Small Woodland Grant Scheme

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The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs's Small Woodland Grant Scheme is now open and will remain open until 10pm on 31 August 2023. 

Almost all woodlands in Northern Ireland are planted with some form of grant assistance. The Forest Service encourages the creation of new woodlands and the management of existing woodlands by providing grant aid towards the cost of the work.

Forests for Our Future programme aims to plant 18 million trees or 9,000 hectares of new woodland over the next 10 years to help our environment and economy. Grant funding for creating new woodlands will be via the Small Woodland Grant Scheme or the Forest Expansion Scheme.

The Small Woodland Grant Scheme is specifically for new native woodland planting of 0.20 hectares and larger. It provides a fixed area based payment for woodland establishment, a fencing grant and where eligible annual premia for a 10-year period.

Closing date: 31 August 2023 at 10pm

For more information and to apply bit.ly/3SJR418

Inclusive Communities: The Phoenix Community Fund

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Thriving, connected communities is at the core of our business and community purpose, and the Phoenix Community Fund has been established to help local charity and community groups across our licenced area.

In 2023, we're utilising the Phoenix Community Fund to support community groups and organisations across our licence area with funding to help them deliver activity that reduces social isolation, removes barriers to inclusion and promotes equality in their community. The Phoenix Community Fund is currently open for applications, with applications reviewed and funding awarded on a monthly basis.  Full information on the Phoenix Community Fund, including Terms and Conditions is available at: https://www.phoenixnaturalgas.com/phoenixcommunityfund

Application Requirements

Your application for funding towards an event or activity must:

  • Consent to The Phoenix Community Fund Terms & Conditions

  • Be based within the Phoenix Natural Gas licence area

  • Use the funding towards an event or activity within the local community

  • Clearly demonstrate how your event / activity will help reduce social isolation, reduce barriers to inclusion or promote equality in the community

  • Be an inclusive event / activity open to a cross section of the community

  • Be scheduled to take place between 1st June 2023 – 1st April 2024

Inclusive Communities: The Phoenix Green Community Fund

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Environmental Responsibility is one of the core pillars of our Responsible Business Strategy. Just as we aim to act as an environmentally responsible business by supporting biodiversity projects and initiatives within the communities that we serve, we also continue to provide a low carbon solution to homes and businesses, supporting zero carbon targets.

In 2023, we're utilising the Green Community Fund to support community groups and organisations across our licence area with funding to help them deliver activity that helps to improve our environment and tackling the climate crisis in some way, no matter how big or small.

The Green Community Fund is currently open, with applications reviewed and funding awarded on a monthly basis. Full information on the Green Community Fund, including Terms and Conditions is available at: Phoenix Green Community Fund | Phoenix Natural Gas

Application Requirements

Your application for funding towards an event or activity must:

  • Consent to The Phoenix Green Communities Fund Terms & Conditions

  • Be based within the Phoenix Natural Gas licence area

  • Use the funding towards an event or activity within the local community

  • Clearly demonstrate how your event / activity will help reduce social isolation, reduce barriers to inclusion or promote equality in the community

  • Be an inclusive event / activity open to a cross section of the community

  • Be scheduled to take place between 1st June 2023 – 1st April 2024

Climate Action Fund - Energy and Climate

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This funding aims to inspire and support communities across the UK to address the energy and climate crisis. We’re looking for projects that show how communities can address climate change while tackling the energy challenges through community-led climate action.

We want to fund projects that:

  • encourage communities to use energy in an environmentally friendly way

  • bring communities together so that they can explore ways to promote energy efficiency

  • enable communities to understand and engage with opportunities for clean energy generation, which do not use fossil fuels.

All projects should consider how everyone in the community can get involved with climate action. They must also address any reasons why some people might be left out.

We’re looking for projects that will bring a range of benefits to communities, including:

  • improving health and well-being

  • creating local ’green’ jobs, such as jobs providing low-carbon heat for homes, community energy champions and energy advisors

  • reducing carbon emissions

  • supporting communities to be more resilient.

