Welcome to Wandsworth: Project Grants

Application Deadline: 5pm, Mon 14 July.

About Welcome to Wandsworth

Wandsworth is the Mayor’s London Borough of Culture 2025. 

Led by Wandsworth Council in partnership with local people and organisations, Welcome to Wandsworth will be a year-long programme featuring hundreds of cultural events and creative initiatives, taking place from April 2025 – March 2026.

From Roehampton to Battersea, Tooting to Putney, we are preparing to stage a spectacular year where every corner of the borough comes alive in an explosion of creativity, and everyone is invited. We will come together to celebrate our heritage and our diverse communities, supercharging our health and happiness. 

Welcome to Wandsworth Project Grant programme is seeking applications from both individuals and organisations who can support the vision and ambition of the London Borough of Culture and make lasting impact on our communities, people and places.

Please refer to our eligibility checklist below before applying.

Commissioning fee, timeframe

We are seeking proposals from organisations or individuals that can deliver community focused, cultural, arts, and heritage-based activities and events. We are able to offer commission fees of up to £10,000 (excluding VAT) to support the development of content or programming for Welcome to Wandsworth between September to March 2026 (projects must have come to fruition by 31st March 2026).

Key Criteria

Priority will be given to proposals which demonstrate the following:

• Close alignment with at least one of Welcome to Wandsworth key themes
• Applications from Wandsworth based individuals and organisations
• Delivery by an organisation whose strategic plans involve engaging with the borough and its residents over the mid to long term
• Live events MUST take place within the borough
• All projects MUST have participatory elements and demonstrate targeting and engagement with Wandsworth communities
• Clear benefits to the local community e.g. through participation, enjoyment, skills development, health and wellbeing improvements, learning, progression routes etc, and how you will demonstrate this.
• Evidence of local partnership(s) (e.g. local organisations, schools, venues etc)
• Evidence of match funding applicants may only apply for 70% of total project costs. Applications which exceed 70% total budget threshold will be deemed ineligible.
• Target beneficiaries - making specific reference to your target beneficiaries and specify the methods you will use to reach them and how you will measure their engagement.
• Project should not include activities listed in our ‘We are unable to Fund’ list (see below)

Key Themes:

CONNECT: Connect people to life-changing experiences – opening the doors to creative jobs, discovering heritage and meeting people where they are, so that we can fall in love with arts and culture. 

UNITE: Unite, because we are better together, united by or aspiration to imagine a brighter future for people, communities and our borough.  

HEAL: Because building arts and culture into healthcare helps us thrive. By approaching wellbeing holistically, culture can support people body and soul, to live better.  

NOURISH: Creating the conditions for young people to express their creativity and be part of their communities.   

ACTIVATE: Inspiring people through culture to take real steps to reduce pollution and their carbon footprint; reconnecting people with sustainable living and the natural environment. 

Deadline for Applications

Please complete the application form to give us details about your proposal by 5pm on Monday 14th July 2025.

Please note, the Council will notify all organisations who have submitted a proposal to let them know whether they have been successful or not by w/c 22nd September 2025

Eligibility Criteria

• Proposals must demonstrate a strong focus on arts, culture and/or heritage.
• Proposals must be underpinned by a period of community engagement activity, benefitting people and places within the borough in short-term and articulate mid to longer-term impacts and legacy of the activity.
• We can accept proposals from individuals, partnerships, charities constituted AND non constituted organisations.
• All projects must include evidence of partnership engagement with at least ONE Wandsworth based partner.
• Projects must demonstrate at least 30% match funding/funding from other sources Therefore applicants may only request up to 70% of total project budget. Match funding MAY include in-kind sources.

We are unable to fund:

• Any work or activities that any other person/organisation has a statutory duty to provide or undertake.
• Faith-based groups or organisations where the monies will be used for activities that in any way promote religious views or purposes.
• Projects where the monies will be used to promote political views or purposes.
• Individuals, higher education fees or personal household items.
• Applications which are general fundraising in nature.
• Contingency costs, bid writing costs, recoverable VAT.
• Retrospective costs: being any aspects of your project or activity which has been undertaken prior to any grant award being agreed
• Work which does not benefit Wandsworth residents.
• Individual sponsorship or redistribution of a grant to individuals or other organisations.
• Capital or revenue fundraising appeals.
• Development of websites and associated costs.
• Existing activities / projects and costs, including staffing, that form part of your group or organisation’s ongoing work

Eligibility Criteria & Checklist

Before applying, please ensure you meet ALL of the following eligibility requirements:

• Your project will take place in the London Borough of Wandsworth between September 2025 and March 2026
• Your project will be completed by March 31, 2026
• Your application demonstrates community engagement activities
• You have secured at least one Wandsworth-based partner
• The maximum you can apply for is £10,000
• You have secured at least 30% match funding of total project costs (can include in-kind sources)
• Your project aligns with at least one Welcome to Wandsworth key theme
• Your project has clear participatory elements
• Your project demonstrates how it will benefit local communities
• You have considered accessibility requirements
• You agree to acknowledge Wandsworth Council in all marketing and publicity
• You have (or will obtain) all necessary permissions, venues, and licenses
• Your project does not include any activity listed in our ‘We are Unable to Fund’ list (see above)

Guidelines

When considering whether to submit a proposal or not, please take into consideration the following: 

1. Permissions for publicity

All Welcome to Wandsworth Project Grants must credit Wandsworth Council on their marketing, media and PR content. All events must also be added to the Welcome to Wandsworth What’s On section of the website. Selected projects must commit to share their copy, logo and a selection of high-quality images with the Council at least 6 weeks prior to all events taking place so that they can be included in the Council’s publicity campaigns.  Where there is digital activity, the Council will reserve the right to have digital content links available on all its social media channels. 

2. Accessibility

• How will you promote your event to make sure it reaches the whole community?
• How will people attend your event (e.g. is the venue accessible? is it easy to get to? etc.). Please consider that live and online events will have different requirements around accessibility.
• Have you considered what may be barriers to engagement, and how will you address them?

3. Event permissions 

• Please ensure that you have all necessary permissions, venues and licences for your event to go ahead.

Applicant Support

Meet the Funder Sessions: we will host three online sessions to guide potential applicants through the process and seek clarity on eligibility criteria.

Accessibility Support: We will offer support and alternative formats if required for individuals or groups who may face barriers to completing written/online applications.

Evaluation Framework: Successful applicants will be required to use Welcome to Wandsworth evaluation framework. We will provide evaluation guidance to all successful applicants to support this process.

Advice & Meet the Funder Sessions

If you cannot check all boxes above, your project may not be eligible for funding. Please attend one of our ‘Meet the Funder’ sessions to seek clarity regarding your eligibility to apply. 

• Tuesday 3rd June 10.30am -11.30am (Focus: Eligibility & Criteria)
• Wednesday 18th June 2pm-3pm (Focus: Project specific queries)
• Tuesday 8th July 4pm-5pm (Focus: Submission & Decision Process & queries)

Register here

We are unable to offer individual advice sessions for this fund; therefore, prospective applicants are strongly advised to sign up to and attend one of the 'Meet the Funder’ sessions above to fully understand the criteria and to make any project specific enquiries.