CCFs Open Grants Programmes
1. Covid-19 Response Grants Programme
This is kindly funded by donations from individuals, businesses, charitable trusts and the National Emergencies Trust (NET).
How to apply to the covid-19 Response Programme?
Please read the eligibility guidance below, then click HERE to apply.
Support for disadvantaged and vulnerable people affected by the covid-19 outbreak
- Our covid-19 Response Grants Programme is for grants typically up to £10,000 * (level of funding increased as of 6/4/20). It is open for applications from charitable organisations supporting the ongoing needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable people affected by the covid-19 outbreak, to ensure that their health and wellbeing is maintained. This includes CICs (with three unrelated Directors)
- In addition, for this programme, we want to support small un-constituted emerging group who are responding positively to supporting disadvantaged communities affected by covid-19 at a very local level. If you can arrange for a larger charitable group to partner with you (for example (but not limited to) a church, another charity or community group) you can apply. The charitable organisation must be able to provide their annual accounts and have a bank account in their name. They must be willing to act as the lead organisation for the application and spend of the grant.
- For this programme,Town and Parish Councils are also eligible to apply
*If you have a covid-19 project which needs more than £10,000 – please email us at grants@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk providing a brief outline of your proposal and how we may contact you to discuss further. Strategic/coordinated larger grants may be considered. These applications will be developed in close association with the Foundation and where possible, may involve partnership working or linkages with other activities/organisaton.
Types of activities that we can consider under the covid-19 Response Grants Programmes include (but are not limited to):-
• community response coordination to covid-19
• additional volunteer costs
• additional costs of working remotely and adapting services for disadvantaged and vulnerable people delivered in the wider community
•support for lonely and vulnerable people who are self-isolating.
•support in the wider community for foodbanks for families and vulnerable people and organisations working to combat child hunger
For CCF’s other open programmes (please see the summary below and scroll down for how to apply). Do check back to this page regularly, for any further updates.
2. CCFs other Open Grants Programmes – scroll below for more detailed information
- Warrington Older Peoples Fund Small Grants Programme – Grants up to £2000 – – Open now applications supporting older people (see criteria below) can be submitted on a rolling basis – and will go to a panel bi-monthly
- Knutsford Fund Small Grants Programme Grants up to £2000 – Open now – applications supporting disadvantaged people in Knutsford can be submitted on a rolling basis – and will go to a panel bi-monthly
- Knutsford Fund Main Grants Programme Open now with a deadline of 30th June – grants up to £25,000 (typical grant c£8000)
- CCF Small Grants Programme Grants up to £2000 – Open now – applications supporting disadvantaged people across Cheshire and Warrington of all ages can be submitted on a rolling basis – and will go to a panel bi-monthly
- Warrington Older Peoples Fund Main Grants Programme (Open now – deadline 3rd August going to a September Panel)
3. CCF Programmes opening later in 2020
- Assura Community Fund Grants Programme (opening 15th June 2020 – see below for further details)
- MBNA Inspiring Education (more details to follow)
Please scroll down below to see further details and next steps for these programmes
Other useful information
We give grants to groups addressing priority needs within Cheshire and Warrington.
Through our grant making we aim to:
- Target community need that is informed by local research and local consultation
- Focus support to achieve maximum effectiveness
- Enhance community and voluntary activity in Cheshire
- Encourage best practice among community and voluntary groups
- Give help where it is needed most
We strive to make our grants process simple and easy for you. Our grants team are available to talk with you about your project idea and if the project is eligible to apply, and will suggest the most relevant grants programme for your application. Please contact us on 01606 330607 with any questions you may have.
Grants programmes open and close regularly so please do check the latest opportunities and deadlines. Applying to the most appropriate grants programme helps improve your chances of success and so we recommend you read and fully understand the guidelines for each programme.
For our Grant Making Complaints procedure please click HERE.
We recommend that you apply early within a grants programme application window – particularly where there may be a limited amount of funding available – as some programmes become over subscribed quickly. Wherever possible, avoid leaving the submission of your application to the last week or few days of the applications window as we have found that where an applicant has rushed in an application, it can affect the quality of the submission. It can also be beneficial for someone not closely connected to the project, to read the application, to see if they fully understand the project before it is finalised.
Capital projects
Recently we have found that there are less funds available to fund capital projects (building refurbishment or purchase of larger capital items). If you do have a capital project that you are considering applying for, please do talk to us about the likely chances of success with the project, before embarking on the application process.
