Sheffield Cost of Living Grants

Many people have been impacted by the ongoing rise in the cost of living, whether that’s through utility bills, grocery costs or fuel. Some communities in Sheffield have been disproportionately affected, many of whom already experience long term inequality and disadvantage either through employment, housing, health, and/or access to green spaces.

We know that a wide variety of local charities, social enterprises and community groups are doing incredible work to support people through these challenging times, from social supermarkets tackling food poverty to money advice services helping people cope with rising energy bills.

Sheffield City Council (SCC) is committing £850,000 over 3 years through the Shared Prosperity Fund to deliver the Sheffield Cost of Living Fund.  Working with South Yorkshire Community Foundation this fund will offer financial support to community groups supporting residents in the City to help reduce food and fuel poverty, whilst supporting ongoing recovery from the pandemic.  

Limited funds remain, so we will prioritise applications from organisations new to this programme.

How much can I apply for?

Up to £5,000, to be awarded for delivering activity:

To support people in the current cost of living crisis, including addressing food poverty, fuel poverty and other basic necessities.  It is not intended to fund food supplies.

And/or

Up to £5,000, if you need revenue resources towards the costs of keeping a community space open.  These funds are intended to support measures for the sustainability and improved use of physical community facilities.  This could include the additional costs of keeping community hubs open, extending opening hours and increasing community activity and engagement at venues.  Please note that this is not a capital fund.

Please highlight in your application how the grant will address the cost of living for beneficiaries. Where continuation funding and/or overhead costs are being applied for, please highlight how the cost of living has impacted your organisation or service.

What can I spend the money on?

Activity should support people in the current cost of living crisis, including addressing food poverty, fuel poverty and other basic necessities for groups based in Sheffield. That might be a particular project or it might be a contribution to your overall costs, if your organisation’s general activity is relevant to this aim. Costs could include items for distribution, volunteer expenses, room hire or rent, etc.  All applicants must demonstrate that the activities will have a positive impact on people’s lives and add value to your existing work. The grant awarded cannot be spent on food supplies. 

If your application includes staff costs, we encourage you to pay at least the real Living Wage.

Don’t forget to include a fair share of overheads like rent, utilities, and admin or management costs needed to support your work.

Where relevant, we expect you to shop around to find the best value for money and for any individual items costing over £200 you will need to include quotes.

Can community groups re-apply if previously successful?

Our priority for this round is to award funding to groups who have not previously received support through this programme.

However, community groups can re-apply for new funding - i.e if you received funding towards delivering cost of living activities previously, you can apply for funding towards the costs of keeping your community space open in this round, and vice versa.

If you are unsure, please get in touch with the Grants team.

Monitoring and Evaluation

All recipients awarded a grant must complete a quarterly online survey and report on the progress of their project or activity.  This will form a part of the grant agreement.  You will also be asked to provide any photos, videos and contribute towards case studies being collated by South Yorkshire Community Foundation which relate to your activities.

Please do not apply if you do not think you will be able to adhere to these reporting requirements.

Application Support

You can contact South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau for help or to fine tune your application with our top ten tips!

Cost of Living support

If you or someone you know is struggling with the rising Cost of Living crisis in Sheffield:

• Please call Sheffield City Council on 0114 273 4567 for advice on hardship grants and support schemes.
• Visit their website that includes a wide range of services and information relating to the Cost of Living
• Sheffield Money Support can help identify income streams if you are struggling with your finances alongside other community services.

Contact Us

For any related queries to this funding programme, please contact our Grants Officers, Roz or Emma.