Community Benefit Funds available for local projects that educate, raise awareness and demonstrate community involvement in work that promotes environmental issues and healthier lifestyles

The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland is administering funds that will provide support local projects to educate, raise awareness and demonstrate community involvement in work that promotes environmental issues and healthier lifestyles.

Applications are now open for community organisations located within a designated distance of the windfarms listed below;

• Corby Knowe Community Benefit Fund - Corby Knowe wind farm is located off the Parkgate Road, Kells, County Antrim.

• Cloonty Community Benefit Fund - The Cloonty Community Benefit Fund is available to local community projects within 6km of the Cloonty Wind Farm site which is located in an area bounded by the B17 Straid Road to the north, the B62 Ballybogey Road to the west and B147 Kirk Road / Ballintea Road to the south and east.

• Dunbeg Community Benefit Fund - The Dunbeg Community Benefit Fund is available to local community projects within 6 miles of the Dunbeg Wind Farm site which is located between Limavady and Coleraine.

• Carn Hill Community Benefit Fund - The Carn Hill Community Benefit Fund is available to local community projects within the Monkstown, Grange, Woodburn, Greenisland and Ballynure areas.

• Monnaboy Community Benefit Fund - The Monnaboy Community Benefit Fund is available to local community projects within 7km of the Monnaboy Wind Farm site which is located off the Monnaboy Road, Greysteel.

• Dunmore Community Benefit Fund - Funding is available to local community projects that are planned and run for the benefit of the local population and are within 10 miles of the windfarm. 

• Brockaghboy Community Benefit Fund - The fund’s aim is to provide financial support towards the development of locally-beneficial community-based projects and initiatives within a 6km radius of Brockaghboy wind farm, Swatragh, County L/derry.

• Long Mountain Community Benefit Fund - This local community fund has been set up by Energia Renewables, working in close partnership with local groups from the areas surrounding the Long Mountain Wind Farm, Glenbuck Road, Dunloy.

• Rathsherry Community Benefit Fund - Energia Renewables has pledged to deliver a Community Benefit Fund for a 21.15 MW Wind Farm located at 115 Longmore Road, Broughshane, Ballymena, BT43 7HR.

• Thornog Community Benefit Fund - This local community fund has been set up by Energia Renewables, working in close partnership with local groups from the areas surrounding the Thornog Wind Farm, which is located between Drumquin, Co Tyrone and Kesh, Co Fermanagh.

For more information on each of these funds, please visit Available Grants - Community Foundation Northern Ireland (communityfoundationni.org)

The Ann McGeeney Trust Fund for women – looking back, reaching forward

the Ann McGeeney Trust Fund and the Women’s Fund for Northern Ireland have partnered to offer funding opportunities for individual women who require a small amount of financial aid to support them towards fulfilling their potential. The fund will provide bursaries to individuals to help build resilience, remove barriers to employment and training, and/or build on opportunities they may have to achieve a positive future.

Who can apply:

• Individual women aged 18 and over, living in Northern Ireland (and Republic of Ireland), who are striving to get into, or back into employment.

• Applicants will preferably be affiliated to a constituted community/women’s group and have the support of that organisation, however, if you are not, you will still be eligible to apply.

While not exclusive, the Fund welcomes applications for Bursaries that address the following:

•  Personal development and confidence building

• Overcoming barriers to employment, education or training

• Making the first steps towards re-entering the workplace

*In exceptional circumstances the panel may offer support for education fees, providing they are for short term courses only, and that there are further barriers for the applicant around accessing such a course.

Examples of the types of activities that may be supported:

• Basic training support materials – books or equipment for example

• Interview training

• Mentoring

• Travel costs to access relevant training (public transport for up to six months)

• Childcare during employability training (up to six months)

• Access course

Closing Date: Oct 17, 2024 13:00

For more information, visit The Ann McGeeney Trust Fund for women – looking back, reaching forward - Community Foundation Northern Ireland (communityfoundationni.org)

National Garden Scheme launches grant for Community gardens

The 2025 Community Garden Grants scheme is open for applications from Monday 9th September until noon on 28th October 2024.

