Aims/priorities:
The UK Government’s £150 million, four-year Community Ownership Fund is accepting full applications which are open to groups that have been successful with their Expression of Interest. Groups that have not submitted an expression of interest and want to apply for this round must submit their expression of interest before 11 September 2023.
The funding is intended to support community groups in taking ownership of at-risk assets and to provide essential renovations for assets already in community ownership, ensuring long-term sustainability for the benefit of the community.
The asset being saved through community intervention must either have a current or past community use. It could be at risk from closure, sales, neglect under current ownership, energy inefficiency that threatens long-term sustainable operations or an unsustainable current business model. Successful project that have been funded thus far include community centres, sporting and leisure facilities, pubs, cultural buildings and heritage buildings.
Grant amount:
Incorporated voluntary and community organisations or parish, town and community councils can apply for:
- Capital funding of up to £2 million for all asset types. (It is expected that most awards will be for up to £250,000.)
- Revenue funding of no more than £50,000 or 20% of the total capital funding applied for, whichever is smaller.
Applicants are required to provide at least 20% of their total project costs from other sources.
Application process:
Organisations can make an Expression of Interest (EOI) at any time. If they are successful, they will be invited to submit a full application, which they do not have to do immediately; however, they must submit their EOI at least three weeks before the closure of the bidding window in which they want to apply to allow time to receive feedback and then to submit their application.
My Community, the official delivery partners for the Community Ownership Fund support programme, have published a number of different guides on their website which new applicants may wish to refer to.
Guidance documents and details of how to apply can be found here.
Deadline: Round 3 Window 2 will close at 11.59am on 11 October 2023.
Contact information: Tel: 030 3444 0000 Email: COF@levellingup.gov.uk
Website: Community Ownership Fund: prospectus - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)