Garfield Weston Foundation Accepting Applications Again

After closing its capital funding streams last year to focus on revenue grants during the Covid-19 crisis, Garfield Weston Foundation is now open to applications across all its grants programmes: capital, core costs and projects.

Regular grants of up to £100,000 can be used for:

• Capital costs - for tangible things, such as a building project, repairs, equipment etc.

• Revenue/unrestricted core costs - towards the general running costs of the organisation. The grants are typically unrestricted and can be used towards costs such as general salaries (but not a specific position or job), rent, programme costs etc.

• Project costs - for a very specific project or activity and would include all the costs involved in delivering the project, including staff costs and a reasonable percentage of overheads if relevant.

Match funding is required. The Foundation recommends that applicants have around half of their funding identified before applying. A grant is unlikely to be for more than around 10% of the total costs of the budget.

There are no deadlines. Applications for grants of up to £100,000 can be made at any time and are reviewed on an ongoing basis.

For more information please visit https://garfieldweston.org/

The 7 Stars Foundation

the7stars foundation, established by the7stars, supports the most challenged young people in the United Kingdom. Assisting forgotten young people aged 16 years and under, lacking opportunity, to achieve their potential.

Our funding looks to support those challenged by abuse; addiction; those who are young carers; and those without a safe place to call home. Our grant funding prioritises the areas of:

• Abuse

• Addiction

• Child Carers

• Homelessness

Application Submission Deadlines

• January 31st for March funding review

• April 30th for June funding review

• July 31st for September funding review

• October 31st for December funding review

Please note that we will notify you mid-month of any funding decisions applicable to you.

For more information and to apply please visit https://the7starsfoundation.co.uk/apply

Minister announces major new health service support funds

Health Minister Robin Swann has announced the establishment of new grant schemes for cancer and mental health charities and a Carers Support Fund.

The Cancer Charities Support Fund and Mental Health Support Fund will each receive £10m, while £4m has been allocated to the Carers Support Fund. The Minister has also allocated £15m to Health Trusts to boost the support available for healthcare workers across Northern Ireland.

The Cancer Charities Support Fund will enable charities to access funding to support cancer services in the community. The Mental Health Support Fund will provide grants to charity organisations who provide interventions to improve the population’s mental health.

For more information please visit https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/news/minister-announces-major-new-health-service-support-funds

ASDA Foundation's Feeding Communities Grant

Feeding Communities Grant has been designed to help provide meals to anyone in need in the lead up to Christmas. With more local and national lockdowns in place and changes anticipated to the coming weeks, supporting those with food provision is needed more than ever. Communities are struggling, Charites are feeling the pressure, Asda Foundation is providing support.

Meals can be provided for individuals, families, meals at children’s healthy holiday clubs. This guide is to assist and support you through the application process. The Community Champion in your local store is also able to support you in completing your application.

Please do not go into store to ensure the safety of our customers and colleagues during this ,me. Please call, email or zoom Community Champions for support.

Each year, Asda Foundation support local grass roots organisations to transform communities and improve the lives of people living within the Asda community. We welcome applications from groups which:

• Benefits their local community

• Are local to an Asda store

• Unites communities with activities and support

• Ensures everyone has an equal opportunity to become involved

Each store has a Community Champion, their role is to support projects within the community and support bringing people together. They manage all applications for Asda Foundation grants.

Asda Foundation do not accept applications sent directly from community groups. Please use the store locator link on the Asda Foundation website www.asdafoundation.org to get in touch with your local store, and speak to your Community Champion about how we might be able to support you.

Feeding Communities Grant

• Maximum £1,000 per grant.

• Per meal maximum cost £4.00 (can be lower than this)

• We will not contribute towards meals which cost more than £4.

• No quotes needed

• All requests must include a bank statement as proof of payee name

• We will fund groups who have already received funding from Asda Foundation in 2020

• All groups must be not for profit, we do not fund groups who deliver a service to make a profit.

For more information please visit https://www.asdafoundation.org/how-to-apply

Improving Lives Grant

The Improving Lives grant programme provides grants to charitable organisations that help people when other sources of support have failed, are inappropriate, or are simply not available.

