Community Ownership Fund Round 3

The Community Ownership Fund will open for Round 3 main applications on Wednesday 31^st May 2023.

The Community Ownership Fund is a £150 million UK-wide fund to help communities take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of closure. It is open to third sector, voluntary and community organisations, and supports the purchase and/or renovation costs of assets in their local area.

Round 3 will close to new applications at 11:59am on Wednesday 12^th July.

Eligibility Changes

There are some eligibility changes for Round 3, designed to allow more assets to be saved across the UK. The key changes include:

• Reducing the match funding requirement.
  • Where previously the Community Ownership Fund would contribute up to 50% of total capital funds required, it will now contribute up to 80% of the total capital funds required, with applicants required to raise the other 20% from other sources of funding.
  • Projects in areas of the greatest need will only need to raise 10%, as determined by the fund’s Development Support provider, in accordance with the Prioritisation process for awarding targeted support set out in the prospectus.
• Increasing the amount of funding all projects can bid for, from £250,000 to £1 million.
• Allowing parish councils (and their equivalent town and community councils) to apply in the same way community groups do.

Additional Support and Webinars

The fund now has a Development Support provider, who will offer support from Round 3 onwards. This can be accessed via an enquiry form on the My Community webpage (linked for your convenience).

There will also be live and pre-recorded webinars organised to help groups understand the fund better:

• “How to raise match funding for your Community Ownership Fund project” – UK-wide: delivered by Plunkett, on Wednesday 24^th May 2pm – 4pm
  • now FULLY BOOKED; a recording will be available on the dedicated page on Tuesday 30^th May
• “How to create a strong community ownership fund application” – Scotland-specific: delivered by the Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS), on Wednesday 7^th June, 10am – 12pm: BOOKING LINK
• “Introduction to Community Shares and how it can be used as match funding” – UK-wide: delivered by Cooperatives UK’s Community Shares Unit, on Monday 10^th July 11am – 12:30pm: BOOKING LINK
• Scheduled asset-specific webinars:
  • Tuesday 30^th May (heritage assets)
  • Thursday 8^th June (pubs, shops and cafes)
  • Tuesday 20^th June (sporting assets)

To book your place at any of the webinars, please click on the relevant booking link above.

What to Do Now

Interested groups can start their Community Ownership Fund application through submitting an Expression of Interest form via the green button half way down the Round 2 page.

Further Information

For further information on Round 3, including all eligibility criteria, funding and support assessment criteria, and the decision-making process, please visit the Round 3 Prospectus.