Kirkby Pride in Place community grants

£62,000 is available for community grants in 2026 to 2027.

£66,000 is available for community grants in 2027 to 2028.

The grants are available for organisations to help improve community cohesion within Kirkby, and to increase the number of events and activities for Kirkby residents to get involved in.  Grants are predominantly revenue, with small capital items, such as non-fixed equipment considered.

This Community Grant Programme is designed to support local, community-led activity that delivers positive outcomes for Kirkby residents.

Funding is available to not-for-profit organisations that demonstrate clear social value and alignment with local priorities.

Eligible organisations must operate on a non-profit distributing basis and deliver activity that benefits the community.

1. Voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations

• Registered charities
• Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs)
• Voluntary organisations delivering social, health, or wellbeing outcomes
• Community groups with a written constitution or governing document

2. Community and resident-led groups

• Neighbourhood, residents’, or tenants’ associations
• Community forums or grassroots action groups
• Informal community groups (with appropriate financial arrangements in place)
• Faith-based organisations delivering inclusive, community-wide activities

3. Social enterprises and not-for-profit companies

• Community Interest Companies (CICs) limited by guarantee
• Not-for-profit companies or businesses that invest monies for community benefit
• Co-operatives with a clear social or community purpose

4. Schools and education-based organisations

• Primary, secondary, special schools, higher and further education colleges (where activity provides benefit beyond the core curriculum)
• Parent-led organisations such as PTAs or Friends of Schools (with appropriate governance)
• Uniform youth groups (e.g. scouts)

To be considered for funding, organisations must:

• Be not-for-profit and community-focused
• Be able to deliver their project within Kirkby in Ashfield
• Have a bank account in the organisation’s name and appropriate insurance
• Demonstrate appropriate governance arrangements
• Have safeguarding policies in place (where working with children or vulnerable adults)
• Deliver activity that aligns with the aims and priorities of the Community grant programme

The funding priorities for this fund are listed below. Applicants must demonstrate how they are meeting one or more.

1. Bringing communities
   
   Together Projects that reduce loneliness, strengthen relationships and help people from different backgrounds connect and feel part of their community.
   
   
2. Health, wellbeing and prevention
    
   Community‑based activities that support mental and physical health, healthy lifestyles and early support to prevent problems getting worse.
   
   
3. Supporting children, young people and families
   
   Projects that help children, young people and families thrive through early help, learning and enrichment activities, and support with the cost of living.
   
   
4. Supporting older people and people with long‑term health conditions or disabilities
   
   Activities that reduce isolation, improve wellbeing and help people stay active, independent and connected in their community.
   
   
5. Community voice and involvement
   
   Projects that give residents a real say in decisions, help shape local services and support community leadership.
   
   
6. Volunteering and taking action locally
   
   Support for volunteering and community action that helps people build skills, confidence and pride in their local area.
   
   
7. Jobs, skills and routes into work
   
   Support that helps people gain skills, move closer to work, stay in employment or overcome barriers to working.
   
   
8. Arts, sport, culture and heritage
   
   Activities that celebrate local arts, culture and heritage, and bring people together through events, activity, sport, creativity and shared spaces

A list of project ideas can be found in Appendix A. This is not a definite list.

Organisations may apply for a grant of up to £4000 to support their core project or activity. If the project contains an event or events element, a grant of up to £5000 can be applied for.

Any interested organisation must apply for the grant for the total amount at the first time of application to be considered. Applicants can apply once per year.

Year 1:

• The deadline for applications for the 2026 to 2027 community grant is Friday 5 June 2026.
• Delivery of the project would take place between September 2026 – May 2027.
• Both successful and non-successful applicants will be informed of the decision by 24 July 2026.

Year 2:

• The deadline for applications for the 2027/28 community grant is Friday 29 January 2027.
• Delivery of the project would take place between May 2027 – March 2028.
• Both successful and non-successful applicants will be informed of the decision by 24 March 2027.

