Give it a Go is your chance to turn an idea into action, try something different and make a real difference to people or places in the town.
You do not need to have everything worked out. Anyone with an idea can apply. That includes individuals, local groups, and organisations of any size. You do not need to be a charity or a formal organisation. Give it a Go is here to help people get started.
A strong idea or project might:
All you need is for your project or idea to take place in Grimsby, need £10,000 or less and be ready to get going!
In 2026, nine community projects in Grimsby have already been awarded £47,249.
Creating Confidence in Grimsby: Six 2.5-hour performance-based workshops over 12 weeks across Whitgift School, Franklin College, Grimsby Institute and other venues, building confidence and communication skills in children and young people.
Passion into Purpose, Youth-led Creative Enterprise Project Pilot: A 12-week pilot for young people aged 16-24 in the East Marsh offering hands-on sessions in 3D printing, laser cutting, screen printing, crochet, textile design and product branding, with products designed, made and sold through a social enterprise model and taken to makers markets.
Playday in Grimsby: Transforming St James’ Square into a free space for creative play and family participation as part of the UK National Playday campaign, alongside Play Packs enabling families and community groups to host their own local Playdays.
Source to Sea: Up to 20 one-to-one guided canoe experiences along the River Freshney between now and March 2027, exploring the river’s wildlife, heritage and connection to the sea.
Bee Aware of Nature: Education sessions for all ages across two linked areas with hands-on beekeeping and apiary sessions, and drone sessions filming local wildlife.
Sharing a Hidden Gem: Weelsby Hall and Grounds. Plans include the installation of a site map, biodiversity panel, directional signs, and carved seating across the Weelsby Hall grounds. Funds will also support volunteers to deliver open days, tours, and nature trails, with an inclusive bi-annual festival planned for summer 2027.
Stronger Communities Cultural Insight Research & Voice Amplification Project: This project will involve interviews, listening groups and testimony sessions with residents from diverse backgrounds across Grimsby, supported by cultural connectors, producing community-friendly summaries to share with local partners and inform future cohesion work.
The Great Grimsby Wind and Solar Race Project: A STEM project for young people aged 7-16, with sessions across Grimsby to design and build solar-powered vehicles or wind-powered boats, culminating in a race at Alexandra Dock and the Beach of Dreams Race Finale.
The Quarter Awakens: A free one-day street activation on Bethlehem Street during October half-term 2026, connecting a cultural hub, independent bookshop, historic pub, and Grimsby Minster into a creative trail with live performance, a Story Trail, a Making Station, and a communal artwork.
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We want to help people give their ideas the best possible chance. The points below are based on what we have learned from early applications.
Decision Makers will help share the available budget across different ideas. Your project needs to reach the amount you ask for to be funded, so asking for more than you need can make it harder to support.
Think carefully about the amount your project needs to work well: not too little, and not more than you need.
Show the specific items you need and what each one will cost.
Instead of writing “marketing: £3,000”, break it down into things like design, printing, promotion, room hire, materials or session costs. A clear budget helps people understand exactly how the money would be used.
This is not about needing to reach the whole town. It is about helping people understand the value of your idea.
Explain who your idea will help, where it will happen and why it matters. If it connects to other positive work, local support or community activity in Grimsby, include that too.
You do not need a perfect long-term plan. Give it a Go is here to help people test, start or spark ideas.
But if your project could continue, grow, show local demand, open up future support or lead to something bigger, tell us. Even early thinking can help strengthen your application.
There is a limited amount of finding available in each Give it a Go round, with grants of up to £10,000 per project. That means not every idea can be funded this time.
If your idea is not selected, do not be discouraged.
Individuals can apply, but you need a host organisation to apply with you. This is because the grant money must be paid to a legal organisation or group that can receive and manage the money.
Your host organisation may charge a small admin fee for this. Please check this with them before you apply, and include it in your budget if needed.
If you are not sure what this means, please speak to us before applying.
Give it a Go is open to lots of different ideas and projects as long as they will benefit the people or place of Grimsby. A strong idea or project might:
Try something new or reach people who are not currently getting support
Have the potential to grow or lead to something bigger
Have the potential to sustain and support itself in the future
Help make Grimsby a better place, even in a small way
The Fund aims to put local people at the heart of decisions making.
We’re looking for people who live or work here to shape how the fund works, how decisions are made and what projects get supported.
