£10,000 - £30,000 Capital Community Grant
Our large community capital grant supports community investment programmes and to deliver innovative projects that put our customers on a pathway to improving their lives.
This grant is now closed for applications. In the meantime, please read the grant information and contact us if you would like to discuss a future application.
our key themes
We welcome applications for projects that meet one of our key themes:
- Health and wellbeing: improving mental and physical health as well as building the confidence of individuals
- Employability and training: including volunteering and other upskilling activities
- Increasing household income: activities including debt and benefit advice, feeding families and employing people
- A greener, fairer future: by reducing, reusing and recycling
- Tackling inequalities as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.
Applicants can apply for funds between £10,000 – £30,000. The total grant allocation for this open call is £90,000, the allocation will be spread equally between central, east, and west areas of County Durham where believe housing have properties. Please see the locations list below for the breakdown of areas.
Projects must include both capital and revenue elements. A minimum of 60%, and a maximum of 90% of the grant request must be for capital elements.
A minimum of 30% of beneficiaries need to be believe housing tenants to satisfy the criteria.
If planning permission is required for capital works, this must be approved at application stage. If successful, we will ask for a copy of the planning confirmation.
If you are successful in receiving grant funding, we will require two independent quotes. We strongly recommend that you get accurate costings or an estimate at your application stage.
In each community, the key themes may need to be addressed in different ways. We will give priority to those projects and activities which we believe will best achieve our key themes with special consideration being given to those which support the development of sustainable communities and new projects and activities with limited resources.
There is one open call for the Community Investment Capital Grant per year and it is likely to be oversubscribed, therefore, please consider all the criteria carefully before applying. It is important that your application demonstrates a Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely (SMART) approach and contains a clear and concise account of your proposal. We have included prompts and examples in the application form to assist you.
We encourage potential applicants to contact us first to discuss your project idea before submitting your application. You can contact the Community Investment Team by email: communitygrant@believehousing.co.uk or call us on 0300 1311 999.
locations
All projects must be deliverable in one of our patch areas, these are central Durham, east Durham and west Durham. Please see the list below for a breakdown.
The funding will be split equally across the areas, we ask when completing the application form that you select which area your project will cover.
Some potential projects may have delivery outcomes that overlap in the delivery areas, which may be acceptable, but please discuss this with the Community Investment Team prior to submitting your application. Groups can apply for multiple projects in more than one area.
| Bearpark | Belmont | Bowburn | Brandon |
| Brasside | Cassop | Carrville | Claypath |
| Coxhoe | Browney | Crossgate | Croxdale |
| Elvet | Esh Winning | Framwellgate Moor | Gilesgate |
| Gilesgate Moor | High Pittington | Kelloe | Langley Moor |
| Littletown | Ludworth | Meadowfield | Merryoaks |
| Neville’s Cross | New Brancepeth | Newton Hall | Pity Me |
| Quarrington Hill | Shadforth | Sherburn Village | Sherburn Hill |
| Sherburn Road | Sherburn Road Estate | Ushaw Moor | West Rainton |
| Witton Gilbert |
| Blackhall Colliery | Blackhall Rocks | Hesleden | Acre Rigg |
| Chapel Hill | Denehouse | Eden Hill | Howletch |
| Passfield | Sunny Blunts | Horden | Easington Colliery |
| Easington Village | Shotton Colliery | South Hetton | Haswell |
| Haswell Plough | Hawthorn | Wheatley Hill | Thornley |
| Wingate | Water Avens Village | Station Town | Deaf Hill |
| Trimdon Colliery | Trimdon Village | Byron | Denehouse |
| Deneside | Eastlea | Harbour | Milldale |
| Northlea | Parkside | Princess Road | Seaton |
| Westlea | Dawdon | Murton | Dalton-le-Dale |
| Hutton Henry | Castle Eden | Hetton-le-Hole | Chilton Moor |
| Newbottle | Ryhope |
| Auckland Park | Billy Row | Bishop Auckland | Chilton |
| Coundon | Coundon Grange | Crook | Eldon Lane |
| Escomb | Fir Tree | Frosterley | Howden-le-Wear |
| Hunwick | Leeholme | Middlestone Moor | Oakenshaw |
| Stanhope | Sunnybrow | Tindale Crescent | Tow Law |
| Wearhead | West Auckland | Westgate | Willington |
| Witton-Le-Wear | Wolsingham |
more about the grant
capital
Capital costs can include either new assets or the refurbishment of existing assets. These are expected to have community benefit and to have an expected lifespan of at least 5 years.
Examples include:
- New buildings and repairs/refurbishment to existing buildings
- Outdoor space including play areas, gyms, gardens and allotments
- Assets for community/village halls e.g. PA and audio/visual systems or broadband routers, cabling and installation
- Vehicles
- Artwork for public display/enjoyment.
revenue
Revenue funding can be used where there is no lasting asset.
Examples include:
- Setting up classes/sessions/activities/events for the community
- Travel costs which are integral to an activity
- Buying equipment for a community-based activity
- Marketing and promotion to increase participation in activities
- On-costs of the project (e.g. staff time, equipment and resources required to deliver the project).
If you are unsure as to whether your proposal includes eligible costs, please contact us to discuss this with us so we can advise prior to submitting your application.
We welcome applications from:
- Registered and exempt charities
- Community groups
- Schools
- Social enterprises
- Voluntary groups
- Community interest companies.
- Town, parish or community councils
- Faith groups/venues.
