Cambridge City Council
Community Grants 2025-26 Help Notes for 
DRR only Application Form 
DHelp Notes

Read this document carefully before you start work on your Discretionary Rate Relief only application form and ensure:
•	your organisation is eligible to apply
•	you are not applying for any other Community Grant funding
•	your activity meets our grant outcomes and priorities
•	you understand what is required from each question
•	you send in all of the required documents with your application

To be considered for DRR you must demonstrate the activities taking place at your premises meet our funding priorities and outcomes by completing the form in full.
The DRR awarded will be proportionate to the number of beneficiaries that are city residents.

Please
•	ensure your answers are concise, focussed, specific, relevant and in sufficient detail but not containing so much that we lose the key points you wish to make
•	do not assume we know things about your organisation – please answer each question in full

Front Page/Page 1

Organisation Name
Type the full name of your group/organisation.
As stated on your governing document
 
Application Information Summary 
Complete this table after you have completed the application form by copying the information or figures you have entered into the corresponding sections of the application form. 
 
Closing date: midday on Wednesday 18 September 2024
Late and/or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Any DRR awarded will be for a fixed 12 month period from 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026

Page 2

All applications MUST clearly demonstrate how the funding will provide an activity that reduces social and/or economic inequality for City residents with the greatest need.

Priorities

Q1 – Mark X against one or more of the priorities appropriate to your activity. It will not increase your chances of funding if you mark more than one.

What do we mean by these priorities? See pages 2-4 of the Application Guide for further information about the priorities and examples of what we will and will not fund in relation to these.

Premises 

Q2 - Complete the table giving full details of the premises you want to be considered for DRR.

Activity

Q3 - Tell us what the premises are used for. 
Give details of the activities that take place there in detail and the percentage use of different activities.

Q4 - We want to know how people will get to know about your premises or the activity at your premises and how you will target those with the most need.

Q5 - Tell us about any involvement your beneficiaries have in managing and developing your activities and premises. 

Beneficiaries 

What do we mean by beneficiary? A beneficiary is the person benefitting from your activity or activities at your premises. You may also think of them as customers, participants, visitors, members, clients, service users, etc.

Our funding is only for people who live within the Cambridge City boundary. These are the 14 wards of: 
Arbury, Abbey, Castle, Cherry Hinton, Coleridge, East Chesterton, Kings Hedges, Market, Newnham, Petersfield, Queen Edith’s, Romsey, Trumpington, and West Chesterton.
We will not fund activities for people who live in South Cambridgeshire, (for example, Orchard Park, Milton, Histon, Waterbeach, Girton, Haslingfield, Cambourne) or in other parts of Cambridgeshire. 

Your activity can include people who live beyond the City boundary, but we will only consider funding a proportionate amount for the percentage of beneficiaries who are City residents. Please ensure you calculate this accurately.

Q6 - We want to know who your activity is for. Who will benefit from using your premises? This could be low-income families and individuals, disabled people, older people etc.
If you are a community centre please complete 6b.  
              If you are able to complete 6a, please do so as well.

A.	For individuals we want to know: how many, where they live and their age range. Complete the table with estimated figures and calculate the percentage of the total residents for each geographical area by:  100 divided by Total B x by the estimated number of beneficiaries for a location, gives the percentage for that location.

B.	For organisation support we want to know who the support is for, how many and what for.

Q7 - We want to know how you have estimated beneficiary figures stated in Q6 above. This could be based on previous attendance at similar activities, the capacity of a room, surveys, etc.

Q8 - Tell us how you will monitor the actual beneficiaries of your activity (number, age range and where they live)?  For example, log attendance at meetings, events, annual member survey, beneficiary feedback forms or interviews.
If you are awarded any funding we will expect this monitoring to be undertaken and a comparison of estimated and actual beneficiaries to be made.

Outcomes

Q9 – Use the following to help you answer this question.
Explain how your activities at your premises will reduce social and/or economic inequality for City residents with the greatest need. Include: how you are going to do this, what will be reduced, who are the City residents that will benefit/who are your target group for the activity, for example; disabled people, LGBTQ+ people and people from minority ethnic communities, young/older people, low income families and individuals etc.

What do we mean by social and economic inequality?
We want our funding to reach those who need it the most, those who are excluded from ordinary living patterns and activities. Activities need to address disadvantage through unemployment, low income, and barriers to social, art, culture, sport and recreation activities. 

Explain both why this activity is needed and what evidence you have to support this need. 

What do we mean by need? Say succinctly what the issue is to be addressed and give an analysis of it, what would happen if it was not addressed and how the issue will be resolved.  Describe any gaps and challenges. Please provide evidence that there is a need and details of any research you may have carried out. This could include brief/succinct local/national statistics, case studies, surveys, consultations, etc.

