This grant fund closes for new applications at 11.59pm on Sunday 1 June 2025. The usual decision-making timeframe might be affected if we receive a large number of applications.
We will announce details of a new fund to replace the United with Ukraine grant soon. This is in line with our pledge for 2025 to 2030 to “work alongside local communities, agencies, and charities to provide services that support welcoming, cohesion, and the removal of any barriers to resettlement.”
Community groups, small groups of residents and organisations supporting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine can apply for a grant to support activities that will meet one or more of the following priorities:
- navigating life in the UK
- promote community cohesion and integration
- deliver money advice and management
- support access to employment
- increase confidence in speaking English
- enhance wellbeing, including activities for children
United with Ukraine grant scheme has three funding tiers, referred to as Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3. Community groups or small groups of residents can apply for a grant of up to £2,000 (Tier 1), while constituted not-for-profit organisations with a track record can apply for a grant of up to £5,000 (Tier 2). Constituted not-for-profit organisations with a track record of successfully delivering a United with Ukraine grant or with a track record of working with refugees can apply for a grant between £5,001 and £30,000 (Tier 3).
Further information on eligibility under each tier is given in the table below, but contact us if you are not sure which tier your group falls under.
| Tier | Maximum amount available | Who can apply |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | £2,000 |
|
| Tier 2 | £5,000 |
|
| Tier 3 | £5,001 to £30,000 |
|
You can apply for a grant at any time. Timescales for when you will have a decision on a grant are:
| Tier | Maximum amount available | Timescales |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | £2,000 | 4 weeks of us receiving all the paperwork that we require |
| Tier 2 | £5,000 | 4 weeks of us receiving all the paperwork that we require |
| Tier 3 | £5,001 - £30,000 | 10 weeks of us receiving all the paperwork that we require |
For groups without a track record of receiving grant funding from Cambridge City Council, we will fund one activity at a time.
You must submit evidence that you have spent the grant as agreed, and explain how it has helped the people who took part, before you can apply for any more funding.
For Tier 1 and 2 each grant needs to be for a separate project. For example, one grant can be for a community event and another grant can be for language classes. For Tier 3 a grant can be for a range of projects.
Applications will be assessed on a first-come, first-served basis, with funding being allocated until the provisional total fund of £500,000 is exhausted. Eligibility does not guarantee funding.
Eligibility
You must demonstrate that your group’s activity fits into one of the six priority areas.
The people who benefit from the activity must live in Cambridge. It’s fine for people from elsewhere to take part, but we can only provide funding for residents that live inside the city boundary.
We will fund the direct costs of running the activity and will consider a realistic and proportionate share of your organisation’s overheads.
Your activity should be open to all residents who could benefit.
Example projects
- Navigating life in the UK
- Information sessions on how to access the NHS, the UK school system or private sector housing
- Promote community cohesion and integration
- Community events for refugees from Ukraine and/or hosts
- Events that connect refugees from Ukraine into their local community
- Deliver money advice and management
- Advice and information on accessing welfare benefits, managing finances and bills
- Support access to employment
- CV writing, interview preparation, transitioning skills to the UK jobs market, starting up a business
- Increase confidence in speaking English
- Sessions where people can practice English with fluent speakers
- Enhance wellbeing
- Day trips, arts and craft sessions, activities for children, activities for older people and other activities that support positive mental health and wellbeing
This list is not exhaustive, and we welcome proposals from groups that wish to provide other activities which will fit within one of our priority areas.
Activities that we cannot fund
We cannot fund:
- Activities that are for religious instruction or worship or involve proselytising. We will not fund trips to religious places of worship. Religious groups can apply for non-religious activities but will need to demonstrate that the activity is inclusive to all faiths and religions
- Activities that promote or appear to support a political party
- Activities that have already happened
- Expensive food and refreshments that are not integral to the activity’s outcome
- Activities that include hiring a bar or buying alcohol
- Activities that will make a private, personal or commercial profit
- Fundraising activities, including for charity shops
- Activities that are for people who can afford to pay
- Competitive activities
- Activities that will be held outside Cambridge, unless there is no suitable location in the city (such as day trips to the seaside)
- Activities that include trips to outside the United Kingdom or other unreasonable locations. We will only consider entrance fees and the use of cars in exceptional circumstances
Group eligibility for Tier 1 and Tier 2 applications
Your group must be one of the following:
- A constituted not-for-profit organisation such as a registered charity, a company limited by guarantee, an unincorporated association or club, a community interest company, or a charitable incorporated organisation
- A group of local residents who keep simple financial records and have a dual-controlled bank account
- A partnership of constituted groups and local residents
Your group must meet the following conditions, or be actively working towards meeting them:
- You must have a constitution or set of rules defining your aims and procedures.
- You must decide policy and overall management practice through a committee of at least three unrelated, elected, unpaid volunteers. By ‘unrelated’ we mean people who are not immediate family members, married couples or civil partners, or people living at the same address
- You must meet the needs of Cambridge residents and be open to all eligible people
- You must have structures in place to manage your affairs efficiently, hold regular meetings to plan and monitor activities, keep meeting minutes, and circulate information to group members
- You must meet the legal responsibilities of an employer, if relevant
- You must recruit and support volunteers appropriately
- You must adopt appropriate health and safety policies and practices before any funding will be awarded, including:
- risk assessments for activities
- safeguarding measures for children and vulnerable adults, if appropriate to the activity
- You must adopt appropriate data protection, environmental, and equality and diversity practices if your application is successful
- You must keep proper financial records and show that financial help is needed
- You must have a group bank account or be taking steps to identify an organisation that could hold the funds for you
Group eligibility for Tier 3 applications
Your group must:
- Be a constituted not-for-profit organisation such as a registered charity, a company limited by guarantee, an unincorporated association or club, a community interest company, or a charitable incorporated organisation
- Have a strong connection to the Ukrainian community in Cambridge. Organizations without strong connection will need to contact us before applying.
