HELP AVAILABLE FOR VILLAGE HALL CAPITAL PROJECTS
05/06/24 update
Help is available for new buildings, capital improvements or major work. Routine repair and maintenance work is not usually eligible for grant aid.
All Councils will expect the Town/Parish Councils to provide help for the project as far as possible. Normally grant aid is only available for work which has not yet been contracted or started.
SOUTH OXFORDSHIRE- Capital Grants Scheme
The council provides grants to voluntary and community organisations to help build thriving communities and improve the quality of life for the residents of South Oxfordshire through projects that; improve economic and community well-being, provides infrastructure that meets local need, that protect and restore our natural world; and take action on the climate emergency. Please click on the link below for deadline dates.
You can apply for a minimum of £1,000 and up to 50 per cent of the cost of capital projects (excluding vehicles). Projects may include but not limited to buying, building or replacing long term assets (buildings, play areas and equipment) or making energy saving improvements for the benefit of South Oxfordshire residents.
The council’s total budget for this round of funding is £320,000, and the maximum you can apply for is £75,000 but no more than 50% of your total project cost.
Details on their website here: https://www.southoxon.gov.uk/south-oxfordshire-district-council/community-support/grants/capital-grants/
Contact them via email: [email protected]
Or tel:01235 422405
Councillor Community Support Grants- Closed for the moment
Organisations are invited to apply for grants from £250 up to a maximum of £5,000 from each councillor (budget permitting). For wards with multiple councillors, applications may be considered by all ward members together to determine funding and you can apply to multiple councillors/wards should your project benefit a wider area. Up to 100 per cent of the total cost of a project can be funded and it must be completed within 12 months of the award decision. If your project is for a capital project, the total project cost must be £15,000 or less.
Email: [email protected]
tel:01235 422405
Please look on the website for more details.
VALE OF WHITE HORSE
Climate Action Fund 2023/24 https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/vale-of-white-horse-district-council/community-support/grants/climate-action-fund/ -grants from £250 to £5,000 on offer per project to help tackle climate change, with a total of £100,000 available this year.
Projects can focus on areas such as: • The natural environment • Energy • Waste and consumption • Transport and travel.
The White Horse Lottery is a way to raise funds, have a look.
WEST OXFORDSHIRE
Westhive -Online community fundraising https://www.spacehive.com/movement/westhive/ for residents. Local businesses, the council and other organisations can pledge money alongside each other to crowdfund projects that improve local places.
CHERWELL DISTRICT COUNCIL
Cherwell District Council Community Infrastructure Capital Grant Fund.
No Capital Grant Funding information on their website at present.
There are grants for Community Centres through the Community Association Grants https://www.cherwell.gov.uk/info/118/communities/793/community-grants
Cherwell Lottery for good causes might be worth exploring.
https://www.cherwell.gov.uk/info/118/communities/629/cherwell-lottery/3
https://www.cherwelllottery.co.uk/good-causes
OXFORD CITY COUNCIL
There is some funding here on Oxford City Councils Website :
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/community-and-living/funding-and-grants
The Foyle Foundation offer grants for capital projects but ask that you apply to them towards the end of your fundraising when you have other successful bids already.
Councillor Priority Fund (Oxfordshire County Council) –https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/community-and-living/thriving-communities/councillor-priority-fund
Up to £15,000. Can cover village hall refurbishment and purchasing of equipment. Open until 30th November 2024
TIMESCALE FOR TAKING UP GRANTS/LOAN
Each authority will have its own time limit for the taking up of grants/loans – usually within 1 or at most 2 years.
VAT
It is possible to make arrangements with the parish council and the grant aiding authority concerned, for grants required for a project planned by and for the benefit of an independent village hall committee to be applied for by and be paid over to their parish council for the parish council to use, contract and pay for a part of the proposed building work on the village hall, (please note CDC do not operate this arrangement). If this is done, the parish council can reclaim the VAT paid on that part of the work. (It should be noted that VAT cannot be reclaimed on work paid for by the parish council if the parish council has not contracted the work or if it uses funds handed over to it by the independent village hall committee including grants applied for by and awarded to the village hall committee – either at the time or after the event.) CFO has produced an information paper on this subject.
Copies are available from Tessa Hall.
TOWN/PARISH COUNCILS
Town/Parish Councils have power under Section 19 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 to give grants or loans for work at village halls or in support of their annual expenses. There is no limit on the amount that may be given.
