Addressing Poverty & Social Exclusion Fund

This Fund seeks to support projects that:

• enable local groups to strengthen resilience by providing inclusive spaces, activities, and supports that reduce isolation, hardship, and vulnerability among residents
• reduce the impact of cost-of-living pressures through community-led initiatives that help alleviate financial strain on households and enhance access to essential supports
• deliver practical assistance to address exclusion and hardship such as the enhancement of clothing and uniform banks, school holiday sustenance, inclusive community activities, and other practical supports that ease financial and social pressures.
• promote inclusive resource-sharing initiatives such as strengthening community fridges, lending libraries, and similar initiatives that promote shared access to resources and reduce the effects of poverty
• support innovative approaches to addressing poverty and social exclusion that demonstrate new or creative ways of meeting local need, improving outcomes, or making more effective use of community assets.

The Addressing Poverty & Social Exclusion Fund is designed to complement, rather than duplicate, existing foodbank and advice services, with priority given to applications that demonstrate effective partnership working and collaboration. 
The Fund cannot be used for activities claimed for in other funding streams such as Community Support Grant Aid, applicants must demonstrate additionality. 

The Addressing Poverty & Social Exclusion Fund is open to constituted community/voluntary organisations based in the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area that meet the following criteria:

• have an open and accountable governing document (Constitution or Articles and Memorandum of Association, or applicable governing document) that has been properly adopted
• hold a bank account in the name of the organisation, which requires at least two (unrelated) signatories
• produces an annual set of independently examined financial accounts
• have a Management Committee or Governing Board, elected by its membership, and elected Office Bearers
• have appropriate Safeguarding Policies for protecting Children and Vulnerable adults, who are involved as part of the group’s programme
• have appropriate Health and Safety Policies
• have a relevant Public Liability Insurance, to cover all risk associated with the activities of the organisation.

The fund can support a wide range of activities and costs that directly address poverty and social exclusion, including but not limited to:

• community based programme resources that address social exclusion and poverty
• volunteer support costs such as training or delivery of programme
• equipment to address poverty and social exclusion
• light refreshments, transport support, or essential items that enable participation by people experiencing hardship
• resources to support inclusion both physical and revenue.

Project outcomes should complement the Community Planning priorities and complement wider initiatives such as the Social Supermarket and Integrated Advice Services, supporting a coordinated approach to community hardship.

The Fund will not support activities or costs that fall outside its core purpose of addressing poverty and social exclusion, including the following:

• activities or expenditure that duplicate or replace provision funded through other Council grant aid programmes
• statutory services or activities that are the responsibility of other public bodies
• general fundraising activities
• individual financial assistance, including cash payments
• costs that do not represent value for money
• staffing or running costs that are not directly attributable to the delivery of agreed project outcomes.

The Fund will open on 18th May 2026 and close for applications 8th June 2026. 
 

The Support Fund has a maximum available budget of £80,000. Organisations can apply for a maximum of £3,000.  All funding should be incurred from the date of the Letter of Offer to 17 June 2026. 

The required supporting documentation must be sent with the application unless we have received it in the last 12 months and no changes have been made to it. 

Before applying, please check that: 

1. your organisation is eligible to apply 
2. your application meets the priorities of this fund 
3. you have completed every question on your application form 
4. you can provide all the information requested as part of the application process.

Once your application is received, we will: 

1. perform an eligibility check on your application and then assess it against the programme criteria 
2. contact you with questions should we need to. Please keep a copy of your application form for reference 
3. not assess your application if it is incomplete. 

If your project is successful, we will: 

1. send you a Conditional Offer and our Terms & Conditions of the grant by email for your organisation to sign and return to the Council 
2. clearly indicate the eligible expenditure for the funding offered 
3. request the grant to be acknowledged through the inclusion of the official Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council’s logo on all related promotional material associated with the project and that an Elected Member or Council Officer from Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, is invited any event/activity to which the grant is awarded 

If your application is unsuccessful, we will: 
Contact you by email informing you of the reasons why your application has not been successful, for which there is no right of appeal.  Officers will be available to offer additional support and feedback if required. 

Projects will be assessed against four criteria – eligibility, feasibility, deliverability and affordability. Eligible projects will be assessed against a prioritisation matrix based on the above criteria.

Scoring system overview

Sections 3,4, and 5 will be assessed drawing on the evidence you provide in relation to each of the questions asked.  Each question will be given a score out of 5 as follows:
0    No evidence presented
1    Very little, weak or irrelevant evidence presented
2    Some evidence presented but lacks in either conviction or relevance
3    Clear, relevant answers with limited evidence 
4    Clear, convincing answers with strong evidence
5    Strong, clear and relevant convincing evidence from a variety of sources (proportionate to scale)

Each question will be weighted to reflect its importance. This means the score is multiplied by the weighting number to give a weighted score.
Projects must achieve a minimum threshold score of 60 in order to be successful and will be ranked according to individual scores.
Successful projects must provide feedback to monitor progress, evaluate results, and capture learning and good practice.  This may include attendance at council facilitated workshops and/or meetings.
 

Section 1 & 2: About your organisation

   
 If all passed, applications can move to section 3.
 

Section 3: Feasibility 

   
Requires a minimum score of 27 to pass and move to the next section.

Section 4: Deliverability 

Requires a minimum score of 21 to pass and move to the next section.

Section 5: Affordability

Requires a minimum score of 12 to pass and move to the next section.

Section 6: Declaration

Application will proceed to allocation if Section 6 is completed in full.

To receive support regarding the application process, please contact Community Services on:

T:    028 9244 7713
E:    community.services@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk 

If you require this guidance or any related materials in an alternative format — such as large print, Braille, audio, or a different language — please contact us and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Please note the closing date for completed applications is Monday 8th June 2026 at 12 noon.

Click here to apply