buildings and contents, public and employer's liability insurance; materials for programmes; essential small equipment (max £500 a year); accountants' fees for running the premises (max £500); volunteer expenses (max £10 a day)
  • Community Programmes and Activities (up to £5,000 including insurance): room or venue hire (not internal hire); training and capacity building; hospitality on a study visit or trip (£25 per person per day); advertising, publicity, newsletters and website costs for the programme; transport hire; volunteer expenses (max £10 a day); materials; essential small equipment (max £500 a year); hire of PA, staging or equipment for summer programmes; trips and entrance fees; best practice visits; Access NI checks; public and employer's liability and contents insurance
  • Summer programmes of five or more days between June and September, as part of the Programmes and Activities element

What it will not fund

  • Salary costs, including seasonal staff
  • Unrelated professional fees (solicitors, etc.)
  • Bank charges, loans, deficits, fines or other financial liabilities
  • Refurbishments
  • Balloons and single-use plastics
  • Flags and bunting without prior approval
  • Minibus insurance, or rent or hire of the group's own bus
  • Rent or hire of the group's own facility, or other internal charges (unless normally hired commercially to outside groups)
  • Alcohol
  • Projects outside the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area
  • Thematic activity such as arts, culture or sport unless it is of a community development nature
  • Projects that are clearly the responsibility of another statutory organisation
  • Retrospective expenditure
  • Late applications
  • For-profit enterprises, or organisations that can share profits with members or shareholders
  • Groups with a council Small Grant for the same period
  • Groups without community development as their primary objective
  • Costs already covered by other funding
  • Charity or fundraising events
  • Projects that duplicate what already exists
  • Payments to staff, volunteers or board members for goods or services
  • Organisations that did not manage a previous council grant in line with its Letter of Offer

How to apply

  1. Read the guidance notes and the council's Grants and Funding Policy
  2. Book a Grant Information Session if possible (held in April, July and October)
  3. Register on the council's Flexigrant portal if your group has not used it before
  4. Complete the single online application form, applying for the Facilities element, the Programmes element or both
  5. Submit by Tuesday 1 December 2026; late applications cannot be accepted
  6. If eligibility information is missing you will be given 10 days to provide it

two-year applications return next year for 2028-2030, alongside a 12-month call.

Have ready

  • Governing document (constitution)
  • Independently verified or certified annual accounts, or a bank statement for new groups
  • Evidence of ownership or a lease/rental agreement covering 2026-2028 (Facilities element)
  • Child protection and/or vulnerable adults policy, where the project involves them

the guidance lists these as eligibility conditions; the exact uploads are set out in the Flexigrant form.

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