The County and District Councils will expect as far as possible to see evidence of Town/Parish Council support for a project.
ACRE Platinum Jubilee Fund
Grants from £7,500 to £75,000 to support larger improvement projects to rural community buildings in England such as full refits and extensions
This scheme is for those responsible for rural community buildings who wish to make substantive improvements to their building, whether that be extensions or improving energy efficiency and contributing to Net Zero. Improvements include:
Upgrading facilities • Extending facilities • Improving facilities • Purchasing capital items
Awards can be made to cover 20% of eligible project costs, up to a maximum amount of £75,000. The balance of funding for the works proposed must be in place, or at least confirmed within 6 months of receiving a grant offer. We recommend you only submit an application to the fund once the project is ready to proceed, and you have everything in place.
The fund is for the following organisations:
- Registered Charities
- Charitable Trusts
- Charitable Incorporated Organisations
- Community Associations which are registered Charities
- Multi-purpose Church Halls, Scout and Guide buildings are also eligible where they are open for the whole community, there is no alternative village hall in the vicinity, they are not single use and they are clearly advertised as multi- purpose.
- Charitable Companies
- Parish or Town Councils where they are the sole trustee of a charitable village hall.
- Parochial Church Councils where improvement works are being carried out to a church and where there is no village hall or other meeting place in the community. Capital works should be to enable the building to be used for a range of community activities.
GROUNDWORKS FUNDING
https://www.groundwork.org.uk/vcseenergyefficiency/
To improve the energy efficiency of your building, however you need to be running at least a couple of frontline services in your hall- please contact them if you would like to find out if what your running is eligible [email protected] or call 0121 237 5894
Useful webinars about the funding.
https://www.groundwork.org.uk/vcse-webinars/
THE BIG LOTTERY
Fund projects that support people and communities across the UK to Thrive. One of the criteria is to ‘improving the places that matter to communities.’ They want you to involve your community in your project.
They will grant a smaller project from £300 to £10,000 to support what matters to people and communities and also funding for larger projects of £10,000 for small scale refurbishments and equipment. Details here https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding
Details of all their funding programmes https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes
You can check with their advice teams to see if your project is likely to be funded
https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/about/contact-us
THE LANDFILL COMMUNITIES FUND (LCF)
The Landfill Communities Fund is a scheme for funding community and environmental projects, predominantly within ten miles of landfill sites.
Since 1996 landfill operators have had to pay tax on every tonne of waste they dispose of, the idea being to encourage everyone to create less waste and to recycle or reuse more. Fortunately, they are allowed to give part of their landfill tax to certain types of good causes.
These funds are managed through distributive environmental bodies within the rules of the scheme.
Entrust is the landfill regulator body, Please have a look on their website here https://www.entrust.org.uk/ to check eligibility by putting in your halls address and find which extraction sites are near you and who will fund you.
Third Party Funding
In order to get a grant from any of the following organisations, for each project an independent third party must provide a cash sum to the landfill operator of 10.2% of the grant sought in order to “trigger” funds available through landfill community’s fund. Oxfordshire environmental bodies are listed below:-
FCC Communities Foundation (Previously known as WREN), Have a ‘Community Action Fund’ for England, to support community projects. For buildings within 10 miles of a landfill site.
You can apply for funding of between £2,000 – £100,000 through their Grant Scheme with three deadline dates throughout the year. https://fcccommunitiesfoundation.org.uk/funds/fcc-community-action-fund
See if you are eligible by completing the pre-application eligibility check https://fcccommunitiesfoundation.org.uk/apply
Valencia Communities Fund (used to be Viridor Credits)
https://www.valenciacommunitiesfund.co.uk/
Please use the postcode checker as not all areas in Oxfordshire are eligible.
BIFFA AWARD
Grants are awarded to projects that improve community spaces, cultural facilities and places for outdoor recreation. They wish to make sure that everyone has access to high quality local community facilities. Your community space may need improvements in order to increase the range of services on offer to the local community. They support projects which are within 7 miles of a Biffa operation (based in Didcot).
