VCS Cost of Living Grant Fund 2024/25

This new grant fund has been set-up to help local Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations respond to the cost of living crisis through the provision of community spaces with associated activities, and social activities including food for older people. 

Aim of the fund 

This Cost of Living Grant Fund is intended to support voluntary sector organisations by boosting the current offer of community spaces and food provision in Wandsworth with a view to build capacity and sustainability, to enable people to keep warm and fed during winter and beyond and reduce isolation. 

The funding is focused on projects supporting people directly affected by the cost of living crisis - so, it is not open to the entire VCS. 

With a budget of up to £350,000, the fund will award grants of between £2,500 to £15,000 and will be available for voluntary and community organisations to deliver activities for up to a maximum of 12 months. There are two main priorities to this funding: 

Priority 1

Funding for cost of living projects, in particular community spaces and food projects with a focus on building capacity and sustainability. 

This could include expanding your services to support more residents and supporting residents to be able to use their own resources more effectively and having less need for your services - for example, shopping or cooking on a budget. It could also include building your organisation’s capacity to be more sustainable - for example through operating differently or training staff and volunteers to upskill them.

• Application deadline for Priority 1: 29 July 2024
• Grant Sub-Committee: 26 September 2024
• Executive: 30 September 2024
• Projects begin: October to December 2024

Projects will need to demonstrate that they meet an immediate, targeted need and that they have considered an appropriate exit strategy for when this funding ends. 

Priority 2

Funding core programme costs for organisations who are struggling with the cost of living due to proven increased demand on their services which support residents being impacted by the cost of living, with a focus on moving to longer term sustainability. 

• Application deadline for Priority 1: 2 September 2024
• Grant Sub-Committee: 6 November 2024
• Executive: 25 November 2024
• Projects begin: March to May 2025

Organisations’ core costs are supported through this funding, which is now in its third year. This funding is only intended to see organisations through a time of increased demand and should be considered as one-off funding. Therefore, applicants will be asked to consider how they can build their resilience and core service capacity to operate on a more sustainable footing in the future. 

Applicants for this priority must be able to demonstrate the increased demand for their services and that these services are directly supporting residents due to the impact of the cost of living crisis, whilst supporting residents to move on to a longer-term sustainable position, and not being reliant on their services. 

Wandsworth Grant Fund 

If an organisation has applied to the Wandsworth Grant Fund for the same or a similar project under one of its themes e.g. Health and Wellbeing, then this will be taken into consideration as will any other current council funding and be considered a lower priority. 

You can apply to both rounds, however, the total amount of funding an organisation could apply for in total will be £15,000. 

Advice and guidance

Read the guidance notes to find out more about:

• Eligibility criteria
• How much and what you can apply for
• How your application will be assessed
• Advice on how you can best make a case for supporting your application 

A series of ‘Meet the Funder’ events are also available online for you to learn about the fund and provide an opportunity for you to ask questions. Events are running on these dates:

• Wednesday August 7 from 12 to 1pm
• Wednesday August 14 from 12 to 1pm
• Friday August 23 from 12 to 1pm

How to apply

Download the Cost of Living Grant Fund application form.

Submit a signed copy of your application, with all your supporting documents by email to: applywgf@wandsworth.gov.uk.  

 Applications can be sent at any time, ahead of the following closing dates:

• Priority 1 - Community spaces and food: 9am on Monday 29 July 2024
• Priority 2 - Support for core costs: 9am on Monday 2 September 2024