East Surrey Community Participatory Funding

The £4,000 fund, per East Surrey neighbourhood, will support projects which:

• help reduce pressure on health and social care services.
• address issues such as: fuel poverty, cost of living, food poverty, loneliness, and isolation.
• help keep residents active and support their mental and physical health and wellbeing.

The fund will:

• invest in innovative, creative ways to promote health and wellbeing as well as tackle health inequalities.
• invest in resident and community led activities that will directly benefit local residents.
• support organisations and venues to mobilise for winter support such as acting as 'warm hubs' for the community and providing advice to residents.
• empower residents to have an impact within the community via health creation initiatives.

Amongst the criteria outlined, successful projects will have demonstrated how they know that people in the community need/want their project or activity.

Successful projects will be able to provide examples of conversations that have taken place, for example, this may be at a local event, such as a coffee morning.

• Each project that is awarded funding will be required to complete a simple evaluation to demonstrate the impact of the project. Full support will be provided to complete this.
• Each project will be required to provide a budget breakdown of expenditure, this will be a simple process with support provided.

Within the application process, you will be asked to if you have:

• a management committee of at least 3 unrelated members
• a bank account for your organisation
• a finance policy
• a safeguarding policy

If you do not have these documents, simple select the option 'I do not have these in place…'. We will provide support to enable you to receive funds etc.

This fund is open to:

• unregistered individuals
• unregistered community groups
• registered charities
• company limited by guarantee (not for profit)
• faith organisations
• registered CICO
• community interest companies.

If you are unsure, we can help you to identify your circumstances and provide support to apply via surreycommunities@surreycc.gov.uk .

You can apply for a maximum of £500.

You may apply more than once, however we strongly recommend you consider any feedback received and make changes accordingly.

Each round of applications will be considered independent of previous/future rounds, each application will be considered based on its own merits.

How funding is awarded

Each application will be reviewed, and a decision made by a panel of community members. These are people that live or work in the area and are passionate about improving health and wellbeing of residents.

To ensure fairness, applications will be anonymised before being considered by the panel. Applications will be considered monthly, or until the total £4,000 for the neighbourhood has been allocated.

The first application round closed on Monday 2 December. Where the total funding is not allocated during the first application round, a second round will be arranged.

As at 13 December 2024 there is a second opportunity for applications now open for Horley, North Tandridge and South Tandridge and these will closed to applications on Sunday 26 January 2025.

Redhill and Reigate and Merstham allocations are still under review but further updates will be made in the New Year. Please check back for updates. If you have any questions please email surreycommunities@surreycc.gov.uk

How long a decision takes

The aim is for all applicants will be made aware of the outcome within two working weeks of the closing date.

Getting help with completing the application

We would like as many small groups to apply for funding as possible, this may include individuals. If you would like support with your application, or guidance on what to consider, please email the Surrey County Council project team: surreycommunities@surreycc.gov.uk .and you will be contacted by the following person who looks after your area.

Horley will be Tony Freeman

Merstham will be Alice Oswell

Redhill and Reigate will be either Eli Karlicka-Cook or Charlie Griswood

South Tandridge and North Tandridge will be Marta Ricardo Rocco

Sitting on the budget community panel

If you apply for funding, and are successful, we encourage you to join your local community panel to support the decision-making process for other applications. You may not be part of your local panel while your application is being considered.

Through this budget, grants of up to £500 are available to small not for profit organisations and individuals.

A total of £4,000 has been allocated to each of the five neighbourhoods in East Surrey: North Tandridge, Merstham, Redhill and Reigate, South Tandridge and Horley.

Allocated funding must be spent by 31 March 2025.

Apply for funding

To be part of the panel, the ask is simple.

• Do you live in the area for the panel you're applying to be part of? North Tandridge, Merstham, Redhill and Reigate, South Tandridge and Horley.
• Are you passionate and enthusiastic about improving the health and wellbeing of your community?

This budget is for your community. We believe you should be at the heart of the decision making, and take the lead on the community panel, reviewing applications.

Each month, you will be emailed an anonymous document summarising the projects that are applying for funding. At a time and location convenient for panel members, a short meeting, in person, will take place to discuss each application.

This meeting will be led by a Surrey County Council or Reigate and Banstead Borough Council staff member. Via a simple excel spreadsheet, we will ask you to decide and log if you would like to fund the project. The votes and feedback from the community panel will be reviewed by the community budget team, and a final decision made. The community panel will then be made aware of the outcome.

If for any reason you are unable to receive applications via email, unable to review electronically or unable to attend the in-person meetings, please let us know. It's important to us that anyone interested in being on the panel is able to do so.

Please note that although recipients of funding are encouraged to participate in the panel post award, you will not be able to participate on the panel the month you apply.

There is no formal training to be part of the community panel, all you need is an interest and passion in improving the health and wellbeing of your community.

You will be invited to a short online call to learn more about the decision-making process, and to give you a better understanding of what to look out for. You will have the opportunity to ask questions.

On a monthly basis, we anticipate it will take 30 to 60 minutes for you to review the applications. We ask that this task is completed within seven days from receipt of application to you.

An in person panel meeting will then be arranged at a time and location convenient to the community panel. This meeting will be short, aiming for a ten minute discussion per application.

We require a minimum of four community members for the panel, and a maximum of eight. You do not need to commit to participating in the panel on an ongoing basis. Panels will be organised whilst there is still funding to be spent.

This fund is open to applications until March 2025, or until the £4,000 budget has been spent.

Sign up to be part of the community panel