Live Well Havering Community Chest
The Live Well Havering community chest funds local projects supporting health and wellbeing in Havering!
What is the Community Chest?
We have £80,000 in funding from NHS North East London ICB’s Health Inequalities Fund to fund local projects. We are distributing this money through the Community Chest.
Local groups can bid for up to £5,000 to run a community project in Havering that meets the following criteria:
- It improves residents' wellbeing - on any topic that impacts wellbeing, from health checks, to cost of living support, to loneliness and isolation and more.
- It aims to tackle health inequalities - you work with residents pre-disposed to having health and wellbeing challenges.
- It fills a gap in the borough - there isn’t a similar project already running.
The Havering Community Chest 2026/27 will open for bids on 1 May 2026.
Stage 1: Expression of Interest, May - July 2026
Groups are invited to apply on the online portal.
We know that written bids are not accessible to everyone, so you can submit a written application or a video.
You will be asked a number of questions:
- Project overview - what is your project, where will it take place and who will it benefit?
- How does your project meet the community chest criteria to improve residents’ wellbeing, tackle health inequalities and fill a gap in the borough?
- How much money do you need to run the project and what will you spend it on? Please note you will be asked to provide a budget if you move to the community panel stage.
- How are you going to reach your target audience?
You will also be asked if you have essential documents, such as a constitution and safeguarding policy.
Applications close on 30th June 2026. The Live Well Havering team and the Community Panel will read and process the bids in July 2026.
Stage 2: Due diligence, August - September 2026
Successful applicants will be asked to provide essential documentation (deadline in September 2026).
- A constitution
- A bank account in the group's name
- Safeguarding policies
- An appropriate level of insurance
- A project plan, risk register, and budget - using a template or your own methods
- x1 professional reference
These documents will be reviewed and assessed by the Live Well Havering team, who will be carrying out due diligence.
We will be assessing:
- Quality of plan: does your plan make sense, are the aims achievable, is their clear accountability, are risks mitigated?
- Budget: Is the budget reasonable for the project being planned and are all expenses accounted for? Will this project be successful with this budget?
- Impact: how will you track the impact of this project? How will you present the impact?
- Are you best-placed to run this project: Do you have the experience and qualifications to run this project?
As soon as these documents are submitted and approved, you will be invited to book a slot at our community panel In October 2026.
If there are any concerns, or you are unable to provide any of the documents at this stage, you will not move forward to the community panel.
We are here to support you through this process. You can find resources to help you get your documents together on our website. Remember, if you want to apply for funding in the future a constitution, bank account, and safeguarding policy is crucial. Therefore, we recommend starting to get these documents in place even if they won't be ready in time for the community chest.
Stage 3: Community Panel, October 2026
The community panels will take place in October 2026.
The community panel will not know about your project before they meet you so, it's important to explain the aims and impacts of your project on the day.
The panel will score your presentation according to the following criteria:
- What project would you like funded and how will it positively impact the wellbeing of residents?
- How can this impact be measured and is it realistic?
- How are you listening to what residents need to create your project?
- How will you engage with your audience and get residents to attend your group?
Stage 4: Delivery and impact
We are hoping successful applicants will get their funds in November/December 2026, ready for delivery in 2027.
You will be asked to provide a monitoring report mid way through and at the end of the funding period. You can use a template provided by the Live Well Havering team or, if preferred, your own reporting mechanism.
