Local Covenant Partnerships Fund

The grant funding will be provided under Section 70 of the Charities Act 2006. To be eligible to apply as the grant recipient(s) for the LCP fund, the applicant (or each participating partner in the case of a joint application) must be able to demonstrate eligibility to receive a grant under Section 70, as a charitable, philanthropic or benevolent institution, and provide the below mandatory documents. 

For single applications, and the lead organisation for joint applications, please provide all of the following mandatory documents:

1. Evidence or a link to evidence (e.g. terms of reference, articles of association) that shows that your organisation was established for a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purpose, to ensure you are eligible to receive a grant under Section 70 of the Charities Act 2006. For joint applications, each participating partner must provide evidence of this.

2. Contact details for two referees from a minimum of two organisations that have previously funded you to deliver a project, for DCMS’ review.

3. [If applicable] Where there has been any grant funding you have received from a government or local government organisation in the last 5 years or are currently receiving, please provide the contact details of the relevant officials to enable us to obtain feedback from the department.

4. Copy of annual report and audited or certified accounts, covering the last two financial years, or similar published information about your organisation if available. For joint applications, both the lead applicant and each participating partner must provide this evidence. Please note: in the event your last financial year end was more than 6 months ago, we may request further accounting information at a later date as part of the due diligence process.

5. Declaration of any conflicts of interest that could compromise the conduct of this particular fund by all participating partners (where applicable). For example, if trustees and directors from multiple organisations within a partnership application are related. Where multiple organisations are located at the same postcode, there is no indication of fraud – if multiple organisations hold the same address, they will be asked to provide an explanation.

The work of the grant recipient(s) will help to achieve the following objectives by March 2029: 

• build and strengthen sustainable local partnership infrastructure between civil society and other local stakeholders

• drive up levels of local level investment in the work of the VCSE sector

• improve the evidence base and wider understanding on what works in partnership development between VCSEs and public sector partners, and the socio-economic value this delivers

• Competition opens for applications: Wednesday 21st January 2026

• Deadline for clarification questions: 12:00pm Monday 2nd February 2026

• Publication of clarification questions: Friday 6th February 2026

• Deadline of the application: 23:59pm Monday 23rd February 2026

• Application Assessment: Tuesday 24th February - Tuesday 3rd March 2026

• Notification of shortlist to interview: Tuesday 3rd March 2026

• Interviews: Friday 6th March 2026

• Notification of recommendation for approval: Friday 13th March 2026

• Final confirmation of appointment: April 2026

Please follow the steps below to apply:

1. Ensure you have fully read the competition guidance document

2. Complete the online application form above (click 'Start new application'). Applications open Wednesday 21st January 2026 and close 23:59 Monday 23rd February 2026

Please read the competiton guidance document on gov.uk for further information on this fund. Any clarification questions should be directed to lcpfund@dcms.gov.uk by 12:00pm Monday 2nd February 2026. All other enquiries should be directed to lcpfund@dcms.gov.uk.