Thriving Communities Grant

The council is committed to helping people live healthy, independent and fulfilling lives and recognises the vital role that local communities, volunteers and voluntary organisations play in achieving this. By investing in local organisations and activities, GCC helps build stronger, more resilient communities where people can access support, stay connected and remain independent for longer.

The Thriving Communities Grant scheme is part of the council's approach to prevention and wellbeing. It supports local organisations to deliver activities and services that help reduce loneliness and isolation, improve wellbeing, strengthen community connections and provide support before people reach crisis point.

The council works closely with Gloucestershire's voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, local residents and partner organisations to understand local needs and support community-led solutions that make a lasting difference.

Through this scheme, GCC is investing in the people, groups and organisations that help make Gloucestershire a place where everyone can thrive.

The funding helps community and voluntary organisations to connect people to their communities, reducing isolation, and improving physical and mental wellbeing.

What is the grant for?

• Projects that help adults to stay well and support them to live independently for as long as possible
• Developing community connections, social networks and building resilience
• Promoting inclusive independence and wellbeing in adults
• Providing place-based activities (activities in residential communities), for example community-led activities
  

What can the grant money be used for?

• Costs to set up a new project or maintain an existing project
• Staffing costs
• Volunteer expenses
• Project/programme delivery costs
• Equipment costs
• Core funding (for example, insurance, rent, utilities)
• Transport costs (for example, taxis)
• Continued delivery of projects or increased activity to meet demand

What can't the grant money be used for?

• Capital (building and planning works)
• Consultancy costs
• Vehicles

Thriving Communities so far

Since the scheme launched in 2018, GCC has invested nearly £3.2 million in more than 480 community projects across Gloucestershire. These projects help people build confidence, learn new skills, access support, volunteer, develop social connections and take an active role in their communities.

Decision-making process

• When an application is submitted, Fund Gloucestershire will first review it to ensure that it meets the criteria and requirements of the scheme set by GCC. If it does, then the application is sent on to a local panel for review. 
• Panel members read and score the applications using a standardised scoring matrix. They then meet to discuss applications, give their feedback and scores, and decide whether applications are successful or unsuccessful.
• This information is presented to the Head of Voluntary and Community Partnerships for final decision making.
• As part of the evaluation of this pilot, Fund Gloucestershire may use AI-supported tools to review applications after GCC has completed its assessment and funding decisions. This will be for learning and evaluation purposes only and will not affect the outcome of your application.
• You can view Gloucestershire County Council's Privacy Notice here.

How are review panels formed?

Panels are organised per district and receive review applications from their areas. Previously there have been panels for Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Cotswolds, Cheltenham, Stroud, Tewkesbury and Countywide, but this is dependent on the number of applications received.

Members of the review panel are adult social care, voluntary/community sector and district council professionals:

• Thriving Communities Grant team, Gloucestershire County Council
• Know Your Patch representative
• District council (Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Cotswolds, Cheltenham, Stroud and Tewkesbury)
• Social workers, Gloucestershire County Council (Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Cotswolds, Cheltenham, Stroud, Tewkesbury and Learning Disability Team)

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 submitted an application on our platform for the latest updates.

• Applications open: Monday 7 September 2026
• Application close: Friday 16 October 2026 at 23:59
• Funder review process starts: Monday 19 October 2026
• Funder decision date: Friday 4 December 2026
• Grant agreement signature date: from Monday 7 December 2026
• Applicant offer acceptance deadline: Friday 18 December 2026
• Payment distribution date: payments made in January and February 2027
• Feedback start date: January 2027

Who can apply?

• Community or voluntary groups
• Registered charities
• Community Interest Companies (CIC)
• Town and parish councils
• Art, music, performance, nature-based and sports groups.
• Faith-based groups (where the application demonstrates that the project will bring wider community benefit and the primary purpose of the activity is not religious)
• Unincorporated associations
• Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO)
• Co-operative societies

Who can't apply?

• Organisations where activities focus on children and young people
• Sole traders
• Statutory organisations except for Town and Parish Councils
• Schools and academies
• Organisations located outside of Gloucestershire
• For-profit organisations

Grant conditions

• We will support applications from a minimum of £500 up to £7,500
• 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
• You must be a not-for-profit organisation. We cannot fund sole traders or any organisation with less than two unrelated directors or signatories
• Organisations that are funded will be required to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of their project

Sign up to your local ‘know your patch’ network and register your group/organisation on Your Circle; https://knowyourpatch.co.uk or https://www.yourcircle.org.uk

Application questions

1. Please tell us which areas across Gloucestershire your project will be supporting, including the town and district where relevant (for example, Nailsworth in Stroud District). (Up to 200 characters)

2. How does your project fit the criteria of the Thriving Communities Grant Scheme? (Up to 3000 characters)

The four areas of criteria for Thriving Communities are:

• Projects that help adults to stay well and support them to live independently for as long as possible
• Developing community connections, social networks and building resilience
• Promoting inclusive independence and wellbeing in adults
• Providing place-based activities (activities in residential communities), for example community-led activities

3. Tell us about the project you have planned, and the activities involved (Up to 3000 characters):

• What is the aim of the project?
• When and where will it happen? Please give timescales

4. Explain why this project is needed and the expected outcomes for beneficiaries/individuals/the community (Up to 3000 characters)

• Who will the project/activities be benefitting/aimed at?
• How will this impact beneficiaries?
• What are the expected outcomes of the project?
• How can you measure success? (e.g. feedback, attendance)
• Where possible provide evidence and data

Budget questions

1. How much grant funding are you requesting?

2. Please provide any further information that you think is appropriate to support your application. (Up to 1800 characters)

3. Are you applying for any other grants to deliver this project? (Up to 1000 characters)

Required documents

Project budget

As part of the application you will need to complete a project budget table by downloading and filling in the following template: Thriving Communities Budget Form Template. You can also find this when you are logged in the platform under: 'Funding opportunities' -> 'More information' -> 'Application questions and required documents'.

You will need to provide detail for each section of the table to indicate when you will spend the money and key activities. An example of a completed budget table is included in the budget template.

Gloucestershire County Council is keen to hear about how your grant-funded project is going, for example the positive impact it has had on the community and any challenges you may have faced.

They will ask you to complete an evaluation and monitoring survey through the Fund Gloucestershire platform towards the end of the grant-funded year for completion by the end of January 2028.

The survey will ask for some basic monitoring information about where your project took place, who it supported, how many people were involved, and whether it helped to secure any additional funding.

It will also ask you to answer three key questions in relation to impact and learning:

1. What did you deliver with the funding?
2. What difference did the funding make?
3. What did you learn, and what happens next?

GCC will also conduct a small number of in-person visits each summer to see funded projects and activities in action, enabling them to understand the impact of the grant and form closer links with these organisations.

Additionally, GCC will also share details of funded organisations with their Adult Social Care operational teams, so they can explore community provision during conversations that support adults in Gloucestershire communities.

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.

Please apply for the fund in the area of Gloucestershire that your project is supporting. There are separate application forms for each town and district, and one for the whole county if your work crosses multiple towns and districts.

This fund will close for applications at 23:59 on Friday 16th October.

For all enquiries related to eligibility for the fund, please email the Council's Thriving Communities Grant Team at thrivingcommunities@gloucestershire.gov.uk

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