The Great Big Green Week
The Great Big Green Week is a national celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature running from Saturday 7th June - Sunday 15th June 2023. We are encouraging residents, schools and community groups to join together by taking part in activities across the borough to learn how they can contribute through their everyday actions and choices.
Event Grants
We are inviting local groups, schools and parish councils to apply for event grants to support delivery of a wide range of activities and events.
We will fund community events that:
- Take place during Great Big Green Week from 7th – 15th June 2025 or a week either side
- Are delivered within the borough of Ashford.
- Are open to the whole community
- Are free to attend
- Provide opportunities for volunteering and/or community participation
- Promote environmental responsible and sustainable behaviour.
Funding available – revenue grants up to £500 for any one project.
Funding can cover the full cost of your event – but we particularly welcome applications where other funding sources will contribute to the full costs.
Eligibility
In order to apply for a Great Big Green Week Events Grant from Ashford Borough Council, you must meet all of the criteria below:
- Be a not-for-profit organisation with a formal charitable status OR an unincorporated organisation with a constitution and a formally appointed voluntary management committee OR be partnered with an organisation that is one of the above
- Deliver the event in the Ashford Borough during Great Big Green Week from 7th – 15th June 2025 or a week either side
- Ensure your service(s), project(s) or facilities are open to any resident in the borough (or have a clear, non-financial justification for targeting or prioritising a client group).
- Have a bank or building society account in the organisation's name OR be partnered with an organisation that has one (such as a parish council)
- Have relevant insurances in place e.g. public liability insurance, buildings insurance OR be partnered with an organisation that has one (such as a parish council)
- Demonstrate you have relevant safeguards and policies in place i.e. risk assessments, health and safety policy, safeguarding policy.
- Have obtained all relevant licences and permissions e.g. permission of landowner or temporary event notice. Temporary Event Notice (TEN) - to authorise one or more licensable activities.
You can also download our application guidance document.
How to apply
Complete your application by filling out the form and sending it to grantsandfunding@ashford.gov.uk by Wednesday 19th March 2025
Application and assessment process
You can send in your application at any time. Please send your application to grantsandfunding@ashford.gov.uk.
We will give you an in-principle funding decision within four weeks of submission of a fully and properly completed application.
If funding is approved in principle, details of your event will be referred to the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) if necessary, who will review your event to ensure suitable safety requirements are met. Please be aware, the SAG may require you to submit further documentation and will advise you accordingly. On agreement from SAG, you will receive confirmation of funding.
View further details of the SAG process.
Grant offer
If your application is successful, we will send you a grant offer. The grant offer sets out the amount of grant funding approved, purpose of the funding, any additional grant conditions, monitoring and review requirements and the evidence of spend we require.
In signing your grant offer, you accept our standard Terms and Conditions of Funding and any additional conditions stated in the offer.
You will also be informed of how you can claim your grant. You have 3 months from the date of the grant offer to claim your grant.
You will be asked to provide a short monitoring report once the event had been delivered
Great Big Green Week Events Grant funding is subject to the council’s budget so we may not be able to fund every eligible application.
The decision of the council is final.
Who to contact for help
Claire Norman – Senior climate and energy strategy officer
T: 01233 330527
E: grantsandfunding@ashford.gov.uk
