Woking Borough Council
Civic OfficesGloucester SquareWokingSurreyGU21 6YL
Telephone: 01483 755855
Completing your grant application form
General Points
The Council has developed an electronic application form for Capital and/or Revenue Grants and Small Grants. The form will be automatically populated with information from the applicant's Window on Woking webpage, including contact details and aims of the organisations. The questions posed by the form will be based on the type of funding requested to a certain extent; if applying for one year only, the applicant will not be required to provide a budget for any subsequent years. An example of the questions posed by the application form has been drawn up.
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The form can be saved at any point and returned to on a later date. It is recommended that applicants save the form at regular intervals when filling it in.
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Every question must be answered. If you cannot answer a question or if it is not applicable to your application please answer 'Not applicable' and explain why.
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You must include all the information requested i.e. Accounts, Estimates, Constitution and Management Committee details. You can either choose to attach documents to the application form, send paper copies by post or, in some cases, enter the details directly into the application form. A check list included at the end of your application form to ensure that you do not forget anything.
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Some of the text boxes have limits on the number of words; if you require more space, there are additional boxes on a number of the pages to add further information. A final opportunity to add additional information in support of the application is available at the end of the form.
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Remember to provide as much information as possible about your Organisation and its work, as this will help in understanding your application. If you would like to provide additional information i.e. annual reports, publicity leaflets or performance review information please feel free to do so.
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Once completed, applications can review their form before submitting it to the Council.
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Details of a Group's application are available through their Window on Woking page, providing details of the officers dealing with the application and the Committee to which it will be submitted.
Specific Points
Reserves Policy
All Groups should seek to adopt a Reserves Policy, which should be formally agreed by the trustees acting as a board and recorded in writing. The policy should cover as a minimum:
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The reasons why the charity needs reserves.
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What level (or range) of reserves the trustees believe the charity needs.
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What steps the charity is going to take to establish or maintain reserves at the agreed level (or range).
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Arrangements for monitoring and reviewing the policy.
The amount of time spent preparing the policy, and the detail with which it is set down, should be in proportion to the scale and complexity of the charity's affairs. A small charity with a simple, stable pattern of receipts and payments, few if any commitments, and little susceptibility to outside influences should be able to cover the matters above relatively quickly and to record briefly the trustees' conclusions.
Community Strategy
The Council has adopted a Community Strategy which seeks to bring together public and private bodies and community groups looking at local needs. The Strategy covers all aspects of living and working in Woking, including education and skills, social conditions, health and tackling crime.
Through the Council's Grant Scheme, it is intended to support the Community Strategy by concentrating funding in those areas identified by the Strategy. When completing the application, you should identify those elements of the Strategy which would be furthered by the Council's support of your organisation.
Equal Opportunities
The Council is committed to the provision of equal opportunities, both within the activities of Woking Borough Council and in the Community. Your organisation should look to conduct its affairs in a manner which will not cause disadvantage on the following grounds: race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age. Please use this box to outline your organisation's policy for equal opportunities.
Performance Review
If your application for grant is approved you will be required to keep a record to demonstrate the success of your project. Please indicate how you will monitor your success and what indicators you will use to measure your performance.
In providing targets you need to be realistic. Targets should not be designed to impress, neither should they be artificially low. If achievement falls below the target and there is a reasonable explanation for this, this will not prejudice an application.
In completing this section of the application form, remember that its purpose is to give a feel for how your project will meet its objectives, if it has been successful and whether it has been well managed. The following examples may help:
Example Project 1 - To Build a Kitchen Extension onto a Community Centre
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Need/Objective |
Target/Aim |
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Need for a place in the local area for social events to take place to create a sense of community in the area. |
Hall to be booked for social occasions for x nights after kitchen completed - bookings to increase by x amount. |
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Objective is to maximise bookings as a result of kitchen. |
Kitchen to be completed by December. |
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Objective to complete kitchen in time to have a big Christmas party for children. |
x number of children to attend Party. |
Example Project 2 - To Set Up an Advice Centre for People in the Community
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Need/Objective |
Target/Aim |
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Need for advice on Welfare Benefits. |
x number of people given advice in first three months of operation. |
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Help people reduce debt. |
x number of debt arrangements made in first three months of operation. |
It will be necessary for organisations to set up systems to collect the information required to measure achievement against targets.
Sustainability
The following themes have been identified by Woking Borough Council as issues which can help lead to the continued sustainability of the Borough. Please consider whether there are any opportunities for your Organisation to help meet these objectives and explain how your Organisation will work to promote sustainability.
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