We support established organisations delivering services directly to beneficiaries. We are looking for services which can demonstrate a track record of success, and evidence the effectiveness of the work.

This is our largest grants programme, through which the majority of our funds are distributed.

Grant size: £20k – £60k per year

Length: 1-3 years

Decision timescale: 6 Months

Deadlines: None

Priority areas:

We have six funding priorities that describe the work we support and how we want to bring about change for the most disadvantaged people in the greatest need.

1. Help at a critical moment

2. Positive choices

3. Accommodation/housing support

4. Employment and training

5. Financial inclusion, rights and entitlements

6. Support networks and family

For more information and to apply please visit https://www.henrysmithcharity.org.uk/explore-our-grants-and-apply/improving-lives-grants-programme/improving-lives-grants-programme-overview/

The Prince’s Countryside Fund is now open

The Prince’s Countryside Fund has grants of up to £10,000 available for projects from across the UK which are working to create resilient rural communities. 

Supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery locally-focused, legally-constituted not-for-profit organisations can apply for one year of grant funding from the Fund. Projects must be completed by 31st March 2022.

Projects from all across the UK are invited to apply for this funding.

You should apply for as much as you need to complete your project, to a maximum of £10,000. We anticipate an average grant would be in the region of £8,000.

The theme is Rural Community Resilience and we will be looking for applications that will build on some of the amazing projects that came about as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic this year, and the effect that this had on rural communities. We will be looking for projects which protect or boost community assets and enterprises, or otherwise strengthen the sense of community.

Rural Community Resilience means different things to different communities, but the concept we are looking for is a project which will allow the community to survive and thrive, especially when facing a situation which affects everyday rural life.

For more information and to apply, please visit https://www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/grant-giving-programme/grant-programme

The Community Food Initiatives Remote Healthy Eating Projects

The Community Food Initiatives (CFI) is a healthy eating programme funded by safefood. 

The programme runs over a three-year cycle and its purpose is to provide people with the knowledge and skills to provide healthy food options for themselves and their families.  safefood, as a North / South body established under the Good Friday Agreement, provides CFI funding to 5 organisations in Northern Ireland and 9 organisations in the Republic of Ireland.  The programme is managed by SECAD Partnership on behalf of safefood.

safefood is inviting organisations who are not CFI Leaders to apply for funding to deliver a project, in their own local area, that meets the criteria of the CFI at Home Programme.  The purpose of the CFI at Home Programme is to support families with children up to the age of 12 years in their own homes to develop their cooking skills and healthy eating habits.  Projects could include all or some of the following elements:

• Learning how to prepare & cook a recipe

• Attending an online cookery session

• Online support groups for sharing ideas and tips

• Online interactive talks delivered by a dietitian or registered nutritionist

Interested organisations can apply for funding up to a maximum of €1,500 or £1,300 to deliver a project in their local area.

Applicant Organisation Criteria
Organisations must:

• Be community-led organisations with legal status and appropriate governance structure

• Be experienced in the management of public funds which support social inclusion initiatives

• Currently employ and manage full-time professionals with community development experience

• Have experience of working with the target group identified

• Be supporting other broader community initiatives through their work

• Provide supports across communities irrespective of age, race or creed

If you wish to make an application, please email sconroy@secad.ie and we will send you out the application template and supporting information. 

While there is no closing date, funding is limited so interested organisations are advised to apply as soon as possible.

https://www.communityni.org/news/funding-available-remote-healthy-eating-projects

Digital funding for small charities up to £2500

The Fat Beehive Foundation is an independent UK registered charity that provides small grants for websites and digital products to other small UK registered charities.

Priorities for support

The Foundation can only support a limited amount of projects, based on the funding available for distribution in any given year. The funding priorities over the next year are:

• Environmental protection or climate change mitigation

• Human rights

• International development

• Equality and Diversity

• Social justice / Refugees / Housing

• Education

• Art & culture

• Health and wellbeing

• Prisoner rehabilitation

What they don’t fund

The funding programmes are very specific. They aren’t a general IT funder and hence don’t fund general software or hardware procurement projects.

They are keen for funding to have a genuine impact, so they don’t fund organisations without the internal resources to make the project a success.

