Home
Neighbourhoods and communities
Community funding and support
Brent Together Towards Zero Grant

Brent Together Towards Zero grant

Applications for this grant closed on Thursday 31 March
Applicants will be notified of the outcome on a fortnightly basis until the fund closes (or sooner if the funds have been allocated).

The Together Towards Zero is a new small grant which gives a grant of up to £1,000 towards one-off projects and initiatives to residents and organisations which support plans to tackle the climate change and ecological emergency in Brent and to improve local areas by making them greener, cleaner and more environmentally friendly.

Who can apply?

  • Residents
  • Constituted and unconstituted community clubs and groups (i.e. Resident and Tenant Associations, Mutual Aid Groups)
  • Faith groups
  • Social enterprises and Community Interest Companies 
  • Registered Providers (Housing Associations)
  • Local businesses (for schemes which benefit the community) 

Criteria

Your project must:

  • support any of the objectives of the five themes within the council’s climate and ecological emergency (see Guidance Notes)
  • make Brent’s local environment greener and more biodiverse; or offer an opportunity for a tangible carbon saving in a community setting
  • reach into the community, allowing as many local people, living in Brent, to participate or benefit from the project as possible
  • be clearly deliverable
  • be likely to leave a positive environmental improvement to a local area into the future.

We strongly encourage applications for projects that would involve young people (from age 5-25); older people (65+); black, ethnic and minority backgrounds and those with mental or physical and mental disabilities.

What can you get funding for?

  • Re-use and repair projects 
  • Local recycling / waste reduction initiatives 
  • Community gardens 
  • Community orchards / tree nurseries
  • Environmental education programmes or resources 
  • Community environmental challenges 
  • Activities relating to active travel – communal bike hangars, community walks etc 
  • Community bike rental
  • Community cycle maintenance workshops
  • Food growing projects

How much can you apply for?

  • Up to £1,000 is available per project or initiative

Before you apply

Please read all the information before applying and send your supporting documentation by email to: ecogrants@brent.gov.uk with the name of your project.

Applications without supporting documentation will not be reviewed.

Closing dates

This fund will close once all the funds have been allocated to successful projects. 

Together Towards Zero applications are reviewed on a fortnightly basis.

Dates of upcoming reviews:

  • 20 May 2022
  • 30 May 2022
  • 16 June 2022
  • 30 June 2022
  • 14 July 2022

More information

About the fund

The funding is for a one-off for an activity, ideally contributing to a project with a clear beginning and end. Consideration should also be given to how the community will maintain and manage the lasting effects of the project once it has been delivered completely.

If the applicant is applying for a project that would be ongoing over a number of years, the applicant should also consider how the funding would be sustained from other sources in the future.   

Funding allocations will be limited to one per individual, organisation or individual project in the 2021-22 financial year.   

Funding will not be limited by geographical location; however, this will be mapped over the course of year by the council’s climate emergency and grants teams, with the view of ensuring an equal spread of projects across the borough where possible. The application form will consider what Brent ward the application is originating from in order to ensure this mapping. 

The aim is to make the scheme as simple, open and wide-ranging in as possible, to encourage the maximum interest in submitting bids and to make sure that the fund is spent in its entirety during the 2021-22 financial year. This is the only year at present when the funding is definitively available to the climate emergency team at the council.

How your application will be assessed

  • All applications will be checked to make sure they meet the criteria to be considered. 
  • The council’s Climate Emergency team will check applications and respond to applicants if any information is missing or needs clarifying.  
  • The project will be assessed to ensure that it meets the Brent Together Towards Zero grant criteria. 
  • We will consider projects in batches on a bi-monthly basis and will seek to give applicants a decision within [14] days of receiving their application.  
  • It is proposed that a three-person officer panel is drawn up to convene to consider applications, which includes the Climate Emergency Strategy Manager, Senior Grants Officer and an appropriate member of the Parks service.

Monitoring

You will be required to monitor and share information of the project. 

You will need to submit evidence and information about their project within four weeks of both the project starting and being completed, including:

  • photos or video showing the project taking place with appropriate permissions
  • receipts or invoices as proof of project expenditure
  • a record of how many people benefited from the project
  • a short description detailing the project outcomes, which may put on the council website or other promotional material, with the photos and/or video.

These should be sent to ecogrants@brent.gov.uk

How we use your personal data

The personal information you share with us will only be used within the council.

We may use your projects descriptions and details about your project with our partners.

This information will be retained for a period up to 7 years and shall be processed in adherence to your legal rights, including but not limited to the right to withdraw consent, right to copies of your information and right to be forgotten.

If you are dissatisfied with the processing of your information, you can raise your concern with the council’s data protection officer. You have a right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Brent's privacy policy

Contact Eco Grants