Have you got a Grand Idea?

Grand Ideas offers funding up to £1,000 for community projects that will make a difference to the lives of our communities.

You can apply if you are a:

• Community or residents group
• Voluntary group
• Social enterprise
• Registered charity
• School
• Statutory organisation or parish/town council

Applicant groups must have a bank account, equal opportunities policy and constitution as a minimum. Projects must support one or more of the priorities outlined in our community investment strategy on the previous page.

We can’t accept funding applications from:

• Individuals
• Where there is no Sanctuary housing or Supported Living schemes who will benefit

There are some specific areas of the country where Sanctuary has a large amount of housing, these areas have dedicated local neighbourhood teams who work in the community. If your projects is in one of these areas, your application will be passed to the local neighbourhood team for consideration. These areas include:

• Cherwell (includes Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington)
• Chester*
• Hackney, London
• Scotland
• Shiregreen, Sheffield
• Rochford**
• Torbay

*If your application is for funding in the Chester area, we have a fund called Chester Community Chest which you can use to apply for funding. Details are available on the Chester & District page. You will not be able to apply for both Chester Community Chest and the Grand Ideas Fund for the same project.

**If your application is for funding in the Rochford area, we have a fund called Maureen's Gift which you can use to apply for funding. Details are available on the Rochford Housing page. You will not be able to apply for both Maureen's Gift and the Grand Ideas Fund for the same project.

• Support people to develop new skills, gain a qualification or to access work experience leading to increased employability.
• Increase levels of health and wellbeing – healthy eating workshops/events or fitness activities leading to feelings of improved physical health, art and craft events leading to improved mental wellbeing or activities leading to reduced isolation.
• Enable people to feel safe in their communities and to have an increased sense of belonging.
• Support people to access technology.
• Enable residents to engage in improving spaces or places and to for them to be better used by the community.
• Focus on financial inclusion, for example enabling people to access appropriate and impartial advice managing money or financial services or which lead people to have increased confidence to manage their money.

There are a few things that our funding cannot be used for, including:

• Building, maintenance or structural improvements
• Ongoing running costs e.g. insurance, utility costs, rent, salaries
• Funding individuals or projects which only benefit one person
• Fixtures and fittings e.g. chairs, tables etc. unless the project cannot run without the specialised equipment
• Sponsorship or projects which are motivated mainly by marketing or branding
• Alcohol

See examples of recent community projects by reading our Grand Ideas fund latest news.

Download and read our guidance notes (PDF 167KB) for further information.

If you have a great idea for a larger scale project i.e. over £1,000 please contact us on 01905 335 411 or email community@sanctuary-housing.co.uk.

Below is a list of the information that you will be asked to provide should you submit a Grand Ideas application:

• Date of application
• Organisation name and contact details
• Organisation type – CIC, charity, residents association etc.
• Charity/Company number and attach constitution
• Project name (10 words)
• Project location ( 10 words)
• Project start and finish dates
• Project description (250 words)
• The need for the project (150 words)
• Who will take part in the project and what difference will it make (200 words)
• What involvement has the community had, or will have, in the planning, design and delivery of the project (150 words)
• Who will beneficiaries be – provide an estimate of the number of people both Sanctuary and non-sanctuary residents expected to benefit (200 words)
• How will you make this project accessible?
• Total project cost – provide full project breakdown
• Amount requested from Sanctuary and what specifically will it be used for?
• Detail anticipated or secured additional funding
• Are any other partners involved? If so what is there role?
• Which elements of your project do you hope will continue after it ends?

Complete the Online Application Form. All applications must be submitted online via our website. We recommend that you use the editable Grand Ideas Fund Application Form (PDF 278KB) version of the form to draft your application as you will need to submit it online in one go. Please note that users are unable to save the application form mid-completion; you must complete the application form in its entirety and then submit it.

We will contact you within five working days to confirm receipt of the application.

All applications will be assessed on the first working day of the following month. You will be notified of the decision the same week by email or by phone. You should have a minimum of 6 weeks between submitting your application and the project starting to ensure adequate time is given.

If your application is successful, we will expect you to agree to the conditions of the funding which includes: recording your expenditure, working with us to monitor your progress and sharing stories. We will provide you with a Sanctuary contact to help you to make sure that your project is a success.