Introduction

Frodsham Town Council makes grants to local voluntary organisations that work to:

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Promote social inclusion by building dialogue & understanding; and/or

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Increase skills & activities to aid social inclusion; and/or

Objectives

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To promote social inclusion and achievement of excellence by awarding grants of between £20 and £500* to local groups & individuals; and

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To support the work and development of smaller voluntary groups by giving priority to groups whose income per year is less than £7,000 and who do not employ paid staff.

* Small grants will enable us to support more groups.

Process

On receipt of an application (forms available from the Town Council Office), the Finance Committee will assess it against the Criteria for Award of Grants at its next scheduled meeting and recommend acceptance/rejection to the Town Council.

The Town Council will consider the Finance Committee’s recommendation(s) at its next following meeting.

Grants will be paid by cheque to successful applicants and they will be asked to confirm that they accept the terms & conditions of the grant. The Council reserves the right to monitor the use of the award.

We will always give a reason for rejecting an application. An applicant may re-apply at any time.

Criteria for Award of Grants

Where the applicant is an organisation (club/society etc), it must:

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Be either a voluntary/community group with unpaid management (committee, board or trustees) who do not receive any financial benefit from the group;

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Have a constitution (or similar document);

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Have a bank or building society account where at least two people are needed to sign cheques;

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Have clear objectives and be able to demonstrate effective planning and budgeting; and

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Be able to show that the majority of people benefiting from the funding will be residents of Frodsham.

Where the application is for a grant for repair/improvement of buildings or property or for building new premises, the organisation must show that they have a secure right to remain in that building or property (ownership/lease). Leaseholders must be able to demonstrate that the lease is secure for at least:

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5 years for improvements to existing buildings/property costing less than £20,000;

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10 years for new buildings costing less than £20,000;

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20 years for new buildings and/or work costing over £20,000.

Where the applicant is an individual, he/she must be:

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A member of a recognised group or organisation connected with the cultural activity they are applying to participate in;

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Able to demonstrate that the activity they are applying to participate in has the potential to benefit the local community;

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Able to demonstrate that they have the potential to achieve the highest level in their chosen activity.

Exclusions

Applications will not be considered:

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For day-to-day running costs;

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Retrospectively (where money has been already spent or committed);

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If the organisation or individual was awarded a grant for the same reason within the past twelve months.