Eligible community garden projects from England, Wales and Northern Ireland are welcome to apply for grants of between £1,000 and £5,000.

All applications will be assessed on their merits and the successful groups will be notified in March 2025.

Please visit Community Garden Grants - National Garden Scheme (ngs.org.uk)

Road Safety Trust’s Autumn Round Opens to UK Applications

The overall aims of the Road Safety Trust are to reduce death and injury on the UK roads through providing independent funding for research and the development of innovative approaches.

There is a different theme each year. The Autumn 2024 theme is ‘Inequalities in Road Safety’.

The aim of the Autumn 2024 grant programme is ‘to bring to light areas of inequality and investigate ways they can be addressed to save lives and prevent injury on UK roads’.

The funding is for projects that address one or more of the following areas: 

• The impact of social determinants such as income and health and other demographic factors on local communities and their exposure to risk related to: 

• Illegal, dangerous and anti-social use of the roads, the effectiveness of current countermeasures and potential new methods for reduction

• Rural areas and different age groups within such communities

• Access to, and use of, technologies that make vehicles and roads safer

• Road safety issues for children with SEN and/or disabilities; and the issues for their carers.

• Improving the availability, quality and strategic use of demographic evidence and information, alongside other safety related evidence and information to support practitioners and policy makers in respect of road safety.

The Autumn round will be for both:

• Small grants (£10,000 to £50,000 over two years) for practical projects or local pilots or trials.

• Large grants (£50,001 to £300,000 for up to two or three years) for research-based projects, and the development, implementation and evaluation of innovative interventions.

Match funding is required, either cash or in-kind.

Eligible costs include staffing, consumables, travel, and some equipment costs.

UK-based organisations (both public and professional associations), registered charities and university departments may apply.

Applications will be accepted from 26 September to 1 November 2024. 

For more information, please visit Road Safety Trust

Small Grants to Reduce Social Isolation for Over 55s in UK

Founded by Home Instead, the UK’s leading provider of home care, Home Instead Charities’ mission is to end loneliness for ageing adults. The organisation exists to bring happiness and joy into the lives of Britain’s ageing population so that ageing adults are thriving, not just surviving.

To this end, they offer funding to support local community events that enhance and enrich the lives of people over the age of 55 to combat loneliness and sometimes isolation ensuring they stay fit, active, healthy and connected and contributing to their local communities.

There are two levels of funding:

• Grants of up to £500 for small grass roots organisations.

• Grants of up to £1,500 for small local registered charities. Larger grants can be considered for exceptional projects.

The funder will only fully fund a grant request where the applicant holds no more than three months operating costs in reserve. For organisations that have more than this, up to 50% of the project costs will be funded.

The grants can be used for:

• Regular weekly or monthly events and activities such as weekly cinema club, weekly knit and natter or Thursday lunch club.

• One off activities such as a day trip or a Christmas lunch.

• Activities such as yoga or a guest speaker for the group such as a local historian.

There are four application windows per year.

The final application round for 2024 opens 1 October and closes 31 October 2024.

For more information, please visit Apply For A Grant | Home Instead Charities

DIY & Technical Assistance Community Fund

LCCC are delighted to announce the launch of the DIY & Technical Assistance Community Fund.

This grant scheme enables local groups to refresh, refurbish or make general improvements to existing community facilities and/or commission professional/technical assistance to explore the potential of expansion and/or upgrades to facilities.

Up to £1,500 is available for applicants.

The scheme will close on Thursday 17th October 2024 at 12 noon

For more information and to apply, please click here https://www.lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk/web/guest/w/diy-technical-assistance-community-fund#introduction

For any queries, please contact Community Services at community.services@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk or 028 9244 7713

Triangle Trust’s Autumn Funding Round Opens for UK Applications

This rounds offers grants of up to £80,000 over two years (up £40,000 can be requested per year) for proposals focused on targeted work with high-risk young women and girls ages 11 and 30 who are on the edge of the criminal justice system.