Further guidance and details can be found on website https://www.biffa-award.org/community-buildings/ or by telephone 01636 670000 Email : [email protected]
Please note: Biffaward is unable to fund requests to help an existing facility meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act
DORIS FIELD CHARITABLE TRUST
There is no need to be a registered charity to apply to this Trust for funding with
Trustees usually meeting 2/3 times a year. Grants up to £1,000 have been given to a number of Oxfordshire projects including village halls over the last few years.
Further details and application forms are available from Emily Greig, Blake Morgan LLP, Seacourt Tower, West Way, Oxford OX2 0FB. Tel: 01865 254286 [email protected]
OXFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION .
Nothing suitable at present but you can sign up for updates on funding here https://oxfordshire.org/ocfgrants/
HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS
Green Square Green Square Accord https://www.greensquareaccord.co.uk/communities/community-investment/community-impact-fund/
Can fund equipment to improve the lives of people in your community
email [email protected]
Cottsway Community Fund – Available in West Oxfordshire. The fund provides small grants for starting up projects, for events, development, equipment and materials for community groups which operate within the areas covered by Cottsway. Funding is available of up to £2,500 for projects/groups who meet the eligibility criteria covering one of the following areas:-
Young people and children
Addressing rural problems/priorities
Preventing debt, providing financial advice and reducing poverty
Contribute towards climate change and energy efficiency
For further information call Freephone 0800 876 6366 or visit https://cottsway.co.uk/in-the-community/community-fund/
Sovereign Housing Association
There is funding and skills training available for Sovereign residents wanting to make changes and improvements in their community. The funding will go towards getting a project off the ground and volunteers will be supported with skills training and resources to make a sustainable difference. This could be a lunch club, craft club a stay and play group.
Please contact Community Engagement Officer Jenny Bowley on 07788 977636 or [email protected]
TRUSTHOUSE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
Community Centres and Village Hall’s in the most deprived urban areas can get salary or running costs as long as they offer a range of activities for all ages.
https://www.trusthousecharitablefoundation.org.uk/about/who-and-what-we-fund
GARFIELD WESTON FOUNDATION
Normally, their capital grants are no more than 10% of a total project cost. However, for local community projects (e.g. village halls, community centres, places of worship, etc.), grants are likely to be no greater than £30,000 regardless of the project size. They say that evidence of local fundraising activity shows how much your local community values your organisation. So please tell them what you are doing to raise funds locally – it’s the activity not necessarily the amounts they are interested in. If you want to apply for £100,000 or over, they expect your annual income or project costs to be over £1 million. Please refer to their Major Grant guidance. Further guidelines and information required by the Foundation are available on website
For grant applicants – Garfield Weston Foundation
or telephone 020 7399 6565. Incomplete applications may result in delays to the outcome, so please read guidelines carefully.
ASDA FOUNDATION Investing in Places and Spaces Grant.
From £5,000 to £25,000 available to Community Groups,
They say, If you have a project in mind that could benefit from a higher value grant and you meet all the criteria outlined above, you are welcome to contact your local Community Champion to discuss your project. You can use Asda Store Locator to find the details for your local superstore. If the local Community Champion would like to nominate your project, they will be back in touch to complete a Stage 1 Eligibility Questionnaire with you.
There is a limited funding allocation per region, and it is at the discretion of the Community Champion as to whether they put your group/project forward as a nomination for this grant opportunity – a submission of interest is not confirmation of success and funding is not guaranteed.
Find out more here: https://www.asdafoundation.org/how-to-apply
THE MIDCOUNTIES CO-OPERATIVE
The Midcounties Co-operative believes in using its profits for the development of the business, the benefit of the members and to support the community that they trade with.
You can apply for a ‘Local Community Grant’ grants of up to £250 as long as you are based in their trading area and provide a benefit to the local community, they can also provide volunteers for you if you need an extra pair of hands.
There are grants of £2,000 available too at certain times of the year from the ‘Community Funding’ grant.
Individual branches also have community chequebooks which the local manager can use at their discretion to provide the means for purchase of small items by local groups e.g. raffle prizes, refreshments etc.
More details are available on website www.midcounties.coop or phone 01902 405700.