We want to fund projects that aim for long term change. And projects that have the potential to have a positive impact beyond the communities they're directly working with.

Area UK-wide

Suitable for Community and voluntary organisations

Funding sizeProjects can apply for up to £1.5 million over 2 to 5 years, with most projects over £500,000. Minimum grant £500,000. We aim to fund around 8-12 projects.

Total available £10m including £1.5m for a Learning Network.

Application deadline You can apply when you’re ready. We expect the programme to remain open until at least December 2023 but it will depend on when and how many others apply for our funding.

There will be virtual information sessions on the following days:

  • 21 March, 12:00 to 12:45

  • 18 April, 12:00 to 12:45

  • 16 May, 12:00 to 12:45

  • 20 June, 12:00 – 12:45

For more information and to apply, please visit Climate Action Fund - Energy and Climate | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)

National Lottery Community Fund - Living Places and Spaces

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Grants are available to voluntary and community organisations in Northern Ireland for small-scale projects to create more sustainable and resilient outdoor spaces.

Fund Information

Funding body: National Lottery Community Fund - Northern Ireland

Maximum value: £ 10,000

Application deadline: 06/01/2023

Background

The Living Places and Spaces programme is administered by the National Lottery Community Fund on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive's Department for Infrastructure.

Objectives of Fund

The funding is intended to support environmental improvement works in local communities through projects in the following areas:

  • Greening - planting more trees and plants in an area.

  • Rewilding - allowing nature to take over an area.

  • Water management - slowing rainwater before it gets to the drainage systems.

Value Notes

The fund has a total value of £750,000.

Grants of £1,000 to £10,000 are available.

Projects may start from April 2023 onwards, and grants must be spent within one year of award.

Who Can Apply

Applications will be accepted from the following organisation types:

  • Voluntary or community organisation.

  • Registered charity.

  • Constituted group or club.

  • Not-for-profit company or community interest company

  • School.

Organisations must have at least two people on their board or committee who are not related.

For land or building projects, the applicant must either:

  • Own the land or building.

  • Have a lease that cannot be ended for five years.

  • Have a letter from the owner saying the land or building will be leased to the applicant for at least five years.

  • Have a letter from the owner or landlord that says the applicant is allowed to do work on the building.

Applicants must also consider whether they require planning permission for the work.

Location

Northern Ireland

Restrictions

The following are not eligible for funding:

  • Individuals.

  • Sole traders.

  • Organisations that are aimed at generating profits primarily for private distribution.

  • Organisations based outside the UK.

  • One individual or organisation applying on behalf of another.

  • People under the age of 18.

  • Revenue costs (including salaries).

  • Projects delivered outside of Northern Ireland.

  • Items which will only benefit an individual or family, rather than the wider community.

  • Contingency costs, loans, endowments or interest.

  • Feed-in tariff payments.

  • VAT that can be reclaimed.

  • Activities that generate profits for private gain.

  • Costs that have already been incurred.

  • Work on land or buildings where the applicant does not meet requirements around land ownership and permissions.

Eligible Expenditure

Grants may be used to support the following types of projects and activities:

  • Community gardens (a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people).

  • Pocket parks and forests (small urban or rural forests).

  • Allotments (an area of land used for growing fruit and vegetables).

  • Rain gardens (an area which is planted so that rainwater from roofs, driveways, etc runs into it and soaks into the ground, and therefore does not cause flooding or other problems).

  • Green roofs (a roof that is partially or completely covered with vegetation).

  • Ponds and living walls or vertical gardens (vertical structures that have living plants or other greenery attached to them).

  • Installation of outdoor furniture or features to encourage usage.

  • Measures to encourage walking, wheeling and cycling.

Eligible costs include:

  • Land and building costs (ie the costs of creating pathways, installation of vertical garden structures, developing a green roof etc).

