Our RISE (Resilient, Informed, Sustainable, and Engaged) grants programme is designed to support not-for-profit organisations in making positive improvements to our local communities.
Organisations that can apply for grants include community, cultural and sports sectors.
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Canterbury district grants
Strategic grants round 1
Strategic grants support issues related to our corporate priorities, local needs and sector assessments. You can apply for either a £10,000 or £4,000 grant.
Strategic grant priorities
Projects that contribute to our Corporate Plan: Returning Pride to our District.
- Greener - improve education and awareness raising in the community on climate change mitigation, impact reduction and early warning.
- Fairer - improve access to food and health services to support healthy lifestyles.
- Better - alleviate poverty and deprivation by offering support for education and training to develop skills to support employment.
- Stronger - promote inclusion and challenge discrimination by encouraging participation in cultural and leisure activities that celebrate diversity and strengthen community bonds.
Funding up to £10,000
Project delivery funding up to £10,000 will be awarded to projects meeting one or more of our priorities with a maximum 5% service delivery cost.
Service delivery costs include back office expenses, day-to-day management, utilities and office support.
Funding up to £4,000
Service delivery costs up to £4,000 will be awarded if your organisation’s core objectives meet one of the strategic grant priorities.
All projects need to show how they will work in partnership with other voluntary organisations to avoid duplication, and that they have a commitment to working to a sustainable green agenda that puts recycled materials first.
Applications are scored using an assessment framework, and this round has extra weighting for projects designed with environmental stability in mind. For example, encouraging reusable materials in line with our Climate Change action plan (PDF, 805.7KB).
All projects must take place between 23 June 2025 and 14 March 2026.
How to apply
You must read the strategic grants application guidelines (PDF, 281.81KB) before applying.
You need to apply by midnight on Tuesday 10 June. If you have any questions before applying, you can email externaldevelopment@canterbury.gov.uk.