WORCESTER City Council’s joint leader Marjory Bisset said the pot of cash available for grants is ‘smaller than it once was’ with the authority set to consider changes to the way they are issued to local organisations.
The One Worcester Communities Grants scheme has an allocation of £45,000 through cash from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
City councillors have already agreed to continue to supply £3,500 of this money each year to Worcester Arts Council, which distributes small amounts of it to support creative activities in the city.
The remaining £41,500 is available to be shared between other organisations.
If councillors back proposed changes, organisations would be invited to bid for grant funding each autumn, after which officers would assess each application against a scoring system.
They would then make recommendations for awards which would go before councillors for approval.
Details of the timetable for the funding applications have yet to be finalised, but it is expected organisations will be invited to make a bid during a six-week window between September and November, with awards being approved in December.
The total grant available for an event is £2000, which must be match-funded.
A council spokesperson said this was to ensure as many groups as possible can benefit from the fund.
The Policy and Resources committee will make a decision on the changes at a meeting on Tuesday, September 5.
Coun Bisset, who is also vice chair of Worcester City Council’s Policy and Resources Committee said: “It is more important than ever we offer all qualifying groups the same chance to be considered.
“This new process will be simple and fair and I very much hope it will be approved at the committee stage.”
