Bolton’s Fund: Partnership Grants is project and activity funding for At least two voluntary, community or social enterprises to work together to deliver a project that will benefit the people of Bolton.
To be eligible for a grant in the Partnership Grants fund the lead organisation must demonstrate that they are capable of administrating and handling this size of grant.
Partner organisations are eligible for a maximum of one award from the partnership Grants fund in a 12 month period.
Watch the Bolton’s Fund: Partnership Grants Power Point presentation here. ( the video lasts for just over 1 minute).
Please note: you can apply to the Partnership Grants fund even if you have received funding in a numbered round of Bolton’s Fund during the past 12 months (as long as your organisation meets the eligibility criteria and you are up to date with any monitoring requirements for any previous grants through Bolton CVS).
You can also still apply for any of the pop-up rounds of Bolton’s Fund if you have been awarded a Partnership Grant (as long as you meet the eligibility requirements and conditions for the pop-up round).
Please contact funding@boltoncvs.org.uk if you have a question about your eligibility for a grant.
Two or more groups or organisation based in and/or provide benefit to the people living in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton.
Bolton’s Fund will not fund work that statutory bodies (such as schools and local authorities) have a duty to fund. Local government or NHS bodies are not eligible for a grant.
One organisation must act as the lead partner on the project.
The maximum award request in Bolton’s Fund: Partnership Grants is Up to £35,000.
All applications must demonstrate how the proposed project will address at least one of the priorities of the fund. Tell us in your application what you want to do and how you know the activity is needed.
Costs associated with setting up a new activity or extending a project to reach more beneficiaries;
Bolton’s Fund will not fund one-off activity that does not demonstrate significant community benefit, or activities of a specific religious nature. Please find details in the ‘What we can fund’ guidance document.
If you have an idea, but you aren’t sure if it will be funded by the Bolton’s Fund, please contact the Bolton CVS Funding Team before submitting your application. We will be happy to advise you.
There are regular submission dates for applications to Bolton’s Fund: Partnership Grants fund:
Further dates in 2025 will be announced.
We aim to let you know the outcome of your application to Bolton’s Fund: Partnership Grants within 8 weeks of the submission deadline. Please do not plan any additional spend until after you hear if your application has been successful.
Please find a list below of some of the frequently asked questions about Bolton’s Fund: Partnership Grants.
How many Bolton’s Fund: Partnership Grants can my organisation be a part of?
Each eligible organisation can be part of a maximum of one Bolton’s Fund: Partnership Grant project at any time. This means that if you are named as a partner or are acting as the project in lead, you cannot be named as a partner or project lead in any further Bolton’s Fund: Partnership Grants until the funded project term is completed (12 months after the grant has been awarded).
Can I apply for other Bolton’s Fund grants if I am part of a partnership that has been awarded funds?
Yes, you can apply as the sole applicant in any other of the Bolton’s Fund grant streams if you are eligible for that grant (Micro, Small, Medium, Household Support Fund, Festive Fund and Holiday Activities and Food Fund). Please note that organisations are eligible for one grant at each eligible level in a 12-month period.
Where has the Bolton’s Fund: Large Grants fund gone?
The Bolton’s Fund: Large Grants stream has now finished and has been replaced by the Bolton’s Fund: Partnership Grants. Organisations with an income of over £1million can apply for a Bolton’s Fund: Medium Grant (up to £15,000).
Will the partnership be able to reapply if they weren’t awarded funding?
Yes, the partnership can reapply if they weren’t awarded funding. We will share feedback from the assessment panel as to why your application wasn’t awarded funding.
Does the lead organisation need to fulfil certain criteria?
The lead organisation needs to demonstrate that they have the skills, experience and expertise to lead on a partnership project of this size. The lead organisation does not need to have a certain income level.
How many partners can we have as a maximum?
Minimum of two partners and a maximum of six.
Do the partners need to be Bolton based? Or can they be from other towns?
No, they don’t have to be Bolton based but they do have to deliver the funded projects in Bolton and to benefit communities living in Bolton.
How many opportunities will there be to apply?
There is a rolling deadline every two months. The programme will stay open for applications as long as there are funds to distribute. We will give as much notice we can if the fund is going to close.
How will the application be assessed?
A team of independent, volunteer assessors from across the Bolton community will assess all eligible applications. Each application will be scored against eight separate categories:
Final decisions will take place at a panel meeting and lead applicants will informed of the decision by a member of the Bolton CVS Funding and Grants Team. Please note that Bolton CVS is not involved in the decision-making process and does not make recommendations to the panel.
How are the grants paid?
If your partnership grant is awarded funding each partner will be paid 100% of their award at the start of the project. As part of the application, you need to tell us how much each of the named partners are requesting to deliver the project.
Please email funding@boltoncvs.org.uk if you have further questions.
Bolton’s Fund: Partnership Grants is project funding for at least two voluntary, community or social enterprises to work together to deliver a project that will benefit the people of Bolton.
One organisation must act as the lead partner on the project. this organisation will submit the application – including a Delivery and Budget Plan, as well as submitting end of fund impact monitoring information.
All projects that receive funding will need to demonstrate how their proposed projects will address one or more of the Bolton’s Fund Priorities. Please read the guidelines below before submitting an application. Grants size- up to £35,000 .
Closing Date: November 3rd, 2024
Find out more about the Bolton’s Fund: Partnership grant here
Please note: you will need to have an account with our website in order to access the application form via the Grants Dashboard.
Application FormBolton CVS can support your community group, charity or social enterprise to find funding.
Contact the Funding Team on funding@boltoncvs.org.uk or by calling The Bolton Hub on 01204 546010.
Follow these instructions to log in to the Grants Dashboard to access our application forms:
Find examples of projects that have previously been funded through Bolton CVS managed grants here
As a charity we are committed to openness and honesty. We work with 360Giving to publish information about Bolton’s Fund grants.
Using the 360Giving Data Standard, our Bolton’s Fund awarded grants Round 1 available as an XLSX file.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit the website. This means the data is freely accessible to anyone to be used and shared as they wish. The data must be attributed to Bolton’s Fund.
The data will include the name of the grant recipient organisation, amount awarded, date and a brief description of the purpose of the grant.