You do not need funding experience. You just need local knowledge, care for Grimsby and a commitment to fair decisions for the good of the town.
This is your chance to have a real say in Grimsby’s future.
Anyone with an idea that could make a real difference to people or places in Grimsby can apply. That includes individuals, community groups, unincorporated groups, charities, social enterprises and local businesses.
Give it a Go is for testing something new. You do not need a track record, an existing organisation or a finished plan — but you do need an idea you have not tried before, and a clear sense of what trying it would involve.
You will also need:
– A named person who is responsible for the application and for delivering the project
– Confirmation of your legal status, if you are an organisation
– Verified identity for key individuals, as we carry out basic due diligence checks
– Financial information where you have it
If your idea is already established and you are ready to take a bigger next step, Strengthen and Grow may be the better fit.
Yes. Individuals can apply to Give it a Go, but grant money cannot be paid directly to a person — it has to go through a group or organisation. This is known as a host organisation, and you would apply alongside them.
The same applies if you are an unincorporated group with no registered legal structure. If you need a host organisation and do not have one, tell us early — we can often help you find one.
A host organisation holds and manages the grant on behalf of an individual or a group that cannot hold the money itself, and makes the payments for the items in your budget. They take on legal and financial responsibility for the funding.
On the form you give the host organisation’s legal name, legal identifier and address, and we will need their accounts and bank statements rather than yours.
Arranging a host organisation usually takes longer than people expect, so please start that conversation before you apply rather than after.
Your organisation can be based outside Grimsby, but your project activities cannot. Give it a Go is currently funded by Pride in Place, which requires activity to take place in one of these postcodes:
DN31, DN32, DN33, DN34, DN37
You can select more than one on the application form. If your main address is outside Grimsby, tell us about the activity you already run, or plan to run, in the area.
All funds must be spent and all project delivery must be complete within 12 months of signing your grant agreement.
You will need to give a confirmed start date on the application form, along with the date you expect the funded work to be complete. Your exact end date will be confirmed in your grant agreement.
The money is mainly for the costs of running activity — the things you need in order to test your idea. For example:
– Piloting a new project or activity
– Paying someone to run sessions
– Buying materials, supplies or small items of equipment needed to test the idea
– Room hire
– Marketing and communications costs
– Insurance, and any DBS checks your project needs
Give it a Go cannot fund capital projects, such as buying land or constructing buildings.
If you are not sure whether a cost counts, contact info@growingtogetherfund.org.uk before you apply.
– Revenue = day-to-day running costs and the cost of activity — such as wages, sessional staff, room hire, insurance, travel, training, and marketing and communications
– Capital = physical items and assets — such as buildings, land, vehicles or equipment
Give it a Go is mainly revenue funding. You can buy the materials and small items of equipment you genuinely need to test your idea, but the fund cannot pay for capital projects such as land or building work. If an item you need sits somewhere between the two, ask us before you apply.
Not necessarily. We ask for your latest full year accounts — audited or unaudited management accounts — and your last three months’ bank statements where you have them. A lack of historic accounts will not automatically rule you out, and neither of these applies if you are an individual applying through a host organisation.
What matters is that you can show clear arrangements for how the grant would be paid and managed: whose account it goes into, who authorises spending, and what records you keep. If you are using a host organisation, we need those details for them.
No. Bringing in other money is not an eligibility requirement, but it does help your case, because it shows your idea has wider support behind it.
The application form asks whether any other funding will contribute towards your project, and where it has come from — your own funds, another grant, social investment, donations or crowdfunding. For anything not yet secured, tell us who you have approached and when you expect a decision.
It is more helpful to tell us what is still uncertain than to overstate it. We would much rather have a realistic picture.
Subsidy control may apply to you if you are an organisation. Government rules limit how much public money any one organisation can receive over a three-year period; this is called subsidy control, and it used to be known as state aid.
The limit for most organisations is £315,000 of minimal financial assistance across the current and two preceding financial years, each beginning on 1 April.
The application form asks you to list the public subsidies your organisation has received in that period. Key Fund will walk you through it — you do not need to work it out on your own — but we cannot release any funding until that confirmation is in place.
If you are an individual applying for a personal project this does not apply to you, but it will apply to your host organisation.
You can only have one live grant on this programme at a time. If you currently hold a live Give it a Go or Strengthen and Grow grant, you will need to wait until it has completed before applying again.
