Capital Leverage Fund Round 7

Before you apply

Read the application guidance before you apply to:

• see the questions and plan your answers
• find out which documents to submit to support your application
• set up an account and apply

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

We encourage applicants to write in their own voice and share their organisation's unique experiences, perspectives and ambitions.

While AI tools can be helpful to support organisational capacity, we ask that responses are not AI-generated and instead reflect your organisation’s genuine voice, perspective and creativity.

How to apply

Applicants must have submitted their completed application no later than midnight on 10 January 2027. Any applications received after that date will not be considered. 

We will only accept applications submitted through the online form. 

Applications for the September Panel must be submitted no later than midnight on Friday 4 September 2026. Applications received after this deadline will be considered by the January Panel.

Please read our guidance on how to complete the Capital Leverage Fund online application form before applying.

Apply now

Contact us

If you'd like to speak to us about your project, email us at:

• [email protected] (community applications)
• [email protected] (cultural applications), or
• Vicky de Wit [email protected] (museums and heritage project proposals)

Governance and policies

If you need help with your governance or policies, contact Volunteer Centre Dorset, email [email protected] or phone 01305 269214.

Help to complete the online form

You can call our Digital Dorset Hotline on 01305 221048 for help completing the online form. They are available from 10am to midday on weekdays (except bank holidays). At other times, please leave a message and they will get back to you.

We can fund capital projects including:

• village hall or community building enhancements, renovations, maintenance, or new build projects, including car parks, play areas, MUGAS, pitches, and landscaping
• capital projects that address disadvantage or equal access for communities
• capital projects that may contribute to an improved environmental impact or address climate change themes
• outdoor play areas including multi-use games areas (MUGAs)
• new public art
• landscaping for improving accessibility and improving inclusivity
• project management costs
• feasibility studies or first stage conceptual development (e.g. Heritage Lottery Fund form passed)
• projects that support our Cultural Strategy and priorities

‘Not for profit’ community organisations in the Dorset Council area, with an annual turnover of less than £1 million can apply.

This includes:

• registered charities
• Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs)
• social enterprises (companies limited by guarantee that have a clear not-for-profit clause in their governing document and clear charitable or social objectives aligned to the funding programme)
• company limited by guarantee (not for profit)
• parish councils (town councils may apply as part of a consortium)
• partnerships of organisations with a written partnership agreement (town councils can be part of a partnership project)
• Community Interest Companies (CIC) that are Limited by Guarantee and registered with the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies (see additional guidance below)
• faith groups and churches (provided they are not promoting religious beliefs)
• newly established groups that can meet the council’s mandatory governance requirements
• constituted Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) sector organisations
• community buildings owned by a third party and leased to a Voluntary Community Organisation, subject to permission and with at least 10 years’ security of tenure
• community buildings owned by Dorset Council and leased to a Voluntary Community Organisation (not within any repairing agreement with Dorset Council), subject to permission from us and with at least 10 years' security of tenure
• accredited museums and heritage organisations
• arts organisations
• community sports facilities
• registered Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC)
• community centres and village halls
• youth centres and community-run pre-schools

If your organisation has an annual turnover of over £1million, contact us to discuss your application first. You can still apply but will be a lower priority.

Additional Guidance for Community Interest Companies (CICs)

We will only fund CICs who have at least three unrelated directors who are not members of the same household. We need to see a clear ‘Asset Lock’ statement and memorandums and articles of association.

1. In addition, CICs must be registered with the Office of the Regulator of CICs and must be Limited by Guarantee.
2. Salaries and benefits paid to directors of CICs must be reasonable and proportionate to the work that they do and the financial position of the organisation, in order to prioritise the services/activities being delivered.
3. In cases where a director may benefit from activities run by the CIC, a conflict of interest policy should be in place.

The total funding available for this fund is £155,000 for 2026/27.

You can apply for a capital grant of between £1,000 and £25,000, to fund up to 20% of your total project costs.

You can apply for a grant for a particular phase or element of your project. if you have completed an earlier phase, we will consider funding additional works to allow completion.

If you plan to use the funding for feasibility studies or first stage conceptual development, we can fund up to 20% of your total project costs up to a maximum value of £15,000.

If you plan to use some of your grant to cover project management costs, you can request up to 10% of your total grant to go towards these costs, up to a maximum value of £2,500.

Funding must be matched by other funding from outside of your organisation. You will need to give evidence of external funding before we can release our funding to you.

We expect demand for funding to be very high so we may award you less than you apply for.

If your organisation has other projects funded by capital funding from us (for example, capital leverage or leisure development funding), they must be completed before applying to this fund.

Your application will be assessed by the grants panel on the next assessment date after you apply.

Round 7 assessments

• Wednesday 17 September 2026 - Applications for this panel close at midnight on Friday 4 September 2026. Any applications received after this deadline will be considered by the January Panel.
• Sunday 10 January 2027

We may defer applications to a later panel date where more information is required.

We will award funding to successful applicants on the following dates:

• September 2026 panel – awards confirmed by October 2026
• January 2027 panel – awards confirmed by February 2027

Funds will be available for 2 years after an award is made. This will be reviewed by a monitoring officer after 12 months.

You must tell us about any changes to your project. Failure to do so may result in part or all the grant awarded having to be returned or not allocated.

For projects being delivered by a consortium or partnership, the leaseholder will act as the lead partner. They will be responsible for overseeing the delivery and monitoring of the project.

