Grant Applications - Bideford Town Council
Guideline Information to Accompany Grant Application Form
Why does the Town Council provide grants?
Grants are provided by the Town Council to support local voluntary organisations which undertake activities benefitting residents. This includes grant requests for specific projects.
Who can apply for a grant?
- The Grant Scheme is intended to benefit groups of people and not individuals, so to be eligible for a grant you must be a properly constituted body operating in a voluntary and non-profit making capacity.
- Grants will not be awarded to organisations that raise money to give grants.
- Grants will not be awarded to cover pay, allowances and other administrative costs.
- The applying organisation should be either based wholly in Bideford, or if not, able to demonstrate that it is of benefit to its parishioners.
- Churches may apply for purposes other than building and maintenance works (section 8 of the Local Government Act 1894 prohibits a Town Council from contributing to the cost of works on the property of an ecclesiastical charity).
When do I need to apply?
- Application forms are available in November each year following the publication of a notice in the local press. The form must be completed and returned by the date specified.
- The Council’s Staffing, Finance & General Purposes Committee examines each grant application and makes a decision on the facts provided by the organisation, therefore, it is very important that organisations provide as much information as possible.
How do I apply?
- Forms are available electronically for downloading and printing (on the links below) or a hard copy from the Town Council Offices or by email (address below). The forms need to be completed, signed and accompanied by a certified Statement of Income and Expenditure sheet which must be signed (with the name printed underneath) and dated as having been audited.
- Branches of national charities and organisations etc will have to provide a certified Statement of Income & Expenditure and any statistics pertinent to the parish of Bideford only.
Eligible applications will be assessed against the following criteria
- Has a specific need been identified?
- Will the grant make a difference to the community or organisation?
- Does the proposed expenditure provide value for money?
- How many Bidefordians will benefit from the grant? The amount of grant allocated may be proportionate to the numbers residing in Bideford.
- Has the applicant applied to other neighbouring parishes and appropriate organisations? Bideford Town Council encourages applicants to apply for a variety of funds where possible.
- Please detail what fundraising activities you have carried out in the last year (or state that you have not carried out any).
Conditions of receipt
- Those organisations having previously received a grant from the Town Council must show in their accounts that a grant was received and in any other media coverage. They must be able to prove that the monies they received were spent on the project they outlined in their application and show accounts accordingly.
- The Town Council reserves the right to inspect the purchase of any furniture and equipment etc. or any building work, to verify that the grant has been used as stated in the application form. This includes any invoices associated with any purchases etc.
- If the organisation is to be dissolved the Town Council expects their funds to be returned.
Successful applications must sign and return the acknowledgement slip which will be sent with the grant cheque. This is a requirement of the Town Council’s auditing process. - Should the organisation be successful, the grant cheque must be collected in person at the Annual Parish Meeting on 16 April 2024 - unless there are exceptional circumstances preventing attendance. Failure to do so, may lead to the grant being withdrawn.
All forms MUST be returned by Monday 8th January 2024
Any Questions
If you need any help or advice on the above please contact:
Town Clerk
Bideford Town Council
Town Hall
Bridge Street
Bideford
EX39 2HS
Tel: 01237 428817 or 428818 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Please click on the links below to download and print the pdf documents:
Grant Application Form 2024-25
