Hailsham Town Council Opens Second Round of Community Grant Applications

Following the recent allocation of community grants in Hailsham – and with an underspend of £3,784 from the Council’s £16,000 grants budget – a second round of grant applications is now open.

Funding is available to non-profit organisations, voluntary associations, registered charities and other local agencies for new initiatives, improved facilities or projects that benefit the Hailsham community.

While relatively small in size, these grants can have a big impact, providing vital support to groups that are planning and delivering valuable projects. The Town Council is keen to encourage applications from local organisations that meet the criteria.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• ORGANISATIONS WHICH WERE NOT SUCCESSFUL IN THE FIRST ROUND ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY, BUT MUST RESUBMIT THEIR APPLICATIONS.
• ORGANISATIONS WHICH WERE SUCCESSFUL AND RECEIVED TOWN COUNCIL GRANTS IN THE FIRST ROUND OF APPLICATIONS EARLIER THIS YEAR ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO APPLY.

Town Clerk, John Harrison, said: “The Town Council is pleased to accept applications for grant funding from local groups and organisations in Hailsham and offer small-scale support to help them with their projects, events and other valuable work in the community.”

“For many years, the Town Council has awarded grants to fund programs that relate to its grant criteria and considers each application fairly and openly.”

Cllr Colin Mitchell, Chair of the Finance & Governance Committee, added his support: “Our grant scheme is the main way in which the Town Council provides funding and support to the voluntary sector. Most of the time, voluntary groups and charities survive on the generosity of donations from the public, fundraising and the willingness of volunteers to give up their time.”

“Small grants such as these are a valuable addition to this mix and can make a considerable difference to them when planning and funding a worthwhile project. Such organisations are assets to the local community, and I’m proud the Town Council can help them to keep up their excellent work.”

The deadline for the second round of applications is 4pm on Friday 10th October 2025. Applications will be reviewed by the Finance & Governance Committee in December, with decisions announced shortly afterwards.

>>View POLICY/CRITERIA & APPLICATION FORM

Grant Application Guidelines

When assessing applications, the Town Council will consider the following:

• Activities of the organisation or association should be readily available to the community in general.
• Membership should be appropriate to the activity and should encompass junior, senior, full and part-time residents and be available for disabled people if possible.
• The range of activities carried out and the programme of the organisation should be available for reference.
• The current financial situation should be substantiated by either audited accounts or a business plan for a new group or organisation.
• Groups and organisations should demonstrate that they have applied for financial aid from other sources.
• Groups and organisations must be able to demonstrate how they spend any grant received.
• Financial aid will not normally be offered to any commercial or national organisation body or group from outside the town unless it can be shown that the local population will be able to derive some benefit from the services provided.

>>View POLICY/CRITERIA & APPLICATION FORM