Hart's £440,000 community fund closes to £50,000 bids on 14 September. The £5,000 stream has already shut, and grants are paid back only after you spend.

Community groups in Hart have four weeks left to bid for grants of up to £50,000. Applications close on Monday 14 September 2026, and successful applicants will be told in the week of 5 October.

The money comes from Here for Hart, a £440,000 scheme Hart District Council launched on 13 July. It ran two streams. The smaller one, for grants up to £5,000, closed on 10 August, with decisions due in the week of 24 August. The £50,000 stream is the one still open.

At least £40,000 of the total is set aside for projects supporting young people.

Who can apply

The fund is for not-for-profit, community-led and voluntary organisations only. The council will not accept applications from:

  • individuals
  • sole traders
  • organisations that distribute a profit to owners, shareholders or members
  • organisations running a not-for-profit arm that subsidises a linked for-profit business
  • any application where the money would benefit a commercial business or generate private income
  • organisations without an established governing committee, board or equivalent
  • organisations based outside the UK
  • groups promoting a particular religious or political belief

Faith-based organisations can still apply if the project benefits the wider community and the focus is not religious content.

What the money cannot pay for

Four things are ruled out:

  • VAT you can reclaim
  • routine maintenance or decoration of community spaces
  • work that a council or partner already has a statutory duty to do, or that is fully funded elsewhere
  • projects that already have full funding, or that have already started

The maintenance rule has an important exception. Upgrades to buildings are fundable where they improve facilities, accessibility or sustainability, or let more people use the space. A leaking roof is not a project. A ramp, a hearing loop or an insulated hall is.

The condition that catches small groups out

Here for Hart is paid in arrears. The council’s guidance notes for the £50,000 stream state that once the grant agreement is signed and bank details are received, the grant is paid retrospectively on receipt of an invoice detailing what has been spent. Receipts must be kept for anything over £250, and failing to produce that evidence when asked can lead to the money being clawed back.

For a group without reserves, that means finding the cash first and reclaiming it afterwards. The council has acknowledged the problem in the guidance itself, and asks organisations to get in touch if retrospective payment would put them off applying. The address is h4hcg@hart.gov.uk.

Here for Hart community grants: what is left and by when The Here for Hart scheme has £440,000 in total, of which at least £40,000 is reserved for projects supporting young people. The £5,000 stream launched on 13 July 2026 and closed on 10 August, with decisions in the week of 24 August. The £50,000 stream launched on 13 July and closes on 14 September, with decisions in the week of 5 October. One Here for Hart stream has closed. The other has four weeks to run. £440,000 in total, of which at least £40,000 is reserved for projects supporting young people. Up to £5,000 Launched 13 July 2026 Closed 10 August 2026 Decisions week of 24 August Up to £50,000 Launched 13 July 2026 Closes 14 September 2026 Decisions week of 5 October Scored on nine things Eligibility · helping residents stay well · inclusion and community connection · supporting residents facing challenges · long-term benefit · increasing organisational capacity · deliverability · value for money · sustainability beyond the grant Source: Hart District Council Here for Hart Community Grants pages, eligibility and criteria document and £50,000 scoring sheet. Graphic by Fleet & Hook News
The larger stream is the only one still taking applications.

How bids are judged

The council publishes the scoring sheet its assessors use, which is worth reading before you write anything. Alongside eligibility, a £50,000 bid is marked on eight headings:

  • Helping residents stay well. Does it make a significant contribution, reaching larger numbers, addressing complex needs, or delivering preventative or early intervention work?
  • Inclusion and community connection. Does it work across multiple groups, partners or locations, and show intentional approaches to accessibility and reaching under-represented residents?
  • Supporting residents facing challenges. Economic, emotional or social, and how the activity helps people move towards better circumstances.
  • Long-term benefit. Which parts of Hart benefit, how many people, how you calculated that number, and what evidence shows the project is needed.
  • Increasing organisational capacity. Skills, systems, volunteers or partnerships that outlast the project.
  • Deliverability. Detailed delivery plans, clear roles, strong governance, risk awareness and the ability to manage a larger budget.
  • Value for money. Robust, well-explained budgets showing cost effectiveness.
  • Sustainability beyond the grant. For the £50,000 stream this is compulsory, not a bonus.

The criteria are drawn from the council’s Corporate Plan priority on health, wellbeing and inclusion, and from its Health and Wellbeing Plan themes of active lives, preventing poor health, and access to support and information. Bids that speak that language will score better.

Where the scheme came from

Councillor David Neighbour, leader of Hart District Council, said the grants “will help community organisations deliver meaningful support where it is needed most”, and that local groups are “a lifeline for families and individuals”.

He put the scheme in a line of succession: it “builds on the successes of projects previously supported through Hart’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Cost of Living Support Fund”.

What it means for you

  • If you run a club, charity or community group in Hart, 14 September is your deadline. Apply through the Here for Hart community grants page.
  • Read the guidance notes and the scoring sheet first. Both are linked from that page, and the scoring sheet tells you exactly what the assessor is looking for.
  • Budget for paying up front. The grant arrives after the spending, against an invoice. Keep receipts for anything over £250.
  • Do not apply for something already started or already fully funded. Both are explicitly excluded.
  • If your project is for young people, say so. At least £40,000 of the fund is reserved for that.
  • Paper application forms are available from the council’s reception, or by emailing h4hcg@hart.gov.uk.

Sources

  • Hart District Council, Here for Hart Community Grants for the two streams, launch dates, closing dates of 10 August and 14 September, decision weeks, eligibility, exclusions and criteria. Page last reviewed 13 July 2026.
  • Hart District Council news, “New £440k fund to support Hart communities”, 13 July 2026 for the £440,000 total, the £40,000 reserved for young people, and the quotes from Councillor David Neighbour.
  • Hart District Council, “Here for Hart Community Grants 2026-27: Eligibility and Criteria”, for the link to the Corporate Plan and Health and Wellbeing Plan and the detail of each criterion.
  • Hart District Council, “Here for Hart £50,000 Community Grant 2026-27 Guidance notes”, for the retrospective payment terms, the £250 receipts threshold and the clawback warning, and the “Here for Hart Community Grant Scoring sheet” for the £50,000 stream for the assessment headings.

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