Guidance on Small Grants Fund 2026/27

Reading Borough Council has allocated £150k for small grants to the voluntary and community sector for the year 2026/27.  

The council is inviting applications for funding to support our aims to:  

• Tackle Inequality: by prioritising those at greatest risk of exposure to deprivation and improving health and economic benefits for everyone in Reading.  Enabling our residents to become more self-sufficient, providing support for those on low incomes who encounter a financial shock, increase people’s financial resilience to enable communities to better deal with crises in the long-term, and reducing dependence and repeat need for financial support.
• Be actively anti-racist:  by tackling discrimination, reforming systems, promoting inclusion, supporting education, challenging bias, ensuring accountability, and celebrating diverse communities to build equality, understanding, and belonging.

The deadline for application is 13/11/2026. We will notify bidders if they were successful before Christmas.

If you have any queries, please contact Bikal Shrestha, Funding Officer-Community and Government Programmes email:  bikal.shrestha@reading.gov.uk / telephone: 0118 937 3324.

Purpose of the funding 

The Council Plan sets out the vision for Reading to reach its potential and to ensure that everyone living and working can share the benefits of our town’s success. 

We want Reading to be a place where inequality within our communities is reduced – whether that be differences in health, access to economic opportunities, or the educational attainment of our children.

The small grants fund is focussed on supporting the objectives of the Council Plan to promote more equal communities within Reading, to create further opportunity for local voluntary and community organisations to play an active role in making Reading a more equal place to live for its residents.

What can you apply for? 

Grants of up to £7,500 are available for smaller local VCS organisations who are not already financially supported by the council or who have received less than £20,000 in support during 2026/27 

A proportion of the small grants funding will be used to support bids under £2,500.  This is to provide direct support to smaller scale local activities within our communities. Bidders should provide evidence on how activities are not already provided within local area. 

If you are applying for a small amount of funding of £250 to £500, you should apply for a micro grant.

Who can apply? 

Are you a registered charity or not-for-profit organisation?

The grant is available to smaller local VCS organisations :

• with an annual income below £100k
• who received less than £20,000 from the council in the previous year

The grants programme is aimed at voluntary and community groups and schools based in Reading borough: 

• Charitable organisations 
• Voluntary organisations
• Community groups
• Faith groups
• Sports groups
• Arts groups
• Cultural organisations
• Uniformed groups (scouts, guides etc.)
• Schools
• Not-for-profit social enterprises 

One bid per organisation

Who can’t apply? 

• Individuals or business organisations
• Organisations with income thresholds above £100k
• Bidders who have already received £20k or more grant funding via Reading Borough Council (2025/26) will not qualify to apply
• Bidders who have projects that are identical to or a continuation of those for which they received funding in the previous round

What will be funded? 

The intention is to encourage small local VCS organisation and innovative community action, and the criteria is non-prescriptive to enable communities to apply for funding to support activities that are right for their community. All applications should demonstrate how they increase financial resilience of individuals or communities and support some, or all of the following key elements of Council Plan objectives to promote more equal communities within Reading, and the Council’s Anti-Racism Statement.

 Tackling Inequality Strategy

• Enable our residents to become more self-sufficient
  Provide support for those on low incomes who encounter a financial shock, increase people’s financial resilience to enable communities to better deal with crises in the long-term, and reducing dependence and repeat need for financial support.
• Promote best practice across Reading’s schools
  Help to improve educational attainment and narrow the gap for disadvantaged and vulnerable children.
• Reduce inequalities
  Improve health and economic benefits for everyone in Reading. 
• Tackle social and economic inequalities in partnership with the voluntary and community sector.

Be actively anti-racist

• Speak out and act together
  Take a zero tolerance approach to racism, support those affected, promote inclusive conversations, and challenge racist behaviour, bias and micro-aggressions.
• Change systems and structures
  Tackle institutional racism, and reduce inequalities in outcomes across racial and ethnic groups.
• Listen, learn and educate
  Promote understanding of racism and inequality through education, allyship, and community partnerships, while championing inclusive leadership and shared responsibility for equality.
• Celebrate and amplify voices
  Celebrate the contributions of Black, Asian and other minority communities, and build strong inclusive relationships where everyone feels valued and heard.

Grants can be awarded for purposes such as:

• One-off local events
• Running events
• Minor start-up costs (e.g. to get a new idea/project ‘off the ground’)
• Purchasing equipment
• Sessional costs

To make sure that the funding is not dominated by the more established VCS organisations funding will only be given to a project or activity that addresses an unmet need of Reading residents and is not funded or able to be funded through other sources. Applicants will be expected to disclose their other funding to be funded through other sources. Applicants will be expected to disclose their other funding sources. 

What should applications include? 

Within the provision of the information about the application, bidders will need to provide details of the following to demonstrate the impact and realistic viability of their proposals:

• Project title and aim of the project
• Current annual Income
• Evidence of need (data, research, community feedback, examples)
• Description of what the grant will be used for and how many people are expected to benefit
• Statement of how it will make a difference/how this will address the need
• A realistic plan for delivery with a key timeline and potential risks
• Realistic Budget or expenditure breakdown
• Details of any match funding and the source of this funding
• Provide the organisation’s constitution if your organisation is not a registered charity or CIC

Small Grants Fund scoring matrix

Funding conditions 

The project activities proposed for funding must not already be available within local area.

The funding will be required to be spent within 12 months of the award. Successful applicants will be expected to provide an Interim report on their project after 6 months and a full report at the end of the project (12 months).

Decisions 

• Applications will be reviewed against the criteria set out in the background information above and we will notify bidders if they were successful before Christmas.
• Decisions will be recorded and published on an Officer Decision Notice (ODN). This is a requirement for decisions which can be taken by officers without the approval of a committee where the total of all grants is greater than £100k.

Make you objectives SMART