Grants

Grants

A grant is any payment or gift made by the Parish Council to an organization for a specific purpose that will benefit the Parish, or residents of the Parish, and which is not directly controlled or administered by the Parish Council. The law requires that Section 137 grants must be “in the interests of or will directly benefit the area or its inhabitants, or of part of it, or of some of it” and “the direct benefit should be commensurate with expenditure.” Similar considerations will apply when considering applications for other grants.

FAQs

Who can apply for a grant from the Parish Council?

The Parish Council will only consider awarding grants to organisations that can demonstrate that the grant will be for the benefit of the parishioners of Orton Waterville. The Parish Council does not award grants to individuals or for upward funding to national charities.

May I request any amount?

Although there is no limit upon the amount that may be requested it should be born in mind that grants are funded from the precept that the Parish Council receives through a portion of the rates. Grants of extremely large amounts could lead to an increase in rates levied – which the Parish Council seeks to avoid. The Parish Council is pre-disposed to make moderate grants to a number of organisations rather than large amounts to a few.

Can I apply at any time?

Any request for an amount in excess of £500 must be received by the Parish Council by the end of October in the year preceding the financial year (Apr-Mar) in which the money is required. ( It is preferable that any request for any amount is made to that time-scale ).

Can I make repeated applications?

Only one request in any one year for the same cause will be considered. Further requests may be made in subsequent years but the Parish Council will take into consideration the number of previous grants given to any organisation when setting its priorities in assessing applications.

My organisation has a shortfall in general running costs for the current year – can I obtain a grant to cover this shortfall in funding?

The Parish Council will not award grants retrospectively. Applications must be for future funding of a specific project or cause for which your organisation requires assistance.

How do I apply?

You are required to complete the application form provided (see below) and supply some background and substantiating information.
Grant Awarding Policy