Health and Wellbeing Grants

The Parish Council introduced a Health and Wellbeing budget for the Community Engagement Committee in the year 2020/21. The Community Engagement Committee in 2022/23 awarded grants of £500 towards Age UK social activties scheme, Befriended free thermal blanket project and Hurstpierpoint Gymnastic Club to support families who need financial help to attend the club. 

How to apply for a Health and Wellbeing Grants

The budget for the Health and Wellbeing grants will be spent directly on projects to benefit our community and some will be awarded in grants.

As ever we very much welcome your ideas and suggestions with regards to grants – please do get in touch with us via the Parish Office.

Accompanying Information for Applicants for Grant Aid 2023/24

Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common Parish Council aims to operate a grant aid system.  Applications are considered by the Community Engagement Committee of the Council.  The total budget for the Grant Aid Scheme 2023/24 is £4000; grants awarded to local groups will be in the range of £50 – £500.
N.B Applications for Grants relating to large capital projects will be considered separately under different terms and conditions from those for the smaller Community Grants discussed in this document.

The Community Engagement Committees diary 2023/24:

All grant applications must be received two weeks before the Committee date. Any received after the cut-off date will be deferred to the next Community Engagement Meeting.

The system aims to:

• Help the Parish’s voluntary groups to improve their effectiveness.
• Help to ensure the provision of services needed by the Parish’s residents via the voluntary sector.
• Support organisations which meet the needs of people experiencing social and economic difficulties.

The Parish Council values the diversity and strengths of the local voluntary sector and acknowledges its independent role in the community as:

• A source of valuable services.
• A means of enabling people to work together.
• A channel for campaigning and advocacy.
• The Parish Council defines a voluntary group as a ‘not-for-profit’ organisation, set up and run by a voluntary, unpaid management committee.

This document gives the Parish Council’s general funding principles and details its expectations of all groups in receipt of grant aid:

• Groups applying for grant aid should note:
• Grants are made only to groups meeting the needs of the Parish’s residents.
• Grants are made to directly benefit people residing within the parish.
• Grants are made to meet deficits on future running costs, to encourage new groups or new projects, or to help with the costs of some one-off expenditure.
• Grants will only be made to groups which need financial help.  Accumulated reserves will be considered when grant levels are decided. Grants are normally made for one year’s expenditure at a time and should be spent within the year for the purpose for which they were given.  They should not be added, wholly or partly, to reserves unless part of a previously approved programme of funding for a particular project.

If a grant is to be considered as part of a larger expenditure/project, clear evidence of additional monies must be shown before any grant is released.

Grants will not be made to groups which operate for private gain or are connected with any political party; grants may be made to religious organisations for social or welfare purposes, but not to cover the costs of evangelising, worship or conversion.

Voluntary Groups grant-aided by the Parish Council are required to:

• Ensure efficient levels of administration, hold regular meetings, keep minutes and circulate information to group members.
• Keep proper accounts.  Grants may only be made to groups which have submitted satisfactory accounts, unless the group is recently formed.
• Be open to eligible users, as defined by the group’s constitution.
• Be inclusive and promote equal opportunities for all members of our community.
• Recruit and support volunteers where appropriate.
• Acknowledge the Parish Council’s support in annual reports.

Supporting Documents:

All applications should be accompanied by a copy of the financial details of the requesting organisation.

Account details showing income, expenditure and the level of balances:

• Bank Statements.
• Quote(s) for any proposed work.
• Receipts for expenditure.

Please note if you are not a registered charity we will still request to see an income and expenditure statement or balance sheet. When your grant application is received, all supporting documentation will be checked. If any paperwork is missing the Parish Office will contact you. Any additional documents must be submitted a week before the date of the meeting otherwise it will be deferred to the next Community Engagement date.

Community Engagement Meeting:
A representative from the organisation is invited to attend the Community Engagement Meeting held at the Village Centre. The representative will be invited to speak about the grant and questions may be asked from the Councillors.

Outcomes:
The Community Engagement committee gift grants on the agreement of receiving the following information from the gifted organisation within a year of the grant being awarded:

• At least one photograph (where possible) which shows how the grant was spent.
• Written summary on what happened with the project, who was involved, who benefited?

All outcomes should be submitted to the Parish Office. Please note this information may be used in newsletters, Hurst Life articles or the Parish Council website.

NB. Anyone who attends the Community Engagement meeting must declare an interest in a grant before it is discussed.