The Leicestershire County Council has committed £260,000 to the SHIRE Community Solutions Grant Fund to support voluntary and community organizations in developing initiatives that help reduce demand for high-cost public services. The grants can be used for projects that address vulnerability, disadvantage, and access to essential services. Eligible organizations can apply for up to £10,000 to support services and activities like those enabling participation of vulnerable people, promoting health, supporting carers, and encouraging social inclusion. The application process involves an initial Expression of Interest followed by a full application if approved.

1. SHIRE ‘Community Solutions’ Grant Fund 2014-15
The Council has a strong track record of empowering and supporting its
communities to develop their own solutions to address local community needs. We
are now in an environment where there is less money and increasing demand for
services. It is therefore essential that the Council works with its partners in the
public, private and voluntary sectors to:
 help reduce demand for services
 manage the demand on our budgets more effectively
 protect the most vulnerable individuals and communities
The Council is committed to supporting voluntary and community sector
organisations to work alongside us to design and develop innovative solutions, to
enable the delivery of key services for our communities.
To support these ambitions, Leicestershire County Council has committed
£260,000 (in 2014-15) for the SHIRE Community Solutions Grant Fund.
The grant fund will support and enable voluntary and community sector
organisations (including social enterprises and Town/Parish Councils) to:
 develop sustainable initiatives to provide preventative and early intervention
services that help reduce demand for high-cost services;
 develop alternative services to make up for public service reductions; and
 take over services that the County Council is no longer able to provide
What sort of projects are we looking for?
The key focus of the fund will be to prioritise projects which address vulnerability,
disadvantage and access to essential services.
Examples of the types of projects, services and activities we will consider funding
include:
 Services and activities that enable participation of vulnerable people in the
community;
 Services and activities that promote and raise awareness of positive mental and
physical health;
 Service and activities that support carers and the people they care for;
 Services and activities that help older and/or vulnerable people live
independently in the community;
 Projects that encourage social inclusion and promote understanding around
dementia, mental illness, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, etc;

2.  Projects which enable greater access to information for vulnerable people (e.g.
IT equipment and training);
 Support to establish community initiatives, such as: food banks, community-run
volunteer transport schemes, befriending services, Good Neighbour Schemes,
etc;
 Services that develop and promote peer support and self-help;
 Services and activities for vulnerable young people, e.g. projects supporting
young people to deal with bullying, mental health issues, domestic violence etc;
projects to help young people gain employment skills, improve their self-
confidence and/or performance at school; and projects which help to promote
healthy lifestyles, including healthy eating and physical activity.
Applicants will be expected to clearly demonstrate the difference their projects will
make to local communities.
Who can apply for the SHIRE Community Solutions Grant Fund?
 Registered Charities
 Town and Parish Councils
 Constituted Community Groups
 Social Enterprises
 Charitable organisations operating a not for profit business model
 Other Community-based organisation which re-invests any income back into
the social aims of the group/community
 Schools, academies, colleges and universities (only for non-curriculum related
activities)
The maximum amount of funding eligible organisations can apply for is £10,000.
Grants will only be available to Leicestershire based organisations and applications
from non-constituted groups will not be considered.
What is the application process?
The application process contains two key stages: an Expression of Interest stage,
followed by a full application:
Stage One: Expression of Interest
Organisations interested in applying for funding should firstly contact the Grant
Officers to discuss their project proposal.

3. If the Grant Officers feel that the proposal is potentially suitable for funding, the
organisation will be asked to complete and submit an Expression of Interest form,
containing a description of the project, the level of funding required, why the project
is needed and what it will achieve.
Expressions of Interest will be assessed by County Council officers, in liaison with
representatives of other Council departments and partner organisations where
required. Feedback will be provided to organisations within 6 weeks of submitting
their Expression of Interest.
Stage Two: Full Grant Application Stage
If an Expression of Interest is approved, the organisation will be asked to complete
and submit a full application form. Application Forms will not be available online
and will only be provided to those organisations who have had their Expression of
Interest approved.
Grant Officers will advise applying organisations of the date of the next Panel
meeting, along with the date which the application will need to be submitted by. It is
expected that applications will need to be received at least one month prior to the
date of the Panel meeting.
Support and guidance will be available throughout the application process from the
Grants Officers and from VAL.
For further Information, contact
Andy Hayes or Noel Singh
Strategy, Partnerships & Communities
Chief Executive’s Department
Room 300 B, County Hall
Glenfield
Leicestershire
LE3 8RA
Tel: (0116) 305 7269 or (0116) 305 7020
Email: shiregrants@leics.gov.uk