Rural community capital funding

Rural areas

Your organisation must be in a rural area to apply. To check, open the magic map and add your place name or postcode in the search box at the top.

Select map layers (top box on left), then select:

• administrative geographies
• other administrative boundaries
  then
• Rural England Prosperity Fund

Use the search results box to zoom into your area then select "identify" on the top bar. Click on the map in your area and it will say if it is in a "Rural area for the purpose of REPF". If yes, please continue with your application.

Applicants 

The following can apply:

• parish councils
• charities
• community and voluntary groups
• clubs
• not-for-profit organisations

School PTAs, ‘Friends of’ groups, health charities and religious bodies can also apply if their projects benefit the wider community and support our aims.

Joint applications between organisations are welcomed as it can help deliver and enhance projects. One organisation needs to apply and take the lead during the application process. 

Criteria

You can apply for a capital grant of up to £10,000 if you can demonstrate that funding will be used for:  

• the creation of or improvements to local rural green spaces
• existing cultural, historic and heritage institutions
• active travel enhancements (e.g. community transport)

You can only apply for capital funding and you must:

• demonstrate value for money for the investment of public funds - environmental, social and economic
• identify and quantify beneficiaries and impact of investment
• provide an element of match funding, and that grant funding is necessary to enable the project to proceed
• consider on-going sustainability e.g. associated maintenance, repairs etc.

What can't be funded

• organisations that hold more than 12 months unrestricted operating costs within their assets, unless a good reason can be demonstrated
• activities that are discriminatory, political, or are classed as religious conversion
• activities where there is statutory funding provision available
• costs that can be claimed back from elsewhere (e.g. VAT)
• costs are not auditable e.g. cash payments unsupported by an approved financial system
• costs towards banking charges or repayment of debt
• payments made to individual members of the applicant group or organisations that have a personal financial interest
• retrospective costs (e.g. activities completed, or costs incurred before the agreement of funding)
• programmes or activities that are considered the core activity of national or regional government, government departments or an arms-length body, such as health or education
• gifts and prizes
• alcohol
• employee costs (including salaries)
• political lobbying
• staff training or facilitation costs
• works to facilities that are or should be subject to an insurance claim 
• additional funding towards existing projects or activities which have been grant funded by the Council within the last 12 months
• any projects that have already received DEFRA funding (e.g. Platinum Jubilee Village Hall Improvement Grant Fund)

Refer to community funding privacy notice for further information.

You must read the following terms and conditions before applying. 

• funding awards are paid upon receipt of a signed grant agreement, annex and accompanying documentation and must be paid into the organisations designated bank account
• your organisation will need to comply in accordance with the provisions of and principles of the Data Protection Act 2018
• grants are not transferable between projects or organisations
• grant awards are made on the basis of information provided in the application. Should this information be found to be misleading, or the supported project is cancelled, the council will be entitled to be repaid the grant monies
• applications must be for a non-profit making purpose
• it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure they have all relevant consents and permissions in place (e.g. planning permission, DBS checks, and licenses)
• a grant award does not give permission to proceed with any work without the correct statutory authorisation
• successful grants awarded must be spent by 28 February 2026 and must comply with the grant arrangements. All projects must be completed by this date without exception
• successful grants awarded must comply with appropriate monitoring systems, including submission of a final report at the end of the project along with invoices and receipts throughout otherwise the council may ask for funding to be returned
• applications for funding requests over £10,000 will be rejected