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People & Communities

People & Communities

Huntingdonshire Community Health and Wealth Building Strategy

What is the Strategy about?

The Community Health and Wealth Building Strategy is Huntingdonshire District Council’s (HDC) long-term commitment to improving the quality of life for local people, by addressing the root causes of poor health, and economic inequality.

It focuses on creating the conditions for residents to thrive—through economic resilience, social connection, physical and mental wellbeing and access to local opportunities.

By adopting a Community Wealth Building model, the strategy ensures that public sector investment and decision-making directly benefit local communities. This approach supports HDC's wider goals under the Corporate Plan and Huntingdonshire Futures' focus on prevention and wellbeing.

The Community Health and Wealth Building Fund

The Community Health and Wealth Building Delivery Fund is a £750,000 investment by HDC to support the delivery of its Community Health and Wealth Building Strategy over the next three years. The fund is a dedicated resource to support projects that align with the strategy’s goals.  

It aims to:

  • maximise local social benefits, such as employment and housing

  • support community-led initiatives that foster connection and well-being

  • encourage innovative solutions to improve health, economic resilience, and social connection. 

The fund will empower local communities, organisations, and partners to lead initiatives that address the root causes of inequality and poor health. While the initial funding comes from HDC, the fund is open to contributions from external partners to expand its reach and impact.

What is the Pilot Fund?

HDC is launching a £50,000 Community Health and Wealth Building Pilot Fund.

This pilot, running for a month from 1 to 31 August, 2025, is the initial phase of the larger £750,000 Delivery Fund.

Its purpose is to test and refine the Delivery Fund's approach to supporting community-led projects that enhance health, wellbeing, and economic resilience. It will gather further insights, build partnerships, and ensure the fund meets local needs, thereby shaping the broader Community Health and Wealth Building Strategy Fund.

Community groups and organisations are encouraged to submit Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for funding to implement impactful, locally focused initiatives.

Who is eligible?

We are confident that our communities have the solutions to the priorities that the strategy and this funding stream are aiming to tackle. Therefore, the following voluntary and community sector organisations are eligible to apply:

  • Voluntary and community sector organisations that are based in Huntingdonshire. Applications must be for projects that will be delivered in Huntingdonshire, and the beneficiaries are Huntingdonshire residents.

  • No precepting authorities, private individuals or commercial organisations are eligible to apply for funding.

  • Applicants will be asked to demonstrate that the organisation to which the application relates has a dedicated bank account.

Expression of interest

If, after reading the Eligibility and Funding Criteria [PDF, 0.2MB] you believe that your voluntary or community organisation is eligible to apply for funding, and you have a project/initiative that addresses one or more of the priorities, please complete the form below:

Submit an expression of interest form

Criteria

For your expression of interest to progress to the support stage, your project/initiative/proposal must meet the following criteria:

  • Contribute to achieving the priorities set out within the Community Health and Wealth Building Strategy by delivering projects/ initiatives that improve the quality of life for local people by focusing on one or more of the three themes:

    • to improve physical and mental health via supporting an increase in physical activity

    • to support economic resilience via a focus on employment and skills and barriers to this

    • to support social connection and sense of community.

  • Your request for funding from the Community Health and Wealth Building Fund must not exceed £50,000.

  • At least 10% of your project must focus on preventing, in future, the issue that you are trying to tackle.

  • Demonstrable match funding from partner agencies, organisations or other voluntary and community sector groups (this can include ‘in kind’ contributions such as room hire, use of equipment or staff time).

  • If your expression of interest relates to an existing project/ initiative, then you must be able to demonstrate how this funding will be used to ‘grow’ the offer to address continued or growing demand. For example: What is the problem that you are tackling, what do you need participants to commit to and how will you ensure that they will complete the project and exit the scheme with good outcomes?

  • Funding for core costs will be provided for a maximum of 12 months and a clear plan of how this will be funded after this period must be included.

  • The project for which funding is awarded must be able to commence within 3 months of the decision date.

You will be notified and provided with an application reference and a link to complete the full application form.

To support you in submitting a successful application, we are offering a workshop delivered by Support Cambridgeshire. The workshops are designed to help applicants strengthen their full applications by providing guidance, answering questions, and walking through the application form. 

Attendees will also have the chance to give feedback on the process, helping us improve future funding rounds. 

For applicants who may require more specific assistance, individual meetings with a representative can be arranged. 

You will then:

  • Complete and submit a full application by no later than 30 September 2025. Failure to submit an application by this date will result in your expression of interest being cancelled. 

  • At the request of the panel, participate in a virtual or in-person meeting to discuss your application in more detail.

  • Allow your application to be shared with relevant parish/ town, district and county councillors for awareness and comment.

Unfortunately, not all expressions of interest will make it through to the full application stage and for those that do, not all will be successful at panel stage.

But please do not worry. You will be advised why your EOI is not progressing further and support will be available from Support Cambridgeshire should you need it.

You are not restricted on the number of expressions of interest that you submit and, following feedback and the suggested amendments, expressions of interest can be re-submitted for further consideration. 

Applications will be heard by the Grant Panel at their meeting in October.

You may also be asked to participate in a virtual or face-to-face meeting with one or more members of the panel to discuss your application in more detail.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application no later than 7 days after the date of the panel meeting.

Following notification that your application has been successful, you will be asked to sign and return the Conditions of Grant that relate specifically to the project/initiative that funding has been awarded for.

In order for the funding to be released, the Conditions of Grant must be signed and returned by email to chaws@huntingdonshire.gov.uk within the timescales specified.

This document will include information such as what the funding can be used for, project specific performance measures, when the funding must be spent by and what happens if your project is not able to go ahead. 

You must be able to:

  •  Sign and return the Conditions of Grant within an agreed time period.

  • Provide a one-page project brief within 7 days of the decision date. This will be displayed on the web page under the section ‘Successful Applications’.

  • Issue a press release within 7 days of being notified of the award and within the information include:

    • the name of the funding stream

    • the priority that the funding has been awarded under

    • the name and a description of the project

    • the amount of funding awarded

    • contact details for the project lead.

  • Complete project evaluations that will consist of written documentation, virtual interviews and in-person visits to the project/ initiative.

  • Submit performance monitoring information and data that will be used within the Social Value Engine tool.

Not every application will be successful but please don’t be disheartened. If your application isn’t progressing, we’ll let you know why and offer constructive feedback to help you strengthen it.

Guidance is available from Support Cambridgeshire and once you’ve had a chance to reflect on the feedback and make any suggested changes, you can resubmit your full application for future consideration.

If you are unsure if your group/organisation is eligible or if your project meets the criteria, then please reach out to HDC's Community Development Team by emailing chaws@huntingdonshire.gov.uk.

If you have questions relating to your group/organisation or need assistance with bid writing, then please contact Support Cambridgeshire who will be happy to assist.

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