Registered charities, not-for-profit social enterprises and community interest companies that are working within the UK and have a UK office can apply as long as they can clearly show that women and girls make up at least 80% of their total beneficiaries across their whole organisation. They need to have a proven track record of running projects with vulnerable and challenging young women and girls between the ages of 11 and 30 years, and their work is both gender and trauma informed.

There is particular interest in funding projects working with young women and girls who are care experienced, come from Black or minoritized/racialised communities and work that is led by people with lived experience.

The Trust particularly welcomes applications from organisations working in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The Autumn 2024 application window opens on 16 September and closes on 30 October 2024. For more information, please visit The Triangle Trust

Supporting homeless charities throughout the UK

We are a small charity with limited funds available. Please check carefully that both your organisation and your project meet our criteria before making an application.

Criteria

• Your organisation must be registered with the Charity Commission in England, Wales or Northern Ireland or a registered Scottish Charity.

• We are able to help only small charities with an annual turnover of less than £500,000.

• We can only accept applications towards the funding of capital projects. We are unable to accept applications towards running/core costs. Note: we are also unable to consider requests for computers and IT equipment.

• We provide small grants of up to £5,000. We do not consider multi-year requests.

• There should be a minimum period of two years between the receipt of a decision or grant from us and making a further application.

APPLICATION FORM

All applicants must complete our online application form. Please note we no longer accept applications by post or email.

Deadlines for applications

The quarterly deadlines for applications for funding each year are: 5pm on 15th March/15th June/15th September/15th December.
You will be informed of the Trustees’ decision within eight weeks of each deadline.

EXAMPLE GRANTS

Examples of recent grants made can be found here.

For more information, please visit Applying for Funding — Help the Homeless (help-the-homeless.org.uk)

British Science Week 2025 Community Grants open now

Is your community group keen to run an activity during British Science Week? Can you reach people who currently don’t engage with science? If so, we might be able to help!

The Community Grants scheme is all about helping you to engage your audiences with science in ways that are tailor-made for them. Supported by UK Research and Innovation, we’re thrilled to offer grants each year to help community groups to run their own events and activities for British Science Week, expanding the number of people who enjoy and take part in science. 

About the Community Grants

There are two levels of Community Grants available for community groups:

1. £500 to run one or more events during British Science Week
2. £1000 to run one or more events during British Science Week, as well as either preparatory or follow-up activities that will lead to continued engagement beyond British Science Week

Eligibility

We offer funding to community groups that work directly with audiences traditionally underrepresented in science, including:

• people from ethnic minority backgrounds

• people living in communities which face deprivation, including people disadvantaged in terms of education and income

• people with a disability or long-term health condition

• people living in a remote and rural location, defined as settlements of less than 10,000 people

• girls and women*.

* For community groups that work with girls and women, we prioritise those who work with at least one other underrepresented group.

Please note, if you are a school or a college, you can only apply to our Kick Start Grants. See the Community Grants guidelines for details on special education needs schools and other educational groups who can apply to the Community Grants scheme.

How can I apply?

To help you prepare for 2025 applications, please make sure you read the detailed Community Grants guidelines before you apply.

Community Grants 2025 guidelines

Looking for inspiration?

Check out our case studies!

Community Grants case studies and example activities

Discover how other community groups used the funding to support activities and events during previous British Science Week, and pick up plenty of ideas for your own projects in 2024 and beyond.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at communities@britishscienceassociation.org

For more information, please visit Community Grants - British Science Week

Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI) for individuals

The Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI) has responsibility for securing placements for individuals who are subject to Community Service/Supervised Activity Orders imposed by the Courts. 

The Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI) has responsibility for securing placements for individuals who are subject to Community Service/Supervised Activity Orders imposed by the Courts. 

To fulfil the obligations of these Orders, the people to which they are subject complete unpaid work placements within their communities in local organisations. PBNI therefore invites applications from organisations working in Fermanagh, Omagh and Mid-Ulster in the Community and Voluntary Sector (CVS) to provide such placements. 

Successful applicants will be required to:

• Provide meaningful work and effective supervision of people subject to any such Court Orders;

• Support PBNI’s commitment to community-based restorative practice;

• Accept individuals who may be considered more complex in nature;

• Maintain records of work to provide evidence towards the achievement of completed hours for placements;

• Undertake basic trauma-informed training.

In addition, successful applicants who provide access to accredited training courses for placements will be awarded extra points in the scoring process. Review meetings will take place between PBNI Area Managers and the placements to review the delivery of the work. 

Access the Funding advertisement and application form here

PBNI will fund each placement to the value of £150 with a minimum of 6 placements per application. 

Successful applicants will be required to publicly acknowledge and refer to the funding throughout the lifetime of the grant award. The purpose of this is to raise awareness of the partnership role PBNI and CVS plays in contributing to safer communities. Furthermore, in promoting its work PBNI may seek to use a placement to raise awareness of this.

Further details including PBNI’s grant funding policy, procedures and application forms are available via the PBNI website, www.pbni.org.uk

We recommend that you read and fully understand the contents of the application and the supporting documents required before applying.

Completed application forms must be submitted electronically to the PBNI Procurement and Grants Manager, Graham Parkinson at Graham.Parkinson@probation-ni.gov.uk.

Closing date for Applications is 4pm, Monday 7 October 2024

Applications received after the closing date will NOT be accepted

Access the Funding advertisement and application form here

For more information please visit Community and Voluntary Sector Funding | Probation Board for Northern Ireland (pbni.org.uk)

Cash4Clubs 2024

Cash4Clubs is a small grants scheme set up in 2008 to support local sports clubs. Distributing around £5million so far, the programme has generated positive impacts for hundreds of thousands of people across the UK and Ireland.

Sported is delighted to team up with Cash4Clubs to deliver another round of funding in 2024. Grants of £2000 (€2000 in Ireland) are available this autumn for community organisations working with adults from under-represented communities, delivering sport or physical activity for social purpose. 

The 2024 programme is exclusively focused on supporting adult clubs. We want to offer funding to groups that deliver activities to over 18s only, with an emphasis on 18–25 year olds. The funding will be unrestricted but with an outcome of increasing participation, meaning clubs are able to decide how best to use the grant to engage more adults from their local communities.  

Who can apply?

Cash4Clubs is funded by Flutter UK & Ireland, part of Flutter Entertainment, the global sports betting, gaming and entertainment provider. For this reason, groups must solely be delivering activities to adults (18+) to be eligible for funding.  We will prioritise applications focused on 18-25 year olds.  You cannot apply if your organisation or club runs junior activities.

We welcome applications from not-for-profit organisations, including charities, community groups and traditional sports clubs. To be eligible for funding, applicants must be either registered charities or clubs with a structured governance and constitution.

Applicants must demonstrate that they are using sport for a wider social purpose with a goal to increase participation of adults from under-represented groups. We are particularly interested in submissions from groups working in areas of high deprivation.

For more information, please visit Cash4Clubs (sported.org.uk)

Leeds Building Society Foundation

Since 1999, the Foundation has donated more than £2 million to 3,000 local projects and good causes across the UK. Previously the Foundation provided support to those who were disadvantaged or in vulnerable circumstances.

The Foundation is run independently by a board of eight trustees, who review the applications every three months.

The Foundation receives funding from Leeds Building Society and from members' donations via the Your Interest in Theirs scheme. Members can opt-in to donate the pence of their interest which is then equally split between Leeds Building Society Foundation and our national charity partner.

