Wandsworth Grant Fund thematic priorities

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The Wandsworth Grant Fund has six thematic areas, and your project must demonstrate a clear link to at least one of them.

Each theme also includes specific priorities, and your application should show exactly which of these your project will address. 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.

We strongly encourage you to discuss your application with the relevant Lead Officers, who can talk through your ideas and provide extra guidance and support to strengthen your application. 

1. Raising aspirations

We are committed to helping working‑age residents who are unemployed, economically inactive, or at risk of social exclusion. Our goal is to build stronger, more resilient communities by raising aspirations and developing local skills. 

Priorities for this theme include:

  • Supporting residents into employment, training, or enterprise - including outreach to those who are hard to reach, people out of work long-term, residents aged 40+, and adults with learning disabilities, as well as support for people starting their own business
  • Building skills, confidence, and job readiness - including training, digital skills, interview preparation, and support that helps people sustain employment once they start work
  • Connecting residents to real job opportunities in growth sectors - including training linked to vacancies in areas like creative industries, tech, construction, and healthcare

Contact the Lead Officers for this theme: 

2. Arts and culture

As part of our legacy from our time as London Borough of Culture, we seek to support the development and delivery of creative projects designed with, and for, Wandsworth residents that support the cultural life of the borough.  

Working across all art genres (e.g. community festivals, choirs, performances, visual arts), this funding is designed to support all residents accessing, engaging and/or participating in creative activities. WGF applications should align with the Arts and Culture Strategy 2021–31, and help to contribute towards at least one of the seven goals 

We are keen to support projects that work with residents from a wide range of backgrounds and reach new and/or hard to reach audiences, including those who might not have access to technology and resources.  

Priorities for this theme include:

  • The development and delivery of high quality, flexible and responsive arts led activities, from across all art genres
  • Developing strong partnerships - that also help to build applicants knowledge and understanding of groups, networks and organisations in the borough
  • Research and development/pilot activity - that tests new ways of working, that has clear benefit to residents and the cultural offer in the borough
  • Sustainable skills development - opportunities for Wandsworth-based artists, organisations and residents to develop their skills, practice and/or ways of working to help ensure their cultural offer can be maintained and sustainable

Contact the Lead Officers for this theme:

3. Environment and attractive neighbourhoods

We’re working to make Wandsworth greener and cleaner for everyone by cutting emissions and pollution, adapting to climate change, and supporting sustainability and the circular economy.

Priorities for this theme include:

  • Tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions - reducing the borough’s carbon footprint, improving energy efficiency and increasing renewable energy generation, and supporting delivery of Wandsworth’s Environment and Sustainability Strategy
  • Improving local environmental quality and biodiversity - including enhancing green spaces, boosting biodiversity, improving local air quality and adapting to our changing climate including flooding and overheating
  • Reducing waste and promoting a circular, low waste lifestyle – projects that encourage low waste, circular lifestyle choices: supporting increased reuse, composting, and recycling, to cut resource use and reduce carbon emissions from waste
  • Encouraging sustainable travel and developing green skills - including active and sustainable travel initiatives, as well as increasing climate awareness and green skills - especially for children and young people

Contact the Lead Officers for this theme:

4. Children and young people

We want to improve opportunities for children and young people aged 0 to 19 (or up to 25 for those with disabilities). We’re especially focused on supporting those who need extra help to thrive, including young people with disabilities, from low-income families, young carers, those at risk of exploitation or exclusion, in care or leaving care, and those facing discrimination due to ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, or other factors.

Priorities for this theme include:

  • Early help and prevention for vulnerable children and young people - including support through key life transitions, safeguarding those at risk, involving young people in decisions, and providing safe spaces, trusted adults, and positive activities
  • Activities that promote healthy lifestyles, safety, and personal development - Covering opportunities for 8 to 19 year olds to build life skills, stay active, develop confidence, and reach their full potential within their communities
  • Support for structured youth provision and community groups - including funding for uniformed groups (such as Scouts, Guides, Cadets) to purchase equipment, improve buildings, support transport for educational trips, and deliver new activities

Contact the Lead Officers for this theme:

5. Citizenship and civic engagement

We aim to encourage active citizenship so that residents feel empowered to take part in community life and shape the places where they live.

Priorities for this theme include:

  • Increasing active citizenship, voice, and participation - encouraging volunteering, supporting residents to build confidence and communication skills, and helping people (especially underrepresented groups) speak up for themselves and take part in local opportunities
  • Strengthening community leadership, cohesion, and intergenerational connections - building confidence and leadership within communities and supporting projects that bring different ages, cultures, and faith groups together
  • Supporting inclusion and engagement for underrepresented communities - ensuring disadvantaged or marginalised groups can access the borough’s opportunities and play an active role in community life
  • Enhancing the sustainability and engagement of community organisations – projects that help neighbourhood and residents’ associations improve engagement, leadership, and long-term sustainability (except where already funded by Housing)

Contact the Lead Officer for this theme:

6. Health and wellbeing

We support community-led projects that help Wandsworth residents improve and maintain their health and wellbeing by building on local strengths and making good use of community based opportunities.

Priorities for this theme include: 

  • Active lifestyles and healthy eating - supporting activities that increase physical activity, promote healthy eating, improve access to nutritious food, and strengthen community capacity to provide healthy food
  • Supporting mental wellbeing, connection, and inclusion - reducing loneliness and social isolation, promoting mental wellbeing, improving digital inclusion, and providing cultural appropriate, community or peer led support
  • Strengthening support for carers and vulnerable groups – providing opportunities for unpaid carers to maintain their own wellbeing alongside their caring responsibilities, and ensuring accessible, inclusive support for residents with physical, sensory, or learning disabilities and other vulnerabilities
  • Aligning with local health priorities and strategies - projects supporting the aims of the Wandsworth Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy and contribute to wider borough health goals

Contact the Lead Officers for this theme:

Up to Wandsworth Grant Fund

Updated: 14/03/2026