Community Empowerment Fund

The Community Empowerment Fund was created to enable communities to develop and deliver projects aimed at meeting the needs of their residents. Key to this will be the involvement of local Ward Members as one of the key contact points in local communities, who will work with and support local community groups to develop project ideas that meet identified need on a ward basis.

Who is entitled to apply?

Projects must be managed by a non-profit organisation based within Caerphilly county borough, of one of the following types:

• Unincorporated voluntary/community organisation or club with an adopted constitution or rules 
• Charities or Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) registered with the Charities Commission 
• Community organisations who are Companies Limited by Guarantee (CLG) with no share capital and are registered with Companies House
• Community Interest Companies (CICs) which are not established or conducted for private gain: any surplus or assets are used exclusively for the benefit of the community

What level of grant is available?

The maximum amount available to any organisation/community group is £4,940. Approved projects where the total cost is less than £4,940 can be awarded a grant of up to 100% of the project costs. Larger projects costing over £4,940 can receive a grant of up to the maximum amount, with the expectation that the remainder of the funding required will be sourced by the organisation/community group from other sources.

Due to each Ward Member having an allocation of £4,940, organisations may be offered less than the maximum amount if there are multiple applications in individual wards in a single application round. Should this be the case, Ward Members in the relevant ward will be involved in discussions around prioritising which projects should be supported.

Applications should be for a minimum amount of £1,000, and this can be made up of a number of different items in order to reach this minimum amount. Applications for less than £1,000 will not be considered.

How often are applications considered?

There will be multiple rounds of the grant scheme each year and closing dates will be communicated to Ward Members. Ward Members will be able to work with and support community groups and organisations to make an application – for details of your local Ward Member please go to Your Councillors.

How to apply

If you feel your project meets the agreed criteria, we would welcome a conversation with you, so we can understand what your project entails and help to ensure that the application process is as easy as possible. If your project meets the criteria, we will then send out an application form for you to complete. Please contact:

Policy and Partnerships Team:
Caerphilly County Borough Council, Penallta House, Tredomen Park, Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed, CF82 7PG.

Email: cef@caerphilly.gov.uk
Telephone: 01443 866391