19 Sep Community grants of between £15,000 and £40,000 on offer to successful applicants from voluntary and community organisations across North Northamptonshire

Voluntary and community organisations can now apply to receive grants of between £15,000 and £40,000 to support residents with a host of cost-of-living challenges.

There are seven grants available, and each has a separate project brief. Each of the seven grants will only be awarded to one successful organisation. Organisations can apply for more than one grant.

The funding will enable voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations to provide support to households through the upcoming colder months, allow them to manage their spending on outgoings such as energy and food, and to help them deal with debt.

The money is also aimed to assist outreach work to ensure pensioners, carers  and care leavers and individuals who are digitally excluded can access support available to them.

The grants are funded by UK Government as part of the Household Support Fund and administered by North Northamptonshire Council.

The aim of the grants is to provide preventative support to avert vulnerable households from falling into, or falling further into, crisis.

Parish and town councils, charities, community and voluntary groups, clubs, and not for profit organisations are eligible to apply for funding for the specified purposes. School PTAs, ‘Friends of’ groups, health charities and religious bodies can also apply if their projects benefit the wider community and support our aims.

The deadline is Monday 13 October 2025 at 12 noon. Decisions regarding applications will be made within two months.

Jane Bethea, North Northamptonshire Council’s Director for Public Health, Leisure and Communities, said:

“We see first-hand how rising living costs continue to impact families and individuals across the area.

“Community projects that offer sustainability and support for people going forward are what the Household Support Fund is all about and these grants will empower grassroots organisations to provide vital support – whether that’s food, warm, welcoming spaces, help with household items and heating challenges, or simply a place to connect and feel less alone.

“I’m pleased that we can offer these community grants to organisations across North Northamptonshire who have first-hand experience and a good understanding of how the funding can be best spent.”

Applications will only be accepted from organisations whose activities are not carried out for profit, that are properly constituted, efficiently run and subject to prudent financial management.

Each grant has a separate project brief, see below. If organisations would like to apply for more than one grant, separate applications must be submitted.

The project briefs outline the specifications for each grant:

• £40,000 – Home improvement. Provide information, home improvement, replacement and repair of essential household items, insulation, lighting, and white goods. This can be recommended from an energy assessment.
• £25,000 – Food poverty. Provide a co-ordinated approach to tackling food poverty in North Northamptonshire by delivering support to residents in need. This will include working in partnership with other service providers, such as food banks.
• £25,000 – Outreach. provide outreach work to ensure those who are harder to reach i.e. pensioners, carers  and care leavers digitally excluded can access support available to them.
• £35,000 – Budget management. Through the provision of a co-ordinated approach provide budget management to residents especially those low-income, and vulnerable for households across North Northamptonshire.
• £25,000 – Winter support and Warmth. Through the provision of a co-ordinated approach deliver a winter support and warmth programme to low-income/vulnerable households across North Northamptonshire.
• £15,000 – Energy support. Provide a gas, electric and water support programme through assessment and or advice to low-income households across North Northamptonshire.
• £15,000 – Winter meal programme. Deliver a winter meals programme to homeless, low-income, and vulnerable households in North Northamptonshire through a collaborative approach. This will include working in partnership with other service providers such as foodbanks, soup kitchens, lunch clubs in response to cost-of-living crisis affecting residents across North Northamptonshire.

To apply, you will need your:

• certificate of public liability insurance in the sum of at least £5 million
• constitution or governing documentation
• equality policy
• year-end accounts
• child protection statement (if applicable)
• vulnerable adults statement (if applicable)

If you have any queries, please email HSFNorth@northnorthants.gov.uk.