All grants must help to ensure that Stafford Borough is a safe, cohesive, and secure place to live.

We are seeking bids which provide opportunities for healthy lifestyles and a reduction in health inequalities.

Eligibility

You can make an application if you are a:

• registered charity
• Not-for-Profit (NFP) business
• Community Interest Company (CIC)
• community-based organisation
• town and parish council within Stafford Borough

All of the above must also:

• have an existing constitution, articles or rules in place which describes the groups aims and objectives, its membership, and details of how decisions are made
• have been established for more than 12 months
• be in a position to provide previous accounts, and have a bank account in the name of the organisation or group who will receive any funding - the account must require at least two joint signatures, from individuals who are not related, for all transactions

You cannot make an application if you are a:

• individual
• other local authority
• public sector body, or organisation that is funded by other public sector or statutory bodies - for example, schools and GP practices
• group who raises funds on behalf of an ineligible organisation or who will create or improve facilities which will predominately benefit an ineligible organisation
• profit-based business

Funding

We can fund (not an exhaustive list):

• core running costs including employee costs
• programme or activity costs which are directly relevant to the application
• travel and transport costs associated with events in Stafford Borough
• hire or purchase of equipment for meeting project needs, including sports equipment
• venue hire (excluding hire of group’s own premises) relating to the application and any technical assistance
• publicity and marketing (subject to agreement from us)
• volunteer expenses

We cannot fund (not an exhaustive list):

• projects where there is statutory funding provision available
• capital projects – such as building or refurbishment work
• projects to be delivered outside of Stafford Borough
• projects which are discriminatory, political, or religious in nature
• costs that can be claimed back from elsewhere, for example VAT
• costs towards banking charges or repayment of debt
• retrospective costs, for example completed activities
• gifts and prizes
• alcohol
• works to facilities that are / should be subject to an insurance claim

Amount of funding available

£130,250 per annum is available for distribution. There is a limit of £60,000 per individual organisation.

Applications requesting funding in excess of £60,000 will not be considered.

Applicants are advised to only bid for amounts which are clearly justified, and proportionate to the scale, scope and cost of the service or activity proposed.

We may determine, during the approval process, that the allocated funding will be lower than the amount originally requested.

Applicants can apply for up to 3 years funding (subject to an annual evaluation), if that is in the best interest of the project.

Note that CPI increases may apply moving forward. If this occurs, funding amounts shall be increased accordingly.

Grant timeline

The opening date for bids is 24 November 2025.

The closing date for bids is 2 January 2026 (see note below).

Bids will be approved by 13 February 2026.

Grant agreements will be issued by 9 March 2026.

Payment will be issued from 1 April 2026 (upon receipt of returned Grant Agreement).

Please note that in the event of excessive demand, we have the right to close the funding application process earlier than listed. As such, we advise that you submit your application in a timely manner.

Conditions

If successful, any funding award will be made in agreement to the following conditions:

1. The applicant will enter into a Grant Agreement with us.
2. Funding can only be spent on the project / service as described in the application and for no other purpose.
3. It is the responsibility of applicants to comply with all relevant regulations and legislation.
4. If expenditure of the project / service is less than stated in the application, the grant amount paid will be reduced.
5. Any unspent funds must be returned to us.
6. Details of how the funding was spent, evidenced with copies of receipts, accounts and performance must be provided to us in line with the Grant Agreement.
7. We will be acknowledged and invited to participate in any appropriate publicity of the project.
8. Organisations who are allocated funding will be expected to produce self-monitoring reports on progress each quarter, using our monitoring report template. Project monitoring meetings may also be scheduled to allow the Council.
9. All grant recipients will be required to produce an end of year evaluation report using our template.