Grants & Funding Opportunities - Don't Miss a Funding Opportunity! - 15th March Update

Grants & Funding Information - Updated 15th March 2024

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Learn Devon - Digital Boost for Adult Learners

Never has it been more important to build your digital and IT skills.

Learn Devon offers a range of courses to suit a variety of abilities. Join one of our courses and see what new tips and tricks you can pick-up for accessing online services.

Having a basic level of digital skills can help you to:

Access digital banking and other online services

Connect with friends and family

Develop useful skills to further access the digital world and employment

What courses are available?

Course: First Steps to Getting Online

This single-session course is perfect for those who are looking to take their first step into the digital world. We have a number of First Steps to Getting Online courses starting this year, below are a few coming up soon.

• Holsworthy - 21st February, 9.30am - 12.30pm 
• Tavistock - 15th April, 10am - 1pm 
• Okehampton - 16th April, 10am - 1pm 
• Sidmouth - 18th April, 10am - 1pm 

With more First Steps courses starting in April to June 2024.

Peter Harrison Foundation - Next Deadline 1^st April 2024

Small Grants of up to £5,000 and Major Grants of between £5,001 and £30,000 are available to UK registered charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) for sports-based projects providing sport and physical activity opportunities for disadvantaged children and young people and/or people with a disability.

The programmes are:

Opportunities Through Sport and Physical Activity - the Foundation supports sporting activities that provide opportunities for people who are disabled, or for disadvantaged children and young people to fulfil their potential and develop personal and life skills. Applications are accepted from registered charities throughout the UK.

Positive Futures for Children and Young People - applications are accepted from charities where the beneficiaries are children and young people with special needs in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey; East Sussex and West Sussex.

The Foundation also operates a Discretionary Grants Programme.

The Trust will consider applications for capital, revenue or project funding and welcomes applications for physical activity initiatives that:

• Give a focus for skills development and confidence building through the medium of sport
• Have a high degree of community involvement
• Have a strong training and/or educational theme within the sporting activity
• Help to engage children or young people at risk of crime, truancy or addiction, and
• Provide sporting equipment or facilities for disabled or disadvantaged people

To apply, eligible organisations are advised to follow the guidance on the Peter Harrison Foundation website.

Applications may be made at any time and are considered every three months.

Further application deadlines for 2024 are: 1st April, 1st July, and 1st October 2024.

Contact details for the Foundation are: The Opportunities Through Sport Programme, The Peter Harrison Foundation, 2nd Floor, Foundation House, 42-48 London Road, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 9QQ  Tel: 01737 228000 enquiries@peterharrisonfoundation.org

Community Emergency Resilience Fund - Deadline April 2024

The Devon Resilience Forum is extending its current Emergency Resilience Grant scheme to support communities across the county affected by storm events.

The initiative currently offers two funding schemes - one to help communities to develop emergency plans and another supporting small-scale works and resilience equipment, which is usually intended for those communities with an emergency plan already in place. However, in response to the recent storm events and to support community flood resilience, the grant of up to £1,500 (grant scheme 2, see below) for small scale works and equipment is available until the end of April 2024 for those communities that are still in the process of developing their plan or do not yet have one.

The funding is intended as a "fast track" grant to provide:

Rapid purchase of simple flood equipment (PPE, signs, sand bags etc.);

Exceptionally, a contribution to minor, practical works. (However, this will not cover activity that is otherwise being promoted through the community self-help / Road Warden scheme, such as clearance of drains, or general maintenance works that are the responsibility of land owners).

For those communities that have recently experienced flooding, works to assist community recovery and getting things back to normal will be included.

Applications are made via a simple two-page form in Word (available below). Any constituted group (Parish Council or Community Group) with a bank account is able to apply for the grant.

All communities and applications will be considered, however those areas affected in the most recent flooding will be prioritised in order to help those communities get back on their feet and address any immediate issues.

If a community is interested in developing an emergency plan then the scheme one grant is still available to assist with this (grant scheme 1, see below). Devon Communities Together is also available to help groups put their plan together.

• Scheme 1 - up to £250 for communities that wish to develop their own Community Emergency Plan.

The Devon Community Resilience Board (DCRB) wants to encourage more communities to produce community emergency plans. A community emergency plan helps to guide a community to organise a response to a local emergency from flooding and snow to the completely unexpected. We will upload your completed community emergency plan to a secure government gateway. This enables emergency responders to combine your local knowledge with their expertise, allowing an effective place based joined-up response.  

• Scheme 2 - up to £1,500 for small scale works and resilience equipment (fast track scheme now extended to April 2024).

Experience has shown that a wide range of small resilience measures can make a real difference to communities. This funding is available to communities to improve their own resilience with equipment and small-scale works, and may range from the provision of sandbag stores and other flood protection equipment, road signs, tools and personal protective equipment, to one off small-scale works to reduce risk.

You can email Devon Communities Together info@devoncommunities.org.uk for more information.

Bideford Bridge Trust - Next Deadline 1st June 2024

Grants available to residents of Bideford and its neighbourhood, up to and including Hartland to the North, up to but excluding Torrington to the East and up to and including Instow to the South. Application also considered from organisations that substantially benefit people within this area.

Annual Grants - Deadline 1^st June to 31^st July each year

These are grants made to organisations with a charitable purpose (not necessarily registered as a charity) Submissions must be made between 1st June and 31st July each year.

Hardship Grants

Grants made to individuals who are sustaining hardship such as poverty or sickness. All applications must have a suitable sponsor. Applications are considered on a monthly basis.

Organisation Urgent Grants

These are to assist organisations with a charitable purpose that have an urgent need that cannot wait until consideration of the annual grants as mentioned above. These are considered on a monthly basis.

Educational Grants

Any application for assistance with regard to apprenticeship or vocational training should follow the procedure for a hardship grant as above:

350. Book or equipment grants: up to £350.00 awarded to students living in the Parish of Bideford (or to the north of the Parish but to the south of the link road) at least 6 months prior to the application who are commencing post A-level training or are in the second or third year of such a course (or fourth year if appropriate). It does not include post graduate studies.
351. Hardship Grants: limited up to £300.00 for students within the area of benefit of the Trust but not qualifying by virtue of residence in 4(i) above for a book/equipment grant who are sustaining hardship in respect of a post a-level course (first, second or third year or fourth year if appropriate) but not post graduates.
352. Educational Bursaries: up to £600.00 paid to students within the Parish of Bideford or to the north of the Parish but to the south of the link road after successful completion of their first, second or third year (or fourth year if appropriate) of a degree course (but not post-graduate courses). All applications must be lodged by the closing date stated on the application form.
353. Apprenticeship and Vocational Grants: any application for assistance with regard to apprenticeships or vocational training should follow the procedure for hardship grants as above

Taxi Vouchers

Vouchers for 90% of the cost of taxi transport granted to those aged 85 years of age or those suffering from infirmity (eg. receiving attendance allowance, unable to drive,).

Business Start Up Grants

Grants are made of up to £3,000 in year one and sometimes for a further £2,000 in year two in respect of applicants who are currently unemployed or anticipating becoming unemployed who are seeking to become self-employed or start a new business. These are considered on a monthly basis.

Application forms available from: http://www.bidefordbridgetrust.org.uk/grants/

DHSC Community Automated External Defibrillator (AED) fund - Deadline 21st September 2024

Organisations across England are invited to bid for a share of £1 million of government funding to buy life-saving defibrillators for community spaces like town halls, local parks or post offices. The fund will support provision of 2000 AEDs.

These will be distributed across England during 2023-2024, supporting any organisation based in England that is not eligible for the current Department of Education AED programme. The funding for the scheme is based on a first come first served basis.

The funding will be allocated on the following basis:

• 100 applications will be selected by DHSC to receive a fully funded AED - selection is based on areas that are most in need of AED throughout England. Applicants will be advised in mid-October and units shipped in mid-November.
• 1900 applications will receive partial DHSC funding for an AED - organisations will be required to provide their own match funding of £750.

The Fund opens in September 2023, with the closing date for applications on 21st September 2024 - or once all the funding has been allocated.

Apply via: DHSC Community Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Fund

Green Heat Network Fund - 11 rounds of funding - Last Round Deadline December 2024 

Capital grants to support the rollout of the next generation of heat networks that use low- and zero-carbon heat sources. 

There will be 11 rounds over the next 3 years - the final round is expected to close in December 2024.

Heat networks supply heat to buildings from a central source, avoiding the need for households and workplaces to have individual, energy-intensive heating solutions.