  • Equipment and materials (ie trees, plants, seeds, pots, tools, furniture etc).

All applicants should consider the environmental impact of their project and try to reuse, reduce and recycle where possible.

How To Apply

The programme will open for applications on 9 November 2022 and close to applications on 6 January 2023 (6pm).

Guidance notes and the online application form can be found on the National Lottery Community Fund website.

Contact National Lottery Community Fund for further information.

Useful links

National Lottery Community Fund - Living Places and Spaces
Living Places and Spaces | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)

The Acorn Giving Circle

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The Acorn Giving Circle (AGC) is made up of a group of women who aim to make a positive contribution to improving the lives of people living in Derry ~ Londonderry and Strabane, in a small but meaningful way through pooled personal donations.

When the pooled donations reach a target amount, the funds are made available in the form of small grants. These grants aim to support local charitable or community groups and organisations.

The Giving Circle formed in 2012 as a response to the establishment of the Acorn Fund (AF) in 2012 and is managed by the Community Foundation (CFNI). The Acorn Fund is a legacy of the City of Culture 2013 and works in partnership with donors and funders to encourage local giving which supports local people and causes.

AGC aims to prioritise its support to where the need is greatest and where it can make a small but important difference.

The fund wishes to support projects that will improve the lives of children, young people and older people through social, cultural, sporting or educational activities who live in Derry~Londonderry city and its environs, including Strabane Town.

Grants are available up to £1000. Closing Date for applications is 21st Nov at 1pm.

For more information and to apply, please visit The Acorn Giving Circle - Community Foundation Northern Ireland (communityfoundationni.org)

Marine Litter Capital Grants

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The Marine Litter Capital Grants will support organisations and groups to purchase items to:

  • Prevent litter and plastic pollution from entering the marine environment

  • Enhance the environmental management of a local area to reduce marine litter

  • Improve the health and wellbeing of communities and marine biodiversity recovery by helping to improve and/or maintain the quality of public open spaces

  • Improve the quality of their local environment by changing behaviour through creative concepts to reduce the incidence of littering.

Guidance and support

Please read the guidance notes before you complete your application.

Recipients of Marine Litter grants in Round 1 of funding in 2022 are not eligible to apply to Round 2.

To be eligible:

  • Your organisation is likely to be responsible for managing and/or owning free to access public open space, or if not, will have a clearly defined role in managing the local environmental quality of such space and this will be formally agreed with the land owners

  • Your project must be located on free to access public open space or, for creative concept ideas, must show how it is applicable to free to access public open space

  • You must clearly demonstrate how the project will decrease the amount of litter and plastic entering the marine environment

  • You must clearly demonstrate commitment and the ability to provide for the ongoing management of any physical assets (eg regular and timely emptying of bins) purchased as part of the project

  • Funding must only be used for the purchase and installation of eligible capital items

  • Schools must demonstrate how they will use any assets purchased in an educational context.

Grants are available across the whole of Northern Ireland and are not restricted to coastal areas. However, the funding is specifically targeted at preventing marine litter. Therefore, applications must be able to demonstrate clearly how a project will contribute to reducing litter and plastics entering our seas. In this way, projects will help ensure good environmental status of our coastal and marine environments in relation to litter. Ultimately, this will ensure that the properties and quantities of marine litter do not cause harm to the coastal and marine environment.

Need inspiration or help to complete your application? Book a 121 Q&A session to speak with a member of the team to discuss your project. Book here Marine Litter Q&A session

For more information please visit Marine Litter Capital Grants delivered by Live Here Love Here

Climate Action Fund

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This funding aims to help communities across the UK to address climate change.

We’re looking for projects that focus on the link between nature and climate. We want to fund projects that use nature to encourage more community-led climate action. We expect these projects to bring other important social and economic benefits. Like the creation of strong, resilient and healthy communities or the development of ‘green’ skills and jobs.