You can apply for up to £10,000. Please ask for what you actually need.
We cannot part-fund projects, so the amount you ask for is your final amount — if the Decision Makers cannot cover it in full, it will not be funded. That is a good reason not to inflate your request, and an equally good reason not to strip it back so far that the project would not work.
It is worth completing the budget table first, so that you know your exact total before you fill in the grant amount.
Competition is likely to be strong and we will not be able to fund every good idea. In Round 1 we funded nine projects with a total of £47,249, from grant requests totalling £456,627.
Give your project a short, memorable name — up to about ten words — that gives people an idea of what it is about. For example: Grimsby Community Garden, or East Marsh Youth Sessions.
This is the name we will use throughout the process and in any public communications, so pick something you are happy to stand behind.
There are two places on the form where you describe your project, and they do different jobs. This is the part of the application people most often struggle with, so it is worth reading this answer carefully.
Part 1 — the short description (up to 100 words). A few sentences in plain English, with no jargon, telling us what your project is, where it will happen and who it will work with. That is all this box is for.
Part 2 — the detail (up to 500 words). This is where you tell us, concretely, what you are actually going to do.
In Round 1 this second box was often used for general enthusiasm rather than specifics, which made it genuinely hard to work out what applicants wanted to do. Please be as concrete as you can. Where you can, tell us:
– What the activity actually is, and what you will deliver
– Roughly how many people you expect to work with
– Whether you would need to take on new staff or buy in expertise
– How this is new or different from anything you already do
– Where exactly the activity will happen
– What you are hoping to find out or test by doing it
Write it as though you were explaining it to someone who has never heard of you or your organisation. We do want to hear what you are excited about and what would make you proud of this project — but tell us the practical detail first, and let the enthusiasm come through around it.
This sits at the heart of Give it a Go, so it is worth setting out clearly. We are not looking to fund activity that simply stops when the money runs out, and we are not looking to fund the same thing again next year. We are looking for a first go at something that could lead somewhere.
The questions we are really asking are:
– How would this project lead to something else?
– Where would the income come from next time, rather than it being grant funded again?
– If you wanted to do this again, how would you do it, what would you need, and where would you need support?
“Sustainable” does not have to mean trading income. A credible next step might be earned income from the activity itself, co-funding, a partnership that takes it on, a larger grant you would then be ready to apply for, or another route that means the work can continue without simply repeating this grant. The important thing is that you can name it and say why it is realistic.
It is better to be specific than aspirational. A modest next step you can actually describe will carry more weight than an ambitious one with nothing behind it — and “we do not know yet, but here is how we would find out” is a perfectly honest answer for an idea that is being tested for the first time.
We want to know how you are planning to make this happen and when, but you do not need a complicated project plan. In around 150 words, tell us:
– The key stages and roughly when each one will happen
– Who will be leading each stage
– Any dates that are already fixed, such as an event or a booking
– Anything that might stop activities being completed on time, and how you will avoid it
Every project needs a confirmed start date, and all funds must be spent and all delivery complete within 12 months of signing your grant agreement.
The form asks you to select the one priority area that best fits your project. They are:
– Arts and Culture
– Beautiful Built Environment
– Green Economy
– Connected to Nature
– Secure Homes and Lives
– Community
– Education and Opportunities
– Thriving Town Centre
There is also an “other” box if none of these fit. We know lots of projects touch on more than one area — that is fine, just pick the one that fits best. Your choice does not affect how your project is judged.
That is up to you. Your project might be open to everyone, or focused on a particular group or neighbourhood. What matters is that you are clear about who you are trying to reach and why the project will make a real difference to them.
The form also asks whether anyone else will be involved in delivering the project, and whether they have confirmed their involvement. If you are working with partners, please say so, and be honest about what is agreed and what is still being discussed.
Yes, for the things you are buying. The thresholds are:
– Items under £5,000 — evidence of the cost, which can be a website screenshot or a catalogue image with the price on
– Items over £5,000 — one formal written quotation
By “items” we mean bought items, equipment and any consultancy or expertise you will need to buy in.
If you genuinely cannot get a quote — for example because very few suppliers offer what you need — tell us and explain why. We would much rather you flag it than leave a gap. You will still need to show that the cost is reasonable.
You need appropriate insurance in place to deliver your project, but you do not need to have it already. If you have cover, the form asks you to upload a copy of your policy. If you do not, include the cost of the insurance you will need in your project budget — insurance is a revenue cost, so it can be funded through this pot.
What counts as appropriate depends on your activity. If you are not sure what you need, get in touch before you apply.
You do not need every policy in place at the point of applying, but you do need to be honest about the gaps and have a plan to close them. The form asks which existing policies your safety approach relies on — for example health and safety, safeguarding of children, safeguarding of vulnerable adults — and asks you to note any new policies you will need to create before the project starts.
Two things are non-negotiable before funding can be released:
– If your project involves children or vulnerable adults, you must have the relevant safeguarding policy in place
– You must include the cost of any DBS checks you need in your budget
The form also asks how you will keep everyone involved in your activities safe — the practical steps and procedures you will use, such as risk assessments, supervision ratios, incident reporting and training.
A gap you have identified and planned for is viewed quite differently from one you have not noticed. If you are unsure whether something applies to you, please ask us before you apply.
There are four stages:
- Eligibility check. Key Fund, who manage the applications process, check every application against the basic criteria and carry out proportionate due diligence. Applications that do not meet the requirements do not go forward.
– Longlisting and shortlisting. Applications are longlisted between 23 and 30 November. All the eligible applications then go to the Decision Makers, who review them and vote remotely in the week beginning 7 December. Each Decision Maker has an unlimited number of preference votes at this stage, so voting expresses support rather than allocating money. The vote brings the list down to the number of projects that will go forward to the decision day.
– Decision day. The shortlisted projects go to a single live, face-to-face session with 30 Decision Makers, held in the week beginning 14 December 2026, where they decide together which projects are funded.
– Final checks. Key Fund confirms that the decisions follow the programme rules before any money is paid out.
Decisions are made by local people — people who live or work in Grimsby — not by experts or funders. Key Fund and Our Future run the process and answer factual questions, but they do not decide which projects are funded.
Give it a Go has its own panel of Decision Makers. Strengthen and Grow, the other fund running alongside it, is decided by a separate Decision Makers’ Assembly. The two funds have separate decision-making groups, and neither oversees the other.
Everything is decided on one day, in the week beginning 14 December 2026. Thirty Decision Makers come together in person, look at the shortlisted projects, discuss them, and allocate the money between them in a live participatory exercise. We use a tool called Co-Budget to capture the allocations as they are made.
The outcome reached on the day is binding because there is a single exercise rather than separate panels, there is no averaging between groups — a change from Round 1, where a project one group had backed in full could still end up unfunded once the groups’ decisions were averaged together.
Decision Makers are people who live or work in Grimsby who have signed up to help decide how the money is shared out.
We do not simply take the first people who volunteer. We use a random selection within groups — to build a panel that is a cross-section of the town as possible.
It is deliberately not first-come-first-served, so the most connected or confident people do not have an advantage, and no single group, network or organisation can dominate. Practical support such as transport, childcare and translated materials is offered so that people who are harder to reach can take part. The method used and the overall profile of participants are published.
You cannot take part as a Decision Maker on a project you are connected to — see the safeguards below.
– Conflicts of interest. Any Decision Maker with a connection to an applicant — as an applicant themselves, or as someone close to one — must declare it, and steps aside from decisions about that project. Declarations are recorded.
– Everyone works from the same information. Questions are answered in front of the whole group; nothing is shared privately with individual Decision Makers.
– A shared commitment. Everyone taking part agrees to decide in the interests of the whole town, to declare any connections, and to take part in good faith and follow the guidance provided.
– Compliance check. Key Fund can decline an award after the decision, but only on compliance grounds and never on preference.
– Transparency. The rules of the process are published in advance, and the decisions and the reasoning behind them are published afterwards.
You will hear from us before anything is announced publicly. The outcome is reached on the decision day itself, in the week beginning 14 December 2026.
Decision outcomes will be shared with feedback for applicants in mid-December and publicly announced before the end of the year. Grant agreements will be issued in early 2027.
Key Fund will issue your grant agreement in early 2027 and administer payment, once the decisions have been confirmed as compliant.
Payment is made into the bank account you gave on the application form — or your host organisation’s account if you are an individual or an unincorporated group. Your grant agreement will set out the payment schedule and any conditions attached to it.
Two things commonly hold up payment:
– Outstanding evidence of cost or quotations for the items in your budget
– Outstanding subsidy control confirmation, safeguarding policies, insurance or DBS checks
Please talk to Key Fund first, rather than changing course and telling us afterwards.
Small adjustments to timing or to how you deliver are usually manageable. Anything that changes what the money is spent on, moves your end date, or alters what you said you would achieve needs to be agreed before you commit the spend, and may require a variation to your grant agreement.
Do tell us early if something is not going to plan. We would much rather know and be able to help than find out at the reporting stage — and because this fund is about testing new ideas, we expect some things to turn out differently from the plan.
If you are funded, you agree to submit regular financial monitoring and impact reports throughout the term of your grant, and to keep engaging with the programme for monitoring, learning, communications and follow-up activity as reasonably required.
In practice that means:
– Delivering what you said you would, safely and within the agreed time
– Spending the money on what you said you would spend it on
– Keeping records of your spending
– Sending regular updates on progress and spend
– Telling us early if something is not going to plan
– Taking part in programme learning, and possibly a short case study or sharing photos of your work
Because Give it a Go is about testing something for the first time, we will also want to know what you learned — including what did not work — and what happens to the idea next.
Support is available to every applicant, whatever the outcome, and that was a deliberate part of how this fund was designed.
Before you apply:
– We are running applicant clinics across Grimsby from 28 September to 9 October 2026, where you can get help filling in your application
– You can email or call us at any point to talk your idea through and check whether it fits
– We can help you work out whether a cost is capital or revenue before you budget for it
While you are applying:
– Word and PDF versions of the guidance, the FAQs and the application form are available to download and print, so you can work through the questions on paper first
– Key Fund can help you work through subsidy control rather than leaving you to calculate it
– If you have access needs, tell us as early as you can and we will make arrangements
After the decision:
– Ongoing support is offered to all applicants, funded or not
Not sure whether your need is covered? Get in touch and we will do our best to help.
Contact: info@growingtogetherfund.org.uk
We will do what we can to help. Our Future works across Grimsby Together networks, community organisations, faith groups and local businesses, so if you tell us what kind of partner you are looking for we can often point you in the right direction.
Two things to be clear about:
– We cannot broker or guarantee a partnership on your behalf, and we cannot make an introduction that would give you an unfair advantage over other applicants
– If you need a host organisation, do let us know and we will see if we can help.
Some things will be public and some will stay private.
What will be shared publicly:
– Which projects are funded and how much they receive
– Overall numbers on applications received, shortlisted and funded
– Summary information about who took part as Decision Makers, such as age range and areas of Grimsby
What is shared with the Decision Makers:
– Details about your project — your description, your answers and a summary of your budget
What is not shared:
– Personal contact details, bank statements and detailed financial information
– How individual Decision Makers voted
One other thing to be aware of: your answers may need to be disclosed in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We will let you know if that happens.
Your application is processed jointly by Key Fund, who manage the process and administer payments; Our Future, who lead community involvement and use application data for programme learning; and North East Lincolnshire Council, who may receive data for audit and compliance.
If you take part as a Decision Maker, the details you give us when you sign up are held by Our Future, and are used to put together a balanced panel and to organise participation.
The full privacy notice is at growingtogetherfund.org.uk/privacy-policy.
There is £90,000 available so we will not be able to fund every good idea. We know that is disappointing, and we want to be upfront about it.
If yours is not funded:
– We will let you know the outcome in writing, and all decisions are published with the reasoning behind them
– We will keep your application on record so it can be considered in future rounds
– Ongoing support is available to all applicants regardless of outcome, which was designed into this fund deliberately
– We will let you know about other funding opportunities that might suit your project
This fund is meant to be a starting point, not a one-off. If your idea did not make it this time, it may well get another chance.
The Growing Together Fund is currently funded from the government’s Pride in Place programme, which has set aside money to support communities across the country. Give it a Go is one of several pots coming out of it.
Three organisations work together to make this happen:
– North East Lincolnshire Council is the accountable body for the programme and is ultimately responsible for the public money behind it
– Our Future runs the programme and community engagement, and facilitates the decision-making process
– Key Fund manages the applications, grants and compliance
The longer-term aim is to build a permanent, independent fund for Grimsby — one that is shaped by and accountable to local people, not to government or outside funders.
Contact: info@growingtogetherfund.org.uk
W: growingtogetherfund.org.uk
Anyone with an idea that could make a real difference to people or places in Grimsby can apply. That includes individuals, local groups, and organisations of any size. You do not need to be a charity or a formal organisation.
If you are an individual, you will need a group or organisation to hold the money for you. We can help you find one if needed.
To apply, your project must:
– Take place in Grimsby
– Ask for £10,000 or less
– Be ready to start and spend the money by March 2027
– Have one named person responsible for the project
– Follow basic rules to keep people safe — including having a safeguarding policy if you work with children or vulnerable adults
We will carry out some basic checks on the person leading the application and may ask about your finances — but not having formal accounts will not automatically stop you from applying.
We are looking for ideas that will create real change in Grimsby — not just keep something going or fill a gap.
A strong idea might:
– Try something new or reach people who are not currently getting support
– Have the potential to grow or lead to something bigger
– Have the potential to sustain and support itself in the future
– Help make Grimsby a better place, even in a small way
– Fit one of our areas of focus: arts and culture, beautiful built environment, green economy, connected to nature, secure homes and lives, community, education and opportunities, and thriving town centre
Don’t worry if your idea doesn’t fit neatly into one of these areas. If it cuts across several of them — or sits outside them completely but would genuinely make a difference — we still want to hear from you.
When you apply, we will ask what excites you about your project and what would make you proud of it. The strongest applications are the ones where that passion really shows.
Decisions are made by local people — people who live or work in Grimsby — not by experts or funders.
Here is how it works:
Step 1 — Eligibility check: Key Fund (who manage the applications process) checks every application against the eligibility rules. Only applications that meet the criteria move forward.
Step 2 — Shortlisting: Local Decision Makers review all the applications that have passed the eligibility check. They do this online over about a week and rank their favourites to produce a top 20.
Step 3 — Funding decisions: Decision Makers then take part in decision-making sessions — either online or in person — where they can decide where they’d like to distribute their share of the pot of money across those top 20 projects. There are four sessions in total, and the results from all of them are combined to reach the final decisions.
Step 4 — Final checks: Key Fund checks that all decisions follow the programme rules before any money is confirmed.
The full results — which projects got funded, how the voting went, and who took part — will all be made public.
Decision Makers are people who live or work in Grimsby who have signed up to help decide how the money is distributed
We do not just take the first people who volunteer. Instead, we use a careful selection process — a bit like jury selection — to make sure the group reflects the real mix of people in Grimsby.
We look for a good spread of:
– Where people live — drawing from neighbourhoods across Grimsby
– Age, gender, and background — to reflect the make-up of the town
– People who do not usually get involved in formal decision-making
This means no one group or network ends up with too much influence.
Everyone who takes part agrees to:
– Make decisions in the interests of the whole town
– Flag it if they have a personal connection to any application
If someone has a connection to a project — whether as an applicant or someone close to one — they are not allowed to be a Decision Maker
We want to be open about how this process works and what the results are. Some things will be made public, and some things will stay private.
What we will share publicly:
– Which projects got funded and how much they received
– Overall numbers — how many people applied and how many Decision Makers took part
– Broad information about Decision Makers — such as the spread of ages, genders, and areas — but never anything that identifies individual people
What we will share with Decision Makers:
– A summary of your project budget – the categories and totals but not your detailed accounts or bank statements
What we will keep private:
– How individual Decision Makers voted or shared out the money
– Sensitive financial details such as detailed accounts or bank statements
– Personal contact details of applicants
A note for Decision Makers:
Because sessions involve being in a room or on a call with others, you will not be fully anonymous within the decision-making session itself. Other participants and the people running the session will know you are there. We will not share how you personally voted outside the process — but your involvement will be visible to others in the room.
One other thing to be aware of:
Applications may occasionally need to be shared if we receive a formal public information request. Details about funded projects may also need to go to funders, auditors, or regulators.
We want this to be as easy as possible for everyone, and we have built in support from the start.
If you are applying for funding:
– We are running drop-in sessions across Grimsby where you can get help to develop and submit your application
– You can apply yourself online or come to a supported session where someone will help you fill it in
– If you are an individual without a host organisation, we can help you find one
If you are taking part as a Decision Maker:
– Decision-making sessions are available online and in person, during the day and in the evening to work with your schedule
– We will cover your travel costs for in-person sessions
– Childcare support is available — just let us know when you sign up
If you have any access needs, tell us after you are selected and we will make arrangements
Not sure if your need is covered? Just get in touch and we will do our best to help.
We know it is disappointing, and we want to be upfront: we cannot fund every idea. There is a fixed pot of money, and Decision Makers can only share out what is there.
If your idea is not funded this time:
– We will keep your application on record so it can be considered in future rounds
– We will share what we have learned from this round and how it shapes what comes next
– There will be more rounds of Give it a Go funding, plus two other funding pots — Strengthen and Grow and Build for the Future — for projects that are a bit further along
This fund is meant to be a starting point, not a one-off. If your idea did not make it this time, it is still part of the conversation — and we would love for you to try again.
The Growing Together Fund comes from the government’s Pride in Place programme, which has set aside £20 million for Grimsby to use over ten years — from 2026 to 2036.
Give it a Go is the first pot of money from this fund, with around £135,000 available for grants of up to £10,000 each.
Three organisations work together to make this happen:
– North East Lincolnshire Council is ultimately responsible for making sure the public money is used properly
– Key Fund handles applications, checks, and payments
– Our Future leads the community involvement side — making sure local people help shape and decide how the money is used
The bigger picture:
The longer-term aim is to build a permanent, independent fund for Grimsby — one that can draw in money from a wide range of places, not just government. That includes charities, businesses, and other investors who want to back the town’s future.
f you receive a grant, here is what we will ask of you:
The basics:
– Do what you said you would do in your application — safely and within the agreed time
– Spend the money by March 2027
– Keep all your receipts and invoices — we will ask to see these as you spend the money
Keeping us updated:
– Send us regular updates on how things are going and how the money is being spent
– We will keep the paperwork as light as possible and agree the format with you based on the size of your grant
Sharing your project:
– We will ask whether you are happy for us to share your project name and a short description publicly – this is always your choice and we will always ask first
– We may also ask separately whether you are happy for us to tell your project’s story more widely — in fund updates and future communications. That is always your choice and we will always ask first
Staying connected:
– Stay in touch with the programme — we may ask for feedback or invite you to take part in learning activities, and we hope you will say yes
– We want every funded project to do well. We will keep in touch and connect you to other things happening in the town where we can.
Yes, individuals can apply.
The only thing to know is that grant money cannot be paid directly to a person — it needs to go through a group or organisation, such as a charity, business or community group, who can hold and manage it on your behalf.
This is known as a Host Organisation and you will need to apply alongside them. For more information see FAQ
A Host Organisation will manage the grant on behalf of an individual and make payments for the items in the agreed budget. They might charge a small fee for doing this and this needs to be agreed with the Host Organisation and added to the programme budget. We will need some light information from the Host Organisation such as their previous years full accounts and they will need to give you subsidy control information. We are legally bound to record any use of subsidy; we have explained the rules in the application form. You will need to show this to your Host Organisation. If your Host Organisation needs some support with this, they can contact us and we will help them. The most important part is that someone in the organisation needs to be named in the subsidy control section to say that it is correct.
We expect the money to be mainly for running costs and to pay for activities (Revenue) but you can also use it to buy things (Capital).
Examples of what you can spend the grant on:
– Paying someone to run sessions
– Buying materials or supplies
– Hiring a venue
– Travel costs, insurance, DBS checks, or training
One thing to note: If your project does involve buying something physical that costs more than £5,000, you will need to include at least one quote with your application. You will also need to keep all receipts and invoices — we will ask to see them as you go.
If you are not sure whether a cost counts, contact info@growingtogetherfund.org.uk for more information.
We want to fund projects that have a life beyond the grant — not ones that will disappear the moment the money runs out.
In your application, we will ask you to think about what comes next. Where might future funding come from? How could the project grow or develop over time?
You do not need to have it all figured out — Give it a Go is designed for ideas that are just getting started. But we do want to see that you have thought about it and that there is a realistic path forward.
The full privacy statement for applicants is further down this page.
In short: your application details are looked after by Key Fund, who manage the applications process. Information about your project will be seen by the Decision Makers and by Our Future so they can run the process and learn from it.
Your personal contact details and any sensitive financial information will not be shared with them.
North East Lincolnshire Council may also receive data where required for audit and compliance purposes as the body responsible for the public funding
The full privacy statement for Decision Makers is further down this page.
In short: the details you give us when you sign up are held by Our Future. We use them to put together a balanced and representative group of Decision Makers and to organise the sessions. We will not publish how you voted or share your name as a Decision Maker without asking you first.
North East Lincolnshire Council may also receive certain information where required for their legal and compliance responsibilities.
This one is a bit technical, but bear with us — it matters if you are an organisation.
Government rules limit how much public money any one organisation can receive over a three-year period. The limit is £315,000 across this year and the two years before it.
As part of your application, we will ask you to tell us roughly how much public funding your organisation has received over that period. Most organisations applying for a small grant like this will be nowhere near the limit — but we still need to check.
Key Fund will walk you through this as part of the process — you do not need to work it out on your own.
If you are an individual applying for a personal project, this does not apply to you but it will apply to your Host Organisation.
This year we are planning to get around £600,000 out into the community.
Give it a Go is the first part of that — it is how we are testing a new way of getting money to people and organisations quickly. This first wave has £45,000 to share out, with a further £90,000 coming in a second round later in the year.
We are also working on two other funding pots to get money out into the community and will be sharing more on those soon.
Give your project a short, memorable name — something that gives people an idea of what it is about.
For example: Grimsby Community Garden or East Marsh Youth Sessions.
The best names are ones that mean something to you and reflect what you are trying to do. If you are proud of your idea — and we hope you are — let that come through in the name.
This is the name we will use throughout the whole process and in any public communications, so pick something you are happy to see out in the world.
The application has two places where you describe your project, and they work differently.
Part 1 — The short summary: Just one or two sentences covering the basics: what your project will do and who it is for.
For example: “We will work with young people aged 14 and over from East Marsh to design and build an outdoor space that actually works for them.”
Part 2 — Tell us everything: This is where you can really go for it.
Make sure you cover:
– How the money will create change
– What you are genuinely excited about
– What would make you feel really proud of it
– How it helps make Grimsby a better place
– Whether you are trying something new or testing a different approach
– How the project might sustain and support itself in the future
The applications that stand out are the ones where the passion really comes through — so do not hold back.
You can apply for up to £10,000. Ask for what you actually need — not more, not less.
A useful tip: fill in the budget section first, so you know your exact total before you fill in the amount you are asking for.
In the budget section, you will need to split your costs into two categories:
Capital = Physical items – such as equipment or materials you are buying
Revenue = Day-to-day running costs — such as wages, room hire, and insurance
If any single physical item costs more than £5,000, you will need to include at least one quote for it with your application.
We want to know how you are planning to make this happen and when — but you do not need a complicated plan. A rough sense of the key phases is fine. For example: getting set up, then delivering, then wrapping up.
In your timeline, tell us:
– The key stages and roughly when each one will happen
– Who will be leading the project and keeping things on track
– Who else will be involved in making it happen
Every project needs a confirmed start date, and the money should be spent by the end of March 2027. We hope to have money delivered to you in July.
If your project involves working with children or vulnerable adults, then yes — you must have a safeguarding policy in place before you can receive a grant. Anyone working directly with those groups must also have had the right checks done, such as a DBS check.
In your application, you will need to tell us how you plan to involve people and keep everyone safe.
Not sure if this applies to your project?
Just get in touch before you apply and we can talk it through with you.
Not necessarily — it is up to you. Your project might be open to everyone, or it might be focused on a specific group, like older people, young people, or people from a particular part of town. Neither is automatically better than the other.
What matters is that you are clear about who you are trying to reach and why your project will make a difference to them. Just tell us in your application who the project is aimed at and why.
The application asks you to pick the one theme that best fits your project.
The themes are:
– Arts and culture
– Environment
– Thriving businesses and town centre
– Education and opportunities
– Community
– Green economy
– Housing
– Beautiful built environment
We know lots of projects will touch on more than one of these — that is absolutely fine. Just pick the one that feels like the closest match to the main thing your project is trying to do.
Your choice of theme does not affect how your project is judged.
Yes, and it is great if you can. If you have access to other funding — whether that is savings your organisation has set aside, donations, other grants, or your own money — you can include that in your application.
You will need to split it into the same two categories as your main budget (running costs and physical items) and tell us where it has come from. You can list more than one source.
Having other money behind your project is not a requirement — but it can help show that your project has support and momentum behind it.
Capital funding = Physical items — such as equipment or materials you are buying
Revenue = Day-to-day running costs — such as wages, room hire, and insurance
We’ve pulled together some of the common questions raised so far about Give it a Go and will continue to add to this as the fund develops.
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