SCREWFIX FOUNDATION
The Screwfix Foundation is offering small grants of up to £5,000 to local charities, including projects that fix, repair, maintain and improve properties and community facilities for the benefit of those in need. For more information visit their website. http://www.screwfix.com/jsp/landing.jsp?id=ScrewfixFoundation
BERNARD SUNLEY CHARITABLE TRUST
This trust has been supporting village hall projects around the country but will only assist registered charities. When applying a letter should be included to explain what the charity does, and its objectives, an explanation of the need and purpose of the project, costings, size of grant needed and how much has been raised already and from whom and how it is planned to raise any shortfall. The principal areas of interest of the Foundation is assisting community projects, the disadvantaged and where there is a focus on environmental issues.
To obtain further information of how to apply, contact the Trust at 4th Floor, 20 Berkeley Square, London W1J 6LH Tel 0207 408 2198 or email [email protected]
DHL UK
DHL UK Match it! Fund. To apply you must be a DHL employee working with a voluntary organisation. In Oxfordshire DHL is based on Milton Park in Abingdon
Match it! Fund. https://www.dhlukfoundation.org/apply-for-match-it/#faqs
Oxfordshire CAG -Community Action Groups
Have a special projects grant which is administered by CAG project staff, if you have a CAG group in your community, you may be able to approach them and see if they can support you with a project. They act on issues including waste, transport, food, energy, biodiversity and social justice. The grants that they can get are for under £500 and match funding is needed.
B & Q Foundation
Grants of up to £5,000 to improve community spaces.
https://bqfoundation.org.uk/apply-for-a-grant/
Postcode Society Trust
https://www.postcodesocietytrust.org.uk/apply-for-a-grant
Grants of up to £25,000 for charities and community interest companies (CiCs) ‘responding to the climate emergency’.
Morrisons Foundation
https://www.morrisonsfoundation.com/grant-funding-request/
Grants for projects up to £25,000, for charities only. Project must help the community. Grant cannot part fund a project.
Aviva Climate Fund by Aviva Community Fund
https://www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/about-us
Up to £50,000 for charities or social enterprises to speed up Net Zero carbon actions
Magic Little Grants
https://localgiving.org/magic-little-grants
£500 to charities for climate emergency & promoting sustainability’. Apply once per year.
The National Lottery climate Action Fund.
https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/climate-action-fund-energy
Blenheim Green Bank
The Green Community Bursary – available for smaller scale local, community projects to improve sustainability and/or adapt to or mitigate climate change https://www.blenheim.org/community/charity-community-bursary/
The National Churches Trust
Will consider halls attached to the church building or as an extension- but not separate halls.
https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/get-support/grants/grants-faq
TAX RELIEF ON CHARITABLE GIVING
Gift Aid
If an individual taxpayer or a company gives a lump sum donation of any size to a charity, the charity can reclaim tax from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on its ‘gross equivalent – its value before tax was deducted at the basic rate if a Gift Aid Scheme is used.
For further details and guidance on Gift Aid please visit their website: www.hmrc.gov.uk or by Tel: 0845 3020203 (select option 2)
LOANS
ACRE- RURAL COMMUNITY BUILDINGS LOAN FUND
The loan fund is operated by ACRE, CFO’s national organisation. Loans are usually available to halls established on charitable trusts for work to provide a new hall or to improve an existing one. The interest rate changes daily and depends on the length of term of the loan. The rate will be fixed at the rate on the day the cheque is issued and will remain for the whole term of the loan. Please contact Tessa Hall: [email protected] if you require further details.
Blenheim Green Loan
Zero interest loans of up to £10,000 for any constituted body ie parish or town councils, schools or charities within Oxfordshire
https://www.blenheim.org/community/charity-community-bursary/ Closed at the moment
Big Energy Saving Loans
https://www.bigissue.com/invest/big-energy-saving-loans/
Loan finance between £20,000 to £150,000 for social enterprises and charities in England, for energy efficiency and renewable energy installation.
AND DON’T FORGET YOUR VILLAGE COMMUNITY
Keep the village informed of your plans and progress from the outset. Appeal for help “in kind” as well as in donations and attendance at fund raising events. There may be professional expertise, skilled labour or sources of cheap materials you can call on.
PLANNING A VILLAGE HALL BUILDING PROJECT –
CHECKLIST OF POINTS TO CONSIDER
The sources of help for building projects mentioned in this leaflet are sympathetic to the needs of village hall management committees and will try to help as far as they can. But to be able to consider your application effectively and, if resources are limited, to weigh it up alongside other applications, grant aiding bodies especially will want to see as far as possible efficient forward planning of your project and evidence of the consultation that has taken place in the community which supports your project.