Wandsworth Grant Fund

Priorities for funding

We award funding in line with the following priorities:

Raising aspirations
Arts and culture
Environment and attractive neighbourhoods
Children and young people
Citizenship and civic engagement
Health and wellbeing

Find out more about these six thematic areas. Your project must show a clear link to at least one of them.

Our funds

The Wandsworth Grant Fund has two funds - Innovation and Growth and Multi-Year funding.

There are typically three funding rounds per year. We accept applications for the Innovation and Growth fund across all three rounds, but Multi-Year applications are only open once a year.

Find out details of upcoming funding rounds and support with making your application, including meet the funder online events.

Innovation and Growth

This fund supports voluntary and community organisations that are testing new ideas, expanding successful work or strengthening the sector through creative or forward-thinking approaches.

It offers a single year’s funding for projects that run for up to 12 months, with grants of £500 to £10,000.

There are three rounds of funding for this fund per year.

There is a focus on approaches that drive positive change and meet the following criteria:

Piloting activity that is completely new or new to the sector or borough
Making use of new technology or tools
Responding to new local trends or issues
Using existing approaches to scale-up activity or spread work to other communities

You can apply with an existing project if you clearly show how it meets the Innovation and Growth criteria.

Multi-Year

This type of funding is designed to support projects over two years, providing organisations with longer-term stability for deeper and more sustained impact. It was introduced in response to direct feedback from applicants and grantees.

Projects are funded for a maximum of 24 months. Up to £10,000 is available per year, to a maximum of £20,000.

There is just one funding round for this fund per year.

To apply, you must have already received a grant from the Wandsworth Grant Fund before - if not, you will need to apply to and receive a grant from the Innovation and Growth fund first. You will also need to demonstrate that you have delivered this project for at least six months - new or pilot projects are not eligible for this fund.

Emergency funding

In exceptional circumstances, grants of between £500 and £5,000 may be made outside of scheduled bidding rounds

Find out about the criteria for emergency funding and how to apply.

Restrictions on funding

Please bear in mind:

You cannot hold more than one WGF grant at a time. If your organisation has an active grant from either fund you cannot apply to the other
If you do not currently hold WGF funding, you can apply to both funds when they are open
When a Multi-Year project has come to an end you can apply straightaway for new Innovation and Growth funding, but must wait 12 months to apply again for Multi-Year funding
If you have an Innovation and Growth grant, you may re‑apply one year after the date of your last successful application. You can apply while your current project is still running, but any new funding will only be released once your existing project is completed and your report has been submitted – we would therefore expect your current project to be well into delivery and close to completion before you submit a new application
If your application is unsuccessful, you can reapply in the next round - there is no waiting period

Eligibility

We welcome applications from:

UK charities registered with the Charity Commission including Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO)
Companies limited by guarantee - companies limited by shares are not eligible
Community Interest Companies - CICs must provide clear public benefit and avoid private gain, with most directors unpaid and any pay or benefits for directors being reasonable, proportionate, and approved by non‑executive directors. They should have an asset lock and charitable objectives aligned with their purpose. You will need to demonstrate that activities are not for personal financial gain (limited by guarantee not shares), and show your balance sheet is in credit at the end of your financial year
Community groups and unincorporated associations – unincorporated associations must have in place a signed constitution or association agreement, bank account in the organisation’s name with two unrelated signatories, and appropriate policies
Schools and charities working in partnership with schools - but the project must offer something extra that the school isn’t already required to provide by law, i.e. the activity being funded cannot be part of the school’s statutory duties

In general, we cannot accept applications from for-profit organisations or individuals. However, in some circumstances applications from individuals who are operating as a sole trader may be accepted – this will most likely be the case for arts professionals looking to deliver arts/cultural activity in the borough under that theme. In these cases, you will need to:

Demonstrate that the activity is not for profit or personal financial gain
Give evidence that you are registered with the Inland Revenue and provide a recent Annual Tax Return

Location

You do not have to be based in Wandsworth to apply, but your project must benefit Wandsworth residents, and we will expect activities to mainly take place in the borough.

