Ashford Borough Council

Ward Member Community Grant Scheme

Each Ashford Borough ward councillor has £3,000 a financial year (April to March) to give to local community projects and services that directly benefit residents of Ashford borough, with a minimum grant of £100. It pays for venue hire or equipment, for up to one year. There is no open application: you must first discuss your project with your ward councillor, who decides whether to fund it and then sends you the form.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: £100 – £3,000; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Light; short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

Organisations serving residents of Ashford Borough: not-for-profit organisations with formal charitable status; unincorporated organisations with a constitution and a formally appointed voluntary management committee; local branches of registered charities; parish or community councils, on condition that the funding provides additionality; and faith-based organisations where the project is open to the wider community and has no religious bias or religious recruitment attached
The council's funding policy adds that national charities cannot be funded
Not eligible: individuals, sole traders, organisations aimed at generating profits primarily for private distribution or that can pay profits to directors or shareholders, CICs limited by shares, mainstream public services such as health and education, and political parties
Your ward councillor must agree to support the project before you can apply

What it funds

Revenue funding to pay for venue hire
Capital funding to pay for the purchase of equipment

It is at the Ward Member's discretion which local projects and services to fund, as long as it is legal, does not conflict with council policy or priorities and directly benefits residents in Ashford Borough (for example a local primary school activity or a local sports club). Funding covers project costs for up to one year only.

What it will not fund

Projects that have already been delivered
Work that has already been carried out
Reimbursing money that has already been spent
National charities
Churches or faith groups' core purposes, e.g. religious instruction and recruitment

How to apply

Contact your Ashford Borough ward councillor to discuss your project
If the councillor agrees to give you a grant, they send you an application form
Complete the form and return it to your ward councillor to sign, indicating their support and authorising payment
The councillor sends the signed form to the council's Funding and Partnerships Officer, who processes payment
Your ward councillor may contact you later to see how the grant has been used

You cannot submit an application form until your ward councillor has agreed to give you a grant towards the project.

The council's policy says that in election years the fund account closes at the end of February, with no allocations between 1 March and the election; in other years the cut-off is 31 March.

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.