Small One-off Community grants – now open
Following on from the UKSPF grants in 2024 further Shared Prosperity Funds (SPF) for community is now available for the financial year 2025 to 2026.
This will meet the government priority of Communities and Place, under the theme of Health, Safe and Inclusive Communities.
As part of our sub-theme of ‘Bringing communities together’ grants are now available titled ‘Small One-Off Community Grants’.
A pot of £135,000 is available for community and volunteer groups that meet the grant criteria.
Grant Timescales
Our dates for this one-off grant are as follows:
- opens Wednesday 23 April 2025
- applications close Thursday 5 June 2025 at midnight
- Grants Panel will assess applications by the end June 2025
- decisions will be communicated to all applicants by end July 2025
There will only be one Panel meeting this year where small capital grants will be considered.
About the Small Grants Fund
Our Community and Partnerships team is managing the Community pot for the Shared Prosperity Fund 2025 to 2026. To apply for a capital grant use our Small Grant Fund guide.
The fund aims to provide “one-off” capital grants to help address inequality in local communities, increase access to amenities, strengthen the social fabric in towns and villages, and invest in local activities, buildings and spaces. The grants will also support our residents to access better life chances and improve well-being and health in the places they live.
Grants will be for small capital projects only. Awards will be “one-off” and cannot be repeated due to the nature of the funding. Applicants must focus their application on residents who live within the Dorset Council area only.
How much can you apply for
Applicants who meet the funds eligibility and funding criteria can apply for a small “one-off” capital grant of between £5,000 and £15,000. You will need to ensure that you are able to contribute or secure a minimum of 20% of the total project costs.
We will provide a grant of up to 80% up to a maximum of £15,000. Should you need to apply for larger amounts or are unlikely to be able to fundraise and complete your project by the end February 2026 then you should apply through our Capital Leverage Fund which re-opens on Thursday 1 May 2025.
Projects we can fund
We can fund small one-off capital projects (including heritage, arts, museums and sports) and that support community facilities and improve the places we live by improving our infrastructure, access to local amenities and our sense of belonging. Examples might include:
- village hall or community building enhancements, alterations or improvements
- improvements to greenspaces, nature trails resulting in better access and experiences
- improvements to sports pitches and playing fields (including Play equipment)
- small capital projects that improve accessibility to local amenities for communities
- outdoor play areas including multi-use games areas (MUGAs)
- new public art
- improvements to visitor experience when visiting local heritage, arts and museum venues
- projects that improve the social fabric and foster pride in local towns and their communities
- projects that improve health outcomes and enable people to access local amenities
- projects that support our Cultural Strategy and Dorset Council priorities
- projects that strengthen local communities, address inequality and improve wellbeing
How to apply
Details of the grant funds eligibility and criteria and how to apply are in our guide:
For details of our other grant funds, opening times and how to search for funding visit our funding for voluntary and community groups page.
Searching for funding
Look at our Funder finder webpages to search and browse hundreds of grant funders. It’s a one – stop shop for organisations and groups to search for grants to support their projects. It’s free and easy to use.