The Green Heat Network Fund is a 3-year £288 million capital grant fund that will support organisations in the public, private, and third sectors to develop new and existing low and zero-carbon heat networks.

This capital grant programme aims to stimulate the growth of low-carbon heat networks that will support the delivery of the UK's 2050 climate change commitments and expand the current heat networks supply chain.

During the programme's lifetime, an estimated 10.3Mt of total carbon savings are expected to be made by 2050; the equivalent of taking 4.5 million cars in England off the road for a year.

The scheme will incentivise new and existing heat networks in England to move away from high-carbon sources, as well as exploiting waste-heat opportunities while bringing down costs for consumers.

Applications will only be supported if they include low-carbon heat-generating technologies, such as heat pumps, waste heat and energy from geothermal sources.

Types of applicants may include:

• Public sector organisations including NHS Trusts and Other Government Departments.
• Private sector organisations that are registered companies and submit annual accounts.
• Third sector organisations such as registered charities, community investment companies and other such organisations that are officially registered and submit annual accounts.

Levels of support will vary for each project.

You can find guidance for applicants and the Round 1 scheme overview information on the GOV.UK website.

Community Transport Grants - Motability - Deadline March 2025

Through this new grant programme Motability aim to help charities and organisations to make an immediate impact for disabled people, by awarding funding to develop, expand and improve community transport options.

The programme is focussed on:

• Funding support for staff or volunteer training and costs.
• Funding to increase the number of vehicles available in the community to help organisations support disabled people.
• Funding local, regional, or national initiatives to increase awareness of community transport and influence its inclusion in transport strategy and policy.
• Funding to schemes, programmes and initiatives that already exist, and who provide best practice solutions, but need further support to remain operational or scale up the service they can provide to help more disabled people.

Charities and organisations working in the community transport sector can apply for grants from £100,000 to £4 million at any point over the next three years until March 2025.

Visit the Motability website to apply

Listed Places of Worship grant scheme - Deadline 31st March 2025

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport run this Grant Scheme.  The Scheme gives grants that cover the VAT incurred in making repairs to listed buildings used as places of worship.  The Scheme covers repairs to the fabric of the building, along with associated professional fees, plus repairs to turret clocks, pews, bells and pipe organs.

The Scheme only accepts applications where the minimum value of eligible work carried out on any one claim to the scheme is £1,000 (excluding VAT).

Government have confirmed funding is available for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme until 31 March 2025.

Funding to help voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in England improve their energy efficiency - New Post!

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched a £25.5 million funding package to help voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in England improve their energy efficiency.

Eligible organisations will be able to apply for:

1) An independent energy assessment and

2) Capital grants to install energy efficiency measures.

To apply for the second element, organisations not owning their premises will need to ask for their landlords' permission.

As many VCSE organisations lease their premises from councils, councils are encouraged to support their tenants in applying.

Councils are encouraged to share this scheme with VCSE organisations in their area.

National Lottery Awards for All

If you are looking for funding for a community or voluntary organisation, the National Lottery Awards for All is a good place to start and you can apply for up to £20,000.

Awards for All support community organisations with all kinds of projects and activities in their local area. The important thing is that your project brings people together and helps to strengthen the community.

You can apply for funding to deliver a new or existing activity or to support your organisation to change and adapt to new and future challenges.

Awards for All funding is for projects and organisations which aim to:

• build strong relationships in and across communities

• improve the places and spaces that matter to communities

• help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage

• support people, communities and organisations that are facing increased demands and challenges as a direct result of the cost-of-living crisis.

Applications are accepted from constituted voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and statutory bodies such as local authorities and community councils.

Applications may be submitted at any time.

The Beryl Evetts and Robert Luff Animal Welfare Trust

Awards are available to help with the "the prevention of cruelty to animals and the care and protection of animals in need of such care by reason of sickness, maltreatment and poor circumstances".  

The Trust normally awards small grants of between £500 and £5,000, together with the occasional larger award, to UK registered charities and voluntary organisations.  Most awards are made for animal welfare support in the UK.

Please note the Trust does not maintain a website. Further information is, however, available on the Charity Commission website.  

Details of all awards made over the last two years are provided on pages 12 and 13 of the Trust's annual accounts.

Applications may be made at any time in writing to:

Mr R P J Price, Company Secretary, The Beryl Evetts and Robert Luff Animal Welfare Trust, Waters Edge, Ferry Lane, Moulsford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 9JF or email: rpjprice@gmail.com

BA Better World Community Fund

Community projects that deliver benefits for areas experiencing social and economic deprivation or that tackle environmental challenges could be eligible for up to £15,000 in extra funding to top up what they raise through crowdfunding.

The BA Better World Community Fund (BWCF) will prioritise:

• projects providing training and skills to help disadvantaged groups access employment and education
• projects creating opportunities for people in underrepresented groups particularly focused on improving gender and ethnic diversity and accessibility for people with disabilities
• innovative projects tackling environmental and climate challenges with sustainable long-term outcomes

To apply, you need to create a project page on Crowdfunder that explains your idea and fundraising target. If your project is approved, you will have 6 weeks to plan, create and launch a crowdfunding campaign.

Your project must receive pledges from at least 25 different supporters: for every pledge made towards your project, the BA BWCF will match it up to £250; the total match available to any one project is £15,000 or 50% of your target - whichever is lower.

The programme is open to registered charities, community benefit organisations, social enterprises and charitable companies.

The fund will remain open until all funds are allocated.

Lloyds Bank Foundation

The Lloyds Bank Foundation is inviting applications to its Specialist Programme to support small and grassroots organisations across England and Wales. The South West is one of the priorities for 2024 since the region received less funding compared to other areas last year.

Charities and Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) with a turnover of £25,000 to £500,000 can apply for an unrestricted grant of up to £75,000 over three years, provided they are carrying out work which fits in with one of the fund's priorities: 

• Addiction
• Asylum seekers and refugees
• Care leavers
• Domestic abuse
• Homelessness
• Offending
• Sexual abuse and exploitation
• Trafficking and modern slavery 

The funding is for organisations supporting people (18 years and older) who are experiencing complex social issues resulting in a significant impact on their lives. As 'specialist organisations', applicants need to demonstrate that: they are providing in-depth services rather than short-term or one-off support; have trusted relationships with other providers; and that they provide person-centred services and personal plans. 

Grants can be used to support any costs which further the charity's purpose, including core costs. Grant recipients can also access a range of other support to help strengthen the performance and resilience of their organisation.

https://www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk/funding/specialist-programme

Barclays Community Football Fund

The Barclays Community Football Fund offers grants, training and exclusive ticketing offers to make football more accessible in communities across the UK.

The programme provides access grants of £500 for groups wishing to start offering football, those keen to expand their existing provision to new audiences, or those already delivering football to under-represented young people.  This includes girls, young people from racially diverse communities, young people with disabilities, young people from the LGBTQ+ community and those from lower socio-economic groups.

You will need to show clearly how your organisation is inclusive of these underrepresented groups, how you engage with them and what football activities you are able to provide.

The fund welcomes applications from not-for-profit organisations including community groups, youth groups and traditional football clubs.

Apply via thehub.sported.org.uk

Retail Trust

Help is available to those working in the retail industry or supporting services, including: Logistics, Manufacturing, Warehousing, Wholesale, Supply chain, Food distribution, Pharmaceuticals and Medical supplies.  

Funds are available to help those at risk of:

• Becoming homeless.
• In need of financial help as a result of leaving an abusive relationship. 
• Unable to pay priority household bills, such as arrears in council tax, rent and mortgage or you are unable to provide the basic essentials for their family. Or, need to replace essential whitegoods such as an oven or refrigerator. 
• Essential home improvements, adaptations or essential items for babies or children such as a cot or other necessities.  
• If they (or a family member) are suffering a period of ill-health. 
• Medical appliances not covered under the NHS.  
• Home repairs, adaptations and improvements to help make life easier for people living with a disability or long-term health condition.  
• Travel costs to visit a sick child or other dependant in hospital. 
• Respite breaks for carers.  

All applications will be assessed on an individual basis. Please note, financial aid applications will not be considered for individuals with over £4,000 in savings.  

Third parties, such as case workers, Citizens Advice or other welfare agency workers can also apply on behalf of applicants once they have had their registration validated with the Retail Trust as a case worker.

Further information is available at The Retail Trust

National Lottery: Reaching Communities

This programme offers a larger amount of funding (over £10,000) for Voluntary or community organisations that work with their community, whether that is for people living in the same area, or people with similar interests or life experiences.

