Belfast City Council: Discretionary Payments
Overview
Overview
In September 2018, Belfast City Council approved a new framework for discretionary payments to organisations that request funding from the council outside the council’s existing grant or other funding schemes.
The availability of funds for discretionary payments is dependent on the council’s in-year financial position, so there is no guarantee that funding for discretionary payments will be available.
In 2024, this fund is avaialble to organisations supporting the Belfast Agenda's immediate priorities: Creating jobs and investment, Making life better for all our residents, Creating a competitive and sustainable city, and Connecting people to opportunities.
A cap of £20,000 is in place for each application/applicant
Eligibility
This support is open to Belfast-based organisations with governing documents that meet the objectives of the Belfast Agenda, the city’s community plan, but are not eligible for any of their other council funding programmes.
Assessment criteria
See exclusions for eligibility. If your application meets the eligibility criteria, it will be assessed against the following criteria:
- supports one or more of the Belfast Agenda immediate priorities:
- Creating jobs and investment
- Making life better for all our residents
- Creating a competitive and sustainable city
- Connecting people to opportunities
You can download the Belfast Agenda at www.belfastcity.gov.uk/belfastagenda
- benefit to the council, the council area or its residents
- value for money
- identification of impact of Central Government Funding Cuts
- Increase in costs due to national living wage increases
- Identifiable impacts of cost of living crisis, e.g. utilities, etc
You must provide a detailed budget that demonstrates that all costs are reasonable and necessary. The council reserves the right to deem costs ineligible or award less funding than the amount requested.