Thirteen Community Fund 2026/27

We offer grants of up to £600 to support projects that make a positive difference in our neighbourhoods – helping communities thrive and supporting wellbeing and sustainability.

Who we support

We welcome applications from groups and organisations working in areas where Thirteen has homes. This includes:

• Community groups
• Local charities
• Residents’ associations
• Voluntary organisations
• Public sector bodies

If you're applying as a Thirteen staff member, your project must be community-led, and you’ll need to speak to relevant departments to see if they can support your application before submitting it.

We ask all applicants to show they have match funding in place – this could be cash, donated materials or volunteer time.

Please read the guidance notes before completing the application

This fund runs from April 2026 to March 2027.Thirteen support and work with groups and partner agencies which make a positive contribution to the well-being and sustainability of our neighbourhoods by offering grants of up to £600.

We welcome applications from groups and organisations working within areas where Thirteen have homes. This includes community groups, local charities, residents’ associations, voluntary organisations and public sector bodies.

We expect groups to demonstrate that they have match funding in place in the form of either cash, materials, or volunteer time. If you are applying as a Thirteen staff member you must demonstrate the project is community led and you have spoken to relevant departments to see if they can support the application before applying to the community fund. By supporting and promoting joint working this fund aims to make a significant contribution to the improvement of local communities making them places where people want to live.

Applications must support at least one of the following themes:

• Social and Personal Development Skills
  Projects and activities which support residents to develop skills to enhance their life skills and employment opportunities.
• Health and Wellbeing Activities
  Projects and activities which support customers to live happy and healthy lives.
• Promote Community Involvement and Resident Engagement
  Projects that create a sense of belonging in a community.
• Community Safety Projects
  Projects and activities which ensure that our communities are safe places to live.
• Environment
  Projects and activities which make our communities cleaner and greener places to live.
• Financial and Digital Inclusion
  Projects and activities which enable our customers to access services and facilities that are needed to participate in modern society.

Applications must also link to Thirteen’s Strategic Priorities

• Happy Customers
• Fantastic Homes
• Brilliant People

https://www.thirteengroup.co.uk/strategy

Key things to remember when applying

All monies approved will be paid by bank transfer into the group/organisations bank account which must not be an individual or joint person’s account. We MUST receive proof of bank details (such as a paying in slip or bank statement) and we will only request this if your funding has been awarded.

All sections on the application form must be completed fully before the application can be considered. Incomplete forms will be declined.

You MUST include evidence of costs listed in the item breakdown (e.g. a quote, invoice, website link, screenshot). Your application will not be considered if these are not included.

If this project requires assistance from Thirteen staff you must seek approval before the grant is submitted, these costs will be taken into consideration by the panel.If you have had funding from the Community Fund previously and have not provided feedback your application will not be considered. If you are unsure whether you have submitted your feedback, please contact the Customer Engagement Team.

If your application includes transport costs, we will only provide funding for 50% of the cost.

If your application is for a sports team (football, rugby, basketball etc.) you can apply for a £300 sponsorship in the agreement that you advertise Thirteen. This would be agreed once funding has been awarded. We will only award a maximum of 20 sponsorships within the financial year.

Applicants can only be awarded a maximum of £600 per financial year (April to March), this can be split over more than one application. Parent groups/organisations and their subsidiary groups/organisations are considered the same applicant.

If your application for funding will benefit Gresham, Newport, Pallister Park, Grove Hill or Primrose Hill apply on www.yourvoice.thirteengroup.co.uk/hub-page/funding-hub.

Application process

All applications will be considered by a panel of Thirteen involved customers who assess the applications against the above themes and exclusions within 10 working days of the deadline date. Applications will not be checked prior to going to the panel so please ensure it is completed fully, and evidence is provided or your application could be declined. You will be informed either by email or letter of the outcome of your grant application within 10 working days of the deadline date. If approval is given this is pending the agreement on how your outcomes will be reported. All decisions are final, and appeals will not be considered.

Feedback

• All successful applicants will be expected to submit feedback once their project/event is completed.
• The feedback provided may be used to promote the Thirteen Community Fund and the projects/events that we support via our website and social media.
• As well as feedback we require photographs, videos, soundbites, case studies etc.
• If you are using the funding to hold an event, please invite us along so we can support with the feedback.
• If we do not receive feedback from your project future funding will not be considered

If you have not yet provided feedback from your previous project funding, please do so now or your application will not be considered, visit https://yourvoice.thirteengroup.co.uk/project-funding-feedback/surveys/community-fund-feedback-form

Exclusions

We will not provide funding for the following activities: