Nottinghamshire County Council unveil funding plans to support communities.
A new-look Local Communities Fund and the Government-funded Crisis and Resilience Fund are both due to be launched soon.
Community groups will soon to be able to apply for £1.2 million worth of grants to help support their work in communities via the new-look Local Communities Fund.
The new Government-funded Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) will support residents in financial crisis, boost access to local services for those most in need and improve financial resilience.
It 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 new-look, two-year Local Communities Fund programme (2026-28)
Once the CRF is open, low-income households who are experiencing an urgent financial crisis will be able to apply. Types of support will dependant on the type of crisis being experienced and will be on a needs-based assessment.
More than £387,800 of this funding has been earmarked this year for low-income households impacted by the rise in costs for heating oil. Eligible households will be able to apply in the coming weeks to get a one-off payment of £350.
Councillor Jody Stoll, who is the new Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health, welcomed the package of funding and the council’s commitment to supporting 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 are also working through the details of a new Crisis and Resilience Fund with our local authority partners. With the Household Support Fund now ended, this new fund marks a more preventive approach to help communities and residents in financial crisis.
“We want to assist those who are in most need of support and build resilience for the future by reducing the need for intervention in the long-term. This is why one of the priorities is to make debt management services and advice more available and look at where we might fill gaps in other provision, including services delivered by partners and the voluntary sector.
“We also really want to really maximise these two funds, so our plan is that when a community or voluntary group applies for council funding, we’ll assess behind the scenes which pot of funding is best suited.
“We'll be contacting community groups directly about these funds and promoting more details in the coming weeks to residents, including how and when to apply for crisis payments, including support with heating oil costs.”
Eligible community groups will be able to apply for a range of LCF grants later this May, including capital grants which are designed to support towards improvements to local facilities, while small and large revenue grants will help with essential running costs, such as paying wages and bills.
The revised LCF 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.
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, LCF will no longer fund projects such as village or gateway signs.
Some of the council’s plans for financial resilience support under CRF include:
£500,000 for more resources within the council’s countywide benefits team to make advice more available to those at risk of financial hardship.
£150,000 to create more contact points in community hubs, such as libraries, so residents can speak to someone face-to-face when applying for immediate financial crisis support as well as when seeking wider community help.
£100,000 towards focused events where residents can access financial and wider community information, advice and guidance via a range of organisations and experts.
£250,000 on boosting adult learning opportunities with a specific focus on budgeting and financial management.
£250,000 on expert financial advice including debt management support. This would be ‘pop-up’ support to meet local demand as needed.
£100,000 earmarked for the voluntary sector to help them deliver CRF grant-funded projects to meet specific community needs.
Councillor Stoll continued:
“We also continue to support community groups in a number of other ways such as holding free funding workshops around the county.
“We get such fantastic feedback for these sessions, as it's a great opportunity for groups to increase the chance of their funding applications being successful, whether it's for one of our schemes or other types of funding out there.”
For more details on these free funding workshops: Funding toolkit and workshops for the voluntary sector | Nottinghamshire County Council
More details on CRF and how to apply will be made available here: Crisis and Resilience Fund | Nottinghamshire County Council
More details on LCF and how community groups can apply will be available here: The Local Communities Fund (LCF) | Nottinghamshire County Council
