How to find council grants for small businesses
Are you searching for council grants for small businesses but are unsure what’s available? With this guide, we’ll outline the different funding options for your business and give you tips for applying.
What funding is available?
There are many different types of council grants available for small businesses, especially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grants are available to support businesses impacted by local and national restrictions. In particular, council grants for small businesses are available to the following industries:
- Hospitality
- Leisure
- Accommodation
- Retail.
Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant
If you’re looking for council grants for small businesses, the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant might interest you. This grant will support hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses that have been or might be impacted by the Omicron variant.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for this grant, you must:
- Offer in-person services
- Have your main service and activity take place in a fixed rate-paying premises
- Be in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors.
You will not be eligible for this fund if:
- Your business is in administration, insolvent or is no longer on the Companies House register
- You will exceed the permitted subsidy allowance
- Your business is not on the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) rating list.
How to apply
If you’re interested in the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant, you can apply through your local council.
Additional Restrictions Grant
There are other council grants for small businesses, including the Additional Restrictions Grant. This grant provides local councils with funding to support businesses that have been severely impacted by COVID-19. In particular, businesses that have been affected by the Omicron variant.
Eligibility criteria
With these grants, local councils are given the freedom to determine their own eligibility criteria. However, the funding must be used to help businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions and the Omicron variant.
You are ineligible for funding if:
- Your business is in administration, insolvent or has been struck off the Companies House register
- You have exceeded the permitted subsidy allowance.
How to apply
Businesses can apply for the Additional Restrictions Grant through their local council’s website.
Tips for winning a council grant
It’s not just about finding council grants for small businesses. When you’ve found a suitable funding opportunity for your business, you need to apply.
If you’re unsure about what it takes to secure funding for your business, here are some tips for applying:
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Read the grant documents
Before you start the application process, you need to read all of the grant documents. Whether the documents are 1-page long or 50-pages long, you need to read it all.
If you don’t read the grant documents before applying, you run the risk of missing important details from your proposal. For example, the grant you’re applying for could have certain prerequisites that you need to be eligible for.
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Talk to the grant awarding body
Before applying for council grants for small businesses, you could consider talking to the grant awarding body. This will give you the opportunity to raise any questions you might have after reading the grant documents.
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Produce a business plan
When you apply for council grants for small businesses, it can be beneficial to produce a business plan. This will help the council to assess your business and how you plan on spending the money.
Your business plan will be different for every opportunity you apply for. However, it will usually contain the following:
- Your mission statement
- Products and services
- Information about your company
- Your employees
- Financial information
- Growth plans
- Your USP(s)
- Target audience and/or customers
- Achievable milestones.
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Start applying early
To increase your chances of success when applying for council grants for small businesses, you should start applying early. This is because there is more funding available in the earlier stages. As more businesses apply for the funding, the amount of money available will decrease.
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Proofread and edit your proposal
Finally, to secure council grants for small businesses, you need to proofread and edit your proposal. After all, submitting an application that is full of mistakes and errors won’t do you any favours!
To ensure that your proposal is professional and error-free, you could ask someone else to proofread it for you. A second reviewer will be able to spot any mistakes that you might have missed in your own work.
In summary
There are plenty of council grants for small businesses available in the UK, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. These include the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant and the Additional Restrictions Grant.
To increase your chances of success when applying for council grants, remember our advice. You need to read the grant documents thoroughly before starting your application. You could also talk to the grant awarding body and raise any questions you might have.
When you apply for the grant, it’s important that you produce an effective business plan. This will show your local council how you plan on spending the money. Remember, the earlier you apply, the more likely you are to succeed. This is because there is more funding available in the earlier stages.
Finally, you should proofread and edit your funding proposal before applying. By doing this, you can rest assured that your grant application is completely error-free and increase your chances of success.
Our Services
Grant Writing
Our Grant Writing Service is for businesses who want to start applying for grants, but don’t know where to begin. They can also help businesses who have been applying for grants but aren’t seeing success.
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