Your Town Your Voice The Acton Effect Community Funding Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Acton Effect Community Fund, is designed by the Town Team to support projects that make a difference to the Town. The funding is to help support change powered by communities, recognising that some of the best solutions and ways to improve our Town come from the community itself.  The funding is supplied by Ealing Council, but the process is designed by the Town Team.

• Local residents
• Community groups and charities
• Schools and youth organisations
• Faith groups
• If you are reading this, you!

If you are applying for larger grants over £1,500 you need to be a formal or constituted group (such as a registered charity or company) and are awarded a fund you will be asked to provide a copy of your constitution and details of your bank account.

You can apply for small grants of up to £1,000 or larger grants up to £10,000.

Do you need help with your application?  The Acton Town Team is finalising the advice and support available to interested applicants. Further details will be shared shortly.

Got a question about attending a session or about your application? Email dosomethinggood@ealing.gov.uk with the email title ‘The Acton Effect Community Fund’ or call Kofi Nyamah on 020 8825 5818.

The deadline for applications is 3^rd December 2026. We will let applicants know if they have been successful by the end of January 2027.

There is a total of £80,000. Smaller grants of £150–£1,000 and larger grants up to £10,000 are available

Please apply only for the amount your project needs, even if this is less than £10,000.

Applicants may be requested to come and meet the Town Team after submission to discuss how your project would work.

No, we welcome applications from individuals and organisations.

If you are apply for larger grants over £1,000 you need to be a formal or constituted group (such as a a company, charitable incorporated organisations, community interest company, cooperative, or public body such as a school) or partner with one. If you are awarded funding you will be asked to provide a copy of your constitution and details of your bank account.

For all successful applicants we require the project to be completed by the end of December 2027.

There are some rules and restrictions which applicants must adhere to:

• The funds may only be used for the purposes stated in the application.
• The funds must be used to provide a benefit to people or places in Acton.
• The funds cannot be transferred to another person.

We want to encourage a wide of range of applications, but funding cannot be provided for projects which fall into the following categories:

• Projects relating to party-political activity
• Activities that are statutory responsibilities
• Projects that do not primarily benefit Acton residents
• Profit generating activities
• Spending which has already taken place
• Where the applicant will receive a personal benefit.
• The initiative or its content is inappropriate (e.g. offensive, discriminatory, or likely to cause division or hostility between groups).
• It raises safety or safeguarding concerns (for participants, children or vulnerable people, volunteers or the public) that have not been adequately addressed.

Yes, the funding can be used for capital improvements as well as costs to run activities. If the funding is for a capital project you need to consider what permissions you will need to get in order to carry out the work. You will need to understand that it can take some time to get permissions, if you haven’t already started this process.

Projects will be more likely to meet the criteria if you demonstrate you understand the permissions you will require and that your plan takes this into account.

We encourage applications from schools, but the activity funded shouldn’t be for the regular delivery of educational or school activities.

We are looking for the best projects that Unlock the Power of Local Ideas in Acton and align with one of our key priorities:

The project must contribute to one or more of the four themes:

• increasing safety;
• support and activities for young people;
• community cohesion and connections;
• and the local environment (e.g. litter, fly-tipping, graffiti, pollution, or new or enhanced green spaces)?

It must also show how it embeds the Acton Effect ethos including:

• Bring different groups together (based on age, cultural background or geographical location within Acton).
• Highlight an aspect of Acton Town that will make its residents proud to live in the town.
• Adequately represent the diversity of the town.
• Bridge divides and help to bring people together.
• Celebrate Acton’s character or improve its appeal, and appeal to a wide and diverse representation of the Acton population.
• Help to tell Acton’s story.

A strong application will:

• Outline a clear idea that is in line with the priorities the Town Team have outlined.
• Shares a clear budget.
• Shows a feasible plan for how the work will be delivered.
• Shows a clear way to make a difference.
• Involves local people.
• Can be sustained beyond this funding.

But we want lots of people to feel funding can be for them. If you need any help with developing your idea or application, the Acton Town Team is finalising the advice and support available to interested applicants. Further details will be shared here shortly.

Got a question about about your application? Email dosomethinggood@ealing.gov.uk or call Kofi Nyamah on 020 8825 5818.

There are also some rules and restrictions which applicants must adhere to:

• The funds may only be used for the purposes as stated in the application.
• The funds must be used to provide a benefit to people or places in the Town.
• The funds cannot be transferred to another person.
  

No, we welcome applications from individuals and groups. However, If you are applying for larger grants over £1,000 you need to be an incorporated organisation (a company, charitable incorporated organisations, community interest company, cooperative, or public body such as a school) or work in partnership with an incorporated organisation, so that you are able to receive the funding.

Individuals
We encourage individuals to apply and would recommend that you work with people in the community to evidence the need for your project. If you apply as an individual and are successful, you will receive the funding on providing references from two people from the community, which can confirm your reliability and dedication to the proposed project.

Suitable referees may include local teachers, faith leaders, pharmacists, community workers or other respected individuals who are familiar with your work and standing in the community. Referees must not be family members.