All applications will be considered by the Kirkby Safe and Happy Subgroup.

Recommendations will be made for approval by the Kirkby Town Board.

If successful, the applicant will need to enter into a Grant Agreement with Ashfield District Council. This will need to be signed ahead of deliver commencing.

Successful organisations will need to complete quarterly monitoring returns for the duration of the project.

These will include details of spend, successes, challenges and outputs/outcomes delivered.

A case study highlighting the project will also be required.

Application forms are available:

•  by downloading from this page
• by e-mailing healthandwellbeing@ashfield.gov.uk
• If a paper copy is required, please call Sarah Vaughan, Wellbeing Officer for Ashfield District Council and one can be sent in the post
  • telephone: 07813 359341 

Sarah can also be contacted for any questions you have about the fund.

Project ideas

The below list of project ideas is taken directly from the guidance provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This list is thought to be the most appropriate for the community grant.

Enhanced support for arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities, projects and facilities and historic institutions that make up the local cultural heritage offer

Example interventions include:

• organising event programmes for local assets and sites, such as youth centres and public libraries, and their communities
• developing, restoring or refurbishing local natural, cultural and heritage assets and sites, including for new uses by the community

Funding for local arts, cultural, heritage and creative initiatives

Example interventions include:

• funding to support maker spaces
• support for local art galleries, museums, and libraries to host exhibitions
• support for artists to display and showcase work
• funding for cultural, heritage and creative events, for example, locally led music and theatre performances, tours, author events and film screenings
• support for the establishment and development of cultural and heritage collaborative networks to share knowledge locally

Provide safe and supportive environments for people with experience of homelessness and rough sleeping

Example interventions include:

• supporting community-based faith and voluntary sector homelessness services to improve accommodation infrastructure and support services
• enabling community-based services to work with those in the community (including those in temporary accommodation) to prevent a return to rough sleeping (for example, by establishing befriending and mentoring schemes)

Support local community initiatives that support people in bringing down their home energy bills and improve the energy efficiency of their homes

Example interventions include:

• running community energy groups to help residents, for example, people could bring their gas and electricity bills and discuss ways to save and keep warm with volunteers, receive energy debt advice, and be given referrals to a heat doctor
• running in-person retrofitting advice sessions in community spaces to improve engagement with retrofitting - funding can be allocated to hire a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) or Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)-accredited consultant to train volunteers in retrofitting advice

Support to improve awareness of, and access to, local provision that moves people closer to and into sustained employment, in line with Ashfield’s Get Britain Working Plan (England and Wales only)

Example interventions include:

• additional support to help economically inactive people into work
• Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) prevention and reduction activity in advance of full implementation of the Youth Guarantee in England and the Young Person’s Guarantee in Scotland, Work Experience programme in Northern Ireland and Wales Young Person’s Guarantee
• local interventions to improve the retention of disabled people and people with health conditions within the workplace

Measures to improve community cohesion

Example interventions include:

• projects that bring people together from different groups, including different faiths, for various objectives, including social mixing, intercommunity conversations, volunteering, and conflict resolution
• projects which celebrate and explore different cultures and lives, such as neighbourhood festivals and cultural exchange opportunities
• projects which build relationships within and between communities, such as mentoring and buddying schemes, town-hall discussions on local issues, and other means of creating productive dialogue
• supporting or establishing community groups with the goal of bringing people together and reducing social isolation and loneliness, including for people with social care needs
• projects which build capacity, capability and awareness in communities, such as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision, hate crime awareness, tackling local misinformation and disinformation which impacts local cohesion, public education and communication campaigns, community ambassadors, and preparing communities to accept and support new arrivals and resettled cohorts

Delivering engagement, participation and involvement activity to give communities a role in decision-making

Example interventions include:

