County council’s community funding scheme now open for applications
Nottinghamshire community groups can now apply for £1.2 million worth of grants to help support their work in communities via the new-look Local Communities Fund.
This community-improving grant scheme is all part of Nottinghamshire County Council’s continued commitment to encourage healthy and sustainable communities by financially supporting community groups and charities via a two-year Local Communities Fund programme (2026-28)
Eligible community groups have until Friday 24 July 2026, unless stated otherwise, to apply for a range of grants, including a new pot of money aimed at supporting new or recently set-up grassroot organisations.
These grants are:
Large revenue grants to help with essential running costs, such as paying wages and bills. These grants will be paid annually for the next two years. NB. This type of grant has been open for applications since 1 June, so will close on Friday 3 July 2026.
Small revenue grants (up to £5,000).
Capital grants of up to £20,000. These are designed to support improvements to local facilities which have match-funding.
A one-off foundation grant is targeted at new or recently set up organisations. These groups can apply for up to £1,000 to help them get more established.
A building financial resilience grant of up to £5,000 aimed at projects that address the root causes of financial crisis and help people build longer-term financial resilience, as part of a new government funding package.
Councillor Jody Stoll, Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health, said the funding is vital to help support residents to lead healthier and independent lives. He said:
“We are proud to continue supporting groups via the Local Communities Fund in a way which builds resilience, rather than reliance. We know that the work groups do makes such a big difference to residents’ lives. We have designed this new version of the fund to focus on those communities who need the help the most.
“We hope there’s a fund to suit all groups, and rest assured when an eligible community or voluntary group successfully applies for this funding, we’ll assess behind the scenes which pot of money is best suited.”
One group which benefitted from the last round of funding was Mansfield-based Jigsaw support scheme. The charity helps a range of people from the local community, aged 18 to 88 years old. It received more than £3,500 in revenue grants earlier this year to help with vital running costs.
Alison Waring from Jigsaw explained the benefits this funding has brought to the community. She said:
“This funding is helping our group with our continuing work to support people with mental health conditions in the Mansfield area through a variety of ways including support groups, a community allotment and home visits.”
Deputy Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health, Councillor Gaynor Mann, recently visited Jigsaw’s community allotment. She was joined by fellow councillors, including Cllrs Faz Choudhury and Cllr Kevin Brown, the local county councillors who endorsed Jigsaw’s funding application. Cllr Mann said:
“It was fantastic to meet some of the residents who are benefitting from the wonderful work Jigsaw do in the community. Jigsaw is such a great example of how the Local Communities Fund can help and support voluntary groups via revenue grants.”
The revised Local Communities Fund will be a two-year programme to help plan for future local government reorganisation. The improvements to the fund include:
To help those organisations that have previously been unable to meet the funding criteria, a new foundation grant will be available for new or recently set-up groups to help them get established and help position them for more funding opportunities in the near future. This is in addition to getting general support from the council’s communities’ team.
To speed up the application process for capital grants, groups will be able to apply without having their match-funding finalised but will need to provide evidence if and when they are successful in their application.
To free up more funding towards projects which offer community resilience, the Local Communities Fund will no longer fund projects such as village or gateway signs.
For more details on the Local Communities Fund and how community groups can apply, go to: The Local Communities Fund (LCF) | Nottinghamshire County Council
