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Find Funding from Charitable Organisations

If you are a small charity or community group and you are looking to complete a project that will benefit the environment then you might want to access this document which collates some potential sources of funding.

Swale Grants

Community Infrastructure Grants

Swale Borough Council has reopened our Community Infrastructure Grants (CIG) scheme, which aims to support projects that improve and encourage the use of important community assets. The grants can cover up top 75% of the capital costs of the projects, and are available in sums of between £1,000 and £10,000.

Eligible projects include those which aim to increase visitor numbers, provide a new service, or reduce the carbon footprint of a facility, and comes with a free low-carbon advice to help groups planning to apply for warm and sustainable measures prepare for their application.

Examples of past projects the CIG has funded, as well as application guidance, can be found via the Swale Borough Council website.

We've set up the community infrastructure grant scheme using funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and the Rural Economic Prosperity Fund (REPF).

Grants are available for capital invetsment only and will prioritise investment for community benefits. We will award grants of between £1,000 and £7,000 to organisations to cover no more than 75% of the costs of the works. Such projects that  will be awarded funding include:

• warm and sustainable, for example grants for insulation, green power or LED lighting in community facilities
• fit for purpose, for example alterations, improvements and new facilities
• digitally connected, for example fast broadband and Wi-Fi
• welcome and work, for example café development or creating or improving meeting and workspace
• mobility, for example electric vehicle charging points or bike storage

This project is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Swale Members Grants

You can apply for a members grant online, but before you do this make sure you have contacted your local borough Councillor, as well as read the guidance notes.

Town Centre Action Grants

We have focused funding on supporting programmes of activity to improve our town centres.

Grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 will be available through the Town Centre Action Grant scheme to support stakeholders to develop plans and support activity that contributes to this.

We will focus the scheme on the principal town centres of Sittingbourne, Sheerness and Faversham but will also support activity in the smaller historic centres of Queenborough and Milton Regis.

We are encouraging town centre stakeholders to come together to develop co-ordinated action plans and projects that come forward as part of such will be prioritised.

The scheme will also prioritise projects which include:

• local arts, cultural, heritage and creative events, and activities in and around the town centres that create interest and promote footfall and usage
• promotional campaigns to encourage visits and people to explore the town centres, increasing interest and footfall
• projects that enhance the existing cultural, historic and heritage offer, helping re-enforce a sense of place and encourage visitors

This is a discretionary grant scheme, and all decisions are based on our assessment of applications to determine if the required criteria are met.

If you would like further advice on this scheme and how it will be applied, please contact the Economic Development and External Funding Team at prosperityfund@swale.gov.uk

You can apply by completing the Town Centre Action Grants application form, which can then be emailed directly to prosperity@swale.gov.uk

Before you do this please ensure you have read the guidance notes