Community Health and Wellbeing Fund

NHS Gloucestershire ICB recognises that good health is shaped not only by health and care services, but also by strong communities, supportive relationships, local assets and the wider determinants of health. As a strategic commissioner, their role is increasingly focused on creating the conditions that enable people, communities and places to thrive.

Building on the NHS Gloucestershire ICB Community Health and Wellbeing Fund 2025, this fund will support community capacity building to help tackle health inequalities across Gloucestershire.

Community capacity building means supporting communities to develop the skills, confidence, relationships and resources they need to respond to local priorities and improve quality of life. It is closely linked to health creation: the process through which individuals and communities gain a stronger sense of purpose, hope, control and influence over their lives and local environment.

The funding is intended to strengthen community infrastructure and support organisations to work in ways that are sustainable, collaborative and responsive to community need.

Unlike traditional project grants, this fund is focused on building the organisational and community capacity that enables long-term, community-led action. This may include investment in:

• organisational development
• leadership
• partnership working
• volunteering
• community organising
• community engagement
• workforce capacity
• innovation
• or other activity that increases the ability of communities to respond to local needs.

The fund is not intended to replace statutory commissioning or provide ongoing funding for established service delivery. While funded organisations may deliver activities that improve health and wellbeing, the primary purpose of this investment is to strengthen the capacity, connections and infrastructure that make those activities possible and sustainable.

Through this approach, NHS Gloucestershire ICB aim to support a stronger and more resilient VCSE sector that can play an increasingly significant role in neighbourhood health, prevention and wider system transformation.

Purpose

Feedback from VCSE organisations has consistently highlighted the importance of core and multi-year funding. Building trusted relationships, strengthening organisations and creating lasting change in communities takes time, and short-term project funding does not always provide the stability needed to plan strategically and embed that change.

In response, NHS Gloucestershire ICB are taking a different approach to the Community Health & Wellbeing Fund this year, to support organisations to make deeper, longer-term change in their communities.

Grants of £10,000–£30,000 per year will be available for up to three years, with a stronger focus on core funding and investment that builds long-term community capacity. As a result, it may support fewer organisations than some previous funding rounds, but the aim is for each investment to create lasting improvements in community capacity, health and wellbeing.

Healthier communities cannot be created through services alone. Health is created in the places where people live their everyday lives: through relationships, connection, local leadership, community action and the ability of people to shape the conditions around them. A thriving VCSE sector is essential to making this possible.

Rather than funding isolated short-term projects, this fund is intended to build the foundations that enable communities to identify their own priorities, develop local solutions and respond to changing needs over time. NHS Gloucestershire ICB are particularly interested in applications that strengthen organisational resilience, develop community leadership, build partnerships, increase volunteering, enhance collaboration and create lasting community capacity.

The fund supports Gloucestershire’s wider ambition to shift towards prevention, neighbourhood health and reducing health inequalities. NHS Gloucestershire ICB want to invest in organisations and partnerships that act as community anchors, build social capital and strengthen the wider ecosystem that enables communities to flourish.

Through this fund, NHS Gloucestershire ICB are investing in community-led approaches that strengthen the capacity, resilience and sustainability of the VCSE sector. This investment forms part of Gloucestershire’s wider VCSE Partnership Model, developed with VCSE organisations and system partners to support a more connected, equitable and sustainable approach to community health and wellbeing.

Successful applications will clearly show how the funding will lead to stronger communities, more sustainable organisations and local partnerships beyond the lifetime of the grant. This funding is not about increasing your capacity to do more of the same. It is an investment in working differently and more strategically, enabling your organisation to create greater impact and deliver sustainable change.

Using the evidence provided in the application form, an initial eligibility and quality assessment will identify applications that do not meet the core purpose of the fund. This will include applications that do not clearly demonstrate community capacity building or do not identify a relevant community need.

Applications that pass this initial stage will be assessed against the following criteria:

• community capacity building that clearly demonstrates changes in working differently and more strategically
• evidence of need and contribution to reducing health inequalities
• VCSE sustainability, resilience and legacy
• partnership working with communities, VCSE organisations and system partners (e.g. NHS providers, social care)
• value for money and deliverability - including where appropriate, evidence of efforts to maximise impact through leveraging in additional funding i.e. match-funding.

