Community grants FAQ's

Yes, you can apply again. But if you already have a small grant that hasn’t finished yet (and you haven’t sent your receipts and report), you need to wait before applying for another one.
If you have a large grant, you must wait until it finishes (or is due to finish in the next 3 months) before applying for another large one.
Sometimes, you may be allowed to have one small and one large grant at the same time, but you must talk to your Community Investment Coordinator first.

Yes. Projects must take place in places where we have homes. Your project should help the people living in our communities and our tenants.
If your group is based nearby but your project is outside the area, you must show that people from our communities can still take part.

For £1,000 grants:
It can take up to four weeks for us to make a decision. So your project should start at least four weeks after you apply.
For example, if you apply on May 1st, your project should start from May 28th or later.

For large grants:
Your project must start within three months of getting the grant.

You cannot use grant money to buy things before the grant is awarded.

• For £1,000 grants: your project can be a one-off event or run for up to one year.

• For large grants: your project must run for between 9 and 12 months.

No, not when you apply.
If you are given a grant, we’ll ask for documents then.

Yes. You’ll get an email copy of your application.
If you don’t hear anything within three working days, contact the Community Investment Team.

For £1,000 grants:

• A group of our tenants looks at applications every two weeks.

• You may be asked more questions before your application is looked at.

• If successful, you’ll get a letter within three days.

• Once we have your documents, we’ll send the money.

• The full process can take up to four weeks.

For large grants:

• After applications close, it takes about four weeks to look at them.

• If shortlisted, you’ll be invited to a meeting within one-two weeks.

• A decision is usually made on the same day.

• If you are not shortlisted, you’ll still be contacted.

You will have two weeks to fill in the form after we send you the link.

Send them by email. You can scan them or take clear photos.

Don’t post them, in case they don’t arrive on time.

If you have problems sending them, contact us.

You must send us the documents we ask for within 10 working days.

If you can’t do this in time, tell us. We may allow extra time, but only in special cases.

If we don’t get the documents, your grant may be cancelled.

Each grant has its own rules.
Please read the guidelines carefully before you apply.
If you’re applying for a large grant, talk to the Community Investment Coordinator for your area first.

No, not without permission.
You must spend the money on the things the grant panel agreed on.
If you need to change anything, ask the Community Investment Coordinator before you spend the money.
If changes aren’t approved, you may have to give some or all of the money back.

Talk to the Community Investment Coordinator.
You might need to return the extra money unless you get permission to use it differently.

Let the Community Investment Coordinator know.
They may allow an extension, but you need to ask first.

For £1,000 grants:

• Send us all your receipts.

• Fill out a short report form we’ll send you.

For large grants:

• Send quarterly reports with receipts, your budget, and updates on your progress.

• At the end, send a full report on what the project achieved.

We need official receipts or invoices that show:

• The date

• The company’s name and contact details

• A list of what was bought or what service was given

• The date it happened

Contact the Community Investment Coordinator.
They can give you information about how many homes we have in each area and the street names.
They can’t give house numbers, for privacy reasons.
Some groups ask people in their activities if they live in one of our homes.

We use something called the UK Social Value Bank to check how projects help.
For large grants, the Coordinator will work with you to pick which values to measure.
You may need to ask participants some questions at the start and end of their time in the project.
You don’t need to collect personal information—just the results.