Funding

Introduced by Cheshire West and Chester Council, the CIF will provide grant funding to community sector organisations to support all age preventative, community-led activity that helps residents earlier, strengthens local resilience, and prevents, reduces or delays the need for statutory and high-cost services. The total funding envelope available for the CIF in 2026-27 is £897,000, including £425,000 in Council funding and £472,000 from the UK Government Crisis and Resilience Fund. The CIF will be phased approach, with the first application stage open from Wednesday 7 October to Wednesday 7 November.

Single year grants between £10,000 and £50,000 are available for core costs, salaries, running and project costs or multi-year grants for a maximum of 3 years, not to exceed £100,000 in total over this period, for core costs, salaries, running or project costs. No more than £50k can be applied for in any given year. Organisations should have a focus on Family Support, this may further include: * Early intervention * Families coping with addiction * Prisoners' families * They fund voluntary sector organisations with a turnover up to £500,000. If you are located in a rural area, you must be in the bottom 50% most deprived areas according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation.

BBC Children in Need believe that every child should have the chance to thrive and be the best they can be, however many children experience challenges that affect their quality of life and wellbeing. They offer Core and Project funding with no application deadlines, so you can apply at any time.