CCFs Open Grants Programmes
1. Covid-19 Response – short term emmergency support for smaller charities
- Grants up to £5000 – OPEN FOR A LIMITED TIME PERIOD TO 6-12-20 Supporting vulnerable people affected by the tiered and national lockdowns – with a focus on smaller charities applying with iincomes up to £500,000 (see criteria below). For eligibility enquiries please email grants@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk
2. Warrington Older People’s Programme Small Grants
- Grants up to £2000 – Supporting vulnerable people over the age of 50 in Warrington – open now applications can be submitted on a rolling basis – and will go to a panel bi-monthly (see criteria below). For eligibility enquiries please email grants@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk
- 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. For eligibility enquiries please email grants@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk
4. Cheshire Community Foundation 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. For eligibility enquiries please email grants@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk
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 |
| 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 over one year or less (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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Covid-19 Response Grants Programme – Shorter term response for smaller charities |
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| Grant type | Activity/Project/organisational costs (for full details see criteria below) Grants must be spent by 31/3/2021 at the latest |
| Fund supporters |
National Emergecy Trust, Department of Culture Media and Sport, Steve Morgan Foundation and other Cheshire Community Foundation Donors have kindly supported this programme £100,000 is available for projects £500 to £5,000
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| Status | OPEN |
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Applications accepted from social enterprises?CICs? Applications accepted from national organistions? |
Yes if there are a minimum of 3 unrelated directors and an asset lock on disolution. Regional or national organisations working in Cheshire are unlikely to be eligible – as the income threshold is £500,000 |
| Age range of beneficiaries supported by this programme | All ages |
| Minimum/maximum | £500 /£5000 |
| Frequency |
one opportunity to apply by the deadline |
| Current deadline |
Midnight Sunday 6th December 2020
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| Criteria |
Please click |HERE for the Programme Criteria that apply to this Programme.
This programme covers projects across the whole of Cheshire and Warrington for people of all ages |
| Application form | Please click HERE |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application |
16th December by email |
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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 over one year or less (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 | Closed – reopens January 2021 |
| 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 over one year |
| 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 | No current deadline |
| 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 when programme re-opens |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application |
Mid March 2021 |
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 to be spent over one year or less |
| 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 October 2020 deadline, you will hear the outcome in the first week in November 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 | currently closed |
| Applications accepted from charitable organisations and social enterprises? | Yes |
| Minimum/Maximum | Minimum £2000 maximum £25,000 typical grant c £8000 over one year |
| How to access application form | Online application form |
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Current deadline |
currently closed |
| 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 when the programme re-opens and HERE for the Programme Criteria |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application | TBC |
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 | Closed 14/9/2020 there will be a further round in 2021 |
| 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. For eligibility enquiries please email assura@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk
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| Minimum/Maximum grant size | £1000 to £5000 to be spent over one year |
| Frequency | One initial grants round in 2020 – with further rounds in subsequent years |
| Current deadline |
Closed. |
| Programme Criteria * | Click HERE for the Assura Community Fund Programme Criteria which outlines the priorities for funding and the outcomes to be achieved. |
| Online Application form | Click HERE for the online application form. |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your application | Applicants to the 2020 round will hear the outcome mid-November 2020 |
Cheshire Minds Matter |
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| Grant type | support to strengthen organistional capacity, test out new ways of working and innovation to survive and thrive. |
| Fund supporters |
This fund has been specifically set up by a number of donors wishing to capacity build organistions who support the mental health and wellbeing of vulnerable people affected by covid-19 |
| Status | CLOSED |
| Applications accepted from social enterprises? | yes |
| Minimum/Maximum |
£5000 minimum up to £15,000 for single organistions applying up to £50,000 for partnerships with a lead applicant |
| Frequency | one grants Panel |
| Current deadline | CLOSED |
| Programme Criteria | Click HERE for the Cheshire Minds Matter Programme Criteria which outlines the priorities for funding and the outcomes to be achieved. For eligibility euquiries please email cheshiremindsmatter@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk |
| Expression of Interest form | All expressions of interest have now been received and are being processed |
| Date you will hear the outcome of your Expression of Interest | 25th August groups will be notified if they have been selected to move forward to the full application stage. organistions will have until 30th September to submit their full application and will hear the outcome late November 2020 |