Community Infrastructure Levy Neighbourhood Fund - Apply

We seek to fund projects and organisations that meet one or more of the CIL Neighbourhood Fund’s priorities and identified needs:

• Preserving existing and creating of more green space in the City including estate gardens and support for gardening clubs.
• Addressing the needs of people from disadvantaged backgrounds, minoritised communities, older people, disabled people, LGBTQIA+ people and those living in poverty.
• Sporting, exercise and health activities including promoting walking and cycling.
• Activities and services for children, young people and families.
• Making public spaces and services fully accessible for disabled people and the elderly.
• Proposals and activities that have been co-designed by engaging the community in the development of the proposal and/or proposals that demonstrate community support.
• Mitigating climate change & enhancing biodiversity & wildlife.
• Improving street cleanliness.

When there are too many strong applications for the CIL Neighbourhood Funds available, determination of applications will consider the extent to which the application also meets one or more of the CIL Neighbourhood Fund’s cross-cutting criteria.

Applications are welcomed from:

• Constituted voluntary organisations and resident associations.
• Constituted business organisations and associations.
• UK registered charities.
• Registered community interest companies (CIC).
• Charitable companies (incorporated as not for profit).
• Registered charitable incorporated organisations.
• Exempt or excepted charities.
• Registered charitable industrial and provident society (IPS) or charitable community benefit society (BenCom).

We will not consider applications from/for:

• Grants of less than £10,000 or more than £500,000.
• Projects that do not have a direct benefit to those living and working within the City of London and projects that do not demonstrate City-based support.
• Projects that do not take place within the City of London.
• Projects which have already taken place or building work which has already been completed.
• Organisations currently in receipt of CIL Neighbourhood Fund grant funding for an active project. Organisations can only hold one CIL Neighbourhood Fund grant at any one time. If your organisation is seeking continuation funding of an existing CIL Neighbourhood Fund funded project please speak to your Funding Manager.
• Organisations without at least three unrelated members on their governing body.
• Organisations without a clear set of governing rules or without a governing document appropriate to their legal status.
• Organisations that do not have at last one year’s signed, audited or independently examined accounts. Consequently, start-up costs for new organisations with no track record of grant funding are usually not supported.
• Organisations that cannot demonstrate their ongoing financial viability for the next 12 months from the date of their application.
• Organisations without an asset lock or other general mechanism used to cover all the provisions designed to ensure that the assets of an organisation, including profits or surpluses generated, are used for the benefit of its community or to further its activities and mission.
• Organisations that do not have an ordinary business bank account with at least two unrelated account signatories who do not live at the same address.
• Grants to individuals.
• Political parties or organisations involved in political lobbying.
• Organisations working with children and young people or vulnerable adults, who do not have adequate and effective safeguarding policies in place or are unable to show they are working towards this. For more information on our requirements, please see ‘What do you mean by safeguarding policy and procedures?’ in Frequently Asked Questions.
• Organisations whose previous application was unsuccessful. Such applicants cannot reapply to CIL Neighbourhood Fund for 12 months from the submission date of the unsuccessful application.
• Applications for infrastructure funding to mitigate the direct impacts of specific development will not be accepted. Such mitigation should be delivered as part of the development process and funded through s106 Planning Obligations.
• Applications to fund projects which are already in receipt of other City CIL funding, s106, or s278 funding for site specific mitigation will not normally be accepted.
• Applicant organisations who have already received five year’s funding. Such organisations will be subject to a fallow period of 12 months before they can reapply to CIL Neighbourhood Fund.
• Applications for funded roles that do not pay at least the London Living Wage.
• Charities established/registered outside the UK.

Online applications can be submitted at any time, there are no deadlines. Organisations seeking continuation funding of an existing grant funded project should talk to their Funding Manager for permission to submit an application. A continuation grant cannot be released until the original grant requirements have been successfully delivered. 

To apply for a grant you will need to complete an online application form. Please ensure that your activity takes place within the boundaries of the City of London and note on your application form whether your project takes place within the Barbican and Golden Lane Neighbourhood Area.

