Frome Town Council (FTC) has announced a new approach to awarding its community grants. There will now be one grants round per year, in the autumn, with a new ‘expression of interest’ (EOI) phase before the application process. The EOI phase is open from 1 until 31 July.
Following the EOI phase, FTC will invite full applications from organisations whose projects best meet the grants criteria and the council’s five priorities for 2025-27: grow community wellbeing; support a thriving town; cultivate environmental sustainability; improve assets and infrastructure and be a bold and effective town council
In addition, each year FTC will set preferred themes for the grants round in that year. For 2026, the themes are:
- Engaging young people not in employment, education or training (NEETS)
- Intergenerational projects or projects for older people
- Community cohesion or bridging divides
Projects that do not address these themes are still eligible to send an EOI but may not be prioritised in the event of oversubscription.
As in 2025, the grants committee will be joined in assessing the applications by a diverse panel of Frome residents. The Advisory Panel is made up of residents with lived experience of inequality or exclusion, bringing fresh perspectives to support the committee in making their decisions.
Cllr Philip Campagna, chair of FTC’s grants committee, said “Every year the grants committee is inspired by the fantastic organisations who apply for funding. And every year we have to say no to some of them, not because their projects aren’t worth funding but simply because the money runs out, or there are similar projects competing for the same funds. This is frustrating for applicants and (less importantly) for the committee. There will always be more great projects than there is money, but this new process is designed to streamline and improve the experience and provide organisations with tailored support to develop their applications. We think this will offer greater transparency and ensure the admin time spent by hardworking voluntary organisations is well spent.”
Grants process dates 2026
- Wednesday 1 July – Expression of Interest stage open
- Friday 31 July 9am – deadline to submit an EOI
- Monday 10 August – invitations to make a full application
- Opportunities for support throughout August/early September
- Wednesday 16 September 9am – deadline to submit a full application
- Wednesday 4 November 7pm – Grants Committee meeting
The Young Opinions Unite (YOU) panel will operate again in 2026, via a separate process designed by Year 8 students, to be recruited later in 2026. The YOU panel will fund projects supporting children and young people in Frome.
The Community Grants programme runs alongside a wider offer of support from the town council, such as training, fundraising advice and regular networking events. Find out more at https://tinyurl.com/ftc-organisation-support.
