Main Grants
Grant details
| Grant size: | Up to £5,000 |
| Typical grant: | £3,500 |
| Apply by: | Monday 24 March, 2025 |
| Decision in: | Late May, 2025 |
Who is it for?Local groups based in Somerset that meet our minimum standards.
What is it for?To support members of your community who need additional help.
What can we use this money for?
Some people in our communities need extra support.
The aim of this Fund is to offer grants so that your group can provide targeted services to:
- children and young people so they can reach their potential
- adults with mental health problems, so they can maintain their own wellbeing
- older people so they can reduce isolation and loneliness.
If you can do that, then you can use this grant for:
- project costs, like staff time or travel
- small capital costs, like pieces of equipment
- core costs, like rent, utilities, and insurance.
This Fund is only for those that want to run targeted services. It’s not for groups who want to run activities for the wider community.
Which groups can apply?
We can only consider your group for a grant from this Fund if you meet our minimum standards.
Our minimum standards cover things like:
- the types of groups we can give a grant to and how we expect them to be run
- how we expect those groups to manage their finances
- how those groups keep people safe.
All of our minimum standards are on our FAQs page, where you can also find lots of information about applying for funding.
You can also use our eligibility checker which will help you understand if you can apply for a grant from us.
When do we have to apply?
You can apply for this money at any time, but decisions are made at 4 panel meetings a year. You must apply by the deadlines below for your application to be considered at the next meeting:
• apply by 5pm on Monday 24 March 2025, decisions late May 2025.
How likely am I to get a grant?
Sadly, we can’t provide funding to every group that applies to us.
We have around £300,000 to give out from the Fund this year. We’re usually able to support 2 out of every 3 applications we receive.
We’re more likely to give you some money if your group:
- is based Somerset
- runs on less than £500,000 a year
- works in an area that is more disadvantaged
- works with groups of people facing multiple disadvantages
- has provided reliable reporting on any previous grants we’ve given you
- has not received any other money from us in the last year.
How are decisions made?
Your application will be assessed by one of our team. They’ll read through what you’ve written, look at your supporting documents, and check places like the Charity Commission and your website. We may contact you if we have any questions.
A recommendation will usually then be made, and a panel will make the final decision. Most of our panels includes some of our trustees as well as some independent members.
How do I apply to this programme?
You can apply if your group:
- wants to provide targeted services for children and young people, adults with mental health problems, or older people
- meets our standards.
The next step is to fill in our online application form.
Get help with this funding programme
This funding programme is managed by Kirsty, our Senior Programmes Manager. Kirsty can help if you:
- aren’t sure if you meet our standards
- aren’t sure if this is the best fund to apply for
- can’t use our online form, need extra support with your application or if English isn’t your first language
- can’t attach the documents we’ve asked for.
Grant details
| Grant size: | Up to £5,000 |
| Typical grant: | £3,500 |
| Apply by: | Monday 24 March, 2025 |
| Decision in: | Late May, 2025 |
Who is it for?Local groups based in Somerset that meet our minimum standards.
What is it for?To support members of your community who need additional help.
FAQs
You can find our minimum standards and everything else you need to know about applying on our FAQs page.
