Mayor's Small Grants Programme: Review Update

The Council regularly reviews its grants programmes to ensure they are accessible, inclusive and responsive to the needs of the voluntary and community sector.

The review of the Small Grants Programme has now been completed. Key changes include:

Community Chest award limit increased from £500 to £1,000
Mayor’s Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP) funding moving from multiple rounds each year to one annual round

The next Small Grants round opened on 11 May 2026, with a deadline of 21 June 2026
(Please note: different deadlines apply for PAYP—see below.)

Changes to PAYP

Feedback from the sector highlighted that running several PAYP funding rounds each year was challenging and did not align well with school holiday periods.

In response, PAYP will now run once per year.

Opening date: 11 May 2026
Closing date: 5 July 2026

Organisations can apply for activities taking place during the following school holidays:

October 2026
December 2026
February 2027
Easter 2027
May 2027
Summer 2027

Applicants should submit one application for their chosen delivery period(s). There will continue to be one award per organisation.

These changes are designed to:

Support better forward planning
Reduce administrative burden
Enable funding to be awarded ahead of delivery

Findings from the Review

The review confirmed that the programme is:

Accessible to new organisations
Successfully supporting grassroots groups across the borough

We remain committed to building on these strengths over the coming year.

Further Information

For further information and how to apply please visit: Mayor's Small Grants Programme