The aim of the Community Development Grant Aid Programme is to provide financial support for projects which have Community Development as a primary objective that improve the lives of local people. Projects must develop a strong, healthy and vibrant community whilst encouraging maximum participation in community life by all residents.

Who can apply?

Only properly constituted community, voluntary & charitable groups can apply to the grant aid scheme and must be able to meet the following conditions. The group must:

 Be comprised of at least six members.

 Be democratically accountable through regular public meetings.

 Hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM).

 Be properly constituted and include a decision making process, and aims and activities that are acceptable to the Council.

 Be managed by a publicly elected committee; the office bearing positions of Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer must be held as a minimum.

 Demonstrate a fair and equitable ethos through their established aims and objectives in accordance with Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act (1998).

 Demonstrate that proposed activities are not a duplication of other activities.

 Produce an annual statement of independently verified or certified accounts, or a bank statement for new groups only.

 Agree to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council's monitoring, evaluation, and training procedures if required.

Projects must take place between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, any activity outside these timescales will not be eligible for funding.

How to apply?

Applications will be available for completion online on the Grant Manager system at https://antrimnewtownabbey.eformz.info from 12noon on Wednesday 15 February 2023.

The Small Grant & Technical Assistance Grant will be available on a rolling basis subject to the availability of funding and will open in February each year. If you are applying for the Small Grant please apply up to 8 weeks in advance of your project/activity starting or when your insurance is due for renewal as all applications need to be considered at two Council meetings.

For further information, please contact: Kerry Brady – T: 07739 609 902 E: Kerry.Brady@antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk

Jonathan Henderson – T: 07733 263 202 E: Jonathan.Henderson@antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk