Small one - off capital grants fund

Applicants who meet the funds eligibility and funding criteria can apply for a small “one-off” capital grant of between £5,000 and £15,000. You will need to ensure that you are able to contribute or secure a minimum of 20% of the total project costs.

We will provide a grant of up to 80% up to a maximum of £15,000. Should you need to apply for larger amounts or are unlikely to be able to fundraise and complete your project by the end February 2026 then we suggest that you apply through our Capital Leverage Fund which re-opens on 1 May 2025.

We can fund small one-off capital projects that support community facilities and the places we live by improving our infrastructure, access to local amenities and our sense of belonging. Examples might include:

• village hall or community building enhancements, alterations or improvements
• improvements to greenspaces, nature trails resulting in better access and experiences
• improvements to sports pitches and playing fields (including Play equipment)
• small capital projects that improve accessibility to local amenities for communities
• outdoor play areas including multi-use games areas (MUGAs)
• new public art
• improvements to visitor experience when visiting local heritage, arts and museum venues
• projects that improve the social fabric and foster pride in local towns and their communities
• projects that improve health outcomes and enable people to access  local amenities
• projects that support our Cultural Strategy and Dorset Council priorities
• projects that strengthen local communities, address inequality and improve wellbeing.

We cannot fund:

• core or continuation costs e.g. normal staffing costs, business rates, normal insurance, and other running costs normally incurred by the organisation
• projects that have already started unless it is a new phase of development (building) that has not yet begun
• capital projects that have been in receipt of an award previously but are yet to commence or reach their funding targets  
• funding to match against funds solely sourced from Dorset Council or your own organisation
• any projects connected with or funded from other Dorset Council project funds
• non fixed sports equipment and other small non fixed capital items e.g. lawnmowers, printers, personal computers and electronic equipment, kitchen utensils, mobile phones
• restoration of public art or memorials
• the purchase or maintenance of vehicles or minibuses
• purchase of speed indicator devices (SIDs)
• supply or installation of solar panels, ground/air source heat pumps.
• projects outside the Dorset Council area i.e. Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and other surrounding areas
• projects which we believe could harm the reputation of Dorset Council
• projects which duplicate a service already commissioned by Dorset Council
• projects that cannot demonstrate financial need - proof of capital reserves may be asked for
• the purchase of a new lease or any legal costs associated with securing or renewing a lease

The following groups can apply:

‘Not for profit’ community organisations in the Dorset Council area, with an annual turnover of less than £1million can apply.

This includes:

• accredited museums
• arts organisations
• Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO’s)
• community buildings that are owned by Dorset Council and leased to a Voluntary Community Organisation (not within any repairing agreement with Dorset Council), subject to permission from us and can demonstrate 10 year security of tenure
• community centres, spaces and village halls
• Community Interest Companies (CIC). We will only fund CICs with a minimum of 3 directors, two of whom must be unrelated. We need to see a clear ‘Asset Lock’ Statement and Memorandums and Articles of Association.
• community sports facilities
• Company Ltd by Guarantee (not for profit)
• constituted organisations
• heritage organisations
• non-profit making organisations operated with no undue restriction on membership e.g. charities
• partnerships of organisations with a written partnership agreement (town councils can be part of a partnership project) 
• Registered Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC)
• town and parish councils
• Voluntary and Community Sector organisations
• youth centres and community-run pre-schools

If your organisation has an annual turnover of over £1million, contact us to discuss your application first. You may still apply but will be a lower priority.

These organisations cannot apply for funding:

• newly constituted organisations who have been in existence for less than 12 months
• nurseries or pre-schools (unless it is a community led trust)
• educational facilities (schools, universities, colleges)
• religious establishments for religious use. The panel will consider distinct buildings used for community activities i.e. community hall but it must be a separate charity/trust or demonstrate extensive community use.
• hospitals or hospices
• private businesses or commercial organisations including preschools, nurseries, and schools
• individuals or requests for personal equipment
• organisations who have an annual income more than £1,000,000

 

Our dates for this one-off grant are as follows:

• opens Wednesday 23 April 2025
• applications close Thursday 5 June 2025 at midnight
• Grants Panel will assess applications by the end June 2025
• decisions will be communicated to all applicants by end July 2025

There will only be one Panel meeting this year where small capital grants will be considered.

If you decide to apply for the Capital Leverage Fund Round 6 instead then there will be two assessment dates, one in September 2025 and one again in January 2026.

Read the application guidance before you apply to:

• make sure that you have access to any supporting documents and policies that we require you to provide to complete and submit your application
• see if you need to review/improve any of your policies
• find out if your project has or needs planning permission or any other consents, for example a listed building.
• ensure that you have the landlord’s permission to carry out any works before the intended start date
• make sure you can complete your project before the end of February 2026. As we need to allocate and commit our funds by this date. There will be no extensions

Before you start

You will need a copy of the following documents to complete this application:

• your organisations latest set of approved accounts (within last 12 months)
• your organisations last 3 bank statements (within the last 3 months) showing name of organisation, account number and sort code
• your safeguarding policy
• your governance document e.g constitution, articles of association
• your Public Liability Insurance
• your Employers Liability Insurance (if appropriate)
• your GDPR policy
• your EDI policy or statement
• your organisations lease (if appropriate)
• your quotes for any works you require to be funded
• evidence of planning permission (if required)

If you need help with your governance or policies then you can contact our VCS infrastructure support organisation:

Telephone: 013059 269214

Email: support@volunteeringdorset.org.uk

Website: www.volunteeringdorset.org.uk

How to apply

This small capital grant opens for new applications on Wednesday 23 April 2025

We will only accept applications submitted through our online form.

