We’re pleased to share the successful grants awarded in our second round of funding (deadline 1st October 2024), supporting a wide range of Chippenham-based projects tackling loneliness, poor mental health, food insecurity, inequality, and more.
Each award contributes to long-term community wellbeing through practical, locally rooted action.
Community Christmas Meal
Organisation: Sheldon Road Methodist Church Beacon Centre
Amount Awarded: £1,000
Project Type: Event Funding (One-off)
This grant will enable a Christmas Day meal for 44 local residents who would otherwise be alone. Run entirely by volunteers, the event will offer a hot festive lunch and companionship, easing isolation and food insecurity at a difficult time of year.
Outcomes: Reduced loneliness · Food support · Emotional wellbeing
Movement for Parkinson’s
Organisation: Inclusive Intergenerational Dance (iiD)
Amount Awarded: £1,976
Project Type: Participatory Programme (1 year)
Weekly creative dance sessions for people with Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions, to held at Pewsham Community Centre. The sessions will improve strength, reduce symptoms, and provide a crucial space for connection, ending in a public celebration of participants’ achievements.
Outcomes: Physical and mental health · Social connection · Inclusive arts
OPAL Sandpit Implementation
Organisation: Ivy Lane Primary School
Amount Awarded: £1,400
Project Type: Project Funding (1 year)
Part of the school’s wider Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) programme, this funding will enable a large sandpit to designed and built for inclusive, imaginative play. It will foster cooperative play, emotional wellbeing, and creativity among pupils aged 4–11.
Outcomes: Emotional development · Play-based learning · Social skills
Christmas Afternoon for the Over 60s
Organisation: Chippenham Town Council
Amount Awarded: £1,339
Project Type: Event Funding (One-off)
A free, fully booked festive gathering with afternoon tea, crafts, and live music for older residents of Chippenham. Designed to reduce seasonal isolation, the event will also connect generations and strengthen community ties.
Outcomes: Reduced loneliness · Intergenerational engagement · Community cohesion
Counselling for Residents Affected by Illness
Amount Awarded: £1,339
Organisation: We Hear You (WHY)
Project Type: Project Funding (1 year)
This funding will support around 520 free counselling sessions for local residents facing cancer or life-threatening illnesses. The service will help clients build emotional resilience during or after treatment.
Outcomes: Mental health support · Emotional recovery · Inequality reduction
Outdoor Enrichment at YMCA Redland Nursery
Organisation: YMCA Brunel Group
Amount Awarded: £3,000
Project Type: Project with Capital Elements (1 year)
This project enhances early years outdoor learning through donkey visits, shelter installation, and new gardening/physical activity equipment. Targeted at children aged 0–4, it promotes wellbeing, motor development, and creative play through nature.
Outcomes: Child development · Nature engagement · Family wellbeing
School Counselling Service
Organisation: Abbeyfield School
Amount Awarded: £5,000
Project Type: Project Funding
Funding enables four hours per week of professional counselling for students aged 11–18, addressing post-Covid mental health challenges like anxiety, trauma, and stress. The service complements in-school pastoral support.
Outcomes: Mental wellbeing · Academic stability · Early intervention
Country Comes to Town 2025
Organisation: Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
Amount Awarded: £5,000
Project Type: Event Funding (One-off)
This funding will support Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s first “Country Comes to Town” event in Chippenham on the 17th May 2025, enabling a free, family-friendly event bringing wildlife, education, and outdoor fun to the town centre. The event will promote environmental action and community wellbeing.
Outcomes: Nature access · Community participation · Environmental awareness
Sustainable Growth for Chippenham Community Eco Hub
Organisation: Chippenham Community Eco Hub
Amount Awarded: £30,000*
Project Type: Core Funding (3 years)
This long-term support will help the Chippenham Community Hub to continue and increase its inclusive activities and services, addressing issues like isolation and low wellbeing. Now in a larger venue, the Hub offers more space, flexibility, and resilience to meet growing local need.
Outcomes: Inclusion · Poverty reduction · Sustainable community development
Debt Relief Programme 2025
Organisation: Chippenham Christians Aagainst Poverty (CAP)
Amount Awarded: £10,000
Project Type: Core Funding (1 year)
This funding supports weekly drop-in services and financial coaching for local people facing debt and hardship. The programme empowers individuals and families to achieve long-term financial stability and mental wellbeing.
Outcomes: Reduced poverty · Financial literacy · Mental resilience
Early Earth Protectors Eco Garden
Organisation: Early Earth Protectors
Amount Awarded: £3,000
Project Type: Core & Project Funding (1 year)
This funding will enable a new youth-led Community Eco Garden on land belonging to our charity next to Baydons Meadow. The garden will be co-designed and managed by a Youth Panel (ages 9–14). The garden will support food growing, outdoor learning, and environmental action, especially for children with limited green space access.
Outcomes: Youth engagement · Nature-based learning · Environmental stewardship
Brass and Woodwind for Primary Pupils
Organisation: Corsham Windband Association
Amount: £4,316
Type: 1-year project
Free instrumental lessons, instruments, and band access for pupils at Queen’s Crescent Primary, with a focus on disadvantaged children. The project promotes music education, confidence, and wellbeing at a time of regional arts funding cuts.
Outcomes: Music access · Educational equality · Creativity and wellbeing
Chippenham Folk Festival 2025
Organisation: Chippenham Folk Festival CIC
Amount Awarded: £18,000*
Project Type: Event Funding (3 years)
Supports the free elements of the 2025 Folk Festival, including performances, dance/music workshops, and hands-on activities in Island Park. Ensures inclusive access to culture regardless of income, age, or background.
Outcomes: Arts participation · Community celebration · Wellbeing and connection
Increasing Family Support in Chippenham
Organisation: Families Out Loud
Amount Awarded: £30,000*
Project Type: Project Funding (3 years)
Supports up to 40 families affected by someone else’s substance misuse, offering long-term, person-centred help including counselling, advice, and group sessions. Every individual supported helps multiple family members indirectly.
Outcomes: Family resilience · Mental health support · Reduced isolation
Building Better Lives
Organisation: Doorway Wiltshire
Amount Awarded: £30,000
Type: 3-year core funding
Doorway provides a safe, inclusive space for vulnerable adults through daily drop-ins, hot meals, advice, and group activities. This grant will help to ensure the service continues, supporting people through homelessness, hardship, and mental health recovery.
Outcomes: Stability · Skills and confidence · Long-term support
Next Application Deadline: Saturday 1st February 2025
We welcome applications for core, capital, project, or event costs (up to £10,000). Funding is open to local not for charities, community groups and nonprofit organisations focused on supporting Chippenham people with: –
- Increased community participation and cohesion
- Improved physical and/or mental health with reduced health inequalities
- Improved education and secure employment
- More people with safe and suitable homes and a reduction of relative poverty (e.g., food, fuel)
- Increased physical activity, participation in sports, arts, culture, and time outdoors in nature
For guidance or to begin your application, please visit here.