Although they recognise the critical importance of funding core costs or staff time, they are unable to do this. The Foundation focus purely on hard-to-fund digital expenditure that other funders will often not cover.

The bulk of the funding is provided by Fat Beehive Ltd, and to avoid any conflicts of interest the Fat Beehive Foundation they will not provide grants to charities that already use or would like to use Fat Beehive Ltd’s services. 

The Foundation do not fund organisations set up to promote religion.

For more information please visit https://www.fatbeehivefoundation.org.uk/

Burg-Wächter Secure Communities Scheme

During the current national situation, Burg-Wächter is offering free security kits for community properties, equipment or outdoor areas that need extra security at this time and have limited funds to meet these needs.

What does the Secure Communities Scheme offer?

• Security products to the value of £150/€150 to help increase security around community buildings, equipment or outdoor areas

• Up to ten security kits available within each application period (reviewed monthly)

Who can apply?

Any grassroots organisation that benefits the local community can apply.  Applications only have to meet simple criteria: that they are a community organisation with limited access to funds with which to increase security in the current situation.  That means any charity, social enterprise, not for profit and community venture can apply so long as the security kits will be used locally.   Apply today.

For more information please visit https://www.burg.biz/uk/community/

ASDA Foundation: Covid-19 Grant

Two new grant streams in response to Covid-19

• Hygiene grants are focused on personal hygiene dignity

• Healthy holiday grants aim to support groups that typically would be holding summer holiday activities to ensure children are provided with a hot meal.

Small grants of up to £500 are available.

For more information and to apply please visit https://www.asdafoundation.org/how-to-apply

Thomas Wall Trust Charities Grant Programme

The charities grant programme aims to support people with an emphasis on building confidence, knowledge and skills, and therefore increasing prospects of employment.

We offer grants up to £5,000 towards specific projects or core activities that support literacy, numeracy, digital and additional skills for learning that are likely to assist employment prospects. The Trust recognises that the future of the labour market will become increasingly competitive, with employers placing greater emphasis on transferable skills.

We will fund:

• A UK charity that has been registered with the Charity Commission for at least 3 years

• A project or running costs for a charity that equips people (aged 11 and over) with the skills ready for employment

• Annual repeat funding for up to 3 years – subject to satisfactory annual reviews of progress and impact

• The charity’s annual turnover does not exceed £500,000

We prioritise

• Match funded projects

• Charities that can provide compelling evidence of impact

• Charities working with collaborative networks

• Self-sustainable projects, with a view to becoming less reliant on grants in the future

For more information and to apply, visit https://www.thomaswalltrust.org.uk/grants-for-registered-charities-2/

NatWest Social and Community Capital to launch £1m Coronavirus Response Fund

Opening for applications at 9 am on Monday 22nd June, our friends at NatWest Social and Community Capital are launching a new £1 million fund offering grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 to organisations across the UK that employ people from vulnerable or disadvantaged groups.

These grants are unrestricted and can be used for any purpose, including core costs. Organisations must have an annual turnover between £50,000 and £1 million, must have been generating at least 30% of revenue from trading income before the crisis and must have suffered a loss in trading income due to lockdown restrictions. Full eligibility criteria are outlined below.

Applications will stay open for at least one week. It is hoped that applications will remain open for longer but may need to close after a week depending on how many applications they receive and if they reach their capacity, so applicants are encouraged to submit the application as soon as possible.

Full information on the grants, including the application form and how to apply, will be available here from Monday 22nd June.

Eligibility criteria:

• Organisations must employ people from vulnerable or disadvantaged groups

• Organisations must generate at least 30% of revenue from trading income

• Organisations must have had a pre-coronavirus annual turnover of between £50,000 to £1 million

• The organisation must have suffered a loss of trading income since March 2020, caused by lockdown restrictions

• The organisation must have been founded and trading prior to 1st January 2019

• The organisation must have been financially sustainable (or on a path to financial stability) up to March 2020

• The organisation must be constituted, operating and delivering impact in England, Scotland, Wales, and/or Northern Ireland

• The organisation must have one of the following legal structures: Community Interest Company (CIC), Company Limited by Guarantee, Community Benefit Society, Co-operative Society, Unincorporated association, Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), Charitable Trusts, Registered Charity

