Reading Borough Council has allocated £150k for small grants to the voluntary and community sector for the year 2024/25. Grants of up to £5,000 are available for smaller local VCS organisations, with a proportion of the Funding used to support bids under £2,500. The small grants fund is focussed on supporting the broader objectives of the RBC Tackling Inequality Strategy: to create further opportunity for local voluntary and community organisations to play an active role in making Reading a more equal place to live for its residents.
This funding will support innovative and targeted place-based approaches to addressing the underlying determinants of deprivation within the borough that adversely affect education, skills, and training.
The grant is available to smaller, local voluntary and community sector groups who:
-Have an expected income threshold below £100,000.
-Have not already received £20k or more grant funding via Reading Borough Council for the financial year 2023/24.
The intention is to encourage small local voluntary and community groups and innovative community action, and the criteria is non-prescriptive to enable communities to apply for funding to support activities that are right for their community, but applications should demonstrate how they support some, or all of the following key elements of the RBC Tackling Inequality Strategy:
-Enable everyone within the borough to share in Reading’s success
-Drive attainment in skills, education and training, access to quality employment, and participation in volunteering
-Support people in the town where you think the need is greatest
-Support residents and groups of residents who you see as experiencing disadvantage
-Provide additionality by complementing existing strategies, work, and partnerships aimed at making Reading a more equal place to live
Grants can be awarded for purposes such as:
-One-off local events.
-Running events.
-Minor start-up costs.
-Purchasing equipment.
-Sessional costs.
Applications should be made using the Reading Small Grants Fund 2024/25 Grant Application Form. The deadline for application is 13 December 2024. Applicants will be notified by the first week of March 2025. For more information see the RBC Small Grants Fund website page.
For further support from RVA with preparing your application or your policies and procedures required for this funding, contact Herjeet Vass at herjeet.vass@rva.org.uk.