Q10 & 11 - Your activity must achieve our primary outcome and one or more of our strategic outcomes. You need to tell us the outcomes of your activity and how they link to our primary and strategic outcomes. It will not necessarily increase your chances if you meet more than one. The Strategic Outcomes Chart must be completed to detail this information on the application form. 

What do we mean by outcome? An outcome is the difference the activity has made to the beneficiary. (This could be different for each beneficiary or there could be a set of consistent outcomes for a group of people). Outcomes are the changes that actually occur when you carry out activities, they are not the activity itself. Describe the particular benefits by using words that denote change, for example: better, increased, reduced, less, greater and improved.  Useful publications:
Evaluation | NCVO
Guidance on tracking progress | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)

You will also need to complete Q11 and the relevant row/s in the Strategic Outcomes Chart to explain how you will monitor your activity and be able to evidence that the difference has been made, for example; surveys of beneficiaries, before and after comparisons, feedback, case studies, etc.

Impact

We expect to receive requests for more funding than is available.  It is important we understand the impact on your activity and organisation if we are not able to make you an award or we award you less than requested.

Q12 - Tell us what the impact will be on your organisation if we are unable to fund DRR. Please be factual and accurate as we will look at this alongside your financial information. 

Q13 - We want to know the impact on your organisation if we are only able to make a contribution towards DRR. 

Q14 – please include any future issues you anticipate such as reduction in funding from another funder, property issues, staffing issues (for example, reduction in staff), potential redundancies etc. Please include details of any property relationship(s) your organisation has with the Cambridge City Council, for example: lease, rent, hire with amounts, length of lease etc.

If you have completed a Community Grant Application Form please go straight to the Declaration at the end as you will already have provided the remaining information below.

If you are only applying for DRR, please complete the rest of the form in full.

Your Organisation

Q15 - We want to know what your organisation does in general and not just the activities you want funding for. We can see your aims from your constitution / governing document so we are looking for a brief description (max 100 words)

Q16 - It is essential that financial need for this grant can be evidenced. Please insert relevant figures from your latest annual accounts so we can assess whether your organisation needs funding from us.

Q17 - You are required to send us a copy of your reserves policy with your application form.  We need to have a clear understanding of your policy and that it explains and justifies the reserves held. 

What do we mean by reserves? Reserves are the part of unrestricted funds that are freely available to spend on any of the organisation’s objectives/purposes.

Q18 - Please complete the information requested in the table relating to your organisation.  Real Living Wage:  we actively encourage organisations that employ to pay, or work towards paying, the Living Wage.
Living Wage - Cambridge City Council 

See Appendix A for further information on our financial expectations of organisations that we fund.

Organisation Eligibility Check

You must confirm your organisation meets our eligibility criteria by completing the table in full.

If you cannot put Yes in every box in the checklist (or put N/A if not applicable for example, if you do not employ people you would not require employment procedures), your organisation does not meet our criteria.

Application Documents

Your application will be regarded as incomplete if any of the documents are missing. Incomplete applications cannot be considered for funding.

The documents listed in the table on the application form must be submitted, along with the application form. 

If you do not have all of the policies and procedures in place see pages 8 & 9 in the Community Grant Application Guide for help and support.

If you are a new group contact us as soon as possible to discuss the implications for your application: grants@cambridge.gov.uk

Documents that must be submitted with your Application Form:

•	Latest set of annual accounts (if not complete by our application deadline, attach draft accounts or last set of management accounts)
•	Budget for your current financial year (for the whole organisation, updated to show actual figures to date and include opening and closing balances)
•	Budget for your next financial year (including all income and spending plans for the whole organisation, opening and closing balances and the activities you are applying for)
•	Copy of a bank statement covering the period of your year end. (If this page does not have the name of the organisation, please also include a page that does have the name of your organisation) Please redact/block out transactions that contain personal information about an individual.
•	Reserves Policy – see Page 7
•	Latest report of activities (for example, your annual report; chair and treasurer’s report from your AGM etc)
•	Governing Document / Constitution or Rules
•	Insurance document – copy of current policy
•	Health & Safety Policy
•	Safeguarding - child and/or adult protection
•	Equality & Diversity Policy
•	Environmental Policy
•	Confidentiality / Data Protection (GDPR) Policy 
•	Complaints Policy
•	A list of your current Committee / Board Members or Trustees (include position held: Chair, Treasurer, etc.) 

Declaration
It is important that your organisation’s management committee members/trustees read and understand the statements in the declaration as this forms part of any grant agreement if awards are made.
The person signing the application form should be authorised by your organisation’s committee to do so and this may need to be evidenced if an award is made. 