- Have a track record of delivering United with Ukraine funded projects or have a strong track record of working with refugees.
- Have completed reporting on any live Tier 1 or Tier 2 awards before Tier 3 funding can be released.
Your group must meet the following conditions:
- You must have a constitution or set of rules defining your aims and procedures.
- You must decide policy and overall management practice through a committee of at least three unrelated, elected, unpaid volunteers. By ‘unrelated’ we mean people who are not immediate family members, married couples or civil partners, or people living at the same address
- You must meet the needs of Cambridge residents and be open to all eligible people
- You must have structures in place to manage your affairs efficiently, hold regular meetings to plan and monitor activities, keep meeting minutes, and circulate information to group members
- You must meet the legal responsibilities of an employer, if relevant
- You must recruit and support volunteers appropriately
- You must adopt appropriate health and safety policies and practices before any funding will be awarded, including:
- risk assessments for activities
- safeguarding measures for children and vulnerable adults, if appropriate to the activity
- You must adopt appropriate data protection, environmental, and equality and diversity practices if your application is successful
- You must keep proper financial records and show that financial help is needed
- You must have a group bank account or be taking steps to identify an organisation that could hold the funds for you
Groups we cannot fund
We cannot award funding to:
- Individual applicants
- Organisations that were set up or are managed wholly or partly by a statutory organisation
- Groups based outside the UK
- Groups that operate for private gain
- Groups that are connected with any political party, involved in party politics or promote any political party or view
- Groups that have not complied with the monitoring requirements for any grant previously received from us
Further requirements for previous Tier 1 and Tier 2 applicants
We cannot accept applications from groups with two or more open awards from Tier 1 or 2 of the grant fund. An open award is one we have granted but are yet to receive the monitoring for.
Groups in receipt of a Tier 3 award cannot apply for Tier 1 or Tier 2 funding until their Tier 3 award has been spent and the financial monitoring for it completed and approved by the Grants Team.
Further requirements for previous Tier 3 applicants
We cannot accept applications from groups with an open Tier 1 or Tier 2 award from the grant fund. An open award is one we have granted but are yet to receive the monitoring for.
Groups can only have one Tier award at a time. Funding for Tier 3 applications will not be released until the previous Tier 3 award has been spent in full, the final monitoring for it completed and approved by the Grants Team.
Tier 1 and 2 safeguarding and governance
You must ensure that you have all the necessary permissions, insurance and safeguards in place to ensure that your activity is well run and participants are safe.
You must upload copies of these documents when you apply for the grant, or send them to us separately after applying.
Tier 3 safeguarding and governance
You must provide:
- Your Income and Expenditure spreadsheet
- Your groups last 3 months of bank statements
- Your groups latest set of accounts
- You groups organisational budget or up to date management accounts
- Your group’s governing documents
- Your group’s insurance certificates
- Risk assessment for your projects
- Your group’s policies on:
- Data protection
- Safeguarding
- Complaints
- Equality and Diversity
- Environmental/Green policy
- Health and Safety
You must ensure that you have all the necessary permissions, insurance and safeguards in place to ensure that your activity is well run and participants are safe.
You must upload copies of these documents when you apply for the grant, or send them to us separately after applying.
Activities on council-owned land
You must have permission from us if you intend to run your activity on council-owned land.
You will need to submit a ‘notice of intent’ and should allow up to four weeks for us to respond.
Apply for a grant
Use our online form to apply for a Tier 1 or 2 grant.
The supporting documents you must submit with your application include an activity income and expenditure template [ODS, 6Kb]. Save the template to your device and upload the completed version.
If you think you are eligible to apply for a Tier 3 grant, download the application form:
- United with Ukraine grant: Tier 3 application form [RTF, 8MB]
- United with Ukraine grant: Tier 3 application help notes [PDF, 0.5MB]
We will acknowledge receipt of your application soon by email after you submit it.
We will assess applications and let you know the outcome within four weeks of receiving all the paperwork we need. For Tier 3 grants, we will reply within 10 weeks.
You will have no right to appeal against the decision if you are not awarded a grant.
We will pay grant funds after a grant agreement has been signed and any other conditions are met, such as returning monitoring reports from previous grants.
Reporting back on your activity
Tier 1 and Tier 2
A simple template monitoring form will be provided for groups to tell us what they did with the grant and what difference it made to the participants. This must be returned within four weeks of completing the activity.
Monitoring reports should be accompanied by supporting evidence such as publicity material and photographs. Further information may be requested.
Please keep all receipts and invoices related to the activity as we may ask to see these.
Any award that is not spent or evidenced for the purpose allocated will have to be repaid in full.
Tier 3
A simple template monitoring form will be provided for groups to tell us what they did with the grant after the activity/ activities have finished and what difference was made to the participants.
Where groups have been awarded over £20,000 they will also need to send us a monitoring update at the halfway point of the activity/ activities. A simple template will be provided for this.
Further information and support
Contact us to discuss whether your activity and group are eligible for a grant, or if you have any questions about your application. Contact us as early as possible to ensure you have enough time left to complete your application.
Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service (CCVS) can help you to complete your application form or develop your policies. They can provide template policies if your group does not have them yet. CCVS can also advise you how to gather and present financial information and share examples of good practice and procedures.
You can also contact the Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum (CECF), who work with minority ethnic communities, for advice or support in helping you complete your application.
