Hailsham Town Council Reinstates Community Grants Scheme

Hailsham Town Council is pleased to announce that grant application forms are available for non-profit organisations, registered charities or other local agencies intending to request funding for new or improved facilities, activities or projects from Hailsham Town Council’s 2024/25 grants budget.

The announcement follows a decision made by town councillors last year whereby the community grants scheme was put on hold, one of several proposed cost savings to ensure a minimal increase in its share of the council tax and precept.

At its meeting held on Wednesday [24 January], the Town Council agreed however, to reinstate the scheme for the next financial year and grant applications are once again being accepted with immediate effect.

Councillor Gavin Blake-Coggins, Chair of the Town Council’s Finance, Budget & Resources Committee said: “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 has reinstated its community grants scheme to help them keep up the excellent work they are doing in the local community.”

Councillor Blake-Coggins added: “Any group that has a constitution, a non-profit ethos and are of benefit to the local community of Hailsham may apply for a grant for the 2024/2025 financial year.”

Town Clerk, John Harrison commented: “By reinstating the grants scheme, we can be proud once again to offer small-scale support to help local community groups, volunteers and charities 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.”

All grant applications will be considered by the Grants Sub-Committee in late March and notification of the decision on your application will be released soon thereafter.

Application forms and grant award criteria are available by writing to Michelle Webber at Hailsham Town Council, Inglenook, Market Street, Hailsham, BN27 2AE or by email to michelle.webber@hailsham-tc.gov.uk. The deadline for grant aid applications will be Friday 8th March 2024.

When considering grant applications, the Town Council will consider the following guidelines:

• 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.
• 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.