Ofcom’s Community Radio Fund

Managed by Ofcom with funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, this fund offers two funding rounds each year to radio stations that are not-for-profit, run by local people for local people about local issues.

Each funding round has around £200,000 available for grants. There is no set level of funding. Grants can range from about £2,000 to around £19,000 with an average grant of about £14,000. Grants will be made as a single lump sum and are to cover a one-year period only.

The funding is intended for community radio licensees broadcasting under a community radio licence in the UK to cover costs including:

• Fundraising to support the station.
• Management.
• Administration.
• Financial management and reporting.
• Community outreach.
• Volunteer organisation and support.

Priority will be given to licensees that have not been awarded a grant in previous funding rounds and to newly-licensed stations.

The Awarding Panel considers promoting long-term sustainability a critical, core activity and thus priority will be given to applications that focus on posts that promote long-term financial security and may become self-sustaining.

This is a very competitive grants programme with many more requests for funding than can be awarded.