Financial Support and Grant Awards Policy
Financial Support and Grant Awards Policy for Holton-le-Clay Parish Council. Reviewed April 2023
Objective.
The Parish Council wishes to support activities and causes which benefit the parish of Holton-le-Clay. Financial support and/or grant awards are any payment made by the Parish Council for the specific purpose for which it is claimed and for the well being of the community.
Policy
The Parish Council may grant financial support and awards, at its absolute discretion, to organisations and groups which can demonstrate a clear need for financial support to achieve an objective which will benefit the Parish of Holton-le-Clay by:-
• Providing a service
• Enhancing the quality of life
• Improving the environment, and promoting the Parish of Holton-le-Clay in a positive way
The Parish Council CAN NOT award grants to:-
• Private individuals
The Parish Council will not normally award grants to:-
• Commercial organisations
• Purposes for which there is a statutory duty upon other local or central government departments to fund or provide
• “Upward funders”. i.e. local groups where fund-raising is sent to a central HQ for redistribution
• Political parties
This list is not exclusive, and may be added to at the council’s discretion. Only one application for financial support or grant award will be considered from any organisation or group in any one financial year. Ongoing commitments to financial support or award grants in future years will not be made. A fresh application will be required each year. This will be at the discretion of the council. Financial support and/or grants awards will not be made retrospectively.
Eligibility.
Any financial support and/or grant award made by the Parish Council must clearly show a direct benefit to some or all of the residents of the parish of Holton-le-Clay.
The following criteria must usually be met before consideration for financial support and grant award:-
• The group must be a charity, voluntary or community organisation;
• The group must be able to demonstrate that any funding from the Parish Council will directly benefit the residents of Holton-le-Clay;
• The group must be formally constituted and have a management committee made up of volunteers.
Conditions.
• Multiple applications within a 12 month period will not be considered
• The Parish Council reserves the right to reclaim any grant not being used for the purpose specified on the application form.
• The Parish Council will, therefore, be allowed to verify that the monies have been spent accordingly
• Proper evidence of actual or estimated expenditure must be supplied to the Parish Council prior to the payment of financial support and/or grant award. If the Parish Council is not satisfied with the arrangements it reserves the right to request a refund of monies
• Grants cannot be awarded after the relevant project or event has been completed
• An acknowledgement on receipt of the financial support and/or grant award is required
Application Process.
• Applications should be made using the official application form and delivered to the Parish Clerk at the Parish Council Office.
• Applications are accepted at any time of the year but decisions on the level of financial support and/or grant funding will normally only be made annually as part of the process of the setting of the forthcoming years budget
• Applicants will normally be informed of the application outcome within one month of Full Council meeting resolving the forthcoming year’s budget.
• The Parish Clerk will retain copies of all applications for future reference.
Promotion.
The Parish Council will ask for recognition from successful applicants in the form of the promotion of the Parish Council in the organisation’s newsletter or any press release. The Parish Council will also recognise successful applicants in its own reports to parishioners.
The above Policy of authorising financial support or grants is subject to the over-riding condition that the Parish Council must be in a financial position to enable it to do so.
For regular Section 137 Grants under £100 the above criteria should be used but no official application is required.