Key Points
- Wigan Borough has launched a new community grant scheme offering up to £750 per project.
- The scheme is open to individuals, informal groups, volunteers, charities, CICs and grassroots organisations.
- Funding can support community meals, celebrations, creative workshops, social groups, wellbeing activities and street parties.
- Councillor Chris Ready said the grants are intended to ease pressures linked to the cost of living, loneliness and reduced social connection.
- The scheme is part of Wigan’s wider Progress With Unity programme.
- Wigan Borough Community Foundation said the fund aims to build on the area’s community spirit.
- A total of £10,000 is available in this first round, making it a small-scale test of the model.
- Applications close at 5pm on June 14, 2026.
Wigan(Manchester Mirror)May 25, 2026-Wigan Borough has opened a new round of community funding that will give local projects a chance to apply for grants of up to £750, with the money aimed at supporting grassroots activity that improves wellbeing and helps people feel more connected. The scheme is designed for a wide range of applicants, including individuals, informal groups, volunteers, charities, community interest companies and other grassroots organisations, regardless of whether they hold charitable status.
According to the report, the funding can be used for practical local activities such as community meals, celebrations, creative workshops, social groups, wellbeing events, street parties and other projects that encourage inclusion. The grants form part of Wigan’s Progress With Unity programme, which focuses on fairer opportunities, improved wellbeing and giving residents a stronger role in shaping neighbourhoods.
The first round of funding is modest in scale, with £10,000 available in total. That makes the scheme a limited trial as well as a support mechanism, with organisers looking to see how effectively the grants can help local people deliver small but meaningful projects.
What did councillors say about the scheme?
Councillor Chris Ready, Wigan Council’s portfolio holder for communities and neighbourhoods, said the council wanted the grants to help residents respond to everyday pressures affecting local life. As reported in the original coverage, he said that at a time when many communities are still facing “rising pressures linked to the cost of living, loneliness and reduced social connection”, the council hoped the funding would make it easier for local people to create opportunities that improve wellbeing and strengthen community ties.
He also said he was proud to support the latest initiative to help improve the borough. The language used by the council suggests the scheme is meant to be practical rather than symbolic, with a focus on small projects that can be delivered quickly and locally.
Wigan Borough Community Foundation, which supports the wider voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector, said the fund is intended to extend an existing tradition of neighbourliness and volunteering across the borough. That framing positions the grants as a way to back work already happening at street level rather than replace it.
Why is WBCF involved?
The Wigan Borough Community Foundation, established in 2024, supports charities, community groups, social enterprises and individuals across the borough. Its role includes offering advice, funding support, training and networking opportunities for local organisations.
In this case, the foundation is helping to administer or promote the scheme so that residents and smaller groups can access money for local activity more easily. George Shar, the foundation’s funding manager, said the grants aim to build on Wigan Borough’s tradition of community spirit and practical mutual support.
He said many communities in the borough already have strong traditions of neighbourliness and volunteering, particularly within the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector. The new grants, he said, are meant to give those efforts practical backing so people can create a positive difference where they live.
What projects can receive funding?
The scheme is broad enough to cover a range of small community-based ideas, which means applicants are not limited to one type of event or organisation. The examples given include community meals, celebrations, creative workshops, social groups, wellbeing activities and street parties.
That flexibility matters because it allows groups to shape applications around the specific needs of their neighbourhoods. A residents’ association, for example, may want support for a street event that brings people together, while a volunteer-led group might focus on a wellbeing session or a creative activity for isolated residents.
Because the grants are capped at £750, the programme appears aimed at modest, targeted interventions rather than long-term service delivery. That makes it suitable for short-term projects with clear local benefits, particularly where a relatively small amount of money can unlock volunteer effort or community participation.
What does the wider programme mean?
The grant scheme sits inside Wigan’s Progress With Unity programme, which is described as a wider effort to create fairer opportunities and improve wellbeing in the borough. It also aims to help residents shape the future of their neighbourhoods, suggesting a more participatory model of local development.
In practical terms, the grants may help the council and its partners test which kinds of small-scale projects attract the most demand and produce the strongest local response. If that happens, the scheme could provide evidence for similar rounds in future.
The article notes that, if the programme works well, the lessons learned from this first phase may be used to run it again in a stronger form. That means the current round is not only funding activity, but also helping to judge whether a small, locally focused grant model can be expanded later.
How can people apply?
Applications are open now and close at 5pm on June 14, 2026. The scheme is open to a broad range of applicants, which should make it easier for smaller and less formal groups to take part.
The report says full eligibility criteria and application details are available through the relevant scheme information page. With only £10,000 available in total, applicants may need to act quickly and ensure their proposals clearly explain the local benefit of the project.
Because the funding is limited and intended for grassroots use, strong applications are likely to be those that show a direct link between a small grant and a clear community outcome. Projects that bring people together, reduce isolation or create accessible local activity appear to fit the stated aims best.
Background of the development
Wigan Borough has a long-standing emphasis on community-based work, and this grant scheme reflects a wider local approach that tries to support neighbourhood projects rather than rely only on larger institutions. The Progress With Unity programme has been presented as part of that wider direction, linking community wellbeing with local empowerment.
The creation of Wigan Borough Community Foundation in 2024 added another layer of support for local groups, giving charities, social enterprises and residents access to advice, training and funding guidance. This new £750 scheme fits that role by opening a small but flexible funding route for projects that may otherwise struggle to get started.
The scale of the scheme is limited, but its design matters because small grants can still have a visible effect when they are targeted at social connection, wellbeing and inclusion. In that sense, the programme is a test of how much local activity can be generated by modest public backing.
What could this mean for local people?
For residents, the grants could mean more neighbourhood events, more chances to meet others and more support for projects that tackle isolation. Groups that already have an idea but lack a small amount of start-up money may find this scheme useful, especially if they are working in areas where cost-of-living pressures have made community activity harder to sustain.
For volunteers and grassroots organisers, the scheme could reduce one of the most common barriers to action: access to small pots of cash. Even a grant of £750 can be enough to cover venue costs, materials, refreshments or equipment for a local event.
For the council, the scheme may also provide a practical way to measure demand for community-led activity and identify which kinds of projects have the strongest local impact. If many applications are received and the funded projects prove successful, the approach could influence future community funding decisions in the borough.
