Grant Awarding Policy
Document Ref: POL/GRANT
Status: Approved
Version: 2.0
Date of approval: 12/05/25
Minute reference: 015/M/25
Date of next review: March 2027
1. Introduction and purpose
1.1 Heighington Parish Council sets an annual budget for the provision of grants each year and the total amount available will vary from year to year. Grants are made out of the funds provided by Heighington council taxpayers (via the precept) and accordingly Council has a responsibility to satisfy itself that grants will provide benefit to the local community.
1.2 A grant is any payment or gift made by the Parish Council to an organisation for a specific purpose.
1.3 This policy outlines the scope, eligibility and conditions of grants provided by Heighington Parish Council.
2 Eligibility
2.1 To be eligible the group must be:
- a charity, voluntary or community organisation
- formally constituted and have a management committee made up of volunteers
2.2 The group should be based in Heighington or if not demonstrate that the project or objective will directly benefit the parish.
2.3 The Parish Council will not award grants to:
- private individuals
- commercial organisations
- political parties
- religious organisations (unless for a purpose which does not discriminate on grounds of belief)
- projects for which organisations have a statutory duty
3 Grant criteria
3.1 The Council awards grants, at its absolute discretion, to organisations which can demonstrate a clear need for financial support to achieve a project or objective which will benefit the parish.
3.2 This includes but is not limited to projects within the parish which will provide a service, enhance the quality of life or improve the environment.
3.3 Grants will not be made for:
- general donations or day-to-day administrative running costs
- projects or objectives which have already been completed (retrospective grants)
3.4 The Parish Council will not normally fund 100% of the cost of a project and evidence of other funding will be required (e.g. contributions from the district or county council, local business sponsorship, other fundraising events such as jumble sales, etc).
3.5 Ongoing commitments to award grants in future years will not be made. A fresh application will be required on each occasion.
3.6 The Parish Council will consider only one application for each project in any one financial year. However, an organisation may apply for funding for more than one project within a financial year.
4 The application procedure
4.1 All funding applications for the current financial year must be submitted to the Council by 30th June and will be reviewed at July’s Full Council meeting. Applications received beyond that date may be considered, at Council’s discretion and subject to there still being funding available.
4.2 Application forms for the relevant financial year can be found on our website, or by contacting the parish office. A new version of the application form, for the new financial year, will be published at the start of that new financial year.
4.3 The following items should be submitted:
- a completed application form
- a copy of the organisation’s most recent detailed income and expenditure accounts, and of its latest bank statement
4.4 The application form should clearly state the purpose of the grant and how it will be used. Applications must state how the grant will benefit the parish and residents of Heighington.
4.5 An organisation which has not previously applied to the Parish Council must submit a copy of its constitution. If any organisation makes a change to its previously submitted constitution, a copy of the amended constitution should be included with the next application submitted.
4.6 The Parish Council would welcome a representative attending the relevant Full Council meeting to answer any questions which may arise whilst the grant application is being considered.
5 The assessment procedure
5.1 The Council will assess all grant applications at its July Full Council meeting, or at any subsequent meeting, should there be further applications received which are eligible for consideration, as per 4.1.
5.2 Council will consider applications based on the criteria set in this policy and the quality of the application.
5.3 The Council may make the award of any grant or subsidy subject to such additional conditions and requirements as it considers appropriate.
5.4 The Council reserves the right to refuse any grant application which it considers to be inappropriate, or against the objectives of the Council.
5.5 In the event of there being more applications than the council has budgeted for, the successful applications may be scaled down to fit the budget.
5.6 Nothing contained within this policy shall prevent the Council from exercising, at any time, its existing power in respect of providing financial assistance or grants to local or national organisations under the General Power of Competence (GPC), Section 1(1) of the Localism Act 2011. Local councils that are eligible to exercise the General Power of Competence are only permitted to use the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, Section 137(3) to contribute to UK charities, public sector funds and public appeals.
6 Conditions of grants
6.1 The council requires all recipients of grants to confirm within 12 months that the grant funds have been spent in the manner as per the application.
6.2 Details of which organisations have received a grant during the year will be included in the Annual Report shared at the Annual Parish Meeting.
6.3 Grant recipients are required to acknowledge council support on all promotional material relating to the project to which the grant relates.
Version Control:
Version: 2.0
Amended by: Clerk
Amendments: Periodic review. Section 4 – addition of information on how the application form can be found.
Date approved: 09/10/23
Version: 1.0
Document creation by: Clerk
Date approved: 09/10/23