Person with clipboard

Local Initiatives Fund (LIF)

Local ward councillors have an annual budget of £14,000 per ward for small grants that deliver benefit to the residents of their ward (subject to the final agreement of the Voluntary and Community Sector Committee).

They can go towards a variety of locally run activities like:

  • sports clubs
  • local festivals
  • youth activities
  • estate community events
  • environmental improvements
  • education and training classes 
  • pensioner outings and day trips

Update: Temporary revised measures for LIF Funding due to Coronavirus (Covid-19)

We have implemented temporary revised measures for LIF funding so that we can support the sector during the coronavirus pandemic. We recognise many organisations may now be responding to Covid-19, with projects and activities changing, stopping or being postponed. As a funder we want to show flexibility and support to the organisations we fund.

Previously funded projects

We are contacting LIF projects which are currently funded and running, asking organisations to update us on changes to the use of funding, postponements or cancellations to projects. We appreciate that at the present time organisations may not be able to accurately predict how or when projects will run, however, we do require organisations to notify us of any changes.

Events

We will accept and award funding for events/gatherings with the following conditions:

  • Organisations running large open events may need to contact Licensing / the Safety Advisory Group on licensing.compliance@islington.gov.uk
  • Government guidelines on social distancing must not be breached so event organisers should follow any guidance in place at the time. If an event has to be cancelled, the organisation can hold the funding allocation until such time as the event can run, including carrying funding over to the next financial year.  Organisations will also be given the opportunity to delay events or change the use of the project funding.
  • For events awarded funding, the funding will be released no earlier than the month before the event.

We recommend you also refer to the following webpages on our website:

Roadmap out of lockdown

Outdoor events and open space post lockdown

Guidance on organising an event

How to apply

We strongly advise you to try to contact your local ward councillor(s) and discuss your project before making an application. We would recommend you email all three councillors of the ward you wish to apply to, rather than just one. You may only hear back from one.

We will continue to update this website with guidance about LIF funding, or please contact localinitiativesfund@islington.gov.uk with any queries.

2021-2022 application deadlines

  • Thursday 2 September 2021
    (final decisions communicated to applicants in late November 2021)
  • Monday 20 December 2021
    (final decisions communicated to applicants in late March 2022)

Decisions for applications submitted up to mid July 2021 will be communicated to applicants in late August 2021.

Please note that the Local Initiatives Fund normally funds projects in advance of them taking place. It is likely that funding will not be fully confirmed until at least 11 weeks after the application deadlines listed above (for 20 December deadline, funding will take at least 13 weeks to be confirmed). We would recommend that you apply at least three months before your project takes place if you need the funding before delivering your project.

If your organisation submits an application form after any of the dates above, it will be considered in the next round of applications.

Previous grants

Please email localinitiativesfund@islington.gov.uk if you would like information on previous grants. 

Alternatively, please see the Democracy website for the decisions made by the Voluntary and Community Sector Committee who formally agree all LIF grants.

Further information

Email: localinitiativesfund@islington.gov.uk

Please also use the above email address if you have difficulty contacting a councillor.




  3. Data protection: We will handle your personal information in line with the Data Protection Act 1998 and in accordance with the council’s Fair Processing Notice.

Useful documents