If you require our application form or related guidance notes in alternative formats please contact the Grants Team to discuss your needs.

We encourage potential applicants to contact the Central Grants Unit for an informal discussion of your proposal in advance of submitting an application. We do not consider draft applications but are able to talk through whether your organisation is eligible for funding and our priorities for funding. To arrange a pre-application discussion please email the Grants Team. 

As part of your application we ask for a number of supporting documents. To learn how to upload documents see ‘How do I submit supporting documents with my application?’ in Frequently Asked Questions. We require the following documents as part of your application:

• Organisation’s governing document. Depending on your legal status this may be a Constitution, Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association or Trust Deed. If you are part of the Church of England we do not need this document and you should attach a note stating that this is the case.
• Funding required spreadsheet.
• Financial forecast spreadsheet
• Most recent signed, audited or independently examined accounts.
• Monitoring framework. This should specify both the activities (outputs) and differences (outcomes) you aim to deliver through your funded project including SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound) targets for each grant year. See ‘How to develop a monitoring framework’ in Frequently Asked Questions.
• Relevant Job Description/s and Person specification/s. These should be submitted for any funded posts where the post holder will work more than 17.5 hours per week. Documentation should include the hours of work and pay rate or salary. The City of London is an accredited Living Wage employer. Any post paid for by a grant must be paid at least the London Living Wage.
• Safeguarding policy. We expect all organisations applying to the CIL Neighbourhood Fund to have considered their safeguarding responsibilities and to have suitable policies, procedures, reporting mechanisms and training in place to protect from harm all those who come into contact with the organisation including beneficiaries, staff and volunteers. Application organisations seeking funding for activities with or for young people and vulnerable adults must have a robust safeguarding policy in place. For more information see ‘What do you mean by safeguarding policy and procedures?’ in Frequently Asked Questions.
• Detailed proposals. You may attach more information in support of your application but this should not be more than two sides of A4.

Once we have received your online application and supporting documents your application will be allocated to a Funding Manager who will lead the review of your proposal. As part of this assessment process we will undertake a number of due diligence checks in relation to your organisation’s governance, history, safeguarding and finance. As part of the assessment process we will arrange an assessment discussion with you to talk in more detail about any questions we have and to find out more details about your project. You may be asked to submit additional information to support our assessment which may include a financial review. Our assessment will consider the following criteria:

• Applications should demonstrate that funding will be used to meet the purpose of the CIL Neighbourhood Fund and meet at least one of the CIL Neighbourhood Fund’s community priorities.
• Applications should evidence of the feasibility, deliverability and sustainability of the project.
• Applications should set out clear timescales for delivery.
• Applications for infrastructure projects should have obtained all necessary planning and other consents prior to the release of funding.
• Applications should not include expenditure for any spending commitments made before the date of grant awarded nor apply to the CIL Neighbourhood Fund for any part of a project that is already funded.
• Applications for any post paid for in full or part by a grant must be paid the London Living Wage as a minimum.
• Applications for funding in excess of £100,000 should demonstrate how the project will deliver value for money, including through the identification of any contributory or match funding.
• Applications for the realisation of infrastructure projects of £100,000 or more should usually evidence that an access audit has been undertaken in relation to the proposed project and that its recommendations have informed the submitted proposal.
• Applications for funding to support infrastructure and projects should specify the activities (outputs) that will be delivered and the differences (outcomes) that will be achieved as a result of delivering the project. Applicants should submit a monitoring framework with measurable targets that sets out how the organisation will track progress against intended outputs and outcomes.

For projects that take place or benefit communities within a specific ward or neighbourhood area the assessment process may include seeking comments from relevant Ward Members and Neighbourhood Forums.

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis. Funding decisions are made through a combination of officer delegation and Committee approval, depending on the financial value of the application.

• Funding applications for under £100,000 will be determined by City Corporation officers under delegated authority. Decisions should normally be made within 12 weeks of the receipt of a valid application.
• Applications for £100,000 and over will be considered by the City Corporation’s Resource Allocation Sub-Committee, normally on a quarterly basis. Decisions should normally be made within 6 months from the receipt of a valid application.