Here to support communities with the things that are important to them, including mitigating the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and supporting them as they seek to recover, rebuild and grow following the Covid-19 pandemic.

In order to support communities, they fund projects and organisations which aim to:

• build strong relationships in and across communities
• improve the places and spaces that matter to communities
• help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage.

Support for people, communities and organisations that are facing increased demands and challenges as direct result of the cost-of-living crisis

Funding size: £10,001 or more, for up to five years:  tnlcommunityfund.org.uk

Bernard Sunley Foundation Grants

The Foundation offers grants in the categories of Community, Education, Health or Social Welfare.

They offer three levels of grants.  These are large grants of £20,000 and above; medium grants of up to £20,000 and small grants of £5,000 and under. 

Grants can be used for:

• Capital projects, which include new buildings, extensions, refurbishments and recreational spaces.
• New minibuses and other vehicles that provide a vital service to those most in need in their local community.
• Churches and other places of worship with a strong, secular community focus.
• Charities or Charitable Incorporated Organisations registered in England and Wales.
• Certain organisations with exempt status such as specialist schools, scout and guide groups, housing associations, cooperatives and community benefit societies.

Applications are accepted all year round.  The Bernard Sunley Foundation website gives further information about what is funded and how to apply.

Tesco Stronger Starts Programme

Tesco has introduced a £5million grant programme to give children across the UK a stronger start in life.  The grants will help schools and children's groups provide nutritious food and healthy activities that support young people's physical health and mental wellbeing, such as breakfast clubs or snacks, and equipment for healthy activities.

Tesco Stronger Starts is open to schools, PTAs, community and voluntary groups, registered charities, community councils, CICs (limited by guarantee), local authorities, housing organisations and other not-for-profit organisations.

The scheme will provide grants of up to £1,500.  Every three months, three local good causes are selected for the blue token customer vote in Tesco stores throughout the UK.  Tesco Stronger Starts replaces the former 'blue token' community grants scheme.

Applications may be made at any time via the Tesco community grants website.

Neighbourhood Planning Grant Funding - Locality

Locality are pleased to announce that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have extended the full support programme for a sixth year into 2023/24.

The programme will continue to offer grants and Technical Support packages.  Applications for both are now open.

If you are working on a neighbourhood plan or neighbourhood development order, you can apply for grand funding of up to £10,000.  Further grant funding up to an additional £8,000 is available to groups meeting certain criteria.  To find out more and to apply visit the neighbourhood planning website.

Tolkien Trust

The Tolkien Trust is a UK registered charity, established in 1977 by the four children of the author, J R R Tolkien, to enable the Tolkien family to give regularly to its chosen charitable causes.

The Trust is wholly discretionary, which means that the trustees decide whom to benefit on the basis of their own knowledge of charities operating in areas of interest to them. However, the Trust does not accept unsolicited applications as it does not have the capacity to assess them.

The Trust has traditionally supported a wide spectrum of charitable causes throughout the world including: Arts, Education, Environment, Homelessness,  International development, International relations and peace building, Migration,  Prison Reform, and UK and international health, and medical research.

Further information about the Trust can be found on its website: Tolkien Trust.

Applications are accepted by invitation only from UK registered charities working in the UK and/or overseas. A letter of introduction, using the address below, is thought to be the best way to approach the Trust in the first instance,

Nerissa Martin,

The Tolkien Trust C/o Maier Blackburn LLP Prama House 267 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7HT Tel: 01865 339330

Sports Foundation for the Disabled

Grants up to £5,000 are available to enable people with physical disabilities and visual impairments from Southwest England and Wales to take part in sport, physical activities and sporting challenges.

The Sports Foundation for the Disabled provides funding for organisations that support people with disabilities and for individuals with physical disabilities or visual impairments.  Organisations must be not-for-profit and can include local community sports clubs, community groups, parish/town councils, charities and youth organisations.  Individuals must be part of a sports club, sporting pathway or linked to a National Governing Body.

The funding can be used for:

• New equipment and kit specifically for disability sport activities
• Training courses
• Costs relating to a sport project for people with physical disabilities or visual impairments
• Costs relating to sporting challenges including travel, equipment, sustenance and accommodation.

Applications may be submitted at any time through the Sports Foundation for the Disabled website.

The Circuit £1 million defibrillator fund

The government is inviting community organisations to bid for funding for an automated external defibrillator (AED) for their area

Organisations across England are being invited to bid for a share of £1 million of government funding to buy life-saving defibrillators for community spaces like town halls, local parks or post offices.

An estimated 1,000 new defibrillators are to be provided by the fund, with the potential for this to double as successful applicants will be asked to match the funding they receive partially or fully. 

As part of the grant award, applicants will be asked to demonstrate that defibrillators will be placed in areas where they are most needed, such as places with high footfall, vulnerable people, rural areas or due to the nature of activity at the site.

Examples could include town halls, community centres, local shops, post offices and local parks, to ensure that defibrillators are evenly spread throughout communities and easily accessible if someone is experiencing an unexpected cardiac arrest.

Defibrillators can be registered on The Circuit. Organisations can submit an expression of interest.

To update the details in your expression of interest, submit a new response from the same device you used for the original submission.

Community Grants - Devon Community Foundation

The Devon Community Foundation Community Grants are designed to enable small, local, grassroots organisations across Devon to support, encourage and develop thriving communities.

Applications of up to £2,000 that fall with the following funding themes will be considered:

• Assisting Families in need
• Bringing people together
• Developing life skills
• Enabling disabled people
• Encouraging safety and resilience
• Helping people find and keep a home
• Keeping people safe and well
• Offering training and work opportunities
• Promoting access to arts, culture and nature

Everything you need to know about applying for a Community Grant can be found on the Devon Community Foundation website.

Hubub Community Fridges set-up Grants

Grants of £7k are available to UK not-for-profit organisations to develop Community Fridges into Food Hubs so that more food-based activities can be provided that will bring communities together & provide access to healthy, affordable, & sustainable food. https://orlo.uk/9x2yZ

Business Grants for Young Entrepreneurs in the South West

Are you a young entrepreneur, age 18-30 in Devon? Been trading for less than two years? You can apply for grant funding for South West based start-ups and businesses. Get access to a business mentor who can act as an independent sounding board for any business issue you would like to discuss and meet a network of other people in the same position as you. Find out more about the support available:  South West Enterprise Fund (SWEF) Business Grants for 18 - 30 Year Olds

Sport England - Small Grants Programme

Our Small Grants Programme seeks to develop opportunities for communities to get more people physically active and we'll support new projects through providing National Lottery funding of between £300 and £15,000. https://www.sportengland.org/funds-and-campaigns/our-funds/small-grants-programme 

Bloss Family Foundation

Grants of up to £1,000, are available to registered charities in Devon that are enabling mentally and/or physically disabled children and young adults enjoy a better quality of life.

Its objectives are to help children and young adults aged 18 and below who are from deprived backgrounds and/or who are mentally and/or physically disabled to enjoy a better quality of life by making grants for providing or paying for items, services or facilities.

Please note that the Foundation does not maintain a website. Further information is, however, available on the Charity Commission website.

Benefact Trust

Benefact Trust's Building Improvement Grants programme provides essential support to protect and enhance churches and Christian charity buildings, ensuring their continued use, viability, and the safeguarding of their heritage.

The programme is open to applications from churches, cathedrals, denominational bodies and Christian charities.

Under Building Improvement Grants, they are able to support direct capital costs relating to the following types of work:

• Essential, one-off repairs or other capital works to ensure the continued use or viability of a building (capital work must be considered urgent or necessary within 12 months)
• Minor capital works or equipment purchases to meet operational or accessibility requirements (e.g. essential operational equipment, AV equipment, hearing loops, ramps, etc)
• Conservation or restoration of historic features (e.g. stained glass, carvings, interior furnishings, clocks, tower bells, organs etc) which contribute to preservation and appreciation of a building's heritage
• Other aesthetic enhancements (e.g. interior decoration, furnishings or public realm improvements) to improve indoor or outdoor spaces for users
• Energy efficiency/renewable energy measures (e.g. heating/lighting upgrades, solar panels, etc) which improve the sustainability of church buildings/facilities and enable their continued use

All applicants will be expected to have secured funding for at least 30% of their total project costs before making an application.

Climate Action Fund - Nature and Climate

This fund from the National Lottery aims to help communities across the UK to address climate change.

They are looking for projects that focus on the link between nature and climate; projects that use nature to encourage more community-led climate action. They are looking for 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.

They are 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.

Applications are welcome from either local partnerships or UK-wide partnerships which are delivered across at least two UK countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales).