• establishing and delivering participatory and deliberative engagement such as residents’ panels or assemblies
• delivering participatory budgeting, using in person or digital tools to involve the community in spending decisions
• developing community forums, youth engagements, governance structures, volunteering and social action projects and communication channels
• the delivery of engagement, participation and consultation processes for estate regeneration, neighbourhood renewal projects and community spaces, including youth centres and public libraries
• support for outreach, engagement, participatory programmes as part of wider local arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities
• training and support programmes for local civil society and community group leaders to build the capacity and capability of communities to deliver effective community engagement, and to engage with and influence decision makers

Giving communities a role in the design and delivery of local services

Example interventions include:

• outreach and engagement that involves communities in the design of local public services
• supporting communities to take control of local services, including through support for user-led groups and community organisations to develop ideas and plans to improve and deliver local services

Funding for impactful volunteering and social action projects to develop social and human capital in local place

Example interventions include:

• supporting local volunteering groups, such as youth charities and carer’s groups
• supporting people, including young people, to develop volunteering and social action projects locally
• initiatives to support more people to volunteer in their communities, for example activity to make volunteering opportunities accessible to people with disabilities

Supporting community-level health provision

Example interventions include:

• community mental health hubs
• social prescribing provision
• measures to encourage healthy eating such as community-level fruit and vegetable prescription schemes
• pilot programmes aimed at improving local health outcomes
• signposting to free NHS digital support tools, for example, NHS Better Health apps and websites

Funding to support preventative public health initiatives and campaigns

Example interventions include:

• funding for support groups or specialist advice services on public health issues, such as stop smoking services
• encouraging the use of free campaign materials from NHS Better Health, available from the Department of Health and Social Care’s  Campaign Resource Centre(these cover healthy pregnancy, early years, family nutrition and physical activity, and a range of adult health behaviours including smoking and mental health)

Provide drug and alcohol support for people with experience of homelessness and rough sleeping

Example interventions include:

• setting up or supporting a Lived Experience Recovery Organisation (LERO) – this could involve working with existing LEROs and collaboration with existing community organisations and venues such as community centres, churches, and libraries
• establishing therapeutic and community-connection activities using shared community spaces, for example, community gardens and art therapy groups

A LERO is an independent organisation led by people with lived experience of drug and alcohol recovery. LEROs deliver a range of harm reduction interventions, peer support and recovery support, and help people to access and engage in treatment and other support services.

Interventions to tackle anti-social behaviour, crime and minimise reoffending

Example interventions include:

• sports initiatives designed to tackle crime and minimise reoffending
• mentoring
• targeted deterrence approaches

Initiatives to reduce burglary

Example interventions include:

• community-led Neighbourhood Watch
• providing crime prevention guidance
• providing crime prevention advice, support and guidance to neighbours and nearby residents of burgled properties

School-based programmes to support young people’s development

Example interventions include:

• targeted early help support initiatives to support children and young people with emerging mental health and wellbeing needs
• facilitating access to arts, music, sports and other enrichment activities

Support to both reduce levels of child poverty and to prevent the negative impacts of child poverty on children and families

Example interventions include:

• supporting families in poverty to increase income and become financially resilient, for example, by improving access to welfare and debt advice, including awareness and uptake of social security benefits
• cost of living support for disadvantaged families to mitigate the impacts of child poverty, for example, support for travel cost and fuel, or essential household items such as furniture and white goods
• ensuring access to good quality healthy food, for example, through use of food vouchers during school holidays and nutritional support programmes
• funding for children and families in poverty to overcome barriers to digital inclusion, for example, access to the internet and or device support (funding can be used to extend existing initiatives)
• creation of community-led responses to child poverty which are accessible and destigmatising, for example, community shops with access to discounted food, school uniforms and other equipment, community kitchens and guidance services

Support for community-based learning and development

Example interventions include:

• community-based adult learning programmes, including to develop confidence and life skills (including cooking and household repair), and to improve essential skills in maths, English (including English for speakers of other languages) and digital
• youth work, family learning and other early intervention work with children, young people and families