Constituted Groups
If you apply as a formal or constituted group (such as a registered charity or company) and are awarded a fund you will be asked to provide a copy of your constitution and details of your bank account.

Unconstituted  Groups
If you apply as an unconstituted group, any award will be made on the basis that your grant is held and managed on your behalf by an eligible constituted organisation (“a Grant Managing Organisation”). The Council will arrange this with you after decisions are made. No payments are made directly to unconstituted groups.

If your project involves working with children, young adults and/or adults who experience vulnerabilities, you will need to have some basic safeguarding measures in place.

Safeguarding measures are steps that help protect children, young people, and vulnerable adults from harm when they take part in community projects. For a community group, this usually means having a safeguarding policy in place, which is a simple document that explains how you will keep people safe. You should also make sure that anyone working directly with these groups has passed the necessary background checks (such as a Disclosure Barring Service check), and that there is a named person responsible for safeguarding who people can talk to if they have any concerns. Training for volunteers and staff on how to spot and report concerns is also helpful. These steps make sure that everyone involved is protected and knows what to do if something doesn’t seem right.

If you are a constituted group you may already have a safeguarding policy in place, a named safeguarding lead person and DBS checked staff/volunteers, information you can provide on request if your application is successful.

If you intend to collect personal data on people who will uses your service, this information will require a clear process on how you will handle, share, store and retain that data.  If you don’t have the above and need support with this, if your application is successful, we can help you put the right steps in place.

If your project involves using land or property that does not belong to you, you may need to get permission from the owner or Ealing Council before starting.  If you need to seek permission, we suggest you have at least contacted the people and discussed what it would take to get permission. The process for getting permission should be part of the plan you outline.

If you’re running activities where someone could get hurt or something could get damaged, you should have public liability insurance to protect your group. If your project involves making or selling food, you might need food hygiene certificates to show you can handle and prepare food safely. It’s important to check what’s needed for your project and make sure you have everything in place before you begin.

If you need help with understanding what permissions and documents you may need, you can contact Ealing and Hounslow CVS by email at info@ehcvs.org.uk.

If you are awarded a grant, depending on whether you are a constituted group, an unconstituted group or an individual, we will require documents that help with due diligence and support the audit of our payment process:

• Permission to do checks on the electoral role and council tax register if you are applying as an individual.
• Your group’s constitution, if you are a constituted group.
• A recent bank statement for constituted group accounts and individual account.

The deadline for applications is 1pm, Thursday 3 December 2026.

Your full application, which includes personal information such as your group’s name, contact details, and project info etc. will be seen by Ealing Council staff, Ealing Council Evaluators and shared with a small number of people from the community known as the Town Team, to help make funding decisions to Ealing Council. To know more about who the Acton Town Team is, please go to dosomethinggood.ealing.gov.uk/your-voice-your-town/actons-town-team/.

The Acton Town Team will only use this information to assess your application and may contact you to request additional information. For more details on how the information you share with us will be  stored, used, retained and restricted please read the Data Sharing Privacy Notice.

The Acton Town Team will review your application and may get in touch for more information.  For applications for grants under £1,000, you will be notified by email if your application has been successful by February 2027.

For larger grants of between £1,001 and £10,000 we will request a number of projects to meet or speak to the Town Team to share more about your application.

This meeting or chat will happen in January 2027, and we will let applicants know if they are successful by the end of January 2027.

Yes. The Town Team will ask you for a short report or feedback at the end, including how the money was spent and what difference it made. This will be as simple as possible. In some instances, the Town Team may wish to visit your project and will arrange a date and time with you. Take photos if possible and think about ways you might want to share the story of your brilliant work.

If you need help with your application, the Acton Town Team is finalising the advice and support available to interested applicants. Further details will be shared shortly.

Got a question about attending a session or about your application? Email dosomethinggood@ealing.gov.uk or call Kofi Nyamah on 020 8825 5818.

The deadline for applications is 3^rd December 2026. We will let applicants know if they have been successful by the end of January 2027.

Yes, we would be excited to have applications from young people directly. However, if you are under 18, to receive funding you will need to have a sponsor parent/ guardian or organisation such as a youth group or school.  This means they will be able to safely hold the money. If you need help or support with this get in touch, as the Town Team is happy to help.

The Ealing Town Town Team have independently worked to create the Ealing Town Thriving High Streets and Neighbourhoods Fund, as they recognise the huge potential in our Town.  The priorities are different than the Thriving Towns Fund but we think that they are hugely complementary.

The main differences are that:

• The Thriving Towns Fund is primarily aimed at businesses and high street actors, the Community Fund is broader
• The Thriving Towns Fund is primarily capital funding with some exceptions. The Community Fund is for both capital and project funding.
• The Community Fund is focused on bringing people together, and broader social outcomes.

We are working closely with the Regeneration Team, and will share projects that are submitted. If you have any questions regarding which fund to apply for, get in touch and the Ealing Council Team will help you navigate the information. Email dosomethinggood@ealing.gov.uk. or you can call Kofi Nyamah at 020 8825 5818.