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To approve a revised community and voluntary
sector grants framework that transitions from the “strategic
grants model” to a rolling programme of unrestricted funding
of up to £15,000 for each application per financial year.
 

Reasons for the decision

The process was reviewed in
2024 to make it easier for organisations to apply for funding based
on their needs and to ensure that HDC funding is used efficiently.
HDC’s strategic grants were available to organisations once a
year but were largely requests for year-on-year funding and not
strategic in nature and most of these were for small amounts.
Organisations can now apply for a grant of up to £15k in any
year.
 

Alternative options considered

To move back towards the
strategic grant process. However, this was an inflexible
arrangement as organisations had to apply the previous year and
very little funding was left for other, often smaller groups. With
the new arrangement, organisations can apply for funding for up to
£15,000 for both core costs and for projects during one of
our four grant rounds throughout the year.