The following will need to be provided in the application form:

• Basic information about the organisation, contact details, staff and volunteer numbers, year and date founded, financial information for the last 3 years and forecasts for the next 2 years

• A description of the organisation’s mission, key activities and impact over the last year

• Details about the grant request including what it will be used for, why it’s needed and what impact would be achieved

For more information and to apply please visit https://www.business.natwest.com/business/loans-and-finance/social-and-community-capital.html

Moy Park has established a £1 Million Fund to support community organisations

Charities and support groups can apply for a grant from the Moy Park Community Support Fund which is aimed at supporting and enriching the lives of those in need across its local communities. This new initiative builds on Moy Park’s range of existing and long-established community measures, including charity and educational programmes.

Launching the £1 Million Community Support Fund scheme, Moy Park’s HR and Performance Director, Kirsty Wilkins said:

“At Moy Park, our commitment to contribute to the wellbeing of the communities we operate in has always been at the heart of our business. We draw most of our employees from the areas surrounding our facilities and we see our communities as important partners. This new £1 Million Community Support Fund will help provide extra assistance to our neighbours over the next 24 months.

“The food industry plays a vital role, keeping our supermarket shelves stocked and we are thankful to our local towns, villages and team members who are part of this important effort. Moy Park is a people focused organisation, and we invest heavily in development opportunities for our colleagues in the workplace. This new community initiative is a natural extension of this approach and we look forward to receiving applications from local groups.”

Applications to apply for a grant from the Moy Park Community Support Fund will open on the 1st of July and can be made via Moy Park’s website https://moypark.com/community-support

Hargreaves Foundation: Funding for Sport and Education

Charities and educational institutions can apply for grants to support those under the age of 18 years, and living with a mental health problem, physical disability or growing up in poverty through the mediums of sport and education.

Registered charities, charitable incorporated organisations, schools and further education colleges, as well as NHS Trusts can apply for grants. Although organisations from across the UK are eligible to apply, priority will be given to organisations based in and/or working in the South West of England.

Funding (there is no set minimum or maximum grant) will be awarded for activities that achieve one or more of the following objectives:

• Enabling individuals to experience the mental and physical health benefits of participatory sport.

• Ensuring participatory sport is accessible (accessibility includes affordability).

• Providing sporting or educational activities that foster life skills.

• Aiming to improve academic engagement and attainment.

• Encouraging the development of skills and personal attributes to aid future employability.

The following types of activities are eligible:

• One-off, time-limited (less than six months) projects or events.

• Training for staff/volunteers.

• Residential activities.

• Events.

• Purchase of specific items.

The majority of those benefiting from the project/using the items must be from the target group, which are those under the age of 18, and living with a mental health problem, physical disability, or growing up in poverty.

Applications are accepted at any time.

For more information and to apply please visit https://www.thehargreavesfoundation.org/

The Alpkit Foundation: COVID-19 Support

The Alpkit Foundation supports projects that champion education, participation, environment, diversity and health. The Foundation is currently prioritising their funds to support projects that demonstrate an immediate impact on those affected by the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic with grants of up to £500.

Who Can Apply

Organisations and individuals serving those affected by the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak in the UK may apply.

Restrictions

Applicants are advised to contact the funder to confirm whether restrictions apply.

Eligible Expenditure

Examples of eligible projects include:

• Being active in local communities to help elderly or vulnerable people.

• Minimising the impact of self-isolation for those in quarantine and need access to food, medicines or social care.

• Supporting foodbanks and increasing the number of meals on wheels deliveries to support the elderly.

• Supporting those who are homeless or in temporary accommodation.

• Bringing adventure indoors and overcoming the obstacles that prevent people benefiting from going outdoors.

How To Apply

The scheme is now open for applications. Applications can be submitted at any time via Alpkit Foundation’s online form, which can be found on their website.

https://alpkit.com/blogs/foundation/adapting-to-the-coranavirus-crisis

National Lottery Fund's priority to keep money flowing to communities affected by Covid-19

The National Lottery Fund

The National Lottery Community Fund is the largest community funder in the UK. Each year we distribute millions of pounds of The National Lottery’s good causes money to community groups and charitable projects around the country.

