Small Grants

What is it?

Often groups only need a small amount of money to make a difference to a local facility, be it a community building, nature reserve, cultural facility or outdoor space.  The Small Grants Scheme offers quicker access to lower levels of funding to make these projects happen.

How much can I apply for?

You can apply for between £250 and £5,000. Your project must not cost more than £10,000 in total.

Am I eligible?

The main criteria are:

•   The project's site is within 10 miles of a Biffa operation (the proximity checker on the left will tell you this)
•   The project's site is also within 10 miles of a landfill site (owned by any company)
•   The project is eligible to be registered with ENTRUST under category D.  Please note that your organisation does not have to enrol with ENTRUST as an Environmental Body - we (RSWT) act as the Environmental Body for Small Grants projects.  We will register the project for you with ENTRUST, but it does, of course, need to be eligible! 
•   There will be a minimum of 104 days of full public access to the project per year
•   Any Biffaward grant will be used for site-based improvement work, not for equipment or running costs
•   Biffaward is unable to fund retrospectively, so you should only apply for money for work that will take place in the future.  

How do I apply?

If you have answered 'yes' to all of the points listed above, please download an application form to complete and return to Biffaward. There are no deadlines.

We strongly advise that you read the guidance notes before completing your application to ensure your project is eligible and that you answer each question appropriately.

The application form and guidance notes can be found in our downloads section.

There are some specific things which we are unable to fund:

• Core costs, i.e. management charges, salaries or running costs
• Improvements to car parks, offices or services
• Alterations to help an existing building meet Disability Discrimination Act requirements
• 'Personal' kit or equipment, e.g. sports shirts, cricket gloves
• Computers, bicycles, boats, vehicles, groundsheets, mowers, scarifiers, scoreboards/boxes, mobile phones...  This is because we can only fund site-based projects, and portable items could in theory be moved away from the site.  Note: some portable sports and maintenance equipment that will be kept on one site will be judged on a case-by-case basis.  You will need to demonstrate that the equipment will directly improve the site.
• Fencing
• Projects in school buildings or grounds, or on allotments
• Events, CDs and websites
• 'Purely' fabric repairs, e.g. to bell towers, church spires, etc. 
• Enhancement of town or village centres, e.g. signage, seating, dog waste bins and seasonal bulbs
• Storage Containers

This list is not exhaustive and may change from time to time.  We try to keep exclusions to a minimum.  If you have any doubt, please contact us on 01636 670000 or email biffaward@rswt.org