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept applications from:
- Individuals
- Private companies, or “for-profit” organisations
- Party political groups
- Those whose objectives and ethos do not meet believe housing’s charitable objectives.
To help you prepare to make a large grant application please consider some of the following questions:
- What are you wanting to do, where and when will it happen and who will take part?
- How do you know there is a need for your project? Do you already have a waiting list of people or do you have more demand for your service? Have you found a gap in services for the people you support? Have people come to you asking for this support? Do you work with other organisations who will direct people towards your activity? How do you know people will access your project?
- How will you ensure at least 30% of your beneficiaries are believe customers?
- What are your project milestones? These are the key stages in your project and could be planning, marketing and publicity, purchase of resources, delivery of events, recruitment of volunteers etc.
- What are your targets? How many people will benefit from your activities? Targets should be specific and outline how often an activity takes place – for example, we will deliver weekly craft activities over 40 weeks, 25 people will attend overall with an expected average weekly attendance of 10-12 people.
- What are the outcomes of your project? These are the difference your project will make in the long term. Do your outcomes reflect our priority themes?
- What are your project costs? These should be detailed and give us an idea of how you have calculated these costs. For example, staff costs should show the hourly rate for the member of staff and the number of hours they will be working.
- What is the long-term impact of your project? If it is to continue beyond our funding period, how will this happen?
- How could believe staff volunteers support your project?
To be eligible for this grant, it is expected that your project would last 6 to 12 months. Priority will be given to projects that can demonstrate sustainability beyond the funding period.
Capital works need to start within three months of receiving the first payment instalment, unless previously agreed with the Community Investment Team.
You need to identify any required permissions, for example, building regulations, leaseholder permission, planning permission, prior to submitting your application.
If an organisation has been successful in securing the Community Capital Grant, they can apply for the same project for one more consecutive year, up to a total of two years funding.
If an organisation is successful in securing funding for two years, they can apply again the following year, but this must be for a different project.
Please note that the funding is very limited and there are no guarantees to an organisation of continuous or multiple funding. Funding is intended to support projects that last between 6 – 12 months that aim to become sustainable.
If you are currently delivering a Community Revenue or Capital grant from believe housing, you will not be eligible to apply until your current project is finished.
Please speak to a member of the Community Investment Team if you are unsure about your eligibility.
- Items that are purchased on behalf of another organisation
- Applications to develop the financial reserves of the organisation
- Ongoing running costs of an organisation
- Religious, party political or lobbying activities (non-religious and multi-faith activities that are open to all may be funded)
- Loans or debt repayments
- Projects/activities for personal profit.
Organisations can apply for grants of between £10,000 – £30,000 for projects to start delivery in 2024/25.
Once you have submitted your application, we will contact you to acknowledge receipt of this application within five working days.
Your application will then be reviewed and be part of a shortlisting process. If your application is shortlisted, this will then go to a grant panel within six weeks of the closing date.
If shortlisted, you will be invited to the virtual grant panel to give a 5-minute overview about your project proposal and answer any questions the panel may have.
The grant panel will be made up of the Assistant Director of Strategy and Improvement, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager and Community Investment Performance Team Leader.
Once a decision has been made, we will then contact you to advise you of the outcome.
You may be asked to provide additional information prior to a final decision being made.
If your application is successful, we will contact you to agree the payment schedule and reporting dates. You will need to provide us with:
- a copy of the organisation’s bank statement dated within the last three months
- relevant paying in bank details (name of bank, account name, sort code, account number and business address)
- policies and procedures that will support your project. For example; safeguarding, equality and diversity, health and safety etc
- a copy of your constitution or relevant document.
We will also require three quotes for capital works over £5,000.
Once initial checks have been carried out, you will then receive an agreement letter which is a contract between your organisation and believe housing for the project delivery. We will also discuss the details of publicity and quarterly reporting requirements, these include:
- evidence that the purpose for which the grant was awarded was achieved including a written update detailing progress against targets, milestones, and outcomes. It should also include case studies and photos where possible
- records of attendance
- data from participant surveys (the details of the survey will be agreed at your start-up meeting)
- a detailed statement of expenditure including receipts and/or evidence of spend e.g. invoices or staff wages claim form.
Grant funding will be paid via BACS in instalments.
If believe housing agree to award a grant to help fund your project or activity, then you will be required to agree to terms and conditions.
To read the full terms and conditions, please click here.
Expression of interest FAQ's
You can submit an expression of interest form at any time.
You can submit as many expressions of interest forms as you wish. If you have a project idea, let us know.
When we receive your completed expression of interest form, a member of our Community Investment Team will review your project idea and contact you to discuss further. If we think you project idea meets our criteria, we will recommend the grant that best meets your project and invite you to apply at open call.
Don’t worry, we appreciate that things change, and sometimes the changes are for the better. We’re always on hand to chat with potential projects and can provide advice at any time.
expression of interest form
This form should be used to submit an expression of interest for funding from our revenue grant of up to £10,000 and our capital grant of up to £30,000. The two grants open once per financial year for a period of 6 weeks. The capital grant opens in January and the revenue grant in June.
Before completing a full application at open call, you will need to consider and confirm the following:
- A definitive start date that allows enough time for the appraisal and approval process to be completed before the project starts.
- A definitive end date – not ‘on-going’.
- Full costings, including estimates for any capital works.
- Match funding information
- Evidence to show that future sustainability has been considered.
- Outcomes, milestones, and targets.
- 30% of beneficiaries must be believe housing residents.
- The project will need to take place in areas believe housing operates in (please see tables above).
Pease ensure you read the eligibility guidance before applying.