Community events

The council’s vision is to support and invest in a thriving and diverse voluntary and community sector (VCS) to enable it to improve outcomes for Tower Hamlets residents.

The Community Events Fund will support events that bring communities together and celebrate our diversity, as well as national and regional celebrations.

The purpose of this prospectus is to provide you with information on how to make an application to the Community Events Fund and guidance on how to develop high quality applications.

What outcomes do we want to achieve?

The aim of this grant is to provide support to organisations who are arranging events that bring communities together, celebrate our diversity, as well as national and regional celebrations. The desired outcomes of this grant are:

• To bring people together from different backgrounds to spend time with each other and improve community cohesion
• For the community to have the opportunity to celebrate the national and regional events that are important to them
• For more residents to have the opportunity to get involved in community life by planning and leading community events
• To celebrate the diversity of the borough

Eligibility

Funding is available to:

• Organisations with an income of below £150,000
• Voluntary and community organisations with a constitution
• Registered charities, including charitable incorporated organisations
• Registered not-for-profit companies
• Registered community interest companies
• Faith-based groups, where the funding is for inclusive activity that is open to all
• Organisations that can show a clear connection to Tower Hamlets

Funding is not available to:

• Voluntary and community sectors organisations with an annual income of over £150,000
• individuals
• sole traders
• profit making companies
• political organisations

How much money is available?

The total budget for the Mayor’s Community Events Programme is £100,000 per year.

You can apply for a maximum amount of £2,500.

Your organisation can only receive one grant from this theme per financial year, which runs between 1 April to 31 March. If your application is unsuccessful, you can apply again in the same year.

What can the funding be used for?

Funding can be used for:

• Staff wages associated with community events
• Event logistics such as venue hire, equipment hire, signage, permits
• Event activities, such as performances
• Promotion and marketing
• Making events accessible and inclusive
• Volunteer support
• Refreshments
• Insurance

If you have an idea of something you would like us to fund and you are not sure if it meets the criteria, please contact the team by emailing vcs@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

What can the funding not be used for?

Funding cannot be used for:

• Events that do not meet the aims and objectives of Community Events Grant Fund. Please see “What outcomes do we want to achieve” section above for aims and objectives.
• General operating costs such as rent, utilities or administrative costs
• Long-term projects. These may include
  • Events which take place outside of a 12 month period from the day the award notification is received by the organisation
  • Outcomes of events that cannot be measured within a 12 month period
  • Outcomes of events which are not immediate
  • If you are unsure whether your event would be classed as a long term project or not, please contact vcs@towerhamlets.gov.uk.
• Alcohol
• Capital or major building works
• General charitable appeals
• To pay back debt or cover past expenditure.

Timeline

The bidding period for the grants programme will last for six weeks.

Applications will be open throughout the year. All applications submitted by 25 October 2024 will be considered for decision in December.

If you want to submit application for April 2025, please ensure the application is submitted after 25 October and by 14 February 2025. Check the timeline for application deadline, notification of award decision and delivery to start from.

Please apply early and give enough time before your proposed project takes place. This way you know the outcome of your application before your event starts. Remember to consider any permissions you will need to deliver the event and ensure this is part of your planning process.

Organising events in parks and open spaces

If your project includes organising an event in an open space, you must get permission from the landowner.

Apply for the use of Tower Hamlets’ parks and open spaces and street parties.

Bidding process 

To apply you need to complete an application form and provide us with information about your organisation and what you want to use the funding for.

All bids must be submitted online through the council’s online portal, Blackbaud Grant Making (BBGM).  We cannot accept submissions by email, by post or by hand. 

Applications will be made on one form with two sections. The first section is about your organisation and the second section is about the project you’re bidding for.  

Access the portal

If you are having issues using BBGM please contact us at vcs@towerhamlets.org.uk.

Assessment

Organisation assessment

The organisational assessment is to see if your organisation meets the standards the council expects of organisations it supports with public funds.

You will need to submit the following documents as part of the organisation assessment:

• a copy of your constitution or other governance document
• your address, rental agreement or evidence that you have successfully delivered services in Tower Hamlets for at least one year
• Name of bank account, sort code and account number
• Evidence of income of below £150,000
• Safeguarding policy
• Equality and diversity policy
• Insurance certificates

The governance, local connection and managing money criteria are pass or fail, so if your organisation fails on any of these criteria, you will not be eligible for funding.

If you do not have a safeguarding policy, equalities policy or insurance then you will still be eligible for funding, but we will agree a date with you when they need to be in place.

Project assessment

To assess your project, we will use the following criteria:

• What are the details of your event?
• What impact will the event have on residents?
• How will your event improve equality, diversity and inclusion in the borough?
• Your organisations track record of delivering similar events
• Budget and resources plan