Apply now

Help writing your application

The Arts Development Company can offer advice and support with your application if you:

• are new to writing applications for cultural projects
• have a good project idea but need help with developing it ready for funding

Email: hello@theartsdevelopmentcompany.org.uk 

Phone: 01305 228528

Contact us

If you'd like to speak to us about your project, you can email us at communities@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk 

Once you have completed both parts of the application form, you will receive an email notification from Dorset Council confirming that your application is complete. You will also be provided with a unique application number and a PDF copy of your application.

The Dorset Council grants team will then assess your application and make recommendations for the grant panel to consider your application. Should we require additional information we will contact you directly. We aim to notify you of our decision by the date shown on our fund web page.

Unsuccessful applications

If your application is unsuccessful, we can contact you to discuss what options you may have to secure a grant. You may decide to submit a separate application to Dorset council’s Capital Leverage Fund Round 6. Our advice is given on a case-by-case basis.

Decisions made by our grants panel are final. There is no appeals process.

This small capital grant fund is subject to the following terms and conditions:

• applicants who have in the last 12 months been offered a grant through the council’s capital leverage fund and, or are awaiting completion of their project cannot apply for a small one-off grant to “top up” their funding. 
• any funds awarded will only be released when the grants panel are confident that all other funding is secured and in place
• applicants who are successful will need to be able to secure and draw down other external funding and start their project by the end February 2026.
• if funding is not confirmed / in place by the end of February 2026 we may withdraw our offer of a grant
• if any changes are made to the project you must consult with us. Failure to do so may result in part or all the grant awarded having to be returned
• if for any reason you find that external funding applied for is unsuccessful you must contact us immediately to discuss how this will impact on your original project.
• for projects being delivered by a consortia or partnership, it is the lead partner who is responsible for overseeing delivery and monitoring of the project
• applicants will be required to submit an end of project report once they complete their project.
• applicants will be asked to sign a standard grant agreement with full details of their grant award including terms and conditions
• all organisations will need to submit an 'End of Project Report'
• applicants will need to demonstrate and evidence that their project is needed and that the intended beneficiaries of the project have been involved and consulted with
• decisions made by our grants panel are final. There is no appeals process
• we will not accept/consider any applications received after the closing date
• applications not submitted on the council’s online application form will not be considered
• we reserve the right to make changes to the guidance and/or programme after its launch. We will communicate any changes as quickly as we can
• If your application does not meet this grants criteria it may be necessary for you  to apply to the council’s Capital Leverage Fund R6 instead.  Where this is the case applicants will be notified
• in some cases, it may not be possible to award the full amount requested by the applicant. If this is the case a ‘partial’ award may be offered
• we may share information regarding your grant request with other funding agencies so that we are able to make the best use of our funding and avoid duplication

We will shortlist, review and make recommendations for funding via our grant panel(s).

There will be 2 rounds of grant assessments throughout the year. Assessment dates and final award decision dates are published on this page and in the grants guidance document. Where demand for grants is high, we reserve the right to change these dates.

There will be 2 grant panels. One panel will consider applications from the voluntary and community sector, whilst the second will focus on applications from the cultural sector.

Each Grant Panel will comprise of at least 3 specialist officers (one acts as the panel chair), the portfolio holder for communities and at least one representative who brings with them their expertise and knowledge of Dorset’s community and cultural sectors.

Applications will be screened by each member of their respective grants panel to ensure fairness.

Where a conflict of interest occurs, the relevant officer/representative will not take part in the assessment and the conflict of interest will be recorded.

An assessment summary of all eligible and shortlisted applications, with officer recommendations are put forward by our grants officer/manager, to be considered by each of the grant panels. The recommendation by the grants officer/manager is for guidance only.

Councillors will be able to comment and offer feedback on specific projects in their ward through a ‘councillor feedback ‘ form which is linked to the online application form.

The panel will assess each application against the fund criteria. Decisions are made by a majority vote. Where there is no majority, our portfolio holder for communities will have the deciding vote. The panel decision is final.

If an applicant withdraws their application after the panel decision has been made, the chair, in consultation with the other panel members, can agree to award the grant to another applicant.

Any decision to amend the award if the project or organisation has changed, or new information comes to light that affects the application will be considered by the grants officer/manager and panel chair, in consultation with other panel members as appropriate.

We share basic data information regarding your application with other local grant managers/funding streams.

This enables us to:

• make informed funding decisions
• avoid duplication of funding
• ensure value for money is achieved through our grant making processes

We also make sure that applicants data is stored appropriately. See details of our Data Privacy and GDPR policy.