Best Start Family Hubs Capital Grant Funding

The Council invites interested VCFSE organisations, early years settings and schools with early years foundation stage children (“organisations”) to apply for Best Start Family Hubs capital grant funding for resources that can help enhance their healthy babies offer for children up to the age of 2 years, and their families. Resources can be any of the following:

• New furniture to improve the physical environment and make the experience more welcoming and friendly for young children and their families, thus encouraging more children, and their families, to access provision. This can also include furniture that provides more breastfeeding friendly spaces.
• New equipment to help enhance the physical, social, sensory and/or environmental experiences for young children and their families, or promote positive interactions between young children and their families, e.g. sensory equipment, play equipment.
• New toys and/or non-perishable resources, e.g. resources to support young children with their physical, emotional or social development, to support a wide range of different needs or diverse backgrounds in order to promote universal access, sensory resources, breastfeeding friendly resources, resources to support families facing the greatest barriers to accessing provision.
• IT equipment (this would be equipment that would be used by children and/or their families).

For more information on the grant, follow this link to the Information for Applicants PDF.

The Council will only consider applications from organisations delivering to Lincolnshire children up to the age of 2 years and their families in areas (including surrounding areas) of the county where Children’s Centres are also designated Best Start Family Hubs.

These are in the areas of Lincoln, Gainsborough, Skegness, Mablethorpe, Sleaford, Grantham, Boston and Spalding.

Organisations can apply for between £100 and up to a maximum of £1,000 grant funding. Applications from previous successful organisations will be considered, but only where this is for a different purpose to the previously successful application(s).

Applications for grant funding will not be considered where the application is:

• Not for one of the purposes identified in the grant purposes section.
• Not from an organisation already delivering services to Lincolnshire children up to the age of 2 years, and their families in areas identified above.
• A duplication of funding for other existing projects/ activities that are already in place and are already fully funded either via the Council or another external funding source.
• For statutory or non-statutory services that are currently being delivered as part of other commissioning arrangements or to support ongoing costs of a service/project already being in Lincolnshire.
• Not proportionate to the number of children (and their families) that would benefit, e.g. an application for resources/toys/ equipment of £1,000 for one single child.
• For building costs/works and/or building adaptations or groundworks, either inside or outside the building.

To apply please follow this link to the Best Start Family Hubs Capital Grant Funds Application form (this opens up a Microsoft Word document)

Deadline for applications: 2:00pm Friday 10th July 2026 (late applications will not be accepted).

Follow this link to view the Accompanying Letter for Family Hubs Capital Grant Funding PDF.