Community Grant 

The UWE Bristol Fund awards grants of up to £3,000 for community partnership projects.

About the grant

The UWE Bristol Fund awards grants of up to £3,000 for community partnership projects which help to achieve the following aims:

  • build relationships between staff, students and local communities
  • develop opportunities for students to volunteer in the local community and enhance teamwork, communication and project management skills
  • develop opportunities to enhance student learning through practical, community-based projects
  • develop projects which will have significant impact for the Bristol region.

The UWE Bristol Community Grant is jointly funded with the Quartet Community Foundation.

Eligibility

Applications must be led by a current UWE Bristol student or staff member, and identify a lead community partner. If you have a good idea and are seeking a suitable community partner, the UWE Bristol Fund team can help with this.

The community partner must be a ‘community organisation’ that can clearly demonstrate its charitable aims in a governing document. These can be CICs, charities, CIOs, constituted groups etc. At the very least, we would expect to see a Governing Document with charitable aims, and three unrelated committee members on the management committee. We can also fund public bodies such as schools or local authorities. The activity must be clearly non-profit making and not for commercial purposes.

The project must benefit communities in the following areas – Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

The types of projects we fund

We give priority to projects that focus on the following areas:

  • schools and education – UWE Bristol students working with young people in areas with low progression into HE
  • sustainability – supporting the city and region to become more sustainable, with a low impact on our planet and a healthy environment for all
  • stronger communities – helping to build resilient and inclusive neighbourhoods, where people are able to participate in and benefit from the economic and cultural opportunities in the city and region
  • health and wellbeing – ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to live a life in which they are mentally and physically healthy.

"The funding enabled us to produce professional literature about air pollution for schools, commission a filmmaker, and run workshops. The project got our area acknowledged by the council as needing air quality improvements."

St George’s Breathing Better, Community Fund project

St George’s Breathing Better Community Fund project

How to apply

Please complete an expression of interest form providing some basic information about your project proposal. This will be used to check that your project will be eligible for funding before proceeding to a full application.

Before completing your expression of interest, please read the Community Fund guidelines (PDF) for applications. We strongly suggest that you seek advice on your application before submitting. The Community Fund team can check that your project is suitable for the fund and can help with your application. Please email Community Fund team at communityfund@uwe.ac.uk to discuss your idea.

The deadline for applications is Monday 4 March 2024. Decisions on funding will be made by the end of March.