2023 review

In 2023, we funded £339,486 in grants and supported 46 charities. Find out how we awarded grants in 2023 and our impact by reading our report.

Criteria themes

Your project must meet our purpose through one or more of the following criteria themes:

• Financial stress

• Security and refuge

• Quality and suitability of housing

• Health and wellbeing support for those experiencing homelessness

We welcome applications from those who take a Housing First and/or relationship-based approach. In your application we’d like to see evidence of:

• Strength-based practice

• Trauma-informed care

• Psychologically-informed environments

Exclusions

The Foundation is unfortunately unable to support:

• Religious, military, or political projects

• Charities or projects based overseas

• Individuals (including sponsorship)

• Animal welfare projects

• Local Scouts, Brownies or Girlguiding groups

• Medical research

• Retrospective costs (reimbursement for costs already incurred)

• Charities and projects that don’t align with our purpose of supporting people in need of a safe and secure home

Our grants

Our grants provide funding to projects that support those in need of a safe and secure home.

View our grant giving guide (PDF, 834KB) for more information, including eligibility and scoring criteria.

You can apply for a small grant or a large grant, depending on how much you want to apply for.

Small grants (up to £1,000)

For our small grants, we only accept requests to fund capital expenditure. This means that we fund the purchase of items used to directly help those in need, rather than contributing to a charity's running costs.

We'll only accept small grant applications from UK registered charities with a turnover of less than £1 million.

Apply for a small grant

Large grants (£25,000-£100,000)

Applicants for large grants can apply for between £25,000 and £100,000. This can be a one year grant, or split across two or three years.

You can apply for core, project and/or capital costs. You can apply for new work or existing work, as long as you’re not requesting retrospective funding. We advise you to apply for what you need the most, in order to support those in need of a safe and secure home.

For our large grants, we’re only accepting grants from organisations based in Yorkshire and/or the North East of England.

We’ll only accept large grant applications from UK registered charities. For large grant applications, we only accept applications from UK registered charities with a turnover of £5 million or less.

Apply for a large grant

After you've applied

Your application will be considered at the next scheduled meeting.

If your application is successful, you’ll be contacted within eight weeks after the meeting date. You’ll need to complete a short impact form at the end of each year of funding.

Unsuccessful applications

If you applied for a small grant, you can apply for funding again, but not for the same items of expenditure.

If you applied for a large grant, you can apply for funding again 12 months after your last application.

Unfortunately, we're unable to give feedback on unsuccessful applications.

Contact us

If you have any questions about our grants, please email foundation@leedsbuildingsociety.co.uk or call us on 03300 081 604.

For more information, please visit About Charitable Foundation | Leeds Building Society

The Happiness Fund – putting the fun into funding

The Happiness Fund is avaiable to enable and support projects which improve mental health, wellbeing, inclusion, learning and skills development in local communities. Ultimately, it creates happier people and neighbourhoods.

Objectives and outcomes

To build happy, strong, resilient communities by supporting grassroots, not-for-profit projects that enable sustainable outcomes in:

• Mental health Wellbeing & happiness

• Inclusion

• Learning and skills development

The fund is intended to help new groups and activities, to be successful. Applicants will need to indicate how the activity/group can become self-sustaining or able to attract funding from other sources in the longer term. 

The fund will award £5,000 twice a year - allowing up to two different projects/ charities or CIC’s per year to apply.  You cannot re-apply if you have won funding from the Happiness fund in the last 24 months

For more information please visit The Happiness Fund | No Category (laughology.co.uk)

Pudsey Next Steps

The Pudsey Next Steps funding programme will help achieve greater equity, diversity and inclusion in our grant-making.

The first round will open in Autumn 2024. It focuses on new applicants working in under-served geographic areas across the UK.

This round aims to reach under-served and marginalised children and young people. They may be affected by challenges including poverty, discrimination, and exclusion. For example, this could include care experienced or disabled children and young people. It may include children and young people from minoritised ethnic communities.