Trustees/Directors

Your organisation must have a minimum of three trustees, directors or members of the management committee (for unincorporated groups).

Governing document

You will need to provide a signed governing document that is appropriate for your organisation (a constitution, set of rules, or articles of association), setting out how your organisation operates.

If your organisation is a CIC, your constitution should include a dissolution clause or asset lock.

Accounts

Applicants must be able to show at least 12 months of operational activity by providing yearly accounts or equivalent financial records. If you are a registered charity or charitable company, please send us the accounts for your most recent financial year. These should include income, expenditure and a balance sheet.

If you are a community group, unincorporated association, or a newer organisation that has not yet finalised your first set of annual accounts, we can accept internal financial information such as management accounts or income and expenditure summaries.

Organisations less than 12 months old can apply in partnership with other more established organisations. However, the more established organisation must be the lead partner.

Bank account

You will need to have a bank account in the organisation’s name.

Safeguarding policy

We will need to see a copy of your organisation’s safeguarding document/s setting out your commitment and approach to keeping children and/or adults at risk safe.

You may have one combined policy or separate policies for each group. If you have separate policies and your project only works with one group, we only need to see your policy for that group.

Public liability insurance

You must have appropriate insurance in place by the start of the grant period, providing a minimum of £1m in coverage. Arts professionals/sole traders must have their own public liability insurance and not rely on a body (e.g. a school or community group) who they are working with.

What we can fund

We can fund a broad range of project related costs including:

Staff salaries
Venue hire
Equipment
Volunteer expenses
Training (staff or volunteers)
Transport (excluding vehicle purchases)
Proportionate utilities and overheads
Refreshments for vulnerable groups
Small capital/refurbishment costs
Residential experiences for young people
Community gardening and environmental projects open to the public

What we cannot fund

We are unable to fund the following items/projects:

Work or activities that another organisation or public body has a statutory duty to deliver
Faith-based activities that promote religious beliefs or mainly benefit a faith group’s own members
Work that promotes political views or purposes
Tuition or university fees, or personal household items
General fundraising appeals
Contingency costs, bid writing fees, or recoverable VAT
Any work carried out before a grant is approved (retrospective costs)
Projects that are not charitable or do not benefit Wandsworth residents
Sponsorship of individuals or redistributing funds to individuals or other organisations

We cannot give funding to organisations with more than one late filing to the Charity Commission, Companies House, or other regulators in the last two financial years.

How to apply

We strongly encourage you to discuss your application with the relevant Lead Officers within the Council. They cannot write it for you or advise on a draft but will talk through your ideas and provide extra guidance and support to strengthen your application.

There are different Lead Officers for each thematic priority area. Find out more about priority areas and their Lead Officers.

Councillor endorsement

We require all applicants to secure an endorsement from a Wandsworth Councillor, to ensure projects align with local priorities and are relevant to the community.

You should approach Councillors for the ward/s in which your project is based. Find out which Councillors represent your project area.

You will need endorsements from:

One Councillor for projects based in a single ward
Two Councillors for projects spanning multiple wards or borough‑wide activity

You are strongly advised to approach Councillors as early as possible and not to leave this until you have completed your application. Applications that aren’t endorsed may not be accepted and it is the applicants’ responsibility to ensure endorsements are received by the Grants team.

To endorse your application, Councillors may email their comments directly to wgf@wandsworth.gov.uk from their own Council email accounts.

To prevent last minute approaches to Councillors, there is a stated advisory endorsement deadline of one week before the application deadline. Councillors are under no obligation to endorse projects if they are contacted after this point.

Help with completing your application

We have prepared a detailed guidance document to help answer specific queries about the application form.

If you have further questions, get in touch with us.

We are also running three online meet the funder sessions. Find out more and book:

Submit your application

Please complete the relevant application form:

Our preference is to receive applications by email. Send a signed copy of your application with all your supporting documents to wgf@wandsworth.gov.uk.