COVID-19

While our main funding programmes remain open, our immediate priority is to keep money flowing to support people, communities and organisations affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

We’re keeping our commitments to existing grant holders and funding new projects supporting communities who are adapting to the increasing challenges of COVID-19.

For the next six months, we will be prioritising applications from:

1. Organisations supporting people who are at high risk from COVID-19

2. Organisations supporting communities most likely to face increased demand and challenges as a direct result of COVID-19

3. Organisations with high potential to support communities with the direct and indirect impact of COVID-19

What funding is available?

National Lottery Awards for All Northern Ireland

£300–£10,000

• Projects bringing local people together to make positive changes in their community.

• No deadline, so groups can apply any time.

• Applying is quick and simple.

• Applications welcome from constituted voluntary or community organisations, schools, and statutory bodies.

• If we funded you within the last two years, we may have to give priority to other groups that have not recently been funded through this programme.

• This funding is for projects that will run for 12 months or less

Find out more

People and Communities

£10,000–£500,000

• Project ideas should come from the community. Talk to the people you want to help and get them involved in shaping and planning the project.

• Your project should make good use of the skills, knowledge, resources and energy of people within your community; making it stronger and ready for the future.

• Understand the need for your project and how it fits with the work of other organisations. Build relationships and work together on shared goals.

• Applications welcome from constituted voluntary or community organisations, and social enterprises.

• This funding is for projects that will run for between 1 and 5 years.

Find out more

Empowering Young People

£10,000–£500,000

• This funding is for projects that work with young people (8 – 25 years old), and which will run for between 1 and 5 years.

• Projects will help young people to: have the skills they need for the future; have better relationships with their support networks and communities; and/or have improved health and wellbeing.

• Young people must be involved in the planning and delivery of the project. They must be able to develop the skills to help themselves, and their support networks and communities need to be involved too.

• Applications welcome from constituted voluntary or community organisations, and social enterprises.

Find out more

Plunkett Foundation Help for Rural Community Businesses

A dedicated programme of support has been launched by the Plunkett Foundation to help rural community businesses across the UK as they battle the unprecedented challenge of the coronavirus lockdown.

Thanks to funding from the Co-op, Plunkett will offer a dedicated package of free Covid-19 support for open and trading community businesses, as well as those developing groups that have been affected by the pandemic.

The new scheme will focus on getting one-to-one support to groups that need it the most. This will include free practical support from Plunkett’s national network of specialist community businesses advisers. All forms of community business – including woodlands, farms, bakeries, pubs and shops – will be able to get support, advice and guidance on a range of issues such as; developing short – medium term cash flow, reviewing business plans, applying for funding, upholding good practice governance, utilising community shares and accessing government support.

Those developing groups that were working towards opening their business will also be able to access adviser support to help these projects navigate this challenge.

As a core part of all Plunkett operations, peer learning will be proactively encouraged and community businesses will be linked up with each other to share experiences and stories of what they are doing, how they are responding to Covid-19 and what innovative practises have been introduced.

Plunkett’s chief executive James Alcock said: “We are grateful to the Co-op for recognising the crucial role that all types of community businesses play in rural areas, and for supporting Plunkett at this critical time when community businesses most need our support. The coronavirus lockdown has had a wide and varied effect on our members – some have experienced a surge in demand but a reduction in volunteers, whilst others have been forced to close their doors, and many have diversified and adapted the services they offer to meet local need and recruit whole new armies of volunteers. Above all, those involved in running community businesses have been faced with unprecedented challenges and unfamiliar and difficult decisions to make, making this new support from Co-op so vital. “This new support will not only help community businesses, but it will help the many thousands of people in rural areas who rely heavily on the services they offer. Plunkett and our network of Advisers want to ensure these businesses will not just survive but continue to thrive in the future.”

Co-operative Partnerships Manager Edward Powell said: “‘The Plunkett Foundation has supported almost 600 community businesses across some of the most rural and isolated communities in the UK, helping not only to safeguard valuable assets but to deliver food and be leading hubs of voluntary responses to Covid-19. “The Co-op have always supported other co-operatives and community businesses with co-operation at their heart. By helping the Plunkett Foundation support community businesses to adapt to the challenges of the crisis, we can together help to save these vital hubs, so communities can work together to address the needs of their communities. That is co-operation in action.”

