Community Grants Programme

The council launched a new £720,000 Community Resilience Fund in April to support community, voluntary and cultural organisations through the cost of living crisis.

The Kingston Community Resilience Fund fund aims to support voluntary, cultural and community groups to survive the cost of living crisis themselves, strengthening our communities and enabling them to thrive. 
Delivering community resilience in the context of this fund refers to services that promote independence, reduce social isolation and tackle poverty and / or inequality, often through the development of community support and networks that bring people together. There are three opportunities to apply for funding and three types of funding that can be applied for. The fund is running for one year the second opportunity has now closed.

Route 1 - Core Costs up to £3,000
Route 2 - Small Projects up to £5,000
Route 3 - Larger Projects up to £20,000 

Opportunity 1     Funding applications open 18 April - 31 May 2023 
Decisions and awards 1 June - 30 June 2023  COMPLETE

Opportunity 2     Funding applications open 1 Sept - 16 October 2023 CLOSED
Decisions and awards 17 October - 17 November 2023

Opportunity 3    Funding applications open 3 January - 12 February 2024
Decisions and awards 13 February - 12 March 2024

The second opportunity for funding has now closed.  With the next opportunity for applications open on 3 January 2024 and closing on 12 February 2024

Types of funding available

There are three types of funding available through the Community Resilience Fund:

Core costs - The council will reimburse an increase in an organisation’s rent or energy bills up to a maximum value of £3,000. Funding will be awarded based on how the organisation supports the borough to be resilient. For more details go to the prospectus below

Small projects - Up to £5,000 to maintain or develop a community resilience response. Organisations will provide a short proposal and funding will be awarded based on how the response supports the borough to be resilient. For more details go to the prospectus below

Large projects - £20,000 to develop a new approach (exceptional applications over £20k may be considered). Organisations will provide a detailed proposal and outcomes monitoring. Funding will be awarded based on how the new approach supports the borough to be resilient. For more details go to the prospectus below.

Funding Prospectus

The new funding prospectus,setting out who can apply and how to apply for each of the three types of funding, is available on our website.

or you can email strategy@kingston.gov.uk to request a copy

Application support 

Some community groups may be less confident making applications digitally - because of this, the Community Resilience Fund operates an “application support service”, through which you can access a face to face or video call appointment to complete the digital form. Groups can also access support to develop their bid. Please email strategy@kingston.gov.uk to request a meeting. Translators are also available through this service if they are required.

Please email strategy@kingston.gov.uk or call the contact centre on 0208 547 5000 if you would like more information about this support.

Appeals Process

The Kingston Community Resilience Fund aims to support community groups and cultural organisations through the cost of living crisis. It is available for one year, during the 2023/24 financial year.

The assessment process is rigorous, and bids are assessed according to the funding guidance. The applicant has the right to follow the route to appeal. The appeals process enables the funding applicant to submit questions to clarify the decisions made relating to their application. These questions must be submitted within 20 working days of the decision being issued.

The applicants’ enquiry must be issued in writing. It is preferred if this is provided by email to strategy@kingston.gov.uk, including the following information:
1. Application Reference
2. Funding applicant name and email address
3. Any questions relating to the decision

The appeals process is a 3 stage process. These stages are set out below. This process is to befollowed by the applicant and the Council.

Stage 1 - Clarification

The applicant will be invited to submit their clarification question(s) about the decision to
strategy@kingston.gov.uk or through the “application support service”

1. The enquiry must:

● Be submitted by either of the applicants named on the application
● State the application reference number
● Be submitted via either of the email addresses listed on the application (where the appeal is made through the “application support service” a copy of the appeal will be provided to both of these email addresses)
● Reflect the questions being posed by the applicant

At Stage 1, the response will be provided by the officer who provided the final review of the application.

The applicant will be provided with:

● The assessment recorded by the two council officers that reviewed the application
● Any further comment that was recorded by the council officer responsible for moderating and approving the decision (where further comment was recorded)
● Responses to further questions as set out by the applicant (where these questions are relevant to the decision made). If a question is not found to be relevant to the decision made, the reasoning for this will be set out in the response
● Further contextual information where relevant.

The applicant will receive this response within 10 working days.

Stage 2 - Review

If the applicant does not accept the Stage 1 response, they will be invited to resubmit their appeal as a Stage 2 appeal, making clear which of the originally submitted questions remain unanswered or require a more detailed response.

The Head of Service responsible for the Funding Programme will review the Stage 1 response and will provide a further response within 20 working days.

Stage 3 - Second Review (Appeal)

If the applicant does not accept as adequate the Stage 2 response, they will be invited to resubmit their appeal as a Stage 3 appeal, making clear which of the originally submitted questions remain unanswered or require a more detailed response.

The request for appeal will be presented to the Assistant Director for Culture, Communities and Engagement, along with the responses from Stage 1 Clarification and Stage 2 Review.

If it is deemed the applicant has grounds to appeal, the application will be re-assessed by the relevant Corporate Head of Service and the Assistant Director. The re-assessment of the application will not automatically result in a different decision.

A response resulting from the appeal and associated re-assessment of the application will be provided 20 working days after the applicant’s second review request has been received.

Previous funding

The first phase of funding is now complete and details of the grants awarded are available on our webpage. The second phase of funding decisions and awards will be awarded and announced between February and March 2024.