Grants of up to £1.5 million over 2 to 5 years, with most projects between £300,000 and £500,000 or development grants of £50,000 to £150,000 over 12 to 18 months are available to Community and voluntary organisations, charities, public sector, working in partnerships

Please visit the National Lottery Website for the full details, and to apply online.

Devon County Council - Growing Communities Fund

The Growing Communities Fund is intended to support proactive, effective, measurable, and sustainable actions to enable individuals and communities to tackle the current cost-of-living issues through reducing food and fuel inequalities, building self-reliance, community resilience and improving mental health and wellbeing.

The Growing Communities Fund will commonly provide grant awards of between £500 and £1,000.  Grants of up to £3,000 can be applied for if you have an exemplary project and are able to accept payment in arrears.

The Fund can support projects that:

• Address hardship such as food or fuel insecurity, for example offering warm safe spaces, something to eat and drink, and a place to work, learn or socialise.
• Build greater degrees of self-reliance and community resilience for example offering advice, peer support or guidance on budgeting, cooking low-cost nutritional meals.
• Tackle loneliness and isolation and build self-esteem.
• Have a clear and direct community benefit and aim to respond to the climate emergency.

The Fund cannot be used for:

• Activities that are the responsibility of a public body.
• Activities that are contributing to general fundraising.
• Projects that are delegating any acquired fund to third parties.
• Projects that are solely for the benefit of animals.
• Projects that are solely counselling based.
• Projects that are in support of a single faith without wider community benefit.
• Retrospective funding such as an activity that has already taken place or been committed to.
• Alcohol or medication.
• Large projects where the link between a grant awarded and overall project outcomes are not clear.
• Loss of income.
• Applications from individuals, sole traders or grant-making organisations (where funding is requested for grant making).
• Projects that provide support to more than 25% of beneficiaries living outside of the Devon County Council administrative area.

Not-for-profit, voluntary or community groups, registered charities or social enterprises that are providing services or activities for the benefit of people and communities in Devon may apply.  For the full list of who can apply as well as guidance on how to apply visit the Devon County Council website, where you will also find the online application form.

London Hearts - Defibrillator Grants

Grants are available to fund Public Access Defibrillators in communities all over the country.

London Hearts is a charity aiming to help and support communities with the provision of heart defibrillators and teaching CPR/defibrillator skills. They can provide a grant of £300 towards the cost of a defibrillator and storage as well as a free online training video.

When someone has a cardiac arrest, timely intervention is the key to survival. By making more defibrillators available, and by training more people to use them, the better the chance of survival for a cardiac arrest victim.

See London Hearts

Clare Milne Trust

They support:

• Registered charities which benefit people with disabilities.
• Projects located in the South West, benefitting people who live in Devon and Cornwall.

​They look for local and regional charities, which are:

• Small and well run.
• Charities with strong support from volunteers.
• Charities with only modest expenditure on fundraising and administration.

The Clare Milne Trust will only support charities and organisations who recognise that safeguarding is everyone's business. It Is the Clare Milne Trust's expectation that all charities and organisations will take responsible steps to safeguard all their own staff and volunteers as well as those people whom they support.

​The Clare Milne Trust recently introduced a safeguarding declaration for successful applicants. Please ensure that any DBS checks and safeguarding training is up to date when applying for funding.

Grants tend not to be offered to national or other larger charities although on occasion they have supported such charities in specific local projects.

The Trustees meet four times annually, and a response to applications will be given following the Trustees' meeting.  The aim of the Trust is to contact applicants with a decision within two weeks from the date of the Trustee meeting.

​In order to apply for a grant from The Clare Milne Trust your organisation should be a registered charity, preferably based within the Southwest, and directly benefitting people living in Devon or Cornwall.

The Trustees will occasionally consider an application from a CIC (community interest company). A CIC should follow the same application process as a registered charity.

Please contact the trust secretary, Emma Houlding, on 01395 270418, who will endeavour to assist with any urgent enquiries.

​Online applications are preferred please visit the Clare Milne Trust website to apply. 

Robyn Charitable Trust

The Robyn Charitable Trust is a small grant-making charity that focuses its grant support on charities in the UK and overseas working in the areas of the welfare of children, particularly for the relief of need and education.

The charity was founded by the musician Mark Knopfler, of Dire Straits fame, in 1988. His wife, the actress and writer, Kitty Aldridge Knopfler, is also a trustee.

The Trust doesn't have a set minimum or maximum grant award levels. In the past, its grants have ranged from £100 to around £30,000.

As the Robyn Charitable does not maintain a website, the best source of background information is its Charity Commission entry

Applications may be made at any time in writing, addressed to: The Robyn Charitable Trust, 64 New Cavendish Street, London, W1G 8TB. Tel: 020 7467 6300

Youth Investment Fund Phase 2

Torridge District Council's Community Safety Partnership is encouraging eligible youth organisations to bid for funding from a national government fund.

The Youth Investment Fund (YIF) was set up to create, expand and improve local youth facilities and their services, to drive positive outcomes for young people, including improved mental and physical wellbeing, and skills for life and work.

The Government has already given a tranche of money in the first wave of the Youth Investment Fund (YIF); a scheme that was facilitated by Children in Need. In the second phase, the Government has identified specific areas in Torridge's district area that have the greatest need with the least provision for 11 to 18 year olds, these being Bideford East, Bideford West and Holsworthy. The second phase aims to level up youth provision, assessing and distributing grants so that local youth facilities and services are the best they can be.

The council has contacted several organisations it has identified as being potentially eligible to apply and is appealing for others who may not be aware of the scheme to come forward. Grants in the first phase were used to fund a wide variety of initiatives, including therapy rooms, sports gear, new toilets, a youth club, sensory rooms and the completion of a bike track.

The funding is for both revenue and capital and applications and can be made on the Government's website.

The council is unable to write any bids on behalf of any organisation, but any organisation who may have any questions or is interested in applying then please speak with Dean Smith our Community Safety & Public Health Lead Officer, on 01237 428810.

Friends of the Elderly - Grants for Older People

Friends of the Elderly provides grants to older people living on low incomes.  A professional on behalf of an older person in need must make the application.  Information on 'Finding a Referral Agent' to help complete an application can be found on the Friends of the Elderly website. 

Please note applications made by individuals will not be accepted.

Grants of up to £400 are made to older people who meet all of the following criteria:

• Resident in England and Wales.
• Of/over state pension age.
• Are living on low incomes with little savings.
• Do not fit the criteria for other funders.

Priority is being given to requests for essential items.

To request an application or to enquire about applying email the team on hello@fote.org.uk or call 0330 332 1110 to leave a message and a member of the team will call you back within 5 working days.

Sainsbury's Innovation Investments Programme

Sainsbury's Innovation Investments programme invests in early-stage companies commercialising innovative, sustainable technologies that look to reduce operational carbon emissions and water usage.

The technology areas are:

• Electricity - energy efficiency, on-site renewable technology, energy storage, energy management, transition to Electric Vehicles.
• Logistics - Operational efficiency, alternative fuels, delivery solutions, transition to Electric Vehicles.
• Heating and cooling - Clean transport refrigeration, low GWP refrigerants, small AC systems, zero emission fridges.
• Water and food waste - waste reduction, recycling, water harvesting, sensors, demand prediction.

Companies will also benefit from the investment experience of Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) with guidance on development, manufacturing and supply chain.

The programme seeks to invest at least £5 million over four years, with initial investments of up to £500,000, with potential to expand further.  It will lead or co-invest alongside other investors.

As part of the investment Sainsbury's will trial the new technologies within its own operations.

Expressions of Interest are welcome from businesses at any time.  Fill out a form online via the Williams Advanced Engineering website.

Sustainable Development Fund

The North Devon Coast, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) has a grant scheme for grants from £100 to £4,000.

The Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) is open to community groups, businesses, farmers or individuals to get a great, sustainable project off the ground.  Projects, which bring environmental, economic, social or educational benefits to the communities within the North Devon Coast AONB are particularly welcome to apply.

The SDF is funded by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and for the last ten years has enabled the AONB Partnership to support many projects which meet the primary purposes of the AONB: to 'conserve and enhance' the natural beauty of the landscape.

For the year 2022 to 2023, the grant scheme is open to projects meeting any of the 2019 to 2024 AONB Management Plan priorities.  To qualify for funding, projects are required to:

• Benefit the North Devon Coast AONB socially, environmentally or economically.
• Demonstrate strong community support or benefit.
• Involve

You can informally discuss a project idea by contacting Laura Carolan via email laura.carolan@devon.gov.uk or telephone 01392 388628.

The Application form and guidance on how to apply can be found on the North Devon Coast Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty website.

Aviva Community Fund

Aviva has launched the next round of its Community Fund. Aviva has teamed up with the fundraising platform Crowdfunder to offer funding of up to £50,000 to small charities, schools and community interest groups in the UK with innovative ideas that benefit their community. 

Every three months from January 2020 onwards, £250,000 will be split equally among Aviva's UK employees to donate to the projects that matter to them most. 

Aviva wants to support projects that boost the resilience of communities in the face of uncertainty and will be supporting projects in two key areas:

• Climate Action: Promoting healthy, thriving communities by preventing, preparing for and protecting against the impacts of climate change.
• Financial Wellbeing: Helping people to take control of their wellbeing by giving them the tools to be more financially resilient and independent.

To take part the project must also be raising funds to develop a new approach, product or technology, pilot a new scheme, implement a new initiative, or expand existing services to a new area or beneficiary group. All beneficiaries must be in the UK.

You can watch a video on how to apply on the Aviva Community fund website.

Once applications have been submitted, applicants will need to create a fundraising page on Crowdfunder that Aviva employees can browse and donate funds to.  Applicants can also showcase their projects to raise additional public donations.

John Ellerman Foundation

Environment: People and Planet Grant

We concentrate our Environment funding under two main headings:

1. Protecting the seas - safeguarding and restoring the marine environment, through more and effectively managed protected areas; ocean recovery; engaging coastal communities; reducing overfishing and tackling other harmful effects of human activity on the sea, such as pollution.
2. Creating richer, more sustainable places on land - building healthier ecosystems in urban or rural settings, through better management of these areas; experimenting with or linking together habitats; large-scale interventions that help restore places of special significance. We will also support work to reduce or prevent damaging effects of human activity, such as climate change, air pollution or pesticide use.

Open to organisations that do some of the following:

• Seek to improve the natural environment.
• Understand both the significance of habitats for human wellbeing, as well as the impact of people on nature.
• Look for sustainable solutions by ensuring that the livelihoods and economic needs of local communities are integrated into their thinking and strategy.
• Work collaboratively.
• Work in an evidence-based way.
• Tackle causes as well as symptoms.

Priority is given to organisations based in the UK and are a registered charity with and income between £100,000 and £10m.

Core funding has long been their signature but they are happy to make grants for programmes or projects.  These costs could include:

• Staff salaries, training and expenses.
• Day-to-day running costs and operations.
• Monitoring and evaluation.
• Communications and digital innovation.

To find out if you are eligible to apply and how to apply visit the John Ellerman website.

Universal Music UK - Sound Foundation

Funding is available for schools, music teachers and pupils in full time education which can be used for a variety of needs; from purchasing musical instruments and equipment to music training courses.

The funding streams are divided into the following categories:

• Individual awards
• School awards
• Teacher awards
• Bursary Colleges
• Decca Bursary

For full details of each fund please visit the website: UK Sound Foundation

Square One: North Devon Business Start-up Bursary

A new, fully-funded bursary for people who face barriers to starting a business has been launched across North Devon.

Square One is an initiative funded and run by coworking and small business experts, Town Square Spaces Ltd, which also operates the Node Cowork business hub, on Roundswell, where the support will be based.

The support package contains everything an individual needs to start and grow a business, including full-time desk space with high-speed internet access for three months, one-to-one business support, bi-weekly check-in and goal setting sessions, enrolment into the expert-led Startup Club programme and access to networking and special events.

To be eligible, individuals need to be either pre-start or within their first two years of trading, be within a short commute of Node in Barnstaple and they must feel they face a barrier to starting their business.  For further details visit the Devon County Council website

Architectural Heritage Fund - Transforming Places through Heritage

This programme supports projects that will contribute to the transformation of high streets and town centres in England helping them become thriving places, strengthening local communities and encouraging local economies to prosper.  It is part of a wider initiative to revive heritage high streets in England, alongside Historic England's High Streets Heritage Action Zones. Together, these programmes form part of the Future High Streets Fund, administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Our programme is for individual heritage buildings in, or transferring to, community ownership. We will support charities and social enterprises to develop projects with the potential to bring new life to high streets by creating alternative uses for redundant or underused historic buildings in town centres.

The AHF can provide grants to help with assessing the viability of a project, or to help fund development costs or to match funds raised through Crowdfunding and Community Shares.

Below you will find the dates for the opening of initial grant applications.

• Project Viability Grants: up to £15,000, for early viability and feasibility work, open now for applications.
• Project Development Grants: up to £100,000, for capital project development costs, open now for applications.
• Crowdfunding Challenge Grants:up to £25,000, to match fund crowdfunding campaigns, open now for applications.
• Community Shares Booster Grants

Full details of each fund, along with the links to the online applications can be found on the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) website.

Andor Charitable Trust

Grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 are available to registered charities based and working in the UK, particularly those that are involved in providing medical and ancillary services, education, helping the aged and disabled, relieving poverty and developing the arts.  The overarching objectives of the Andor Charitable Trust are to maintain, support or contribute to registered charities across the United Kingdom, including those engaged in:

• Developing the Arts
• Education
• Helping the aged and disabled
• Medical and ancillary services, and
• The relief of poverty

Grant awards tend to have no match-funding requirement. The average grant award is around £1,750.

Applications may be made at any time in writing, addressed to: David Rothenberg, Chair of Andor Charitable Trust, Blick Rothenberg LLP, 16 Great Queen Street, Covent Garden, London. WC2B 5AH. Tel 0207 544 8865 or email robin@blickrothenberg.com  

Anton Jurgens Charitable Trust

Grants are available to registered UK-based charities supporting socially disadvantaged and disabled people of all ages across the UK. 

When applying, please consider the following criteria:

• Only requests from UK registered charities will be considered.
• An application should not be made if the charity has received a grant from the AJCT within the past 3 years.
• The Trust does not give grants to charities supporting research, the promotion of religion, the arts and culture (unless these are engaged in the development of therapies).
• All charities that have applied online will automatically receive the outcome of their application after the Spring or Autumn meeting.
• In case your charity fails to be awarded a grant, you may submit another application for their next meeting.

Applications are assessed against the following investment criteria:

• Social entrepreneurship - the combination of financial and social added value
• Financial sustainability - the pursuit of a permanent positive impact.
• Personal initiative and personal commitment - to engender self-sufficiency and autonomy.
• Prevention - a structured approach to tackling social problems at an early stage
• Social involvement - the creation of inspiring examples
• Searching for meaning - creating awareness of the 'why' of our human actions and existence

Further information, guidance and an online application form can be found on the Trust's website: Anton Jurgens

RJ and AH Daniels Charitable Trust

Grants are available to registered charities for a wide range of charitable causes, particularly in the areas of: Children and young people, Health and wellbeing, Hospice care, and People with a disability. Awards are between £1,000 and £4,000 with an average grant of £3,000. There is no matched funding requirement.

Applications may be made at any time in writing. The Trust will consider all written requests, but only notifies successful applicants.

Contact details for the Trust, are Bradley Walden, RJ and AH Daniels Charitable Trust, 5th Floor, 8 St James's Square, London, SW1Y 4JU.  Tel: 020 320 77041
Email: bradley.walden@kleinworthambros.com

Morrisons Foundation

The Morrisons Foundation awards grant funding for charity projects which make a positive difference in local communities.

 From support groups to children's hospitals and homeless shelters to hospices, the grants aim to provide vital funding for good causes across England, Scotland and Wales.  They award grants for charity projects and match fund the money that Morrisons colleagues raise for their chosen charities. In the main, grants are available to fully fund projects up to £25,000.

For the full list of eligible costs, and to apply online, visit:  The Morrisons Foundation

ASDA Foundation Under-18s Better Start Grants

Grants of between £500 and £1,500 are available to local community organisations across the UK to support activities for children under 18 years old that will improve their lives and their community.

Grants are available across the following 4 themed areas:

1. Being Active
2. Celebrating and Bringing Children Together
3. Improving Wellbeing: activities to support a child's mental health and to encourage creativity.
4. Supporting Essentials: to ensure there is no hungry child and basic essentials are provided for.

Grants are available with no matched funding requirement. Eligible organisations may apply for one grant per year from the Foundation's U18's programme. Projects should start at least 6 weeks after an organisation's application is submitted to allow sufficient time for processing.

To apply, applicants should make contact with the Community Champion within their local ASDA superstore.

