Grants Programmes

Supporting you through the application process

Current Programmes (scroll down for more information)

• Cheshire Community Foundation Main Grants Programme

• Cheshire Community Foundation Small Grants Programme

• Warrington Older Peoples Fund Main Grants Programme 

• Warrington Older Peoples Fund Small Grants Programme

• #iWill Programme 2018 (Formerly Youth Social Action) 

• MBNA Inspiring Education Programme

• High Sheriff Fund 2018/19

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

Cheshire Community Foundation: Small Grants Programme
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-£1000 (Note: for a one off trip or lunch the maximum contribution is £250)
Frequency	Rolling programme
Deadlines	No deadline ongoing programme
Criteria	Please click HERE for the Grant Making Principles that apply to this Programme
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 from receipt of a complete application (including the  required documents)

  

Cheshire Community Foundation: Main Grants Programme
Grant type	Project costs (see Cheshire Community Foundation criteria below)
Fund supporters	Click HERE to see our current donors and key themes
Status	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	Three Grants Panels per year in March, July and November
Current deadline	Reopens 3rd September
Criteria	Please click HERE for the Grant Making Principles that apply to this Programme
Application form	Please call 01606 330607 for a discussion about your proposed application. 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. 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	for the July 2018 round notification will be by 27th July 2018

 

Warrington Older Peoples Fund – Small Grants  Programme
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-£1000 (Note: for a one off trip or lunch the maximum contribution is £250)
Frequency	Rolling programme
Current deadline	No deadline – we aim to provide an outcome of your application within six weeks from receipt of a complete application
Criteria	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 to go directly to the application form
Date you will hear the outcome of your application	For the July Round we aim to provide an outcome by 27th July 2018

 

Warrington Older Peoples Fund – Main Grants  Programme
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	Closed
Applications accepted from social enterprises?	Yes
Age range of beneficiaries supported by this programme	People over 50 in Warrington
Minimum/maximum	£1,000 to typically £5,000
Frequency	Three Grants Panels per year in March, July and November. For this programme applicants are asked to come along to the Grant Panel, please see our top 10 tips for this process HERE
Current deadline	Reopens 3rd September
Criteria	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 to go directly to the application form
Date you will hear the outcome of your application	For the July Round we aim to provide an outcome by 27th July 2018

 

Partner Grants Programmes Managed by Cheshire Community Foundation

#iWill Programme 2018 (Formerly Youth Social Action)
Grant type	Project costs (see #iWill Criteria)
Fund supporters	Department for Culture Media & Sport Big Lottery Fund
Status	Open
Applications accepted from social enterprises?	Yes
Age range of beneficiaries supported by this programme	Young people 10 to 20 years (up to 25 for disabled young people)
Minimum/maximum (Total funding available)	£1,000-£10,000 (£90,000)
Opening	Open
Current deadline	The #iWill programme will now stay open until 14th September 2018 and all applications will go to the November round which will take place on 1st November
Criteria	Please click HERE for the Programme criteria and HERE for background to the Programme
Application form	Please click HERE to go directly to the application form
Date you will hear the outcome of your application	For the July Round by 27th July

 

Young Minds Matter 2017 – 2018
Grant type	Projects aimed at tackling mental health, specifically projects that focus on early intervention, coping mechanisms, outreach programmes in deprived areas, awareness building and increasing empathy and understanding of mental health issues experienced by young people.
Fund supporters	A number of our existing and new donors have supported this programme
Status	Closed
Applications accepted from social enterprises?	Yes
Age range of beneficiaries supported by this programme	5 to 20 years old (up to 25 for disabled young people)
Expected funding to be available	In May 2018 we awarded £200,000 for one year projects. In 2019 grantees who have successfully delivered projects in year one may be invited to apply for a share of a further £300,000 of funds. It is anticipated that 3 of the originally awarded projects will be awarded up to £50,000 each over 2 years (£100,000 in total per grantee).
Opening	This programme is now closed.
Current deadline	Full applications now being assessed
Criteria	Please click  Young Minds Matter Programme 2017 Fund Criteria for the grants criteria
Application form	N/A
Date you will hear the outcome of your application	Outcomes notified May 2018

 

Building A Stronger Britain Together Round 3
Grant type	Supporting civil society and community organisations who work to create more resilient communities, stand up to extremism in all its forms and offer vulnerable individuals a positive alternative, regardless of race, faith, sexuality, age and gender.
Fund supporters	Home Office
Status	Closed
Applications accepted from social enterprises?	Yes
Age range of beneficiaries supported by this programme	All ages
Minimum/Maximum	£1,000 – £14,999 for groups with an annual income less than £200,000 £15,000 – £50,000 for other groups with a priority of groups with less than £250,000
Opening	Check back at a later date
Current deadline	Closed – applications submitted are currently being assessed
Criteria	Please click HERE for the grants criteria
Application form	Click HERE for more information about the programme and to apply for a grant
Date you will hear the outcome of your application	The Home Office will advise groups of the outcome of their application from 05/04/2018

MBNA Inspiring Education Programme
Grant type	This programme is for State secondary education organisations (Schools, Academies and Multi Academy Trusts – referred to below collectively as “schools”) which have been nominated to apply by an MBNA Associate.   The aim of the programme is to provide increased extra-curricular opportunities for young people in secondary education, allowing them to develop their passion and inspiration for learning by encouraging them to try new activities at a time of increasing exam and social pressures.  The programme encourages applications which support vulnerable or disadvantaged young people to take part – particularly from areas which are most densely populated by MBNA staff, working at MBNA’s Chester Campus. Under the MBNA programme, over £600,000 will be made available over the next three years – with approximately £200,000 available in the first round in 2018.
Fund supporters	MBNA Foundation
Status	Open
Applications accepted from charitable organisations and social enterprises?	Charitable organisations including social enterprises can be a partner to an application, however a secondary education School, Academy or Multi-Academy Trust must be the lead applicant with the application in their name.
Minimum/Maximum	Maximum £8,000 with typical grant size being £6,500
Opening	Open now –  by nomination only
Current deadline	Applications must be submitted by midnight 28th September 2018
Criteria	Schools are strongly advised to download the MBNA Inspiring Education Programme Criteria document HERE before applying to see the full criteria.
Application form	Only an MBNA associate nominating your school, can provide your organiation with a link to the online application form.  We will only accept applications on this bespoke application form.
Date you will hear the outcome of your application	You will hear the outcome in December 2018. Projects must be ready to commence by January 2019.

High Sheriff Fund 2018/19
Grant type	This programme will support local creative arts and cultural charities, voluntary organisations and community groups delivering activities in Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, Halton and Warrington. Projects must be complete and fully spent including completing an online monitoring form by the 31st March 2019
Fund supporters	The High Sheriff of Cheshire
Status	Open
Applications accepted from social enterprises?	Yes
Minimum/Maximum	Maximum £2,000 with typical grant size being £1,000. The maximum grant size may be increased marginally. Applicants wishing to apply for a marginal increase must contact the Foundation before submitting their application.
Opening	Open
Current deadline	The programme will be open on an ongoing basis until sufficient applications to distribute the funds have been received. Should we receive three times the total value of applications the programme will be closed therefore groups are encouraged to apply early.
Criteria	Please download the High Sheriff Fund 2018/19 programme criteria HERE
Application form	Link will be available on 23rd July
Date you will hear the outcome of your application	Applications will be assessed and reviewed monthly. We aim to process you application within six to eight weeks of receipt of a fully complete application.