Waterside Community Fund

The fund supports initiatives that directly relieve poverty, hardship, and distress among residents of the Waterside area (Hythe, Dibden, Fawley, and Marchwood). It provides grants for essentials such as food, clothing, white goods, furniture, utilities, shoe vouchers, and gardening assistance, helping low-income families, isolated older people, and vulnerable children and young people. Organisations can receive funding for projects, core costs, or emergency relief that demonstrably benefit local residents, including youth groups, welfare agencies, and community initiatives tackling deprivation. The fund also offers a distinctive Shoe Voucher Scheme. All supported activities must strictly serve the Waterside community; the trust favours modest, locally focused work that fills gaps in statutory provision.

Eligible applicants include UK-registered charities and small, grassroots community groups with activities strictly benefiting residents of Hythe, Dibden, Fawley, and Marchwood. The trust also welcomes applications from local individuals who are long-term residents of the Waterside area. It favours modest, locally focused entities over large or national organisations, and requires that the work directly serves the local community. There is no religious restriction. Organisations must demonstrate a clear local footprint and a focus on relieving hardship for vulnerable people.

The fund does not support non-local activities, costs covered by statutory provision, short-interval repeat applications, or large capital projects. It also excludes national or large charities unless they have a strict local hardship focus. The trust aims to avoid duplication of statutory services and prioritises work that fills gaps rather than replacing public funding.

The trust provides flexible, needs-led micro-grants and community organisation support. It funds projects, core costs, and emergency relief, tailoring awards to the specific needs of applicants and the local community. Decisions are made by trustees with deep local knowledge, ensuring that funding reaches those most in need within the Waterside area.