Applications must be submitted to the local Community Champion by Friday 15 April 2022 and activities must start or take place before Sunday 5 June 2022 (the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations weekend).

Further information about the U18's Grant Programme is available on the ASDA Foundation website.

Charles Hayward Foundation - Small Grants Fund (Older people)

Grants are available up to £7000 for charities with an annual income of less than £350,000.

This programme wishes to fund preventative and early intervention programmes being delivered at the community level which allow older people to stay in their own homes and remain independent. 

They are particularly interested in seeking out programmes which show some creativity in improving the quality of life of older people which:

• aim to alleviate isolation and depression in older people, including informal day care or social, physical and recreational activities
• give practical help, assistance and support for older people living in their own homes
• address the emotional and practical needs of older carers, or
• meet the specific needs of people with dementia

Applications will be considered every three months (March, June, September and December). Visit their website Charles Hayward Foundation for further information.

Pets at Home Foundation

The Pets at Home Foundation provided funding to organisations whose main activity is the rescue and rehoming of UK pets.

They provide grants from £150 upwards, which have, in the past, included covering vet bills, boarding fees, food, equipment, vehicles, building work, and trap and neuter schemes.

There are no deadlines; it is a rolling grant programme and applications are considered throughout the year.

To apply you need to request an application via their website: Pets At Home

Plant the Future - Woodland Creation

Put down roots. Create a lasting legacy that benefits you and future generations. You could get over £10,000 for every hectare of new woodland you plant in England. Tree planting offers opportunities to diversify, generate extra income, increase farm productivity, and enhance your land - while complementing food production.

Are you looking to diversify your business with new land uses? Why not create woodland on your marginal or unproductive land?

These grants can help you with the cost of planting and managing trees.  Whatever your plans, they can help you grow and manage trees in a way that meets your needs.

There are longer-term payments to help you maintain your new woodland too. In future, you could transfer to an environmental land management scheme. When you do, you won't need to repay the current funding. There's no need to delay planting trees.

You can apply at any time of the year.

Whatever your plans, Woodland Creation can help you plant and manage trees in a way that meets your needs.

Find out more about the England Woodland Creation Offer and how to apply.

Forestry Commission; The Woodland Creation Planning Grant 

The Forestry Commission is inviting applications from landowners, land managers and public bodies in England who are interested in planting new woodland.  The Woodland Creation Planning Grant offers funding of up to £30,000 to cover the costs of producing a woodland creation design plan for the application.

There are two application stages:

Stage 1 - identifying constraints and opportunities which may affect the proposed planting.  Funding of up to £1,000 is available to cover this stage;

Stage 2 - if there is potential for woodland creation to take place on the site, further support can be given for completion of the application form at £150/ha.  If specialist survey work is required at stage 2, such as archaeological survey, then supplementary payments may be available to cover these additional costs.

Applications can be made at anytime.

Football Stadia Improvement Fund

Funded by the Premier League, the Football Stadia Improvement Fund awards capital grants to EFL, National League, Women's Pyramid and Cymru Premier League down to the lower levels of the FA National League System.

These football grants are designed to improve stadium safety and enable clubs to satisfy The FA's ground grading requirements.  The role the FSIF plays is vitally important as without funding many clubs would have been unable to achieve the necessary criteria, preventing them from achieving promotions or even facing relegation for failure to comply.

From installing new floodlights, upgrading playing surfaces and developing all-seater stands, the goal of the project is to improve the matchday experience of players, officials and spectators.  Please check the eligibility guidance online to discover more about the types of funding your club can apply for.

Visit the Football Foundation website for more information.

Rhododendron Trust

The Rhododendron Trust supports charities working with those disadvantaged by disability or mental illness; prisoners and ex-offenders; drug addiction; homelessness; carers; the elderly; disadvantaged children. However proposals for small theatre and music projects, projects for the protection of cultural and natural heritage or environmental sustainability are accepted.

Grants should be applied for in writing (see Contacting the Trust). They are made once a year, generally in February or March, after a Trustees' meeting in January. Unsuccessful applicants are informed by email.

Grants are often repeated if a report is received indicating that the money has been well used. There is no need to communicate reports monthly; once or twice a year is ample. Reports should be sent to the Richmond address and not be duplicated to the Accountant's address in Manchester. The Grants Officer or Trustees like being invited to Open Days of charities supported, and try to attend.

Visit The Rhododendron Trust website for further information.

Ellie Souter Foundation

Following the tragic death of Team GB athlete Ellie Souter on her 18^th birthday, her family has committed to continue fundraising in Ellie's memory.

The purpose of the foundation is to identify and provide support for young people who have a demonstrable talent for winter sports and would otherwise be unable to maximise their potential due to lack of financial resources.

This would be achieved by providing grants for equipment, training, travel, competing and accommodation.

The grants will be restricted to those individuals who can demonstrate that their own family circumstances dictate that the opportunity to develop their talent would be denied to them, without this financial support.

Traditionally, winter sports are regarded as elitist pursuits, reserved for the wealthy. Therefore the pressures on young talented athletes from less privileged backgrounds are immense.

Coming from a family without the significant wealth required to reach her full potential, Ellie battled with the pressures of funding and performance. Ultimately they became too much for her and she took her own life in July 2018. The Ellie Soutter Foundation hopes to provide a safety net for inspiring talent, just like Ellie.

As much as possible, they seek to alleviate these pressures so athletes can focus on their performance without constant financial worry; hoping to promote social mobility by making winter sports more accessible to those athletes from less wealthy backgrounds.

The foundation seeks to assist young people in developing the skills they need to deal with pressure and stress and provide assistance to those for whom the challenges of performance may have caused or be causing mental health issues.

To apply for funding, or to perhaps make a donation, please visit The Ellie Soutter Foundation website.

Adamson Trust

The Adamson Trust give financial help towards the cost of holidays, or respite breaks, to families with disabled children aged between 3 and 17 with physical, mental or emotional impairments.

Individual families can apply and, in addition, they accept applications on behalf of groups of children, organisations and other registered charities.

The application form asks for some detailed information about the child, and also about the planned holiday. It is essential that this is provided.

In mid-2020 the Trustees reduced the number of meetings from four to three a year, reflecting the impact of the pandemic. However, many charities were able to resume running their clubs and outings in 2021 for the first time in 18 months, and the Trust has reverted to holding four meetings annually.

These are at the beginning of February, May, August and November.

Applications must be received by December 31 for the February meeting, by March 31 for the May meeting, by June 30 for the August meeting, and by September 30 for the November meeting.

The application forms are available to download from the website:  The Adamson Trust - Disabled Childrens' Holiday Charity

Steel Charitable Trust

The Trust makes discretionary grants where they believe that their contribution will make a real difference. Applications are welcome from eligible applicants from all areas of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The five funding categories are Arts & Heritage, Education, Environment, Health, and Social or Economic Disadvantage.

Applications will only be considered from Charities, including CIOs, registered in any part of the United Kingdom, Exempt Charities as defined in schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and their equivalent in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and municipally-funded museums not included in schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011

In all cases above, the applicant must have an annual turnover of over £50,000 (defined as 100% of charitable income plus proceeds from any trading income).

Applications made from 21 October 2021 until 20 October 2023, for the Health category, should have a focus on one of the following:

• programmes and activities that aim to support, maintain and improve mental health across all ages
• health care for older people

Applications made from 21 October 2021 until 20 October 2023, for the Social or Economic Disadvantage category, should have a focus on one of the following:

• disadvantaged children
• housing and homeless people

The minimum grant size is £10,000. Awards of more than £25,000 are rare. A follow-up report, the scale of which is commensurate with the size of the grant, is expected within 10 months of payment. Details will be provided to successful applicants.

There are no restrictions on the type of funding for which applicants may apply, and Trustees will consider contributions towards core costs and capital works as well as specific projects.

For further information, and to apply, visit The Steel Charitable Trust

Devonian Grants

The purpose of the Devonian grant scheme is to support community organisations or individuals located in Devon to alleviate mobility in relation to disability or ill-health.

Individuals may apply for funding of up to £1,000 towards the cost of equipment that significantly improves quality of life by alleviating or removing physical mobility limitations.

Organisations may apply for funding of up to £5,000 to help people overcome or relieve physical mobility limitations.  This may include equipment or specialised transport, such as accessible coaches or taxis.

Devonian grants are available throughout our grant-making year.

You can find out more about the Devonian Grants guidelines and how to apply online

Waterloo Foundation

Through their environment fund, the Waterloo Foundation wants to support projects which can help mitigate the damaging effects that humans are having on the environment and contribute to a positive change both now and in the future.

