If your application is successful Groundwork London will inform you and ask you to provide your bank details and proof of your organisation’s status. Once we have received these, the funding will be released. Year 2 and Year 3 grants will only be released after evaluating whether the delivery of Year 1 and Year 2 was done according to plan. For example, in the 2015 funding round, we paid the Year 1 grant in November 2015 and the evaluation of Year 1 happened in August 2016. You will be provided with the relevant information on how we will evaluate your project and how you should monitor the progress of your project when your grant is awarded. The 2017 funding round is now open, and will close at 5pm on 18th September. You can find all the details, and download the Application Pack here.
The length of your project will depend on the kind of activities you want to deliver, how long you think your beneficiaries will need to start cycling, cycle more often or more safely and how much setting up you need to do before delivering activities (i.e. get the space ready, buy equipment or train your staff and volunteers etc.). In addition to this you should carefully consider that you will need to use the entirety of the grant within the funding period (For example, for the 2015 funding round, the Year 1 grant had to be spent by 31 August 2016, Year 2 grant by 31 August 2017 and Year 3 grant by 31 August 2018). The 2017 funding round is now open, and will close at 5pm on 18th September. You can find all the details, and download the Application Pack here.
Organisations that have received CCFL funding before but that are applying to fund a new project can apply for the Year 1, 2 and 3 grants. A project is considered new if it meets at least one of the following criteria:
- It is targeted to a distinct new audience
- It is delivered from a new branch of an existing organisation
- It is a completely different project/idea from the one that was funded by the CCFL fund before.
Top up grants are no longer available.
If after reading the Who Can Apply and What We Fund sections of the website you are still unsure of whether your organisation is eligible to apply or your project is right for this funding scheme you can contact Groundwork London. We have a dedicated Grants Team who will work with applicants to develop project ideas and provide advice and support through the grant cycle, from offering initial advice and ideas through to implementation and project completion. We also have teams of outreach officers who work with communities across London, so if there are particular groups and audiences you would be looking to reach through your project, we can offer tailored support to help you achieve this.
All projects receiving a Cycling Grant London grant are required to monitor their project. Groundwork London will provide you with a list of the records that you will need to keep and the necessary tools to monitor your project.
If your project isn’t successful you will be able to request feedback. Groundwork London will explain to you the reasons why your project was not successful this time. You can use this information to review your project plan and application and apply in the next Cycling Grants London round. In the meantime you can apply to other grant schemes. We encourage you to subscribe to the Cycling Grants London mailing list (via the website homepage) where we will announce relevant funding opportunities.
Yes, all projects need to have public liability insurance and all bikes purchased with Cycling Grants London funds need to be insured against theft. If your organisation does not currently have public liability insurance, the cost of this, and of bike theft insurance, can be covered by Cycling Grants London. Make sure you find a quote for these costs and include it in your budget breakdown.
All Cycling Grants London funded projects will be invited to take part in training courses, free of cost, to help up-skill staff and volunteers. The training will include the following courses: first aid training, how to write funding applications, project management techniques, ride leader training, social media and communications, managing finance and accounting and risk assessments. Places will be allocated fairly according to need and preference. Cycling Grants London will make sure all funded projects receive the same training opportunities. Please note that this does not necessarily mean that your project will be able to attend all training courses.
Please also note that all adults who live, work or study in London have free access to Cycle Skills sessions. Sessions for those under 18 years old can be held, as long as there is a consenting adult. All London boroughs offer free adult Cycle Skills sessions; you may wish to encourage your staff and volunteers to attend a bespoke 1-2-1 or group session before your project commences so you are assured in their riding ability. Cycle Skills is also encouraged to be promoted to your beneficiaries once your project is established.
For more information see www.tfl.gov.uk/cycle-skills
Applications are scored using the assessment criteria and scoring criteria detailed in the Application Guidelines (Appendix 2). You are strongly encouraged to carefully read the guidelines before completing your application. Click here to download the 2017 Application Guidelines and other supporting documents.
All projects will be informed of whether they have been successful or unsuccessful within 8 weeks of the application deadline.
Your project will only receive the amount of grant funding awarded to it in the Cycling Grants London award letter. The award letter will specify the amount of Cycling Grants London funding your project will receive for Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3. This will most likely coincide with the amount you requested in your application form, although some adjustments and changes may be made. Cycling Grants London will not release, under any circumstances, any additional funding to cover your project activity and delivery, or the running costs of your organisation. For this reason, it is really important that you plan the costs of your project carefully. You should include any costs in the budget breakdown section or secure other funds (such as other grant funding or your organisation’s reserves) to cover any additional costs that are not included in the budget breakdown.
London boroughs offer free Cycle Skills sessions for anyone who lives, works or studies in London. Staff and volunteers can book into 1-2-1 sessions, or organise group training viawww.tfl.gov.uk/cycle-skills.
All bikes purchased with Cycling Grants London funding need to be insured against theft. You can include this cost in your budget breakdown.
Anyone in a situation in which a DBS check is required should undertake a DBS check regardless of whether he/she is a volunteer or a paid member of staff. You can find more information on DBS checks here: www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/overview.
Schools are not eligible to apply to CGL. However, Transport for London’s Cycle Grants for Schools programme gives schools the chance to bid for money via their borough’s School Travel and/or Road Safety team. The grants are used for specific projects to help pupils cycle more safely and more often. To be eligible for the grants, schools must:
For more information and inspiration on how to encourage more cycling at your school, please visit www.tfl.gov.uk/stars.
Private businesses are not eligible to apply to CGL. However, employers in London with five or more employees can apply for a range of cycling goods and services to help kick-start cycling in the workplace and encourage more people to commute by bike. These include:
To find out more or to register, employers can visit www.tfl.gov.uk/cyclingworkplaces
Cycling Grants London do not fund applications requesting funding for capital goods only. All applications must include activities to engage and encourage members of the community to cycle more often and more safely.
This will depend on the target group of the project:
TfL’s Schools and Young People team offers cycling programmes and resources for students, including London Universities and FEe. So if students are the main target group of your project, please email [email protected] with your idea.
Cycling Grants London is a grants programme funded by Transport for London and administered by environmental regeneration charity Groundwork London.
For schools or academies to be eligible for the Cycling Grants London scheme, the grant must be requested by: