The purpose of the scheme is to assist voluntary groups who promote key festival events in County Kildare.

In order to be eligible under this scheme your group must be formally established and must be able to produce Articles of Association or Minutes of AGM/Meetings.

The  group  must be engaged in activities which encourage community participation, volunteerism and promote the well-being of communities and all funded festivals  must take place within the County

The scheme will be advertised in mid January

The closing date is in mid March

If you are registered on Kildare Participation Network (PPN) but do not know your number you can find same here.

If you are not registered, please visit the PPN website here and register your group now . It only takes 10 minutes.

Kildare County Council - Community Grant Scheme In order to register for PPN groups must be voluntary, community based, non-party political, not for profit and active in County Kildare with at least 3 members. Full details on registration may be found at https://www.kildareppn.ie/members/

The PPN is the main link through which the local authority  connects with the community/ voluntary, social inclusion and environmental sectors. For any group to qualify for Council supports it must quote its PPN registration number. This will assist to streamline grant applications and creates opportunities for exchange of information.

To make application for a grant the following must be submitted:

• Fully completed and signed official Application form.  For a copy of this application form please click here.
• A recent copy of the group’s Bank or Credit Union Statement showing the banks Sort Code and BIC and the groups IBAN and Account Number.
• Tax Clearance details if relevant
• All copies of receipts for spending from previous grants awarded must have been submitted to Community Administration Team.  Copy of invoices are not accepted as proof of spend. Applications from groups, who have not complied with this requirement, will not be considered.  
• Applications may be submitted by email to grants@kildarecoco.ie or to Community Administration Team, Level 7, Aras Chill Dara, Devoy Park, Naas ,Co.Kildare on or before  the closing date 6th March 2020.

All payment of grants are made directly by EFT into your Bank or Credit Union Account. In order to verify the account details we require proof of this. You may simply send us the heading of a statement with the balance amounts blanked out.

Yes, our Accounts Department will close the groups account after each year. To reactivate the account we require confirmation of your group's bank details, a bank statement is the most convenient way to ensure we have the correct bank details.

No, we will need a bank acocunt specifically for the group in order for the payment to be made. 

Activities which are not eligible include:

• Projects that benefit individuals or businesses
• Activities not located within County Kildare
• Projects which are clearly the remit of another agency
• Sports Clubs/Competitive Events (unless specific provisions has been made by councillors to include such groups)
• Charity and fundraising events
• Hiring of bouncy castles
• Ongoing running costs e.g. stationery, phones, energy costs, affiliation fees etc.

Grant applications will be assessed using the following criteria :

• Applications must have been submitted fully completed by the closing date.
• Evidence of local need and benefit to community
• Level of community participation in the project
• Volunteering element
• Social inclusion/accessibility aspects of the project/event
• Environmental sustainabbility (e.g. reduce, reuse, recycle)
• The applicants capacity to deliver the project or run the event
• Use of innovation or imaginative approaches
• Clear evidence of costs/quotations for all elements
• Funding from the groups own or other sources
• Ability to deliver project in the event of partial funding
• Overall quality of the application

The maximum Festival Grant is €2,000.  However, there is no guarantee that the maximum grant will be awarded, if any.

Click here for Application Form.  For Guidelines outlining in detail terms and conditions of the scheme click here.

Once the applications have been fully assessed, a report is presented before the relevant   Municipal District Council Meeting  in April, where final approval of applications is made. 

The Community and Culture Department will then issue a letter of award via email and/or post informing the group of amount successfully awarded. 

If your application is not successful you will receive a letter explaining why your group was not awarded a grant.

All payments from Kildare County Council will be paid by EFT directly into the group’s bank or Credit Union Account. Post Office Accounts are not acceptable.

Your Treasurer’s contact details (including email address)  must be submitted on the application, as a remittance advice will only be sent to your group’s treasurer.

The responsibilities of the group are as follows;

• Read and understand the guidelines and application form.
• Complete the application form fully and include all required documents.
• Acknowledge the award of the grant from Kildare County Council in any promotional material (including social media) associated with the project.
• Include the Kildare County Council crest where possible.
• Obtain all necessary permissions relating to personal data and retain them in accordance with data protection legislation.
• Secure all necessary insurances.
• Obtain permissions from all relevant authorities (e.g. Gardaí/Municipal Engineer/Planning/Parks Department)
• Ensure compliance with all relevant legislation and regulations.
• On completion of of projects submit to the Economic, Community & Cultural Development Department a simple project report (including photos) and evidence of the spending of the grant awarded.
• Acceptable forms of evidence of the spending of grant award are:

• receipts on headed paper/till receipts
• invoices stamped as paid by the supplier or showing a zero balance due
• invoices/cheque details accompanied by a bank statement showing relevant payments

• All evidence of spending must be itemised and show clearly the items purchased