Local Initiatives Fund
You can apply to the Local Initiatives Fund (LIF) to deliver benefits to Islington residents. Find out how to apply.
Local ward councillors have an annual budget of £13,000 per ward for small grants that deliver benefit to the residents of their ward. 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
Application deadlines
- Thursday 6 June 2024: Final decisions communicated to applicants by mid August 2024
- Tuesday 24 September 2024: Final decisions communicated to applicants by early December 2024
- Thursday 16 January 2025: Final decisions communicated to applicants by late March 2025
Bunhill, Finsbury Park and Tollington wards have reached the end of their annual ward budgets so will not be open for new applications in the final round (application deadline of Thursday 16 January 2025). The other 14 wards will still be considering applications in the final round.
We strongly advise you to contact your local councillors for each ward before applying.
The LIF normally funds projects in advance of them taking place. It is likely that funding will not be fully confirmed until two to three months after the application deadlines. We 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.
If you have received a Local Initiatives Fund award since June 2023 and that project has finished, make sure you have sent all the required monitoring information before making your application. We won't be able to accept your application until we receive all of this information.
Guidance and application form
Previous grants
Email LocalInitiativesFund@islington.gov.uk if you would like information on previous grants. See the Democracy website for the decisions made by the Voluntary and Community Sector Committee who formally agreed all LIF grants up to March 2024.