Projects may be implemented directly by communities or with facilitation from an intermediary, where the community has little or no capacity for managing the implementation process.  

The CDP offers funding at ceiling levels based on the scope of the projects.  These are:

1. Small projects usually targeting a single facility or infrastructure such as school improvement; dispensary or health center; small and medium sized water projects; bridges etc. Such projects fall within a funding ceiling of Ksh.5.0 million.  Most projects to be considered for CDP funding will be those falling under this category.
2. Integrated projects that involve more than one inter-related development sector, with sub-projects that can be implemented as one project.  For example, a Health Center or dispensary that require improvement/expansion of buildings and may also require improvement of the road linking to it, inclusive of a bridge, so as to allow access to it by users.  Such integrated projects fall within a funding ceiling of Ksh.21 million.
3. Cluster projects that involve more than one community setting and therefore usually serve large geographical areas (e.g. piped water supply scheme serving a number of villages or location).  Such cluster projects fall within a funding ceiling of Ksh.21 million.

CDP supports simple community development projects that are managed by the community and provide basic services to local communities.  Such projects must benefit a large section of the broad community and, in particular, poor and disadvantaged groups in rural and urban areas, taking care of gender disparities.  In this regard, applications may only be considered if they demonstrate the following:  

• that they address pressing community needs;
• that they bring benefits to a large section of the community; 
• that they target in particular, the poor and disadvantaged groups such as low-income groups, the landless, the displaced, female-headed households, the unemployed, the elderly, the disabled, pregnant women, children, etc.;
• that the project management structure will have a fair gender representation where at least one third (1/3) of the committee members are females;
• that they are developed after consultation amongst a broad cross section of the beneficiaries;
• that they promote involvement of the beneficiaries at all stages;
• that the community is capable of making an investment contribution to the project amounting to  at least 10% of the total project value;
• that mechanisms can be put in place to ensure that the project would continue operating successfully after CDP support ends.