Community Ownership Fund

The Community Ownership Fund is still open to applications until 31 March 2025.

The £150 million fund is being run over 4 years and supports community groups across Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales to take ownership of assets which are at risk of being lost to the community.

It’s recognised that it can sometimes be hard for community groups to raise the funding needed to buy or renovate the asset and run it sustainably for the long-term benefit of the community.

The Community Ownership Fund helps support local people to save local community assets at risk. The Fund supports projects which fulfil one or a combination of the following aims. All of these are taken in context of saving an asset with the goal of community use.

You can apply for funding if your organisation, your project, and the asset you want to save meet the following eligibility requirements.

The asset

• is at risk of loss without community intervention
• can be run viably and sustainably in community hands for the long-term benefit of the community
• if already owned, the asset requires essential renovations to be sustainable for the long-term benefit of the community

The project

• applying for up to £2 million for all asset types, but we expect that most awards will be for up to £250,000 of capital funding
• applying for revenue funding no more than £50,000 or 20% of the total capital funding applied for, whichever is smaller
• able to ‘match’ the capital grant from the Fund at the required match funding rate
• able to show that capital grant funding and match funding will be spent within the 12 months following the date you are offered funding (indicated on the offer letter)

Your organisation

• is an incorporated voluntary and community organisation or a parish, town and community council
• is able to buy the asset freehold, or the long-term leasehold of at least 15 years with reasonable break clauses
• is the same organisation that will receive the funding and run the project

By investing in the capacity of communities across the UK to take ownership of the places and spaces that matter to them, the fund will strengthen the social infrastructure that helps communities to thrive. The community projects should do at least 1 of these 5 things:

• increase feelings of pride in, and improve perceptions of, the local area as a place to live
• improve social trust, cohesion, and sense of belonging
• increase local participation in community life, arts, culture, or sport
• improve local economic outcomes – including creating jobs, volunteering opportunities, and improving employability and skills levels in the local community
• improve social and wellbeing outcomes – including having a positive impact on physical and mental health of local people, and reducing loneliness and social isolation

You can fin dmore information and apply at The Community Ownership Fund

The full eligibility requirements for this fund can be found in the prospectus.