Grants and Donations Policy
Policy adopted by council on 5 June 2023 and last reviwed in March 2024.
This policy aims to simplify and quality assure Billingborough Parish Council’s procedures for ‘donation’ and ‘grant’ making. We make no differentiation between ‘Grants’ and ‘Donations’ but acknowledge that the latter is the usual form of award. For reasons of accountability, it is necessary to formalise the application process to ensure access, openness and fairness to the many groups and organisations which we are asked to support. The policy is informed by a number of key principles aimed at making our process more robust and user friendly.
AIM
To ensure that all our award making activity is,
• Open
• Transparent
• Fair
• Competitive
• Supports local organisations
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?
To be eligible for an award an organisation must,
• Be established for charitable, benevolent, social, cultural, recreational or philanthropic purposes
• Be able to provide a copy of its latest annual accounts and/or most recent Bank Statement. Accounts are to be checked and signed by a person independent of the Group
• Have a Bank Account operated by a minimum of at least two joint signatories.
WHAT CAN BE FUNDED?
• The project should be something that makes the local community a better place in which to live, work or visit.
• It should benefit people who live in the Parish.
• There must be clear evidence that local people support the project and are involved in carrying it out.
• Applications do not have to be from Groups that already exist. Help will be given to new or informal groups of people who have come together to undertake new projects and priority will be given to those who are doing something which adds value, rather than applications for running costs.
• With the exception of small community seeding or running costs, no revenue expenditure will be made available.
WHAT IS NOT ELIGIBLE:
• Support for individuals or private business projects.
• Projects that are the prime statutory responsibility of other government bodies.
• Projects that simply replace existing facilities with no significant improvement.
• Projects that improve or benefit privately owned land or property.
• Projects that have already been completed or will have been by the time the grant is issued.
HOW WILL DECISIONS BE MADE?
Unfortunately, we may not be able to fund all projects, as there may be more applications than there is money available. However, all applications will be considered carefully. They will be assessed based on the following criteria: -
• General eligibility – does the Council have a legal power to incur expenditure on the activity?
• Community Support - will all or part of the area, or some or all of the inhabitants, benefit?
• Has the applicant demonstrated initiative in fund raising and applied to other outside bodies for funding?
• Impact on key local need
• Feasibility
• If the body applying for grant aid employs staff, is it a registered charity?
OTHER CRITERIA AND INFORMATION
Billingborough Parish Council will set a budget for grants – the total amount available may vary from year to year, and monies may not always be available.
Requests will only be accepted by written application to the Clerk with supplementary information supplied as requested, this may involve applicants being invited to attend a Council meeting to explain the application to Councillors.
Applications should be made prior to October each year, for consideration when the Council is preparing its budget for the next financial year. Offers for the following financial year cannot be made until Council approves the budget estimates, usually in January
.
Where a grant of over £500 is given, the Council will require a written report of how the money has been used within 3 mths of the grant being paid – in the form of an annual report or set of accounts that clearly identify the expenditure. Receipts may be requested. This report must be given to the Clerk and will then become a document which members of the public have a right to inspect under the provision of section 228 of the Local Gov Act 1972 and the FOI Act 2000.
Should there be more applications than funds available, smaller amounts than have been applied for may be offered.
The Council will not normally make grants to organisations outside of the parish, unless there are direct benefits to the parish.
Recipients may be asked to acknowledge Council support on any promotional material.
The Council will only consider one application per project in one financial year, and grants that run over a period of more than one year will not normally be considered.
If the organisation applying employs staff, a full breakdown of the staffing costs must be included with the application.
Evidence of having a child protection policy in place may be requested, as part of the conditions of a grant being awarded.
Billingborough Parish Council reserves the right to vary the application of this Policy in circumstances where significant economic benefit to the district is demonstrated.