If you feel you may struggle to submit your application online, please reach out to the Grants team at wgf@wandsworth.gov.uk to discuss this further.

Ensure your application is received by us by the application deadline.

Application deadlines

The deadline for the next round of funding (Round 32) is midday on Monday 20 April 2026.

In this round, we are accepting applications to the Innovation and Growth fund only.

Upcoming funding deadlines
Round	Type of funding	Application deadline	Decision	Notification of decision
32	Innovation and Growth	Midday on 20 April 2026	Mid June 2026 (TBC)	Late June 2026
33	Innovation and Growth Multi-Year	Midnight on 6 July 2026	9 September 2026 (TBC)	Mid-September 2026
34	Innovation and Growth	Midnight on 26 October 2026	27 January 2027 (TBC)	Early February 2027

How we assess applications

After you submit your application, the Grants team will complete initial eligibility checks. If we have any questions we will get in touch to clarify or request further information.

We recognise that demand for funding is high and that many organisations across the borough need support. As a result, competition for grants can be significant. Due to the volume of applications, we may not always be able to contact you if your application is incomplete or we feel you have not provided enough evidence of need.

To ensure fairness and transparency, we assess all applications against a range of factors. These considerations may change over time in response to local needs and priorities, but typically include:

How well your project fits the criteria for the stream you’re applying to
How your project aligns with our priorities and whether you’ve shown clear evidence of need
Who will benefit, how they’ve helped shape the project, and the impact your project will have for residents
Your past performance if you’ve been funded before
Your organisation’s finances, reserves, and overall sustainability
Whether your budget is reasonable, offers value for money, and how the project will continue after our funding ends

Assessments will be undertaken by the WGF Grants team with expert knowledge and input provided by service leads operating within the thematic areas. Each application is assessed on its own terms; however funding will be prioritised where projects support young unpaid carers, vulnerable adults, and communities facing discrimination, ensuring resources reach groups with the greatest need.

Priority will also be given to projects that improve residents’ individual and financial resilience to cope with the cost of living.

If you are unsuccessful

If you are not awarded funding, we will send you a letter informing you of this decision. Officers are happy to provide further feedback upon request to support you with future applications – please email wgf@wandsworth.gov.uk.

We encourage you to access other advice and support available from Wandsworth Care Alliance

You can also investigate other funding opportunities that might be suitable for your project.

If you receive funding

If you are awarded funding, you will receive a grant offer letter and the grant terms and conditions. To accept the grant, an authorised representative of your organisation must sign and date the terms and conditions and return them to wgf@wandsworth.gov.uk within one month of the letter being issued. Further details about the process will be provided in the offer letter.

Promoting your award

We ask that you acknowledge the support of the Wandsworth Grant Fund and Wandsworth Borough Council. This might include in publications, reports, press releases, publicity materials, or other promotional content related to your funded project. The acknowledgement doesn’t need to be extensive. We will provide further guidance if you are awarded funding.

Monitoring requirements

All projects in receipt of an award will be required to monitor the progress of both activity and benefit to the participants. You will be expected to carry out a baseline measurement at the start of each project, using suitable methods related to the individuals and the intended benefits the project will provide e.g. an increase in physical activity, improved air quality or rise in numbers entering employment. The monitoring of progress should be regular, with identifiable progress being evaluated at the end of the project.

At the end of the project

All projects must submit a completed reporting template within 30 days of the project’s end. We cannot award funding for future funding rounds if any monitoring or reporting requirements remain outstanding.

Documentation

Review essential documents relating to the Wandsworth Fund, including template terms and conditions, template reports and and model policy templates you can adapt for your projects.

Approved projects

Find out about approved projects that have received grants from the Wandsworth Grant Fund in the past.

Frequently asked questions

We have answered some of the questions we are asked most frequently. Read our frequently asked questions.

Contact

If your question is not covered in this guidance, or you need further support, please contact the WGF Grants team at wgf@wandsworth.gov.uk or call 020 8871 5802.

Up to Grants for the community and voluntary sector

Updated: 16/03/2026