Below you will find further details of our current open grants programmes including application deadlines. If you would like to discuss which fund is best for you, please call the grants team on 01606 330607 or email us at grants@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk
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Cheshire Community Foundation: Small Grants Programme (Bi-monthly) |
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| Grant type | Project costs (see Cheshire Community Foundation criteria below) |
| Fund supporters | Click HERE to see our current donors and key themes |
| Status | Open |
| Applications accepted from social enterprises? | Yes |
| Age range of beneficiaries supported by this programme | All ages |
| Minimum/maximum | £1-£2000 (NB: for a one off trip or luncheon, the maximum contribution is £250) please call to discuss if you have any queries regarding the amount to apply for |
| Frequency | Bi-monthly Panel meetings – January, March, May, July, September and November but if there are urgent covid-19 applications needing to be reviewed responsively, we will prioritise these. |
| Deadlines |
15th for every other month as above |
| Criteria | Please click HERE for the Grant Making Principles that apply to this Programme
This programme covers projects across the whole of Cheshire and Warrington for people of all ages
We are particularly interested in supporting smaller charities through this programme (with a turnover of less than £300,000) and to assist local grass roots organisations that support one, or more, of the following priority areas:
Homelessness |
| Application form | Please click HERE to go directly to the application form |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application | between two and ten weeks depending on when the application is received (if the applications misses a bi-monthly deadline it would carry forward to the next available Panel. |
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Cheshire Community Foundation: Main Grants Programme |
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| Grant type | Project costs (see Cheshire Community Foundation criteria below) |
| Fund supporters | Click HERE to see our current donors and key themes |
| Status | Currently closed |
| Applications accepted from social enterprises? | Yes |
| Age range of beneficiaries supported by this programme | All ages |
| Minimum/maximum | £1,000-£25,000 (Note: The average grant awarded is typically £8,000) |
| Frequency | TBC |
| Current deadline | no current deadline
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| Criteria |
Please click HERE for the Grant Making Principles that apply to this Programme
This programme covers projects across the whole of Cheshire and Warrington for people of all ages |
| Application form | As mentioned above, we are reliant on funding for this programme from a number of donor funds, some of which are restricted to a particular geography, disadvantage or need. We encourage applicants to contact us beforehand to discuss likely chances of success. Angela Richardson our Grants Director will be available to discuss your applications on 01606 330607. If we feel that there are potential donor funds available, we will provide you with a link to the application form. |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application |
TBC |
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Warrington Older Peoples Fund – Small Grants Programme (bi-monthly) |
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| Grant type | Project costs (see Cheshire Community Foundation criteria below) |
| Fund supporters | The Warrington Fund has been created through the transfer of two dormant Warrington Trusts Funds which have created the fund for this programme |
| Status | Open |
| Applications accepted from social enterprises? | Yes |
| Age range of beneficiaries supported by this programme | People over 50 in Warrington |
| Minimum/maximum | £1-£2000 (Note: for a one off trip or lunch the maximum contribution is £250) |
| Frequency | Bi-monthly Panel meetings – February, April, June, August, October, December but if there are urgent covid-19 applications needing to be reviewed responsively, we will process these more urgently |
| Current deadline | 15th for every other month as above |
| Criteria |
This programme is specifically for projects in Warrington supporting people over the age of 50
Please click HERE for the Grant Making Principles that apply to this Programme. We will accept projects supporting:
For additional criteria relevant to the Warrington Fund please click HERE |
| Application form | Please click HERE to go directly to the application form |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application | We aim to provide an outcome of your application within six weeks to eight from receipt of a complete application (including the required documents) |
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Warrington Older Peoples Fund – Main Grants Programme |
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| Grant type | Project costs (see Cheshire Community Foundation Criteria below) |
| Fund supporters | The Warrington Fund has been created through the transfer of two dormant Warrington Trusts Funds which have created the fund for this programme |
| Status | open |
| Applications accepted from social enterprises? | Yes |
| Age range of beneficiaries supported by this programme | People over 50 in Warrington |
| Minimum/maximum | £1,000 to £10,000 |
| Frequency | Two Grants Panels per year in March and September. For this programme applicants are asked to meet with the Grant Panel (this may be via a video call for the September round), please see our top 10 tips for this process HERE |
| Current deadline | For applications going to the September Grants Panel the deadline is midnight, Monday 3rd August 2020. |
| Criteria |
This programme is specifically for projects in Warrington supporting people over the age of 50 – we are particularly keen to prioritise activities, over one year, which focus on post-covid recovery/support for older people – including bereavement support, counselling, befriending and giving confidence to older people to re-join social activities (when the social distancing guidelines allow).