For more information on Plunkett’s Covid-19 Support contact us directly via info@plunkett.co.uk / 01993 810 730. Plunkett has a dedicated Covid-19 live page, which is regularly updated with the latest advice and guidance for community businesses. Pub and shop groups can also share information in the Community Shop and Community Pub networks on Facebook.

https://plunkett.co.uk/new-support-available-now/

Communities Minister Launches £1.5m Support Fund for Arts Sector

Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey MLA has announced funding of £1.5m to support individuals and organisations in the Arts Sector in response to COVID-19.

‘The Creative Support Fund’, has been created to provide financial support for a diverse range of performing artists and community art organisations.

Individual artists and creative practitioners, who have lost their work as a result of COVID-19, can apply for funding of up to £5,000 to take new and innovative approaches in continuing to provide their talents and services to audiences, particularly those facing barriers to the arts.

Small and medium-sized organisations will be able to apply for maximum funding of £25,000 to help them develop new projects or programmes or re-arrange events which have had to be cancelled during the COVID-19 period.

Minister Hargey said:

“These two programmes will provide a significant and welcome source of assistance to individuals and organisations in the Arts Sector, which plays a crucial role in our economy and contributes greatly to the mental wellbeing of our communities.

“As a result of this pandemic they do not have opportunities to work in their usual way that is why I am pleased to be able to support them through this ‘Creative Support Fund’. It will provide them with the means to find different ways of engaging with audiences across a range of platforms and ensure arts services are not withdrawn from the public at this crucial time.”

The Creative Support Fund will be administered by the Arts Council NI who are contributing £500k of Lottery Funding to the initiative. The Individual Artists and Creative Practitioners Programme will be available immediately.

To find out more about the criteria and to apply, visit www.artscouncil-ni.org

Covid-19 Response - RAFT Fund open for applications

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, The Fore has launched RAFT (Rapid Action by The Fore and Trusts). RAFT consists of a number of emergency activities to support small charities and social enterprises adversely affected by the crisis.

The RAFT Fund is seeking to ensure that effective small charities and social enterprises are able to meet the rapidly changing needs of their beneficiaries, remain viable and prepare for delivery when the acute phase of the crisis is over.

The fund will provide grants for high quality, well-managed small charities and social enterprises with great leadership doing vital work in their communities.

RAFT Fund opens for applications on Wednesday 22nd April 2020 at 10 am.

The fund offers unrestricted grants of up to £5000 to any small charity or social enterprise in the UK with a turnover of under £500,000.

To Apply

For more information and to apply please visit https://www.thefore.org/covid-19-response-raft/

Slieve Kirk Wind Park launches £50,000 Covid-19 Response Fund

THE owners of a wind farm in Derry have launched a £50,000 response fund to support community groups living within 12 miles of the facility to help support those most in need as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

The money is being made available by SSE Airtricity, which owns the 32-turbine Slieve Kirk wind park at Lisdillon Road at Ardmore, near Strabane.

The cash is being released immediately from the overall Slieve Kirk wind park annual community fund to support rapid response initiatives that are currently being mobilised, as well as for projects to help rebuild the community in the months ahead.

Michelle Donnelly, community development officer for Slieve Kirk wind park, said: “From the outset of this emergency, community and voluntary groups have responded remarkably to provide services and support for the vulnerable in our society.

“From the smallest gestures, such as calling those living alone, to more organised and larger-scale home delivery efforts, volunteers are making a real difference to people, especially the elderly or unwell.

The funding is available to volunteer-led community groups delivering Covid-19 response activities to communities and individuals living within 12 miles of Slieve Kirk.

To Apply

Applications will be assessed on a first-come basis and will be instantly processed to ensure funding reaches the communities in need as quickly as possible.

Groups wishing to apply for funding can download forms from https://ireland.sse.com/what-we-do/our-projects-and-assets/renewable/slieve-kirk-wind-park/

Email communityfundireland@sse.com, or call Michelle Donnelly on 079 21099663.