If an application is approved

Accepting Your Grant

You will receive an e-mail advising you if a grant has been approved. The e-mail will provide details of the level of grant approved and will set out the conditions of the grant and the performance monitoring criteria.

If you are able to meet the grant conditions you should write to the Council as soon as possible accepting the grant and the grant conditions. The funding will only be available for release once written acceptance has been received.

Payment of the grant will be made in arrears, usually in stages, subject to the grant conditions being met. Applicants should pay invoices for the goods received/services provided and then submit evidence of the payments made. You should be able to demonstrate that the grant conditions have been complied with and that there is still a need for the financial assistance approved.

Conditions of any Grant Approved

All grants are subject to certain conditions. Examples of some of the standard conditions which may be applied are set out below. Organisations should ensure that the conditions which are set out in the offer letter can be met before accepting the grant. Every applicant must provide the information requested under the conditions of the grant within three months of the end of the financial year in which the grant is given. In some cases, if the grant is paid in instalments, information must be provided before the next instalment of the grant is paid.

If conditions are not complied with then no further grants will be approved. In addition, if the conditions are not complied with, any grant approved within that financial year, which has not been paid, will not be available to the applicant.

The following standard conditions may be applied or conditions may be tailored according to individual applications:

  1. ACCOUNTS - Submission of accounts for the year in which the grant is given, plus accounts for the previous financial year (these should have been sent with the grant application form). Payment will not be made until the accounts for the previous year are submitted. Accounts should be independently examined and the Group should have a clear reserves policy.

  2. BUDGET - An income and expenditure budget for the current/next financial year should be submitted with the grant application. If not, this will be required. Payment will not be made until a budget is provided. The Group will also be required to show the performance against the budget.

  3. ESTIMATES - Two written estimates for the purchase of equipment/work to be undertaken should have been submitted with the grant application form. If not, these will be required. Payment will not be made if these are not available - applicants must not proceed with work/purchase until an estimate is accepted.

  4. INVOICES - The grant will be paid in arrears following submission of paid invoices relating to the work. Invoices may be submitted in stages.

  5. RECEIPTS - The grant will be paid in arrears following submission of receipts relating to equipment purchased/services provided. Receipts may be submitted in stages.

  6. INSPECTION - For capital projects the final portion of the grant (10% of the grant as a minimum) will not be paid until the work carried out has been inspected by officers of the Council and is deemed to be satisfactory.

  7. WAGES - Grants for wages will be paid in arrears, in instalments, following submission of copies of salary/wages slips.

  8. RENT - The grant will be paid in arrears following submission of paid invoices for rental payments. If rental is towards Woking Borough Council premises, this will be paid by internal transfer on a quarterly basis.

  9. STATEMENT OF USE - All applicants are requested to provide a statement of the use to which the money has been put.

  10. PUBLICITY - Where possible, the group is required to publicise the support received from Woking Borough Council, including on all literature and leaflets produced.

  11. APPROPRIATE QUALITY MARKS - The Group to work towards an appropriate Quality Mark, such as the Community Legal Services Quality Mark and/or Investors in People.

  12. PERFORMANCE REVIEW - All grants are subject to the Council's policy of Performance Review. On the grant application form you should provide details of performance targets.

The objective of this is to:-

a) Satisfy the Council that the organisation is clear about what it intends to achieve;

b) Ensure that a proper timetable for completion/development of a project has been set;

c) Ensure that the project is related to the needs it aims to meet; and

d) Provide targets against which the project can be developed.

In addition, you will be advised of performance review conditions as part of your grant offer e-mail. You should therefore ensure that proper records are kept to measure the organisation's targets. Furthermore, organisations will need to show performance against the projected budgets.

Future Grant Awards

An indication of future funding by the Council will be provided with the grant offer e-mail. It is stressed that approval of a grant does not guarantee any future commitment by the Council.

Tapering Grants

The Council has adopted a tapering policy for applications for on-going revenue costs such as rent. The graduated approach has been adopted to encourage Organisations to either achieve self financing status or make applications to other funding bodies.

It should be noted that whilst the application of a taper gives an indication of future grant awards, each application is considered on its merits each year. If there are circumstances where the application of a previously agreed taper would cause extreme financial difficulties then the taper can be reviewed accordingly.