Final funding decisions will remain with NHS Gloucestershire ICB, informed by the panel’s assessment and available budget.

Once the assessment and decision-making process has been completed, applications will be reviewed using Fund Gloucestershire’s AI due diligence and criteria scoring assessment. This will enable NHS Gloucestershire ICB to compare output from their funding panel’s scoring with the Fund Gloucestershire AI outcomes. Insights gained will be used to support organisational learning and inform the approach to future funding rounds.

Timeline

The dates below are the anticipated timeline for this grant. While we will aim to keep to these dates, they may be subject to change. Please refer to the Timeline section once you have applied on our platform for the latest updates.

• Applications open: Monday 14 September 2026
• Application closing date: 23:59 on Monday 23 November 2026
• Funder review process starts: 24 November 2026
• Funder decision date: 8 January 2027
• Applicant offer acceptance deadline: 22 January 2027
• Grant agreement signature date: 29 January 2027
• Payment distribution date: 29 January 2027
• Feedback start date: 8 February 2027

Who can apply?

Before applying, please review the fund purpose and eligibility criteria carefully and consider whether your proposal clearly reflects the fund's focus on building long-term community capacity.

Eligible applicants include:

• voluntary and community organisations
• registered charities
• community interest companies
• other not-for-profit groups working in Gloucestershire.

Your organisation must have been operating for at least one year, and you cannot apply for more than your organisation's annual turnover per year.

You must have a bank or building society account in the name of your organisation or group.

There must be two or more signatories for the bank or building society.

Who cannot apply?

Applicants not able to apply include:

• sole traders
• statutory organisations
• schools and academies
• organisations based outside Gloucestershire are not eligible unless they can clearly demonstrate substantial delivery, partnership and community benefit within Gloucestershire.
• organisations that are already receiving NHS funding from NHS Gloucestershire ICB
• applications from outside of England will not be considered. 

What can the grant money be used for?

This funding can support both core and capacity-building costs that strengthen an organisation's ability to respond to community needs. Eligible costs may include:

• staffing
• programme delivery
• transport
• insurance
• rent and utilities

Funding can also support activities that strengthen organisational capacity, including:

• organisational development
• leadership development
• workforce capacity
• innovation
• partnership working
• volunteering
• community organising
• community engagement

Funding may also support the continuation, expansion or development of services that address identified community needs.

Partnership applications are welcome. Where organisations apply together, one eligible organisation must act as the lead applicant and will be responsible for receiving and managing the grant.

What can’t the grant money be used for?

The grant cannot be used for:

• capital building works
• planning works
• consultancy costs where these do not directly build lasting community or organisational capacity
• VCSE infrastructure support.

Application questions

1. Please tell us briefly about your organisation, what you do, and the communities you support. (Up to 1,200 characters)

2. What community need, issue or opportunity are you responding to? (Up to 2,000 characters)

Please include local evidence, lived experience, demand, community feedback or other information that helps explain why this work is needed.

3. What are you applying for funding to do or strengthen? (Up to 9,000 characters)

Please include in your description:

• Where will the work take place and where will the people who benefit live or come from?
• Who will benefit from the funding? Please include expected number where you can.
• Who will deliver the work, and what experience, partnerships or resources will help to deliver it well?
• How will you make sure the work is accessible and reaches the people it is intended to support?
• How will the work help reduce health inequalities or improve health and wellbeing?

4. How will this funding build community capacity and create a lasting legacy? (Up to 4,500 characters)

Please explain how the funding will strengthen people, communities, organisations, partnerships, volunteering, leadership, skills, confidence, networks or local assets. Also describe what you expect to be stronger, more sustainable or better connected at the end of the funding period

5. How have the people or communities you support helped shape this work? (Up to 2,000 characters)

Please tell us how community voice, lived experience or local relationships have influenced your plans.

6. How will you know whether the funding has made a difference? (Up to 1,500 characters)

Please describe how you will capture learning, feedback, outcomes, stories, data or other evidence.

Budget questions

Organisations can apply for grants between £10,000 and £30,000 per year for up to three years. Where funding is awarded for more than one-year, continued support will be subject to the terms of the grant agreement, which will be reviewed annually.

1. How much grant funding are you requesting?

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting for one year only, even if you are applying for funding over more than one year.

