The UK government has announced that Round 2 of the £150 million Community Ownership Fund is open to expressions of interest, with full applications from successful organisations this June.

The £150 million Community Ownership Fund is part of the government’s strategy to build back better from the pandemic and to foster a sense of community and will make grants available to help communities across the UK take ownership of local facilities, and community assets and amenities. 

The match funding scheme welcomes applications from voluntary and community organisations to help support ‘at-risk’ assets. Whether it’s the pub on the high street that’s facing closure, a village shop or a local sports team that might lose its ground, the Fund offers a great opportunity for local groups to take them over and run them as businesses – by the community, for the community. 

These ‘at-risk’ business assets are venues and meeting spaces used by the local community, such as community centres, cinemas and theatres, galleries, museums, music venues, parks, post office buildings, pubs, shops, and sporting and leisure facilities.

This is a fantastic opportunity to inject sustainable investment into our communities that will boost civic pride and a sense of belonging, increase local participation in community life, arts, culture and sport, positively impact the physical and mental health of our communities, and improve the local economy by creating more jobs in the sector.

Successful organisations that submit their expression of interest will be invited to submit a full application by 12 pm on 19th August 2022. 

Application process & key dates

This year the funding process has introduced a two-stage application process by including an always open Expression of Interest (EOI) stage. 

As of 10 June 2022, the EOI applications are open, with the full application stage opening later in the month. To be announced on the gov.uk website. 

Read more on the gov.uk website about how to express your interest in applying.

Applicants are to complete a short form to check if their project is likely to be eligible and will receive a quick outcome of their proposals before submitting a full application. 

The cap on the number of full applications has also been reviewed since the first round of funding, and applicants are now permitted to submit two full application attempts. 

 

We’ve broken down the application process for you and included links to all the information you need and the key dates you need to know before and during your application.

1. Read the full details about the fund in the prospectus on the gov.uk website. This document includes details of the eligibility criteria of the funding, the desired programme outcomes and strategic objectives that will help you understand the funding and create your application, what to include in your expression of interest, and the match funding requirements.

Read the funding prospectus.


2. Submit your expression of interest at a time that suits you. The EOI applications are always open and can be completed at any time online. There are about 30 questions, and it is expected to take around 10 minutes to complete. You will be asked about:

  • your assets
  • your organisation
  • your project
  • your funding needs


3. Receive your response to your expression of interest within 3 weeks of submitting your application. Within this time it is a good idea to prepare for the full application. Re-read the funding prospectus to learn about the assessment criteria of the full application to help you prepare.

You can also find helpful information and guidance on the Visit Lincolnshire Business grants section of the website.

If you have been unsuccessful in your expression of interest, you will not be invited to apply for the funding, but you will receive feedback on why you’re ineligible. 


4. Submit your full application at a time that’s right for you, if you have been successful. Key dates for the full application bidding windows in 2022/23 are:

  • bidding window 1: June (Date TBC) – 19 August 2022 before 12pm.
  • there will be two more bedding windows before March 2023 – the exact dates TBC