The first round of Pudsey Next Steps is for new applicants to BBC Children in Need. We will support organisations which:

• Address the specific local priorities identified for this round in their Nation or Region - In Northern Ireland, the Pudsey Next Steps programme welcomes applications from organisations which are either:

   Situated in Strabane and Rural County Fermanagh that target marginalised children and young people impacted by poverty 

  Or 

  Reaching racially minoritised children and young people impacted by poverty, outside of the Belfast area.

• Have not been funded by BBC Children in Need before

• Have an annual income of £100,000 or less

• Are based in the community they serve

• Are reaching children and young people aged 0-18 years who are experiencing inequality of opportunity

Organisations can apply for:

• Grants from £1,000 – £15,000 per year for up to three years

• Core (organisational running costs) or Project funding

If you would like to discuss applying to the Pudsey Next Steps programme, please contact your local team.

For more information, please visit Pudsey Next Steps - BBC Children in Need

Access Without Limits Grants for Community Organisations Northern Ireland

The funding is intended to ensure that the Duke of Edinburgh Award is available to all young people in Northern Ireland and to help the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland to reach out to a diverse group of young people.

Not-for-profit voluntary, community or social enterprise organisations which do not currently offer the Award programme may apply.

Grants of up to £10,250 are available.

The grant will be combined with support from a dedicated member of staff who will help the grant recipient set up, launch and deliver the Award programme.

The package includes:

• Licence fee support for community and voluntary organisations.

• Access to staff and volunteer training courses.

• Free participation places for young people.

• Expedition kit start-up costs.

Access Without Limits – Community Funding in Northern Ireland - The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (dofe.org)

B&Q Foundation Grants

Closing Date 15/11/2024

The funding is intended for registered charities working with people in need (by reason of financial hardship, sickness, disability, other disadvantage or distress) in the UK and who need funding for the following:

• Projects that provide, maintain, repair or improve housing or community space.

• Supporting people experiencing poor housing or homelessness.

There are two levels of grants:

• Up to £5,000 for garden projects

• Up to £10,000 for building or indoor projects.

The B&Q Foundation will consider awarding higher value grants.

The funding can support decorating, renovating, or creating spaces, both indoors and outdoors, where people can feel at home and have a sense of belonging.

Projects could include creating community gardens, redecorating properties, installing new boilers, and creating new buildings or rooms.

The funding will cover the full cost for the completion of the project, including staff time required.

Projects need to be delivered within six months of receiving the grant.

Apply For a Grant | B&Q Foundation (bqfoundation.org.uk)

Cash4Clubs Opens for Applications

Cash4Clubs is a grant programme funded by Flutter UK & Ireland, part of Flutter Entertainment, the global sports betting, gaming and entertainment provider. For this reason, groups must be delivering activities to adults (18+) with priority given to applications focused on 18 to 25 year olds.

Not-for-profit organisations, including charities, community groups and traditional sports clubs from across the UK and Ireland can apply for unrestricted grants of £2,000. The funding should be spent within a six-month period.

Applicants must demonstrate that they are using sport for a wider social purpose with a goal to increase participation of adults from underrepresented groups. 

Priority will be given to applications that:

• Increase participation in sport and/or physical activity for one or more underrepresented groups, including women and girls over 18, people with disabilities, those from racially diverse communities, from the LGBTQ+ community or from lower socio-economic groups.

• Encourage people who would not usually engage in sport to take part, such as providing activities that support physical and mental wellbeing or tackle issues such as loneliness.

• Address broader social issues for the local community, eg, reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, homelessness, or connecting communities.

Priority will be given to groups based in areas of high deprivation (Indices of Multiple Deprivation 1-3).

Unrestricted grants of £2,000 can be used for anything that will support the organisation to continue and/or grow their activities in their local community.

Please note the programme may close early if oversubscribed as was the case in 2023.

