Volunteering grants

This grant is to help fund new volunteers and increase volunteering across our district, including sports coaching.

Grants are available from £250-£750 and must be awarded before your volunteering activity takes place.

Please take a few moments to read through the basic rules of the scheme to decide if this scheme is right for your organisation and your funding needs.

If you have any questions, please contact our Volunteering Development officer.

Criteria for the volunteering grants:

• Any small voluntary, community or social enterprise sector organisations (with a whole revenue turnover of less than £100,000 per year) operating in South Oxfordshire can apply.
• The grant scheme is open from August 2018 until January 2019 with a series of decision rounds programmed within this period.
• Usually the minimum grant amount in one year will be £250 to a maximum of £750.
• Usually only specific items are eligible and to a set limit/contribution. Retrospective funding for previous volunteering / training costs are not eligible for this scheme.
• Volunteering must take place in South Oxfordshire and specifically benefit residents of the district.
• The scheme is designed to help fund new volunteers and increase volunteering and sports coaching hours across the district.
• Usually eligible organisations can apply for one grant within the year at the council’s discretion.
• If successful, your agreed volunteering activity must start within three months of the award date with the grant spent and agreed volunteering activity completed within one year of the award date.

What are we looking for in applications?

The new/extra volunteering activities/training must start within three months of the award and support the following scheme priorities;

• The grant will directly result in new volunteers to the organisation.
• The grant will result in extra sports activities/opportunities for South Oxfordshire residents to participate in.
• The grant will lead to an increase in the number of volunteering/sports coaching hours within the organisation.

Who is eligible?

Small voluntary, community or social enterprise sector organisations (with less than £100,000 turnover per year) operating in South Oxfordshire and whose purpose is to benefit the people/communities of South Oxfordshire. These can include but not limited to;

• Local action groups – young people, environmental, community associations.
• Sport organisations/clubs.
• Scouts, guides or similar young people’s organisations.
• Religious groups, but only if the project offers wider community benefit and does not include specific religious activities.
• Local disability or other minority support groups/organisations.
• Town and parish councils and parish meetings.
• Organisations can apply for costs relating to volunteers who are also South Oxfordshire District Council employees/councillors, so long as their volunteering activities are delivered outside of their council duties and the individuals declare the benefit received to the council.

Who is not eligible?

• Other local authorities/public sector bodies (for example Oxfordshire County Council, NHS trusts or schools/colleges – including academies, free schools and private schools)
• Individuals
• Profit-based businesses (private businesses)
• Political and lobbying groups
• Organisations who give grants to/fund other not-for-profit organisations
• Organisations with an annual revenue turnover of over £100,000 per year
• Organisations not operating within South Oxfordshire.

Contact us - Volunteering

01235 422171
(Text phone users add 18001 before dialing)

grants@southandvale.gov.uk

South Oxfordshire District Council
135 Eastern Avenue
Milton Park
Milton
OX14 4SB