The fund has two main programmes:

Marine - support for projects working to halt declining fish stocks

Tropical Rainforests - support for projects protecting tropical rain forest, principally through avoided deforestation

If you would like to apply for funding, please read through all sections for the relevant programme on their website and make sure you are eligible to apply. Then read through the application guidelines before applying.

All details can be found at: The Waterloo Foundation - Environment

Lady Kingsmans

The Lady Kingsmans, a fundraising group in Plymouth, is looking for charities to support in Plymouth and Devon - especially those focused on helping women and girls. Potentially there will be pots of around £500 available.

Anyone interested should get in touch with them by emailing ladies@ladykingsmans.org

Co-op Foundation Carbon Innovation Fund

The Co-op Foundation launched a new fund on Monday 22 November 2021 to support food and farming projects that are tackling the climate crisis by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Funding between £75,000 and £100,000 is available to support work in the food and farming sector which reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.

The funding covers work in the following areas:

• Farming and food production practices
• Initiatives around regenerative agriculture/agro-ecology
• Community supported agriculture initiatives
• Supporting diversity, resilience and learning amongst key players in the food and farming sector
• Behaviour change (amongst consumers or producers)

Registered charities, social enterprises, voluntary and community organisations are eligible to apply.

More information and links to the Co-op Foundation's charitable purposes, funding timeline and online application form can be found via the Innovation fund Guidance page Innovation_Fund_Guidance.pdf (mcusercontent.com)

Hospital Saturday Fund

The Hospital Saturday Fund is a grant-making charity which donates to medically associated charities for care and research, and to some individuals with health problems throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and historically Malta.

For medically related charities, hospitals, hospices and medical clinics The Hospital Saturday Fund will consider giving grants towards medical capital projects, medical care or research and in support of medical training.  The Hospital Saturday Fund will also consider grants for running costs.

Individuals may apply and their website lists what will and won't be considered.

You can apply to the fund as well as read application guidelines on the Hospital Saturday Fund website

Maisie and Raphael Lewis Charitable Foundation

Funds are available to UK registered charities. The Foundation's objective is to advance resources exclusively for charitable purposes, mainly to support Old Age Home and Medical Charities. Other interests of the Foundation, as detailed in its Charity Commission entry, suggest the Foundation may also favour Jewish causes.

No application deadline is published, and interested parties are invited to contact the Foundation about the availability of grant support in the first instance.

Registered charities interested in applying to the Foundation are advised to write to enquire about the availability of grants to the following address: Barry Slavin and Jeffrey Zamet - Trustees, The Masie and Raphael Lewis Foundation, Arram Berlyn Gardner LLP, 30 City Road, London, EC1Y 2AB.

For further information please phone 020 7330 0000 or Email: jflefort@abggoup.co.uk (the Foundation does not maintain a website).

Tudor Trust

The Tudor Trust capital, project and core funding grants generally over £10,000 for up to 3 years for smaller UK community-led groups that support people at the margins of society in the UK, encouraging independence, inclusion and integration.

Applications may be made at any time and should be made online following the Trust's 2-stage application process:

• Stage 1: Applicants should create an account on the Trust's website, then complete a brief online form and upload their cover letter, answers to the 5 application questions and a copy of their latest annual accounts
• Stage 2: The Trust will invite successful Stage 1 applicants to proceed to a second stage.  This involves an in-depth conversation, via phone or Zoom with one of the Trust's grant managers.

UK charitable organisations with a constitution and a bank account, including registered charities, unincorporated associations, community interest companies, and community benefit societies can apply.  Organisations should be working directly with people in the UK who are on the edges of mainstream society and have limited access to resources and opportunities.  Applying organisations must have an annual income of less than £1 million.

Funding guidelines as well as how to apply can be found online

Elmgrant Trust

The Elmgrant Trust is a charity which makes grants for charitable purposes to individuals living in the south west of England (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset) and to organisations and groups with projects in the south west. By so doing it aims to improve the quality of local life and welfare through education, the arts and social sciences.

While the Elmgrant Trust assesses each application on its individual merits, they choose to prioritise geographically and certain types of work.

They consider applications:

• from the South West area of England, especially Devon and Cornwall
• projects which help to improve the quality of local life and welfare
• art projects which help to improve the quality of local life
• from individuals who are further educating themselves to improve their job prospects with a clear compassionate need.

They are happy to receive applications for core running costs or project costs of small established organisations who have a proven record of making a significant difference.

Average grants are in the region of £450, or around £150 for individuals.

The board of trustees meet three times a year, usually on the last Saturday of February, June and October. Applications need to be submitted one clear month prior to the meeting date. Please make sure that your application fits with the meeting timings as they do not give retrospective grants. Please email the secretary for the date of the next application deadline if in any doubt.

Applications must be made by letter. For full details of what is required in the application and the Trust's postal address visit the website www.elmgrant.org.uk. 

For further information, including confirmation of the closing dates, you may email info@elmgrant.org.uk or call 01803 863160.

Pebbles Grants

The Rank Foundation's 'Pebbles' grant fund, which has reopened again following a break during COVID, is directed at smaller UK charities and churches that may not be covered by the Rank Foundation's larger programmes.

Grants of between £250 and £4,000 are available for either:

• Capital costs - funding for fixed, one-time expenses incurred for building work, refurbishment and equipment, or
• Short breaks - funding for respite breaks or holidays for disadvantaged young people.

The total cost of the project should not exceed £150,000 and applicants must have an annual turnover of under £500,000. Applicants will be required to demonstrate that 33% of the total project cost has been sought and secured from other sources.

To apply, applicants should initially complete the online Eligibility Form. Eligible applicants can then complete the online application form.

Further information and guidance can be found on the Rank Foundation website.

Wooden Spoon - The Childrens' Charity of Rugby

If your project is in the UK or Ireland and shares our aim of making a positive impact on the lives of children and young people, it may be eligible for a Wooden Spoon grant.

While there is neither a minimum nor maximum grant level, it is unlikely projects of a physical nature under £5,000 in value will have sufficient substance and scale to qualify under the 'projected life span' criteria.

With the current situation, much of Wooden Spoon's fundraising has been put on hold and therefore the available funding for projects has been reduced. It is suggested that as a first step you complete their expression of interest form on their website for an initial assessment.

If you have discussed your grant with the team and are eligible please visit their website to apply: woodenspoon.org.uk

Once an application has been received it will be checked to ensure it meets the criteria. It will then be sent to the regional committee for approval. If the region agrees to support the project an inspector will undertake a site visit and report back to the Project Committee which meets monthly. Successful applications will go forward to the next quarterly Council meeting. The applicant will receive a formal grant letter, if the project is approved by Council.

If you have any queries please contact projects@woodenspoon.org.uk

Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme - Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

The Government is providing up to £210m worth of voucher funding as immediate help for people suffering from slow broadband speeds in rural areas.

Vouchers worth up to £1,500 for homes and £3,500 for businesses help to cover the costs of installing gigabit broadband to people's doorsteps.

The new UK Gigabit Voucher launched on Thursday 8th April 2021 and is only available through a supplier who is registered with the scheme. 

From 8th April you will be able to check whether your premises is eligible for a voucher, find a list of registered suppliers, and see those who are active in your area, using the website: gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk

Barratt Foundation

To mark the completion of their 500,000^th home, Barratt Homes has launched the Barratt Foundation, bringing together their charitable giving and long-term support for good causes and leading charities under one roof.

As the UK's largest house builder, Barratt want to lead the industry in the scope, scale, and impact of their charitable work. Last year they raised and donated more than £4m - but now want to go further.

In addition to the achieving their 500,000^th home milestone, with the pandemic both reducing funding for charities and making the work they do more important than ever, they feel this is the right moment to launch the Barratt Foundation.

It has a general purpose, but they will look to focus efforts on some key areas, including:

• Promoting social inclusion, particularly young people, the armed forces and the most disadvantaged and excluded in society.
• Helping the environment and nature, alongside our commitment to being the country's leading national sustainable housebuilder
• Promoting physical and mental health
• Education and opportunity

To mark the launch of the Barratt Foundation, they are donating £500,000 across 10 charities chosen by their employees. These charities are Macmillan Cancer Support, Dementia UK, CALM, The Wildlife Trust, Marie Curie, Re-engage, The Samaritans, Refuge, The Matt Hampson Foundation and The Care Workers' Charity.

