Community Facilities Programme
The Community Facilities Programme is a capital grant scheme operated by the Welsh Government. Grants are available at two levels; small grants of under £25,000 and larger grants of up to £300,000.
Grants can be used to improve community facilities which are useful to, and well used by, people in the community. The Programme is open to community and voluntary sector organisations, including social enterprises. The focus of the programme is on increasing opportunity, creating prosperity for all and developing resilient communities where people are engaged and empowered. All applicants are expected to be working with partners which can come from the public, private or the third sectors.
Who is eligible to apply to the Community Facilities Programme? We are seeking applications which are community led. By this we mean that the lead applicant must be a community or voluntary sector organisation. For example a community group, a registered charity or a social enterprise. We are keen to encourage partnership working and therefore require applications which include public, private or third sector partners.
As a minimum requirement the main applicant/lead organisation must be able to show that they are an organisation which has:
A constitution or set of rules, dated and signed as adopted by the Chair, or other senior office holder on behalf of the Board or Trustees;
A bank account, in its own name, which requires at least two (unrelated) signatories;
Evidence to show that any profit distribution is minimal i.e. restricted to the return of capital invested with minimal interest. This policy should be detailed in your organisation’s constitution or rules;
Less than £150,000 in unrestricted reserves. Applicants with more than £150,000 in unrestricted reserves must also provide information on the organisation’s reserves policy. This should include whether any of these funds are being invested in the project and if not, the reason why not.
What can be funded under the Community Facilities Programme?
The Community Facilities Programme is a capital only grant scheme. Grants are available for the purchase of or the physical improvement of community facilities; this can include land and buildings. Capital means asset purchase, physical works, and professional fees directly related to the physical works (including non-recoverable VAT).
The purchase of equipment is eligible where a project includes the fitting out of a new facility such as a kitchen or IT suite. The Community Facilities Programme will not cover the purchase of vehicles or the replacement of furniture, equipment or the updating of ICT. 4
The scheme does not provide grants for Revenue costs including the costs associated with developing a business plan, feasibility study; a design only project; or the costs of staff and other operating costs.
The Community Facilities Programme will not consider retrospective applications i.e. where work has been started prior to funding being awarded. All applications must be accompanied by the applicant’s latest annual accounts where these are available. We recognise that some newly formed organisations may not yet have this information. In these cases applications should include financial projections.
For more information visit: https://gov.wales/community-facilities-programme