Example: If you are requesting £30,000 per year for three years: Q1: £30,000

2. How much grant funding are you requesting in total and over how many years?

State the total amount of funding you are requesting across the full funding period, and the number of years you are requesting funding for

Example: If you are requesting £30,000 per year for three years: Q2: £90,000 over 3 years. 

3. Is the full cost of the work more than the amount requested? (Up to 1,000 characters)

If yes, please tell us what other funding, income or support is already in place or being sought i.e. match funding.

Required Documents

Core documents

When you register with Fund Gloucestershire, you will be invited to upload a number of core documents to your organisational profile.

These core documents are required for the Community Health and Wellbeing Fund. You will need to check that they are present and up to date in your profile under 'Organisation settings' in the platform. Once uploaded, we will store these documents for use in other funding applications.

1. Most recent annual accounts -preferably the most recent audited or independently examined accounts, if available

2. Safeguarding policy - please note, if you have two separate safeguarding policies for Adults and Children, you will need to make sure they are combined into one PDF document and uploaded on to your organisational profile.

3. Public liability insurance certificate - must be cover for at least £10 million

4. Employer's liability insurance certificate - must be cover for at least £5 million

Additional documents

NHS Gloucestershire ICB has also requested the following documents from applicants to the Community Health and Wellbeing Fund.

You will be prompted to upload these in the 'Required documents' section of your application.

5. Counter Fraud Policy

6. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

7. Complaints Policy

8. Project budget

You will need to detail what the funding will pay for by completing the following project budget table: Community Health and Wellbeing Fund Budget Template.

You can also find this when you are logged in the platform under: 'Funding opportunities' -> 'More information' -> 'Application questions and documents required'.

You will need to provide a clear breakdown of the main costs and how much you are asking for, including any core costs, staffing, volunteer expenses, equipment, transport or delivery costs and whether you are asking for multi-year funding.

For multi-year grants, reporting should be proportionate to the stage of delivery. Interim reports in Years 1 and 2 can be lighter-touch, focusing on progress to date, emerging outcomes, any significant learning or challenges, and any changes to planned delivery.

The final report should provide a fuller reflection across the whole funding period, including overall impact, longer-term sustainability, learning and legacy.

You will be asked to respond to the questions below at the end of each reporting year. Your responses should be proportionate to the stage your project has reached.

1. What did you deliver with the funding? Key activities, timescales, location, and how many people benefited

2. What difference did the funding make?

a) What was the impact of Community Capacity Building?

Please describe the outcomes resulting from your community capacity building efforts, including how these initiatives have strengthened community skills, resources, and overall resilience.

b) What were the main outcomes for people, communities or organisation(s)?

Please share both quantitative and qualitative evidence of impact as well as any creative evaluation methods used (e.g. film, visual arts, storytelling, infographic). Where possible please demonstrate how you empowered participants to participate in the evaluation.

c) How has your work made effective use of resources to achieve longer-term sustainability?

If applicable, please share whether your work has generated income and enabled your organisation to secure additional funding or create new income streams?

3. What did you learn, and what is the legacy?

What worked well, what was challenging, and whether the work will continue, change or lead to anything further.

Once you have reviewed the criteria and eligibility for this fund to determine if it is right for your organisation, you will need to set up an organisational profile with Fund Gloucestershire to access the application form and apply.

Please see detailed guidance about how to create an account here.

Once you are registered with Fund Gloucestershire, you will be able to upload your key organisational information and due diligence documents. We will store them securely so they're ready when you are to apply for funds. We'll even remind you when they need updating.

Log in to access the application form and complete it online, saving as you go. Or, if you prefer, you can download the application questions in the platform, prepare your application offline and then cut and paste your responses into the application form.

This fund will close for applications at 23:59 on Monday 23rd November 2026.

NHS Gloucestershire hosted an online webinar on Microsoft Teams, for organisations to hear more about the scheme and to ask any questions.

This happened on Monday 28th September 2026 from 12:45-14:15.

NHS Gloucestershire ICB are working on how to share the webinar recording and will make it available as soon as possible. 

A summary of the FAQs related to the Health and Wellbeing Community Fund is provided below

For any additional questions about the fund, including eligibility, please email glicb.hciteam@nhs.net.

For all enquiries related to the application process on Fund Gloucestershire's platform, please contact us at hello@fundglos.org.uk