If there is a local charity working in your area that you feel could benefit from their support, please direct them to the Foundation for more information and details on how to get in touch, or to make an application to the Barratt Foundation.

https://barrattfoundation.org.uk/ 

Small Grants Scheme - Foyle Foundation

This Small Grants Scheme is designed to support charities registered and operating in the United Kingdom, especially those working at grass roots and local community level, in any field, across a wide range of activities.

Online applications can be accepted from charities that have an annual turnover of less than £150,000 per annum. Larger or national charities will normally not be considered under this scheme. 

The focus will be to make one-year grants only to cover core costs or essential equipment, to enable ongoing service provision, homeworking, or delivery of online digital services to charities that can show financial stability.

The priority will be to support local charities still active in their communities which are currently delivering services to the young, vulnerable, elderly, disadvantaged or the general community either directly or through online support if possible.

Grants are available between £1000 and £10,000.

Small Grants Scheme - (foylefoundation.org.uk)

Devon County Council's Locality Budgets

Devon County Councillors each have a locality budget of £10,000 per year to enable them to respond to local needs in their divisions, supporting projects or activities that benefit the communities they represent.

Councillors can, if they wish, make grants to support projects or activities that benefit the communities they represent.

Locality budget funding adds value to projects that are beneficial to local communities, and help meet the Council's strategic objectives. Projects are diverse and reflect the needs of local communities. All projects should include some other financial contribution(s) and/or local support.

Any properly constituted not-for-private-profit voluntary or community group (including town and parish councils) can apply to their local county councillor for a grant from the locality budget fund.

Each councillor will normally make their own decision on which applications they wish to support, the only exception would be where the councillor may have a conflict of interest and the decision will have to be approved by an officer provided that the locality budget fund grant will be normally used within the financial period (April to March) of each year and is not used to benefit individuals or private businesses.

To discuss a locality budget fund application, you should contact your local County Councillor in the first instance. You can view a Map of Devon County wards of each of the Council's electoral divisions to help you to identify your local councillor.

If your county councillor wishes to support your application, you must complete Part A of the locality budget application form, and ensure that the reverse side of the form is completed (terms and conditions) and then send it to the councillor so that they can complete Part B.

Hargreaves Foundation

The Hargreaves Foundation is a grant-making charitable foundation set up in 2020 by Peter Hargreaves and his family.  Applications are open for organisations seeking funding to support those under the age of 18, and living with a mental health problem, physical disability or growing up in poverty through the mediums of sport and education.

The Foundation can fund clearly defined projects, initiatives or the purchase of specific items that support one or more of the following:

• Enables individuals to experience the mental and physical health benefits of participatory sport
• Ensures participatory sport is accessible
• Provides sporting or educational activities that foster life skills
• Aims to improve academic engagement and attainment
• Encourages the development of skills and personal attributes to aid future employability.

It is the intention of the Trustees to consider a targeted approach to funding and seek out opportunities which provide scope to 'materially change the life of an individual'.

To apply online visit: The Hargreaves Foundation

Loans for charities

The Charity Bank provides loans to small and large organisations where the loan is being used for a social purpose. Loans are provided to social enterprises and other community organisations that benefit people and communities for a variety of needs including property purchase or refurbishments, capital investments, asset purchases, working capital loans and underwriting facilities for fund-raising programmes.

Loans may be offered to not-for-profit organisations, parish councils, charities, community groups, voluntary groups, community buildings and social enterprises.

Visit their website Charity Loans For UK Charities or email them: enquiries@charitybank.org.uk 

Ulverscroft Foundation - supporting visually impaired people

The Ulverscroft Foundation is a UK based charity supporting visually impaired people. The Foundation supplies grants to organisations looking for help with projects relating to improving the quality of life of visually impaired people.

Funding is mainly given to organisations directly helping the visually impaired, such as libraries, schools, colleges and hospitals.

Any organisation applying is only able to submit one application every 18 months regardless of the outcome of the application.

The Foundation is keen to support specific projects and associated costs, with capital costs, core salaries and general running costs not supported.

Applications can be made in writing by downloading, completing and posting an application form or, alternatively, by using their online application form. They also accept email applications. Details of the information required, as well as contact details and where to send the application, can be found on their website: Ulverscroft Foundation

Nationwide Building Society - Community Grants

Charities, Community Land Trusts and housing co-operatives who are making positive changes in their local areas can apply for grants of between £10,000 and £50,000.

Projects will be favoured that:

• help charities get back on their feet after the impact of Covid-19
• illustrate a clear link to Nationwide's ambition for everyone to have a place fit to call home and can demonstrate the impact their project will have on the local community
• are supporting people in housing need, in original or creative ways. This includes both projects already delivering local impact and those carrying out research to find new ways to challenge the housing crisis
• have the potential to inspire and be used by others across the country
• have robust plans to measure and report on the difference the grant will make
• can demonstrate sustainability beyond the life of the grant, by building the skills of staff and volunteers, diversifying funding streams and providing long-term solutions for the people they are helping
• can evidence knowledge of local issues and have a network of local connections.

In 2021 they are capping the amount of Community Grant applications that will be accepted.

For more information visit Nationwide Grants (nationwidecommunitygrants.co.uk)

Flexible Plastic Fund

Businesses, retailers and recyclers are invited to access funding and support through the new Flexible Plastic Fund initiative. The scheme has been set up to incentivise the recycling of flexible plastics such as bags and wrappers.

The Flexible Plastic Fund is a cross-industry collaboration established in May 2021 by five founding partners: Mars, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever.

The aim is to create a circular system that incentivises the recycling of flexible plastics:

1. Businesses that own brands that use flexible plastic packaging invest in the fund to become partners of the Flexible Plastic Fund.
2. Participating retailers hold collection points within their stores where individuals can drop off their flexi-plastics for recycling.
3. The plastics are transported to approved recyclers to create new products.
4. These new products generate Packaging Recovery Notes which certify that the products have been recycled.
5. If the new products meet the requirements of the Flexible Plastics Fund then a payment is made to the partners in the fund.

The Fund has a pricing hierarchy where food-grade plastic film benefits from a higher price than non-packaging material. The aim is to recycle at least 80% of the plastics collected in the UK - rising to 100% by 2023.

https://flexibleplasticfund.org.uk/

E B M Charitable Trust

The aims of the E B M Charitable Trust are to support a wide variety of beneficiaries including charities involved in animal welfare and research, the relief of poverty and youth development.

A letter of introduction is recommended as unsolicited applications are not encouraged. Moreover, the Trust has stated that all its funds are committed. The Trust prefers to make donations to charities whose work they have researched and which is in accordance with its areas of interest. It tends not to support research projects as research is not a core priority but there are exceptions to this. Please note that the Trust receives a very high number of grant applications which are mostly unsuccessful.

However, if you have a charitable cause you believe the Trust will support, it may be worth submitting a letter or application as the Trust's grants can be substantial and provided over a number of years.

A letter of introduction may be submitted at any time, addressed to:

Lynne Webster, the E B M Charitable Trust, Moore Family Office Ltd, 42 Berkeley Square

Community News!

Having a declutter or clear out? Got any old tents which are past their best?

2 Minute Beach Clean take donated waste tents (they can be broken and un-useable) and they pass them on to friends at RootedOcean at Bude who work their magic to turn each tent into 10-15 new litter bags!

These tent bags are then used to restock the #2minuteClean stations around the UK. This gives those tents a second life and helps keep plastic and other waste out of the environment.

If you have a tent or two to donate please email jodie@2minute.org and she will give you details of where to drop off your tent!  (*in Bude).

Please note that they don't require the poles or any thick canvas pieces - just the main fabric.

Morrisons help to reduce period poverty

Please pass this information on to as many people as you can....

If you are in need, or struggling for sanitary products, go to a kiosk in any branch of Morrisons, and ask for a package that SANDY has left for you.

You will be given a FREE discreet bag with what you need, no questions asked.

Pens For Kids

In many countries, kids can only dream of an education, as parents cannot afford to send them to school. The main obstacles are often school fees, school uniforms, or that the children need to work to help support the family. In many countries education is free, but missing income, uniforms and cost of school utensils like pens are still big hurdles to overcome. In some countries the average income per family is a dollar or two a day, pens are big investments and quickly dry out under the relentless Equatorial sun. Many kids just wish they could be allowed to go to school.

By sending your new and used pens, this makes the dream a reality for many.

They welcome donations of pens, pencils and most other forms of stationery, old and new, as long as they're in working order.  Feel free to post anything you can spare to:

Pens for Kids UK, PO Box 864, Orpington, BR6 1JQ

If you would like to donate money instead, or find out more about their project, please visit their website: Pens for Kids or their Facebook page:  Pens for Kids UK - Facebook