Community Wellbeing Fund: Application Guidance and Eligibility Criteria

About the Fund

The purpose of the Community Wellbeing Fund is to support the wellbeing of residents in Wiltshire.

Funding partner: Wiltshire Council

Fund size: £198,000

Funding areas: Projects located in Wiltshire

Once the Fund has been allocated no further applications will be accepted. The Fund may be closed at any time.

Funding Priorities

The fund supports projects that:

Reduce isolation and loneliness and increase social inclusion

Improve mental health and wellbeing

Increase preventative, person-centred and long-term support systems

Enhance person-centred support activities that enable residents to live safely and independently

Example projects include those which address:

Mental health and wellbeing support groups

Activities tackling loneliness and isolation

Physical activity and healthy lifestyle initiatives

Intergenerational or community connection projects

Support for vulnerable or isolated individuals

Projects addressing wider wellbeing challenges (e.g. rural isolation, cost of living)

Eligible Organisations

To be eligible to apply, organisations must be one of the following:

Voluntary, community or social enterprise organisations

UK registered charity and CIC

Parish councils and community partnerships

Organisations set up as trusts (including charitable trusts) are not currently eligible to participate in the Fund.

Eligible organisations must:

Operate within or benefit Wiltshire residents

Have a bank account in the name of the organisation and provide a bank statement evidencing this

Have appropriate governance such as a constitution

Demonstrate capacity to deliver the project

Ineligible Organisations and Activities

The following organisations are not eligible:

Individuals and sole traders

Political organisations

For profit organisations

We are also not able to support the following:

Profit-making or commercial activity

Political or campaigning activity

Clinical or statutory health services

Retrospective costs

Large-scale capital projects

Match funding for Area Board projects

How to Apply

Applicants should create a project on Crowdfunder and if the information matches with the fund the project will be invited to apply through the Crowdfunder platform.

Applications will be reviewed alongside projects pages between each funding period. Please consult our guide to learn how to create a strong project page on Crowdfunder's Knowledge Hub.

How Much Can You Apply For?

If your application is approved, you'll be offered match funding of up to 50% towards your initial crowdfunding target, up to a maximum of £11,000.

Selection Process

There will be two funding windows for projects to apply for match funding.

Funding Window 1

Projects can apply for Community Wellbeing match funding between October - December 2026

Projects must be live and raised 25% of their target for their application to be considered for the funding. Any projects not live but have applied will not be considered for funding

Eligible applications will be shared with Wiltshire Area Board Councillors in January 2027

Area Board funding decisions will be made between February - March 2027

Eligible projects will receive funding on their project in April 2027

Funding Window 2

Projects can apply for Community Wellbeing match funding between June 2027 - October 2027

Projects must be live and raised 25% of their target for their application to be considered for the funding. Any projects not live but have applied will not be considered for funding

Eligible applications will be shared with Wiltshire Area Board Councillors in September 2027

Area Board funding decisions will be made between late October 2027 - November 2027

Eligible projects will receive funding on their project in December 2027

Projects must go live and crowdfund between June 2027 - December 2027 to be considered for round 2 of funding

Requirements for Both Funding Windows

Projects taking part in either round of funding must also:

Raise at least half of the project cost through alternative crowdfunding

Demonstrate clear local support and engagement

Show viability and demand before match funding is awarded

All projects that meet the criteria set out above will be assessed to determine which projects will be selected for the fund. Project owners will be notified whether their application has been successful or not.

Match Funding Criteria

Following approval for funding, if you wish to make any changes to your campaign target, or any significant changes to your rewards or other page content you must notify us.

To secure a pledge from the Fund, you will need to do the following:

Apply to, and be approved for, the Fund

Receive the Fund pledge by reaching at least 100% of your fundraising target with at least 25 unique supporters*

*To verify whether Supporters are unique we will take account of information including, but not limited to: name, address, email addresses and payment card used.

If the project fails to reach 100% of the target the provisional pledge will be cancelled.

The Funding Partner reserves the right to vary these match funding criteria; projects will be notified if their match funding criteria will vary from the stated terms above.

Additional Requirements

Project Owners or the campaigning organisation pledging to their own campaign is allowed, however this should not be a significant amount unless discussed before the pledge is added. Small offline donations that have been collected may also be added, however you may be required to evidence the origin of these pledges (receipts, letters of support, copies of cheques or bank statements etc.).

Projects will be required to agree to the Terms and Conditions.