We’re interested in projects that can do at least one of the following:

  • show how creating a deeper connection with nature will lead to changing people’s behaviours and greater care for the environment

  • show how by bringing nature back into the places we live and work, we can help communities to reduce or adapt to the impacts of climate change.

You can read our blog for examples of projects we’re likely to fund.

We want all the projects we fund to be creative, include everyone and try out new things. Projects also need to show how they can achieve longer-term, larger change that goes beyond the communities they're directly working with.

We’re looking to fund between 12 and 15 projects.

We'll accept applications from either:

  • local partnerships

  • UK-wide partnerships which are delivered across at least two UK countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales).

Area UK-wide

Suitable for Community and voluntary organisations, charities, public sector, working in partnerships

Funding size Up to £1.5 million over 2 to 5 years, with most projects between £300,000 and £500,000. Development grants of £50,000 to £150,000 over 12 to 18 months

Application deadline Ongoing

Please visit Climate Action Fund | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)

Great Big Green Week – Community Fund

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Grants are available for charities, community groups, voluntary organisations, and other not-for-profit organisations to deliver events and activities during the Great Big Green Week 2022.

This fund aims to support community groups to organise local events, activities, and festivals that engage local communities and celebrate the actions and progress being made on climate change.

Projects, activities, and events should take place during the Great Big Green Week (24 September to 2 October 2022).

Three grant sizes are available:

  • Small grants between £200 and £500.

  • Medium grants between £500 and £5,000.

  • Large grants between £5,000 and £10,000.

The following can apply:

  • Voluntary and community organisations.

  • Constituted groups or clubs.

  • Registered charities.

  • Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs).

  • Not-for-profit companies.

  • Community interest companies.

  • Schools (if the project benefits and involves communities around the school and appropriate safeguarding policies are in place).

  • Statutory bodies, such as local authorities, towns, parishes, and community councils.

  • Community benefit societies.

Funding is for projects and activities that meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Empower local groups to create new connections locally that support new people and organisations to take climate action locally (eg local businesses, sports clubs, cultural organisations, and faith groups.

  • Led by or in partnership with groups who are underrepresented within the climate movement (Eg ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, or poorer communities).

  • Are in locations with no existing green week or related activity, or where the event takes existing or previously funded activity to a new level.

  • Engage local politicians and/or councillors in events happening in their constituency.

  • Support engagement across generations and encourage intergenerational dialogue.

Funding can be used to cover:

  • Equipment.

  • One-off Events.

  • Staff costs (if directly in support of the proposed Great Big Green Week activity).

  • Transport.

  • Utilities.

  • Volunteer expenses.

  • Publicity (eg flyers, social media advertising etc).

For more information and to apply please visit Funding - Great Big Green Week

Climate Action Fund

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This funding aims to help communities across the UK to address climate change.

We’re looking for projects that focus on the link between nature and climate. We want to fund projects that use nature to encourage more community-led climate action. We expect these projects to bring other important social and economic benefits. Like the creation of strong, resilient and healthy communities or the development of ‘green’ skills and jobs.

We’re interested in projects that can do at least one of the following:

  • show how creating a deeper connection with nature will lead to changing people’s behaviours and greater care for the environment

  • show how by bringing nature back into the places we live and work, we can help communities to reduce or adapt to the impacts of climate change.

You can read our blog for examples of projects we’re likely to fund.

We want all the projects we fund to be creative, include everyone and try out new things. Projects also need to show how they can achieve longer-term, larger change that goes beyond the communities they're directly working with.

We’re looking to fund between 12 and 15 projects.

We'll accept applications from either:

  • local partnerships

  • UK-wide partnerships which are delivered across at least two UK countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales).

Area UK-wide

Suitable for Community and voluntary organisations, charities, public sector, working in partnerships

Funding size Up to £1.5 million over 2 to 5 years, with most projects between £300,000 and £500,000. Development grants of £50,000 to £150,000 over 12 to 18 months.

Application deadline Ongoing

For more information and to apply, please visit Climate Action Fund | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)