Grants are available to non-profit making, constituted groups and organisations for local good causes that focus on supporting children and families in the UK.
Fund Information
- Funding body:
- Tesco
- Maximum value:
- £ 1,500
- Application deadline:
- None specified
Background
The Tesco Community Grants programme supports local good causes across the UK. Since it launched in 2016, the programme has supported more than 40,000 community groups with more than £90 million in grants. The scheme aims to make a positive difference to Tesco communities.
The grants programme is administered by the charity Groundwork who is working with greenspace scotland to support successful projects in Scotland.
Objectives of Fund
Funding is aimed at projects that focus on supporting children and families and those groups that address food insecurity. This could be for example a local school needing food for a children’s breakfast club, a voluntary organisation working with families to run holiday clubs, a charity supporting young people with specialist advice to manage mental health, a brownie or scout group needing new tents or a youth sports club needing new equipment, a family advice centre wanting to recruit more volunteers, or a local friends of a park group wanting to develop a new toddler area.
Tesco’s funding has supported thousands of local community projects across the UK, helping to fight holiday hunger, tackle mental health, support young people, host community events and much more. Originally launched in 2016 as Bags of Help, the scheme has supported over 40,000 community groups with more than £90 million in grants. The scheme aims to make a positive difference – because where Tesco communities thrive, Tesco business and colleagues thrive too.
Value Notes
Three projects in 575 local communities are voted on by customers in Tesco stores throughout the UK, with projects changing every three months.
Three levels of grants are awarded with projects receiving:
- First place (the most votes in its area) - a grant of up to £1,500.
- Second place - a grant of up £1,000.
- Third place - a grant of up to £500.
Match Funding Restrictions
Match funding is not required as the scheme can fund 100% of the total project costs. However, for applicants that have secured additional funding, there is no limit to what this amount can be and any funding awarded by Tesco Community Grants programme can form part of their wider project costs.
Who Can Apply
Not-for-profit organisations in the UK can apply if they are constituted and have a governing document.
This includes:
- Voluntary and community organisations.
- Registered charities.
- Community Interest Companies limited by guarantee and running for a minimum of two years.
- Friends of groups.
- Social enterprises.
- Industrial Provident Society.
- Schools.
- Health bodies such as a Clinical Commissioning Groups, NHS Hospital Trust, Foundation Trust.
- Parish, Town, or Community Councils.
- Local Authorities.
- Hospices.
- Day care centres.
- Housing associations.
As part of the updated grant administration process, applicants are now being asked for ID verification checks if their organisation is NOT a registered charity or a registered company, OR if they are NOT a public sector organisation.
Proof of name and proof of address is now required from the main contact of the application. The second contact in the application MUST be a bank account signatory for the organisation account, or for the organisation that is being used if using an Accountable Body.
Restrictions
The following are not eligible for funding:
- Organisations that make a profit.
- Individuals.
- Community Interest Companies with shares.
- Community Interest Companies with guarantee that are less than two years old.
- Work that has already taken place.
- Political donations.
- Fundraising activities or challenges (eg costs for a sky dive etc.)
- Running costs and organisation overheads.
- Conferences or seminars.
- Activities which collect funds for redistribution to other charities or individuals.
- Overseas appeals.
- Expeditions or overseas travel.
- Promotion of a religious or political cause.
- Marketing promotions.
- Research projects.
- Purchase of land.
Eligible Expenditure
Funding to support local good causes with priority given to projects that provide food and support to young people.
Examples of eligible applications with a focus on food security, children and young people could be:
- A local school needing support to buy food for a children’s breakfast club.
- A voluntary organisation working with families to run a food bank.
- A charity supporting young people with specialist advice to manage mental health.
- A brownie or scout group needing new camping equipment.
- Kitchen equipment for a youth project to set up a holiday club.
- Supporting a community centre wanting to put on a Christmas lunch or Meals on Wheels service.
- A healthy eating project that supports families to cook healthy meals on a budget.
- A local friends of a park group wanting to develop a new toddler area.
The funding is for projects that are ready to be delivered, but it will not cover retrospective costs (already committed or spent) such as design fees, planning permissions costs or community consultation.
Location
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
How To Apply
There are no deadlines. This is a rolling programme and applications can be made at any time. Groups can also reapply at any time.
The application process is as follows. Groups should:
- Read the guidance notes and frequently asked question document before starting the application process.
- Find their local store. This can be done by entering their project's postcode into the store locator on the Tesco website. This information is required for the application form.
- Complete the eligibility checker.
Eligible organisations can apply online for a grant, applications are assessed and shortlisted. Every three months successful shortlisted applications are put into a customer vote in Tesco stores across the UK.
The project that receives the most votes in its area will be awarded a grant of up to £1,500 second place receiving up to £1,000 and third place up to £500. Customers are given a blue token when they buy their shopping that they can use to make their choice using the voting units in most stores.
Contact Groundwork Tesco Programme Team for further information.
Useful documents & links
Useful Links
Addresses and contacts
For further information on how to obtain this grant locally, please contact the following:
- Tesco Community Grants Team
Groundwork
The Walker Building
52 Oxford Street
Birmingham
B5 5NR
Email: [email protected]