Please click HERE for the Grant Making Principles that apply to this Programme. For additional criteria relevant to the Warrington Fund please click HERE |
| Application form | Please click HERE for the application form |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application |
Week commencing 11th September projects would need to start their delivery from October 2020 for one year. |
Partner Grants Programmes Managed by Cheshire Community Foundation
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Knutsford Fund – Small Grants Programme (bi-monthly) |
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| Grant type | Project costs (see Cheshire Community Foundation Criteria below) |
| Fund supporters | This fund has been specifically set up by a number of donors wishing to support project activity in Knutsford and the surrounding rural area |
| Status | Open |
| Applications accepted from social enterprises? | Yes |
| Age range of beneficiaries supported by this programme | all ages |
| Minimum/maximum | £1-£2000 |
| Opening | Open ongoing |
| Deadline | Bi monthly 15th April, 15th June, 15th August, 15th October and 15th December |
| Criteria |
Before applying, please do read the Grant Making Principles eligibility criteria for this programme on the Cheshire Community Foundation’s website. The overall Impact that we are aiming to achieve in Knutsford is as follows:
Priority activities for the fund (agreed in consultation with a range of community groups and stakeholders in Knutsford) are those which:–
with particular emphasis on supporting:-
The geography of the fund will cover projects supporting beneficiaries in the four Knutsford wards of Nether, Norbury Booths, Over and Bexton and extend to the rural areas surrounding Knutsford town – including Tabley, Lower Peover, Tatton, Ollerton and Chelford where people rely on services delivered in Knutsford. Please do contact us if you are unsure if your project and beneficiairy support fits with The Knutsford Fund. |
| Application form | To access the Small Grants Application form please click HERE |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application | The month following submission i.e. for the 15th April 2020 deadline the first week in May 2020 |
| d has been specifically set up by a |
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Knutsford Fund – Main Grants Programme |
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| Grant type | Project costs (see Cheshire Community Foundation Criteria below) |
| Fund supporters | This fund has been specifically set up by a number of donors wishing to support project activity in Knutsford |
| Status | Open |
| Applications accepted from charitable organisations and social enterprises? | Yes |
| Minimum/Maximum | Minimum £2000 maximum £25,000 typical grant c £8000 |
| How to access application form | Online application form |
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Current deadline |
30th June |
| Criteria |
Before applying, please do read our Grant Making Principles eligibility criteria The overall Impact that we are aiming to achieve in Knutsford is as follows:
Priority activities for the fund (agreed in consultation with a range of community groups and stakeholders in Knutsford) are those which:–
with particular emphasis on supporting:-
The geography of the fund will cover projects supporting beneficiaries in the four Knutsford wards of Nether, Norbury Booths, Over and Bexton and extend to the rural areas surrounding Knutsford town – including Tabley, Lower Peover, Tatton, Ollerton and Chelford where people rely on services delivered in Knutsford. Please do contact us if you are unsure if your project and beneficiairy support fits with The Knutsford Fund. |
| Application form | Click HERE for the application form |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application | early August 2020 – projects should have a start date of September 2020 and have measures in place for covid-19 social distancing if this is still required at that time. |
Funding for specialised disability equipment for people of all ages |
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The Assura Community Fund |
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| Grant type | This programme will support health and wellbeing* projects for charitable organisations delivering services within a 15 mile radius of an Assura Healthcare building – click HERE to check your project activity location. |
| Fund supporters |
Cheshire Community Foundation is delighted to be working in partnership with Assura Plc to deliver this £550,000 grants programme to support health and wellbeing projects. |
| Status | launching on 15th June 2020 |
| Eligibile organistions | UK based registered charities, constituted community groups and other charitable organisations including Social Enterprises and CICs.
Note: The programme will only consider National charitable organisations, if they can demonstrate that they are the best organisation to tackle a particular issue or need and there is no local organisation able to deliver activities of a similar nature. |
| Minimum/Maximum grant size | £1000 to £5000 |
| Frequency | One initial grants round with the potential for a further round later in 2020 and in subsequent years |
| Current deadline | 14th September 2020
We reserve the right to close the programme early if we reach sufficient quantities and quality of applications sooner than the deadline – therefore groups are encouraged to start the process as soon as possible and apply early. |
| Programme Criteria * | Click HERE for the Assura Community Fund Programme Criteria (when the programme launches) which outlines the priorities for funding and the outcomes to be achieved. |
| Online Application form | Click HERE for the online application form. when the programme opens |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application | mid-November 2020 |
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MBNA Inspiring Education Programme |
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| Grant type | This programme will support project/activity costs in High Schools |
| Fund supporters |
MBNA Foundation |
| Status | Currently closed |
| Applications accepted from social enterprises? | Social enterprises may be a partners to a High School but the lead applicant must be a High School programme |
| Minimum/Maximum | TBC |
| Frequency | Currently closed |
| Current deadline | Currently closed |
| Programme Criteria | To be confirmed |
| Online Application form | To be confirmed |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application | Currently closed |