Knowsley Community Fund

The Knowsley 2030 Strategy includes a priority to make Knowsley a place where strong and safe communities can shape their future.

The Knowsley Council Plan (2025–2030) is underpinned by an ethos of Stronger Communities with a clear focus placed on the Council’s role in supporting residents to thrive and helping people overcome inequality.

The Knowsley Community Fund will support Knowsley’s community and voluntary groups to contribute to the Council priorities set out in the Knowsley Council Plan (see link:-  Knowsley Council Plan 2025-2030 - Appendix A.pdf)

The Fund will provide organisations with an opportunity to apply for funds for new project ideas, and funds to sustain and grow established activity.

The Council Plan has a clear vision of “Supporting Knowsley’s Residents to Thrive” and is focused around three key priorities: -

• Deliver effective, high-quality services and support – that positively impact the lives of Knowsley residents.
• Encourage growth that benefits everyone – ensuring our communities and town centres can flourish.
• Deliver targeted support to encourage fairness and opportunity – for those residents facing the biggest challenges.

The Knowsley Community Fund (Round 2) will focus on the following priority themes:-

Encourage growth that benefits everyone – ensuring our communities and town centres can flourish.

We will do this by “building an inclusive economy, place leadership and by responding to the climate emergency and achieving net zero”.

Project ideas might be employability projects, skills for life projects, training and education projects, projects that support the transition from education into employment, community infrastructure or capital improvement projects, environmental and climate-based projects.

Deliver targeted support to encourage fairness and opportunity – for those residents facing the biggest challenges.

We will do this by supporting “early intervention and prevention, building stronger communities and tackling inequality”.

Project ideas might be hardship support projects, winter support delivery, projects that encourage sports and physical activity, specific SEND support, positive activities that support young people, supporting the lives of disabled children and their families, mental health support, start for life projects community cohesion projects and other general community activities and projects that support the Council in its role as the Corporate Parent for care experienced and cared for young people.

Important - For the 2026/2027 funding period only, the Knowsley Community Fund will also support capital projects that align with the following theme:

Improving community spaces with a particular focus on improving internal and / or external sports facilities and the provision of equipment to support sports and physical activity.

Project ideas might include refurbishing existing community spaces, upgrading external sports facilities, purchasing fixed sports equipment, provision of storage solutions, projects that require support to make sports spaces more accessible and projects that support physical activities.