Your Town, Your Voice Town – Northolt – Community Funding Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 2026

Northolt Town Team Community Fund 2026-27, Frequently Asked Questions

The Your Voice Your Town Northolt Town Team is inviting applications for community-led projects that support young people (4-18 years) to learn, grow and thrive.

Do you have a brilliant idea that supports young people in Northolt to learn, grow and build the confidence, skills and relationships they need to thrive in education and their communities? We want to hear from you.

Your idea could be the spark that makes a real difference to your community.

Before you make an application to Northolt Town Team Community Fund, please take the time to read the information available here. It is designed to help you prepare a strong application and ensure your project idea aligns with what is important in our Town.

Let’s work together to make Northolt a place where every child can learn, grow and thrive.

The Northolt Town Team 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
  • Schools and educational organisations
  • Voluntary Sector and charities
  • Faith groups
  • Businesses (as long as they are not profit making from the grant)
  • Young people and young people led organisations
  • If you are reading this, you!

You can apply for small grants of up to £1000 or larger grants up to £10,000 by using this application form.

 

Do you need help with your application?  The Town Team will be offering support by arranging drop-in sessions more information will be available soon.
Ealing and Hounslow CVS offer a range of funding surgery sessions and support across the borough and are also happy to help. To find out more about what support they have to offer go to EHCVS.

 

The deadline for applications is 1pm on Thursday 3 December 2026. We will let applicants know if they have been successful by the end of January 2027.

There is a total of £55,000 and grants of between £150 and up to £10,000.

We have two pots of funding:

  • Smaller grants of up to £1,000. These are intended to support visible community action
  • Larger grants of up to £10,000.

Larger projects for funding over £1,000 may be requested to come and meet the Town Team after submission so we can discuss how your project would work

No, we welcome applications from individuals and organisations.

However, If you are applying for larger grants over £1000 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.

For all successful applicants we require the project to be completed by 30th December 2027.

There are 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 who live or go to school in Northolt
  • 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 including schooling.
  • Projects that do not primarily benefit Northolt residents
  • Profit generating activities
  • Spending which has already taken place
  • Where the applicant will receive a personal benefit.

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.  You will also need to show that the capital investment directly creates the impact on the Town priorities outlined.

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

Yes, we would be excited to have applicatons 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 are happy to help.

We are looking for projects that align with one of our key priorities:

 

  • Provide a safe, structured, and supportive environment after school, where children and young people can study, socialise, receive guidance, and build positive relationships.
  • Help young people improve their educational achievement, such as projects that offer tutoring and mentoring activities aimed at supporting learning, skill building and opportunities for personal growth.
  • Support young people’s transition from primary to secondary education. This may be achieved through offering guidance, care and mentoring, to become self-directed learners who engage fully in their formal education
  • Inspire hope, ambition, and motivation, encouraging young people to improve their life chances, broaden their horizons and develop into future community leaders. This could be achieved by offering opportunities in volunteering, social action or community service.

Projects are all assessed against 6 key factors:

  • Does it fit with the priorities we have shared
  • Is there a clear and achievable plan
  • Is it value for money
  • Does the project share what difference it is trying to make and how it will do this?
  • Will the project have a lasting effect beyond the initial funding?
  • Does the project involve people in how it is designed or delivered, especially young people?

 

Smaller projects do not have the same expectations as a larger application.

 

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 or has a legacy.

 

But we want lots of people to feel funding can be for them. If you need any help with developing your idea or application, Northolt Town Team will be hosting a drop-in session, more details will follow soon. Alternatively you can reach out to Tan Afzal by emailing at dosomethingood@ealing.gov.ukusing ‘Northolt Town Tam Community Fund’ in the subject line.

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 £1000 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.

 

Yes, your project will involve working with children, young adults and/or adults who experience vulnerabilities, and 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 

If you are awarded a grant, depending on whether you are a constituted group, a unconstituted group or an individual, we will require documents that will 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, evaluation partners 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 Town Team is, please go to Northolt Town Team. 

The 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 Town Team will review your application and may get in touch for more information.  For applications for grants under £10,000, you will be notified by email if your application has been successful by the end of January 2027.  For larger grants of between £1000 and £10,000 we will invite 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 in February 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 that you might want to share the story of your brilliant work.

If you need help with your application you can call Tan Afzal at 07525893580, or email dosomething@ealing.gov.uk and someone will arrange to help you.

Alternatively, if you want to speak to someone in person, there will be a list of locations, dates and times when the Town team will be available to answer questions.