Applications will be accepted from 12 September to 12 November 2024.

For more information, please visit Home - Cash4Clubs (cash-4-clubs.com)

Good Relations Grant 2024

This grant aims to support community / voluntary organisations in the delivery of programs which focus on the objectives of good relations. Submissions for the Good Relations grant will close on Monday 23rd of September at 12 (noon).

Apply:  Good Relations Grant 2024 - Lisburn & Castlereagh (lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk)

For assistance, grant workshops will be held on two dates:

Wednesday 11th September from 7pm-9pm in Bridge Community Centre, Lisburn

Tuesday 17th September from 7pm-9pm Ballyoran Community Centre, Dundonald

please email community.services@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk to book

A maximum award of up to £2,000 is available for any one organisation during the period of this funding.

More information is available on LCCC Website and social media platforms.

Community Cash Marketplace

The Fermanagh and Omagh Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) is seeking Expressions of Interest for participation in Community Cash Marketplace.

Through Community Cash Marketplace community groups can seek funding of up to £1,000 for their community project. Projects must have a focus on Community Safety and reflect one or more of the PCSP themes:

·        road safety

·        domestic and sexual violence

·        anti-social behaviour

·        personal safety

·        fear of crime.

This can include (but not limited to) youth intervention activity, befriending service, cycling proficiency, internet safety awareness.

You can apply for up to £1,000 to pay for things such as tutors, venue hire, equipment (equipment only eligible if it is essential for project delivery) and training.  

Please note that incomplete applications or applications received after the closing date will be deemed invalid and will not be considered.

For full Guidance Notes, Click Here



If you require any assistance with completing this form, please contact the Grants and Investment Unit, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council:

T 0300 303 1777

E: grants@fermanaghomagh.com

Eligibility

This is a two-stage process:

Stage 1: Expression of Interest

Open call for groups to submit Expression of Interest. Following assessment groups may be invited to participate in stage 2. 

The closing date for submission of Expression of Interest forms is Monday, 30 September 2024.

Stage 2: Marketplace Event

Invited groups participate in Marketplace Event in either Enniskillen or Omagh dependent on their postcode.

Activities and items that can NOT be funded:

·        Retrospective activities

·        Organisations own facility hire - groups cannot claim for and pay for the use of their own facilities

·        Capital costs

·        Salary costs

·        Fireworks

·        CCTV

Funding constraints:

·        Tutors/Facilitators must be external to the organisation and capped at £25 maximum p/hr.

·        Refreshments will only be awarded up to a maximum of 20% of grant aid allocation. 

·        Equipment must not constitute more than 50% of the total grant aid allocation.

Gardening with Disabilities Trust

IMPORTANT: We only accept grant applications from March to May, and from September to November. We are unable to review or consider any applications received outside of these dates.

We’re a small, volunteer-only charity with a specific remit – that is to help you back into gardening.  We urge you to head to our clients’ stories and newsletter sections of our website where you will find inspiring and creative projects funded by the charity. We also request that you read this page carefully….we cannot progress applications which are outside of our remit or which are incomplete.

Typically we can pay for: 

• Raised beds

• Poly Tunnels

• Greenhouses

• Tools

• Small-scale garden adaptations. e.g. access pathways.

• Plants or Shrubs

• Compost

We cannot pay for 

• Fencing

• Gates

• Seating

• Clearing

• General/ongoing maintenance

• Turfing

• Tree removal

Regrettably we cannot give grants for children.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

We welcome all genuine applications and ask that you follow the process below. (Also, please note that we are only able to consider repeat applications after 4 years.)

However, if we believe an application to be fraudulent we will deal robustly and will not hesitate to inform the police and all appropriate authorities.

Please bear in mind that Gardening with Disabilities Trust is an all-volunteer charity, and that processing applications takes time.  Please read carefully the notes provided on this page and ensure that your application has all the requested supporting documentation and adheres to our guidelines.  Typically, it will take around 3 months between receiving your application and award of a grant. Please note, not all applications will be successful. 

