Bolton at Home Community Investment Grants.

Grants up to £500 are available to support projects that will benefit Bolton at Home Customers. Funding can help you in many ways. For example, to buy new equipment or materials, to run a community event, to launch a new group or to help promote and run existing groups locally.

The funding is to support projects that will benefit Bolton at Home Customers. Your project must help people in at least one of the following ways:

1. Anti-Poverty – supporting people to relieve financial pressures and reduce poverty - for example, developing a food growing project.
2. Community Cohesion – to help make the community stronger and to encourage communities to come together – for example, organising a family fun day.
3. Environment – improving the local environment by keeping it clean and tidy - for example helping maintain gardens, communal areas or organising a clean-up.
4. Healthier and Active Ageing – improving residents’ (and older people’s) health and wellbeing – for example, dance classes to improve fitness.
5. Youth – increasing the opportunities/activities available for young people - for example, running a youth group.
6. Social isolation and wellbeing – ensuring residents have access to a friendly ear to support them and opportunities for meaningful contact and activity that promotes good mental and physical health during the covid-19 crisis (within constraints of social distancing and self-isolation)

We Can Fund:  Volunteer expenses.  Events that bring communities together.  To test a new idea in your community.  Equipment – we will ask you to explain why you need this equipment. We will not fund the purchase of equipment for a one-off activity or event.  Reasonable transport costs if needed to enable people to access your project. (You will need to justify this in your application.)  Sessional worker, coaching costs (or salaries for larger projects.) These need to be in line with recognised pay scales or hourly rates for the type of work you are doing.  We welcome organisations who pay and/or are accredited Living Wage employers (for more information see: livingwage.org.uk).  Reasonable contributions towards project running costs. For example, room hire or insurance.  Training costs. (

Deadline and Payments:

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Payments to successful applicants will be made no later than 2 weeks from the date of approval.

To be eligible to apply, your group or organisation must be:  A constituted voluntary or community group*  A registered charity  Another type of constituted not for profit organisation. Other eligibility factors include:  Your group or organisation must be based and/or provide benefit to people living in the Metropolitan borough of Bolton (Bolton Council’s local authority area).  Organisations must be up to date with the monitoring returns for any grants managed through Bolton CVS**.  Have a charitable-type dissolution clause or an asset lock.  Have a bank account in the name of the group (not an individual) with at least 2 signatories of people who are not connected or living at the same address if you are a community group or a charity.  Have a bank account that is FSCS protected – we can’t pay money into accounts run by companies that offer e-money including prepaid cards and accounts such as PayPal.  Have a minimum of 3 committee members or trustees if you are a community group or charity, or a minimum of 2 directors if you are a Community Interest Company.  If your costings include payments to a trustee or committee member, your governing document must allow this and you must have appropriate procedures in place to manage any potential conflict of interest.  We expect you to have appropriate insurance for your groups’ activities.  Your sports coaches (volunteer or paid) must be registered with Bolton Council’s Register of Sports Coaches or another suitably recognised body.  If you are working with children or young people and/or vulnerable adults, your group or organisation needs to have a named committee member or trustee responsible for safeguarding. Your Safeguarding Policy must outline clear steps to take in the event of an incident or disclosure, including who to inform and how to contact them.