Grants

Applying for a Parish Council Grant

Awarding grants is one of the key ways in which the Parish Council helps the Holme Valley community. The Parish Council wants to give grants that are in line with the Parish Council’s stated, wider objectives. So please read these guidelines before completing your application. If you’d like help or advice about grants, the Parish Council Clerking Team will be happy to help.

WHAT TYPES OF GRANTS DOES THE PARISH COUNCIL MAKE

The Parish Council awards grants from a number of different pots of money with different focuses.

• It awards money to community-led capital projects, such as works to buildings, improvements to premises, or the purchase of large-scale equipment from its Community Assets budget line, administered by the Finance and Management Committee. This currently (2024-2025) holds £53,000 for the year, with a maximum grant award of £5,000 per applicant. Very occasionally, in special circumstances, Council may award more money than this. Some grants from this fund are rolling, multi-year grants.

• The Finance and Management Committee also makes smaller awards to projects connected to local festivals and events, sporting and recreational clubs and music groups from its Projects and Events budget line. This holds £20,000/a with a maximum grant of £1,500. Some grants from this fund are rolling, multi-year grants.

• The Service Provision committee makes awards to local groups to celebrate Christmas in the Holme Valley. Larger grants are made to community groups displaying Christmas lights shows in the Holme Valley, whilst smaller awards are made to groups decorating community Christmas trees.

At other times, the Parish Council may create bespoke awards in reference to, for example, royal or national events like jubilees or commemorations.

The Parish Council can only award grants using certain legal powers. For example, the Parish Council can make awards to groups to promote entertainment and the arts under the Local Government Act 1972, s145. It can make awards to groups to provide and equip buildings for the use of clubs having athletic, social or educational objectives under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 s19. Where no other power is available, the Council may decide to use its power under Section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972, to award a grant where it feels that to do so will benefit some or all of its residents.

The Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer are happy to advise on which category grant applications will fall into, and if there is a relevant legal power.

Application forms are at the bottom of this page.

WHEN TO APPLY

• Grant applications are considered twice yearly in September and February. Closing dates for applications are 31st August and 31st January.
• In an emergency, an application can be submitted outside of that cycle.

WHO CAN APPLY

Voluntary groups and societies, clubs and not-for-profit organisations operating in the Holme Valley where the benefit will be or some or all of the residents of the Holme Valley are encouraged to apply.

The circumstances of Community Interest Companies (CICs) or similar organisations:

• CICs vary considerably and not all CICs will be considered for grants.
• Local projects, rooted in the community, run by volunteers, doing something for local people are encouraged to apply for grants.
• CICs which hold money for volunteer-led projects could be considered.
• Only CICs with a Constitution or Aims and Objectives document will be considered.
• Only companies and groups with volunteer directors or with a committee or board of trustees or management board will be considered.
• CICs which are run only by the paid workers themselves would likely be excluded.

CRITERIA

• The grant must meet the needs of the community and be of positive benefit.
• The applicant must be financially sustainable.
• The applicant must provide appropriate and realistic costing.
• The group/organisation must be able to use the grant effectively.

PRIORITIES

The Parish Council prioritises applications which:

• Promote social engagement
• Benefit those in greatest need
• Protect the social and physical environment of the Holme Valley
• Respect and improve the natural environment and biodiversity of the Holme Valley
• Protect and enhance the local heritage
• Address the climate emergency
• Promote prosperity through tourism and attracting visitors to the Holme Valley

EXCLUSIONS

We want to be able to respond to the needs of the community but there are some exclusions that guide our decisions.

1. Places of worship/religious bodies where the activity is for the furtherance of a religion or religious activity are likely to be excluded from awards.

• However, Holme Valley Parish Council will consider grant applications from groups who use church property for their activities and who need equipment, but not for improvements to the property itself. So, for instance, a craft group could apply for funding for a loom, but not for a new window or a toilet.