Step 1 – Apply for a Grant

When you’ve worked out your project, complete your application form and send it to us : either apply online using the green button below (this works best if you have good broadband speed) or download the Word form below (the black button – it will open in a new window) and email to info@gardeningwithdisabilitiestrust.org.uk or send it by post to: Gardening with Disabilities Trust, PO Box 285, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 9JD.

Or download the form here.

Make sure you enclose/attach the following (we cannot process your application without them):

1. A letter from your doctor or other Health Care Professional indicating your disability and a copy of another official document relating to your disability…a PIP or a Blue Parking Badge would be acceptable. (We keep your information safely and use it for the purpose of assessing your suitability for a grant. You can check out our privacy policy here.

2. 2 quotations from your suppliers (if you are requesting a grant to modify your garden).

3. The detail about your project, what you are needing and how much it costs.  For example, if you would like a raised bed, then you might need to detail raised bed  £x, potting compost £y. Don’t forget to include delivery costs.

4. It’s always good if you can enlist friends, family or voluntary organisations to carry out some of the labour for you if you are unable to do it yourself/need extra help.

Step 2 – Review by Case-Worker

Your application will be passed to a case-worker – one of our experienced volunteers – who will review it carefully. He/she may come back to you and ask you some questions about your project or for some additional form of ID.

Step 3 – Review by Committee/Award of Grants

All viable applications will be discussed at our Committee Meeting.  These take place roughly every 2 months, so please be patient.  If successful, we will let you know, and arrange to make the payment to you either in the form of vouchers or to your chosen supplier.

Step 4 – Implementation & Follow up

We ask you to send receipts (for our auditors) and photos of how you’ve used the grant. In certain instances, we will contact you to arrange a visit to see the outcome in situ. Some of our clients keep in touch for years afterwards, and we are delighted by that.

Important Notes

We reserve the right to investigate applications including visits to your garden, Google and Google Earth searches and on social media. We insist on seeing receipts for materials and  work carried out, matched to the grant.

It is your responsibility to check planning permissions, landlords consent and other statutory permissions. Before digging make sure you know the route of any utility services.

We pay builders/suppliers on your behalf. We never pay builders “up-front”. Please please ensure that you are using a reputable supplier – ask around for recommendations or use a trusted trader scheme.

Whether you are applying for a raised bed or help with accessing your garden, here is a list of suppliers that we can order from on your behalf. We will never pay you directly. 

• VegTrug (raised beds & planters) VegTrug.com

• Vegepod (raised beds & planters) Vegepod.co.uk

• Woodblocx (raised beds) Woodblocx.co.uk

• Charles Taylor Trading (raised beds & planters) charlestaylortrading.com

• Halls Greenhouses (greenhouses) Hallsgreenhouses.co.uk

• Greenhouse Stores (greenhouses & sheds) Greenhousestores.co.uk 

• First Tunnels (polytunnels) Firsttunnels.co.uk

• Travis Perkins (compost, building materials, sleepers, raised beds, tools) Travisperkins.co.uk

• Peta-EasyGrip (adaptive tools) Peta-uk.com

• National Garden Gift Vouchers (plants, seeds, garden centres) Nationalgardengiftvoucher.co.uk

In some circumstances, it may be possible to obtain VAT-relief on the cost of adaptations required for your personal use as a result of your disability. We cannot advise on this and recommend you seek the advice of a tax specialist: it remains your responsibility to check whether your work is eligible for such relief. You may find some useful information here. 

Please note:  

You can upload all of the information to us on the online application form above,  or send it to us as an email at: info@gardeningwithdisabilitiestrust.org.uk,  or pop it  in the post to: Gardening with Disabilities Trust, PO Box 285, Tunbridge Wells. Kent. TN2 9JD.

Apply for a grant - Gardening With Disabilities Trust