Each County Councillor has a budget of £3,000.00 per year under the Local Member Grants scheme. They can award funding to groups that benefit residents from within their electoral division. In order to be considered for such a grant, the applicants must meet some very basic criteria. Applications for any amount from a minimum amount of £100.00 can be made once the group has checked their eligibility.

If you're a group working with local people then local member grants could be for you. As a group you will need to;

The Young People's Service operates a local registration system for voluntary youth and community based agencies, enabling them to gain access to support and to borrow resources for youth work in each district. Registration also enables organisations to apply for grant support, for approval by the Young People Cabinet Member Decision Making Session.

Lancashire County Council's Young People's Service (YPS) has announced a funding framework for commissioning effective youth work and targeted youth support from the voluntary community and faith sector (VCFS) between April 2012 and March 2014. More information about the programme can be found in the funding framework guidance document.  The deadline for the submission of tenders is 7 February and full details of the ITT (Invitation To Tender) is available on the e-procurement website.

The Time to Change grants fund will distribute £2.7 million to approximately 75 projects across England from April 2012 to March 2015. The fund will support projects which challenge stigma and discrimination around mental health in innovative ways. 25% of the grants fund will be allocated to projects run by, and working with people from BME communities, and 20% are for projects working with children and young people.

The Lord's Taverners supports youth cricket in disadvantaged areas and sports and recreational equipment for young people with disabilities and special needs, including sports wheelchairs, specially-adapted minibuses and sensory play areas. Visit: http://lordstaverners.org/

The European Youth Foundation (EYF) provides financial support for European youth activities benefiting young people, aged between 15 and 30. Its purpose is to encourage co-operation among young people in Europe by supporting activities which serve the promotion of peace, understanding and co-operation. It will fund youth organisations to carry out the following activities. Visit: www.eyf.coe.int/fej/

The Social Investment Business is managing the Social Action Fund on behalf of the Office for Civil Society. This fund of over £20 million aims to inspire organisations to create new social action opportunities by encouraging people to give what they have whether it be their time, money, assets, knowledge or specific skills. The second application window opened on Monday 9 January 2012 and the deadline for applications is noon on Friday 3 February 2012.

Community First is a matched fund programme where volunteer time and a range of resources, as well as cash, can be used to match programme funds. Local voluntary groups can become actively involved in supporting communities to access these funds. Register your Community First Panel by 31 March to get this year's allocation of funding. Visit:
www.cdf.org.uk

Following the ending of the Aiming High for Disabled Children Short Break programme in March 2011, Lancashire County Council has allocated £3.5 million for each of the next two years to provide a short break programme for children with disabilities. In allocating this money, the County Council has been clear that the decisions around what activities the programme should commission should be lead by parent carers through the Lancashire Parent Carers Forum.

Sport Relief (an initiative of Comic Relief) is offering Community Cash grants for a second year in a row. The funding is administered locally by community foundations across England in partnership with local newspapers. Grants ranging from £500 to £1,000 are available to groups working in a disadvantaged or deprived area within the specified area, with an income of less than £100,000 and limited access to other sources of income. Although the deadline for most applications is 9 March 2012, some areas may have an earlier deadline.