2. Schools and other Public Sector bodies are likely to be excluded. Holme Valley Parish Council will not award grants for items and activities previously provided by statutory bodies such as the Department for Education or the NHS. This would apply to the bodies themselves, like a school, or its supporters, – e.g. ‘friends’ groups or PTAs. This would apply to capital investment, or extra-curricular activities. Examples include:

• Activities/projects previously provided by statutory funds.
• Trips.
• Projects/activities which benefit only the school and its children and not the wider community. HOWEVER, if a school was, for instance, improving a garden for use by the whole neighbourhood, this will be considered.

3. Individuals, or individuals within a group, for example, one or two scouts from a local group going to an international jamboree. This is recognised as difficult to define precisely, but the cause must benefit a reasonably-sized group of valley residents. Our aim is that the grants we award should benefit as many people as possible.

4. Groups who have previously received grants but have failed to submit evidence of how the grant was used are unlikely to be considered for awards.

5. Groups that could reasonably have been expected to obtain funding from another more appropriate source, including their own reserves, are unlikely to be considered for awards.

6. For profit organisations.

However, the Parish Council is flexible on its awarding processes, and may treat applications as special cases, even if they might otherwise be liable for exclusion.

ACTIVITIES OR PROJECTS THAT ARE UNLIKELY TO BE CONSIDERED

Fundraising Campaigns. Any applications for fundraising, even if the ultimate beneficiary is a local individual or organisation, are unlikely to be considered. The Parish Council gives grants out that will pay expressly for specific items, services or projects identified by an applicant. It will not award money where the application has no designated target other than to simply raise money. The Parish Council is also unlikely to underwrite charity fund raiser events like black tie balls or local marathons. Funding these would amount to HVPC financing the event without having any control of whether the beneficiaries fulfil its criteria.

Projects where most of the beneficiaries are outside of the Holme Valley. Activities which spread beyond the valley will be judged on their merits.

Basic equipment for sports clubs / bands etc are unlikely to be considered for awards. The Parish Council feels that purchase of sporting equipment, musical equipment, uniforms and kits for adult members of organisations should be the responsibility of that organisation, group or club, and not the Parish Council. However, items which would benefit the wider community could be considered. So, for instance, instruments would be excluded but grants for trainer instruments for younger members, or improvements to club facilities used by non-members could be awarded.

ROLLING ANNUAL GRANTS

Some applications may be considered for Rolling Annual Grants. These may apply to a fixed term, or for the duration of a Council term.

• Rolling grants can be considered by the Finance & Management or Service Provision Committees.
• Rolling grants can be considered for any Community Asset or Community Benefit project or event.

Rolling Grants Process

• Initial applications will be made through the normal grant process.
• Where the application has been made for the same amount for 2 consecutive years, a rolling annual grant should be considered.
• If a similar grant has been applied for twice yearly and approved, i.e. 4 applications over the 2 consecutive years. The rolling grant should only be considered annually.
• If a grant for a project/event has been made for 2 years, but the budget spend is for slightly different items, a rolling grant form can still be considered.
• Once approved by the appropriate Council Committee, a rolling grant form, should be completed, and will be honoured for the term of the current Council.
• Groups will need to complete a brief application each year with an updated Financial Statement and appropriate Accounts.

YOUR APPLICATION

• Application forms can be downloaded or printed from the bottom of this page.
• Applications should include all of the information and all the supporting documentation that is requested, if available, – constitution, 6-months bank statements, three years accounts.
• To cut down on waste, we prefer to receive applications in digital format sent via email.
• We prefer applications and supporting documentation to be in PDF format where possible. Documents in Microsoft Word are also acceptable.
• People can apply in paper if they so wish, though this is wasteful of resources and creates work for the Clerk team as they have to scan the documents.

IF YOUR APPLICATION IS SUCCESSFUL

• Details of your project may be used in the Parish Council’s newsletter, social media, or on its website.
• Councillors may want to meet with you to see how public money has been spent.
• Grant recipients are expected to complete a Grant Evaluation Form after the project is complete, providing a report to the Council on how the grant has been spent. Since the grant is public money, receipts and invoices of expenditure are required to be kept. You can read all the Grant Evaluation Reports we have received in recent years below.

If you require any further guidance on completing the application form, the Parish Council Clerk or Deputy Clerk/RFO will be happy to help.

You can also download a rolling list of grants awarded in 2023 to 2024