You will be asked to sign a standard grant agreement with full details of your grant award including any terms and conditions.

You will be required to submit an annual progress report during the project followed by an end of project report.

If your application is unsuccessful, we will contact you to discuss whether you’d like it to be deferred and considered at a future round of funding. Our advice is given on a case-by-case basis.

Decisions made by our grants panel are final. There is no appeals process.

These organisations cannot apply for funding:

• newly constituted organisations who have been in existence for less than 12 months
• nurseries or pre-schools (unless it is a community led trust)
• educational facilities (schools, universities, colleges)
• religious establishments for religious use. The panel will consider distinct buildings used for community activities i.e. community hall but it must be a separate charity/trust or demonstrate extensive community use.
• hospitals or hospices
• private businesses or commercial organisations including preschools, nurseries, and schools
• individuals or requests for personal equipment

Funding cannot be used for:

• projects under £1,000
• core or continuation costs e.g. normal staffing costs, business rates, normal insurance, and other running costs normally incurred by the organisation
• projects that have already started unless it is a new phase of development (building) that has not yet begun
• funding to match against funds solely sourced from Dorset Council or your own organisation
• any projects connected with or funded from other Dorset Council project funds
• non fixed sports equipment and other small non fixed capital items e.g. lawnmowers, printers, personal computers and electronic equipment, kitchen utensils
• restoration of public art or memorials
• the purchase or maintenance of vehicles or minibuses
• purchase of speed indicator devices (SIDs)
• projects outside the Dorset Council area i.e. Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and other surrounding areas
• projects which we believe could harm the reputation of Dorset Council
• projects which duplicate a service already commissioned by Dorset Council
• projects that cannot demonstrate financial need - proof of capital reserves may be asked for
• the purchase of a new lease or costs associated with renewing lease

This fund is subject to the following terms and conditions:

• applicants who have been offered a grant or are awaiting payment of their grant from a previous round cannot apply again in round 7
• any funds awarded will only be released when the grants panel are confident that all other funding is secured and in place
• applicants who are successful will have up to 24 months to secure and draw down other external funding and start their project
• if funding is not in place by the end of 24 months, we may withdraw our offer of a grant
• if any changes are made to the project you must consult with us. Failure to do so may result in part or all of the grant awarded having to be returned
• if for any reason you find that external funding applied for is unsuccessful you must contact us immediately to discuss how this will impact on your original project/build
• for projects being delivered by a consortia or partnership, it is the lead partner who is responsible for overseeing delivery and monitoring of the project
• applicants will be required to submit an end of project report once they complete their project/build
• applicants who are not ready to start within 12 months of an award will need to provide an interim report to the council to determine if their project is progressing as planned and any external funding applied for has been secured
• applicants will be asked to sign a standard grant agreement with full details of their grant award including terms and conditions
• all organisations will need to submit an 'End of Project Report'
• applicants will need to demonstrate and evidence that their project is needed and that the intended beneficiaries of the project have been involved and consulted with
• decisions made by our grants panel are final. There is no appeals process
• we will not accept/consider any applications received after the closing date
• applications not submitted on the councils online application form will not be considered
• we reserve the right to make changes to the guidance and/or programme after its launch. We will communicate any changes as quickly as we can
• where demand for funds are high it may be necessary to defer some applications to another round. Where this is the case applicants will be notified
• in some cases it may not be possible to award the full amount requested by the applicant. If this is the case a ‘partial’ award may be offered
• we may share information regarding your grant request with other funding agencies so that we are able to make the best use of our funding and avoid duplication

We will shortlist, review and make recommendations for funding via our grant panel(s).

There will be two rounds of grant assessments throughout the year. Assessment dates and final award decision dates are published on this page and in the grants guidance document. Where demand for grants is high, we reserve the right to change these dates.

There will be two grant panels. One panel will consider applications from the voluntary and community sector, whilst the second will focus on applications from the cultural sector.

Each Grant Panel will comprise of at least three specialist officers (one acts as the panel chair), the portfolio holder for communities and at least one representative who brings with them their expertise and knowledge of Dorset’s community and cultural sectors.

Applications will be screened by each member of their respective grants panel to ensure fairness.

Where a conflict of interest occurs, the relevant officer/representative will not take part in the assessment and the conflict of interest will be recorded.

An assessment summary of all eligible and shortlisted applications, with officer recommendations are put forward by our grants officer/manager, to be considered by each of the grant panels. The recommendation by the grants officer/manager is for guidance only.

Councillors will be able to comment and offer feedback on specific projects in their ward through a ‘councillor feedback ‘ form which is linked to the online application form.

The panel will assess each application against the fund criteria. Decisions are made by a majority vote. Where there is no majority, our portfolio holder for communities will have the deciding vote. The panel decision is final.

If an applicant withdraws their application after the panel decision has been made, the chair, in consultation with the other panel members, can agree to award the grant to another applicant.

Any decision to amend the award if the project or organisation has changed, or new information comes to light that affects the application will be considered by the grants officer/manager and panel chair, in consultation with other panel members as appropriate.

We share basic data information regarding your application with other local grant managers/funding streams.

This enables us to:

• make informed funding decisions
• avoid duplication of funding
• ensure value for money is achieved through our grant making processes

We also make sure that applicants data is stored appropriately. See details of our Data Privacy and GDPR policy.