Voluntary and Community Sector Grants

Daventry District Council helps dozens of voluntary and community sector groups each year through funding for capital projects, events, small items of equipment, training, and expenses for volunteers.

Find out more about the range of support on offer to voluntary and community sector organisations below:

Latest news and updates

OVO Energy Women's Tour grants

Grants of up to £500 are available to community groups across Daventry District wishing to put on events to celebrate The OVO Energy Women's Tour.

The money can be used by a range of community and voluntary groups – as well as schools and pre-schools - to help organise community events and other activities linked with cycling or other forms of sport and activity.

They are being offered by Daventry District Council as part of its preparations for the event, which will see elite cyclists from the world’s top teams race from Rushden to Daventry on Thursday 14 June.

Groups from villages on the route may wish to use the grants to help them hold events on race day. Schools in communities elsewhere could use the grant to cover transport costs to get pupils to a good spot on the route, for instance.

The money could also be used to put on a sports day, a fun cycle ride or any other event to promote health and wellbeing in the run-up to 14 June or up to the end of July.

Download an application form 

Voluntary and Community Sector Grant Programme

Voluntary and community sector organisations in Daventry District in need of capital funding, event funding, or funding for small items of equipment, training or volunteer expenses are invited to apply to Daventry District Council's Voluntary and Community Sector Grant Programme. This is a discretionary scheme with all applications being scored against given criteria.

1. Capital Grants
The capital grants scheme is available for organisations needing assistance with capital investment. Up to 50% of the total costs for projects valued over £1,000 is available and applications are welcome at anytime throughout the year. To be eligible, the capital asset must be available in the District for a minimum of three years.  Grants can be from  £500 to a maximum of £15,000.  

For building works, the organisation must either own the property/land or have some form of long-term lease agreement with the land/building owner. Once the final agreement has been made to fund a particular project, an agreed percentage will be paid against each contractual invoice submitted up to the total amount of funding.  All funding must be claimed within 24 months of notification as failure to do so will result in the grant not being allocated.

• Capital Grant Funding Guidance Notes

• Capital Grant Funding Application Form 

 

2. One-off community event funding 
Grants of up to £500 are available to cover the up-front costs of putting on a community event. A key aim of these grants is to enable community groups to raise further funds from their community event. We also expect that community events are free to attend or affordable if there is a charge. Applications are welcome from voluntary and community groups within Daventry District at anytime throughout the year subject to terms and conditions (download an application form below for details).

Applications should be submitted between 4 - 16 weeks of the event date.  Applications submitted outside of this window will not be considered. We will do our best to notify applicants of a decision within 2 weeks. If the application is successful, the grant will be paid in one lump-sum to the organisation up-front.

• Download a One-off Event application form

• Useful guidance for planning a community event

 

3. Community Project Funding
Up to £1,000 funding is available to voluntary and community groups within Daventry District for the purchase of  small items of equipment, or for training and/or volunteer expenses. Applications are welcome at any time throughout the year.

• Download a Community Projects application form

4. Good Neighbours Scheme funding
Good Neighbour schemes are established and run by local people to provide day-to-day support for other residents who may need help on an occasional or regular basis. The Council has grant funding of up to £1,000 available for good neighbour schemes to get started.

• Find out more about the Good Neighbours Scheme

 

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Grant Eligibility Criteria

All of Daventry District Council's discretionary grants are open to voluntary and community groups, but exclude:

• Individuals
• Private businesses
• Statutory bodies
• Religious bodies where the monies will be used for religious purposes or religious buildings
• Political parties or political lobbying
• General fundraising or for unspecified purposes
• Local authority activities (including those of schools or parish councils).

All applicants need to address three of the Council’s corporate objectives:

• Improving our business economy, learning and skills
• Protect and enhance our environment
• Promote healthy, safe and strong communities and individuals.

Applicants should explain how their  project or service will address or assist with four other main themes; bringing communities together, access and equality, crime and disorder, and partnership working. 

You can view the terms and conditions in more detail on the application forms for each grant.

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Previous Grants

Grants awarded in the 2016/17 financial year:

• Capital Grants
• Revenue Grants
• One-Off Event Grants
• Community Project Grants

Grants awarded in the 2017/18 financial year:

• Capital Grants
• Revenue Grants
• One-Off Event Grants
• Community Project Grants

 

Good Neighbour Scheme awards granted in 2017/18: 

• Good Neighbour Scheme

Other sources of support

Daventry Town Centre Shop Front Improvement Grant

Daventry District Council is offering grants to businesses in Daventry town centre to help give their shops a makeover. Funding of up to £20,000, which must be matched by 50%, is available up to 31 October 2018.

Find out more on the Shop Front Improvement Grant page

Section 106 Funding
A Section 106 agreement is a means of securing funding for community infrastructure from developers. The agreement will be very specific about what the funding is for and, in most cases, who should spend it. However, there is sometimes scope for section 106 funding to be paid over to local community groups if they manage and maintain the community asset that is specified in a given agreement. A typical example would be funding for sport and recreation facilities. 

Therefore, if  you are from a community group and are considering making an application for a capital grant, please contact  our Community Development Co-ordinator on communitygrants@daventrydc.gov.uk or 01327 871100 first in order to see if the project can be funded from section 106 funds instead of from Daventry District Council’s limited capital grant budget. 

If section 106 funds can be utilised, you will still have to use the Capital Grant Funding Application Form to apply for the funding and the same scoring criteria will be applied to judge their application. If successful, you will have to sign an agreement to ensure the section 106 funds are spent as per the terms of the section 106 agreement.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
The CIL is a new means of funding community infrastructure. Parish councils and local groups that manage community assets, such as the village hall, the playing field and the pocket park might be able to use CIL to expand and improve their community asset. Find out more information about CIL

Advice and information

For further advice on any of the above or advice on other sources of funding, please contact our Community Development Co-Ordinator.

• Email: communitygrants@daventrydc.gov.uk 
• Phone: 01327 302312

 

For all other advice, including start up advice, business planning, accreditation and volunteering visit Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire