Hartington Community Group
Small Grants Fund
Introduction
Hartington Community Group exists to serve the interests of all groups and businesses in Hartington. As part of it’s activities, donations and other funding streams (eg. sale of plants, Village Trail Collection Boxes, Christmas Tree Festival, etc.) generate a moderate level of monies collected by the organisation. As such, we wish to establish a scheme to put these monies back into our community.
Under our Constitution, pt (v) of Aims/Objects, we have the facility to do this:
“To promote sustainable development of activities and interests, in order to enhance the quality of life for Hartington residents and the experiences of visitors to the village”
Small Grants Fund
It has been decided that, for the first year, a maximum of £250 will be available for Hartington Groups to apply for. This maximum figure will be reviewed annually in February at the A.G.M and a maximum figure confirmed for the forthcoming year. This maximum figure depends wholly on the monies available for H.C.G. to donate during that year.
In every H.C.G. Financial Year (February – January), each group can apply for a grant of up to £100 per year to support it’s activities.
There will be 2 rounds for applications- Phase 1-February- September- applications can be made at anytime within this period.
Phase 2- October- January- notification of the remaining amount of funds available will be provided- applications within this period should be received by October 31st
At the H.C.G. bi-annual meeting in September of each year, there will be a review of the grant money spent and still available during that Financial Year. If there are any remaining funds, a reminder will be sent to all Groups to inform them that money is still available to apply for.
Criteria for Application
- Applicants must be a member of Hartington Community Group, ie. operate and be based in Hartington.
- The grant must be used to promote, develop, support, enhance, the activities of that group and/or the community of Hartington.
There is no restriction upon the use of the grant, as long as it has/is a bona fide purpose: eg. purchasing equipment, payment for facilities, outings, running costs, emergency expenditure, marketing/promotion, and so forth.
Decision Making
All applications will be considered individually and on their merits:
- Do they meet the above criteria?
- Is there the required level of funding available to the Small Grants Fund for that year?
- If the applications exceed the total available for distribution, the monies will be split evenly between Applicants. However, any ‘Urgent’ needs will be given priority funding, with any requests which have flexible timeframe being given priority in the next round of funding.
The H.C.G. want to ensure that as many village groups have access to these funds as possible.
Decisions will be made by, at least, two H.C.G. Officers: Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and be made as each application is submitted. Decisions will be given to each applicant as soon as possible, but within, at least, 30 days of submission.
All completed applications must be handed in at the Post Office in a sealed envelope addressed to: ‘H.C.G. Small Grants Fund Application’.
Accounting and Reporting Processes
H.C.G. has an open and verified auditing system. All grants made will require that receipts for expenditure are provided at the end of the project period.
In addition, all groups receving a grant will be asked to report back on the success of that project. We will ask the group to write an article for News and Views, take photos (where appropriate), write a ‘Thank You’ letter/card, etc. These will be presented by the Chair in their annual report at the forthcoming H.C.G. AGM.
February 2016
Reviewed September 2016
