Small Grant Fund

£500,000 has been made available for the Small Grant Fund to support SMEs, sole traders, partnerships and charities who can demonstrate they have a project that will lead to local low carbon or alternative energy projects/interventions and that are located in Derbyshire for the benefit of Derbyshire communities (excludes Derby City Council boundaries).  

The availability of GEP Small Grant funding is now limited and not all applications received will be successful. All projects should be delivered and expenditures completed by Summer 2024.  

We will no longer be accepting new Expressions of Interest for the Small Grants Fund.

Application requirements

All projects will need to demonstrate that this funding support will help them achieve:

• Measurable reductions in carbon emissions
• An increase in the scope, resilience and/or scale of their activity
• An improvement in organisational performance and demonstrate a positive impact towards low carbon, energy efficiency and/or alternative energy initiatives

Subject to public subsidy control rules projects could be awarded between £6,000 - £20,000 capital and revenue funding. There is a maximum 40% grant intervention rate with a minimum project spend of £15,000.

Applicants must be able to provide match funding for the grant and this must be in place before contracts can be issued. This will need to come from private sector sources such as bank loan, asset finance, company funds or director’s loan and/or from other public funding sources (where permitted). Where planning permission is required, evidence of early-stage discussions with planning authorities must be in place, and full funding will be dependent on planning permission being approved.

Additionally:

• The project to be delivered through this fund must not have commenced and will not be achievable in the timescales proposed without Green Entrepreneurs Programme support
• Community proposals must demonstrate wider community engagement and support
• Graduate placements as part of the project are encouraged. Where placements are not possible support for unpaid placements as part of undergraduate courses would be encouraged

Eligible Costs 

Capital costs including:

• Plant and machinery costs
• Equipment costs
• Product development costs
• Refurbishment, fit out and/or adaptation of land and buildings
• Expenditure that is directly addressing an organisation's energy cost increases for projects incorporating renewable or alternative energy measures such as solar panels, LED, air/ground source heat pumps and EV charging points

Revenue costs including:

• Rent and office costs – for new start businesses and community/social enterprises only – up to three months
• New staff or Consultants to deliver the project – up to three months
• IP costs, Patents, legal fees
• Marketing

All project costs (capital and revenue) must be exclusive of VAT where applicable.

Ineligible costs

The programme does not support:

• The purchase of vehicles 
• Stock or significant ongoing operating costs
• Retrospective funding: costs incurred and/or expenditure committed before a grant is offered
• Contingency costs
• Costs which contravene state aid/subsidy control rules

Location requirements

Applicants will be required to be located within the administrative boundary of Derbyshire County Council which includes the Districts and Boroughs of Amber Valley; Bolsover; Chesterfield; Derbyshire Dales; Erewash; High Peak; North East Derbyshire and South Derbyshire. Organisations based in Derby City Council administrative boundaries are not eligible.

Timescales/deadlines

You cannot start your project before you apply to the programme. An in-principle offer must be issued before work or expenditure on your project can begin. If work on your project has started (i.e orders for equipment, offers on a property, recruitment of a new starter) before this date, it is potentially ineligible for financial support.

The Small Grant Fund is no longer open for applications.