Grant News

Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support school and community projects in rural communities that are located in an off-grid location (any location that is not connected to a mains or natural gas grid and uses an alternative energy source).

The Calor Rural Community Fund offers rural off-grid communities the chance to gain funding for community projects that will improve local life. The total funding pot is worth £85,000 and this year Calor are also partnering with Crowdfunder to give projects the opportunity to raise even more funds.

The Calor Rural Community Fund will be making 11 x £5,000 grants, 6 x £2,500 grants and 5 x £1,000 grants to the winning rural projects. Every finalist will receive £500.

Funding applied for must equate to 50% or more of the total project cost.

Winners from each category are carefully selected following a three-stage process:

• Organisations must first submit a proposal application and which will be screened by Calor to check that it has met the eligibility criteria.  The submission deadline in the 6th May 2021. 
• The general public will vote for the application that they would like to see win a grant. Applications with the highest number of votes from each grant category at the end of the voting period will be deemed as finalists.  The voting will take place between the 26th May until 23rd June 2021;
• The winners from each grant category will be selected by an independent panel of judges with the highest score based on a number of criteria. 

Projects supported can be anything from schools, community centres, village halls and sporting venues to youth clubs and scout groups, initiatives to support the elderly, etc.

Previous winners include:

• East Worlington School Garden project
• Spaxton School Outdoor Environmental Learning Area
• New Kitchen for the Clubhouse at Ely Outdoor Sports Association (EOSA)