What you need to tell us when you apply

You can see a complete list of questions from the application form.

Understanding your community's needs

When applying for funding, we must understand your project and how it will benefit your community.

Communities know best what they need. When planning your project, involve local people from the start. This can help you create a project that’s relevant and effective.

Think about how your project will involve and benefit the community. Consider any barriers that might stop people from taking part and how you can make your activities more inclusive.

Here are some ways to involve your community:

• talk to people, have informal conversations or arrange group discussions
• run a survey, gather ideas and understand local priorities
• hold a meeting, share your ideas and invite feedback
• speak to local organisations or community leaders to understand their views

We’ll ask you to tell us how your community has helped shape your project so far

This could include:

• how many people you’ve spoken to about your project
• what your community has said about why the project matters to them
• how local people have helped plan the project, for example, by attending a planning event, joining a steering group

If your project involves a green space, tell us:

• how people will help deliver and look after it, for example, by volunteering
• how people will use or enjoy the space when it’s finished

Involving the people you support

Think about how the people who benefit from your project can also take part in running it. They could:

• volunteer with your organisation
• join your board or committee
• work for you in some way

Bank statements

We need a bank statement from the last three months to check the account where we will pay the grant. We can only assess your application if your bank account and statement meet our requirements. If you are unsure, contact us to check.

Your bank account must:

• meet the requirements in our financial controls and financial governance guidance
• contain this information as shown in this example bank statement (PDF, 325 KB)

Other documents we accept

If your bank account was opened in the last three months, you can send a welcome letter instead of a statement. It must show the date the account was opened and all account details.

We can also accept a transaction listing. It must include:

• bank logo
• your organisation’s legal name
• address used by the bank
• bank’s name
• account number and sort code
• date range covered

If you’ll be working with children, young people or vulnerable adults

You need to have a policy in place that explains how they’ll be safe. If you get funding you’ll need to follow our expectations on safeguarding children and adults at risk.

The NCVO website has child safeguarding advice and information services.