Submitting your application – Important Information
Please check that you have:
•	answered all the questions on the application form/s
•	completed the summary table on the front page
•	attached all the supporting documents required
•	signed all the forms

Email the application form/s and supporting documents required to: grants@cambridge.gov.uk

The deadline for completed applications is midday on Wednesday 18 September 2024 
Applications will not be accepted after this date

Appendix A
Our Financial Expectations

Responsibilities of committee members/trustees of organisations we fund

General responsibilities

Ensure that all money and assets are used:
•	efficiently and effectively 
•	wholly to meet the objects of the organisation as set out in its governing document
•	only for the purposes for which they were given
•	on expenditure authorised specifically or approved as part of an overall annual budget

Ensure that the organisation:
•	prepares, implements and revises its own financial regulation and control systems and safeguards all assets and money
•	keeps all records for the same 12-month period as its agreed financial year
•	prepares all necessary documentation 
•	stores all financial records securely for at least 7 years (6 years and the current year)
•	meets all legal and other obligations under charitable law, the Companies Act, HM Revenue & Customs, employment law, and common law
•	circulates information to all members, trustees and funders as required
•	establishes adequate cover for financial duties and responsibilities and is not dependant on one person ensuring that no single individual has sole responsibility for any single transaction from authorisation to completion and review

Exercise reasonable care and ensure that the organisation:
•	does not enter into financial commitments without having sufficient funds to cover them
•	pays all statutory deductions and taxes and claims all due relief
•	has appropriate and adequate insurance

Establish, implement, monitor and revise financial management systems and procedures. 
Charity Commission guidance on internal financial controls 
Internal financial controls for charities (CC8) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 
NCVO have some detailed guidance on Financial Procedures: 
Financial procedures manual | NCVO

Budgeting

Prepare annual budgets (for the whole organisation) for the following financial year, based on past experience and reasonable estimates of the costs of an approved work programme. 

Trustees should start working on this in enough time for it to be ready by the start of the financial year that it covers. 

Annual budgets should contain:
•	an opening balance
•	all estimated receipts/income, analysed under activity/service headings and listing separately all sources including statutory sector grants
•	all estimated expenditure, analysed under activity/service headings
•	a closing balance

Overheads and full cost recovery
Full cost recovery is the system by which organisations secure funding for the full cost of a project/activity by including both the direct costs of the project and a relevant portion of overhead costs within funding applications.
Further help can be obtained by visiting:
Full cost recovery | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk) 
Preparing your budget | NCVO

Monitor the budget regularly (quarterly, termly or half yearly as appropriate):
•	review their current year’s budget in line with actual income and expenditure
•	decide on appropriate action to deal with overspends and underspends
•	Revise the budget accordingly

Record keeping

There should be some paperwork for each financial transaction e.g. invoice, receipt, petty cash voucher, letter from funder etc.
•	record all financial transactions in a book keeping analysis system that allows the identification of restricted receipts and payments
•	reconcile accounts with bank statements monthly
•	check and reconcile petty cash systems weekly
•	receipts and invoices must be on official headed paper and must have been prepared by the payee

Accounts & Annual Reports

Accounts:  All charities must prepare accounts and make them available on request.

Prepare accounts for every year, always using the same agreed 12-month period, and take the full set of accounts to the Annual General Meeting for consideration and approval. 

They must contain brought forward and carried forward figures, information about income and expenditure and a balance sheet/statement of assets and liabilities; reporting separately on Restricted Funds.

Prepare accounts and have them checked in accordance with your organisation’s status, income and governing document. See guidance links:
 
Interactive guide:
Prepare a charity's annual accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Detailed guidance:
Charity reporting and accounting: the essentials November 2016 (CC15d) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Deposit copies with Charity Commission, Companies House, and funders as required.  Charities full accounts must be made available to any member of the public who requests a copy.

Trustees’ Annual Reports: All registered charities must also prepare a trustees’ annual report and make it available on request. 
What to put in your annual report depends on your charity’s income and value of assets. 

Detailed guidance see link:
Prepare a charity annual return - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Reserves

Prepare, agree and review a reserves policy which meets Charity Commission guidelines 
Charity reserves: building resilience (CC19) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
•	decide what eventualities need to be covered by money kept in reserve and how much is needed
•	re-calculate annually the amount of money needed by the items in the reserves policy
•	report the reserves policy and the current situation as part of the annual accounts

We need to have a clear understanding of your policy and that it explains and justifies the reserves held. 
A statement in your annual accounts should detail how much should be kept in reserves according to your policy, how much you actually have in reserves and an explanation of how any significant difference between the two will be dealt with.

Unrestricted Funds 

•	Unrestricted Designated Funds are part of the unrestricted funds that trustees have earmarked for a particular purpose without restricting or committing the funds legally. The notes in the accounts should explain the purpose of designated funds. 
For our consideration they must be realistic, supported by a structured plan and indicate the time they are likely to be spent.

•	Unrestricted General Funds are unrestricted funds that have not been earmarked for a particular purpose and can be spent at the discretion of the trustees in accordance with the organisation’s objectives