Funding to Develop Educational Links with Other EU Regions (UK)

Through the Comenius Programme, schools and local education authorities have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to €45,000 to develop partnerships with other EU local and regional education authorities. The partnerships will give educational authorities, schools and other actors in education, the opportunity to work together on topics of mutual interest. These might concern for example:

  • The organisation of school education
  • Cooperation between schools and other local partners (e.g. providers of formal or non-formal learning),
  • Common problems in school education (e.g. new approaches in the organisation of schooling, disadvantaged pupils and early school leaving, teacher qualifications and competence).

To be eligible for funding, each partnership will need to consist of 2 partner regions, each of which must involve:

  • A local or regional authority with a role in school education
  • At least one school
  • At least one other relevant local partner (e.g. youth or sports clubs, parents’ and pupils’ associations, local teacher training institutes, other learning providers, further education institutions and local employers, community organisations, museums and advisory services).

The deadline for applications to the Comenius Region Programme will be the 21st February 2013.

Young Film Fund (UK)

First Light Movies, which provides grants to projects that enable young people to participate in all aspects of film productions has announced that two of its funding streams are currently open for applications. Funding is available through the Studio Awards which provide grants of up to £30,000 for the production of between two and four films of up to 10 minutes; and the Pilot Awards which provide grants of up to £5,000 for one short film of up to five minutes in duration. The funding is available to organisations such as:

  • Schools
  • Youth services
  • Community and voluntary groups that work with young people aged between 5 and 18.

Previous grants awarded included:

  • HartsidePrimary School, CountyDurham, which received a grant of £3,000 to help produce a five minute shadow puppet film using an original fairy tale devised, told and filmed by the children in Year 1.
  • BalfourJuniorSchool in Brighton, which received funding to make an environmental documentary ‘The Amazing Adventures of the Plastic Bag’.

The deadline for applications is 2pm on 18th October 2012.

Homelessness Transition Fund (England)

Homeless Link which represents organisations working with the homeless has announced that the next funding round through the Homelessness Transition Fund Main Grants Programme will re-open for applications in early September.

The Main Grants programmeaims to help protect and enhance essential services for single homeless people, especially those helping rough sleepers and support them in becoming sustainable. The Fund provides grants of up to £200,000 over two years to support the Government's ambition to end rough sleeping by rolling out the No Second Night Out standard and other innovations. Homeless Link also provide a Small Grants programme. Through the Small Grants Programme organisations can apply for grants of up to £25,000 to support their organisational development. The Small Grants programme is an ongoing programme with no fixed closing date. The Fund is open to voluntary organisations and social enterprises that deliver front-line homelessness services and are affected by reductions in public spending. Priority is given to organisations that spend more than 50% of their income on addressing single homelessness.

Funding to Enhance Community Facilities (England, Scotland and Wales)

Under the Sita Trust’s Enhancing Communities Programme Core Fund, grants of up to £60,000 are available to not for profit organisations, community groups, parish councils, local authorities and charities for projects that make physical improvements to community facilities and historic buildings / structures. SITA will accept applications from projects which are within 3 miles of qualifying SITA UK waste processing sites. Grants of up to £20,000 are also available through their Fast Track Fund for projects with an overall cost of no more than £40,000. Projects on school or pre-school sites where the facilities will primarily benefit the school are not eligible. However, an application may be considered from:

  • A school if it can be clearly demonstrated that the wider community has significant opportunities to use the facility
  • The facility is run by an organisation that is separate from the school (although the school may be represented)
  • Access to the facility for community use must be via an entrance that is separate from the school.

Previous projects supported through the programme include:

  • A £10,000 grant to Ashtead Cricket Club to resurface and restore the playing field of the former ParsonsMeadSchool to create a sports pitch that can be used for cricket and football.
  • A £10,000 grant to enable the replacement of existing electric radiant heaters with a modern combination condensing boiler at All Saint's Church Hall in Guildford.

The next closing date for applications is 10 am on the 19th October 2012 for the Fast Track Fund (formerly Small Grants Scheme) scheme and 5 pm on the 26th November 2012 for the Core Fund (formerly Large Grant Scheme).

Funding to Support Disadvantaged Young People (UK)

LandAid, the property industry’s charity which supports projects that help disadvantaged or homeless people (particularly young people) has announced that its grants programme is currently open for applications.

Applicants can apply for capital grants with a minimum of £20,000 and a maximum of £150,000 per annum. The capital project can be the refurbishment, conversion, extension or new build of facilities for disadvantaged young people (16-25 year olds). LandAid are looking for projects that through the provision or improvement of buildings or spaces within a building can support young people, such as, providing them with accommodation, independent living skills, educational or employment opportunities. The grants are available primarily for capital projects, but complimentary smaller amounts of grant are also available for revenue projects associated with the capital investment. Applicants must have a track record in delivering services that make a difference to disadvantaged young people.

The closing date for applications is the 1st October 2012.

Young Persons Volunteering Fund (England, Scotland and Wales)

The Sita Trust has announced the next funding round of its new Young Person's Volunteering Fund. Through this new fund, the SITA Trust can provide grants of up to £10,000 for volunteering projects owned by 14-25 year olds. This fund has been created to assist young people aged 14-25 to volunteer their time to create or enhance facilities that can be enjoyed by the wider community. SITA Trust can provide funding towards the resources required by young volunteers to transform a derelict piece of land into a community green space or give a local community centre a much needed 'make-over'. Funding can be sought to provide necessary equipment such as tools, paint, plants, fencing and materials. To be eligible applicants must be able to demonstrate that young people will be fully involved in the design and development of the project and projects must be compliant with the rules of the Landfill Communities Fund.

The next closing date for applications is 10am on the 15th October 2012.

Jeans for Genes (UK)

UK charity Jeans for Genes has announced that it is now accepting applications through its 2013 Grants programme.

Jeans for Genes raises funds for research into serious genetic disorders affecting thousands of children such as cystic fibrosis, haemophilia and sickle cell. Funds also provide laboratory equipment and facilities, as well as valuable advice and support for families.

Previous projects funded include:

  • Ataxia UK, who used funding from Jeans for Genes to fund the production of a booklet and film for teenagers, and a booklet for parents and carers of children with ataxia.
  • Herefordshire Learning Disability Trust, which used its grant to fund 17 places at a summer holiday club to benefit children with genetic conditions plus a further 13 places for able-bodied children.

The closing date for applications is the 30th September 2012.

Architectural Heritage Fund (UK)

The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), is a registered charity that promotes the conservation and regeneration of historic buildings in the UK. Grants and low interest loans are available to voluntary organisations and building preservation trusts (BPTs) to regenerate historic buildings. The aim is to create community and education facilities, workspace and homes. To be eligible to apply for financial assistance organisations must have a charitable status. Any charity with a qualifying project can apply for an options appraisal grant, or a loan, but any other AHF's grants are reserved for BPTs - charities established specially to preserve historic buildings. The project must also involve a change of ownership and/or a change of use.

Previously funded projects include:

Turning a run down historic buildings into; Community theatres; Resource centres; Community learning centres; Workspaces; Places to live; and Community meeting places, etc.

The next deadline for applications is the 24th October 2012.

Yapp Charitable Trust Grants (UK)

The Yapp Charitable Trust is an independent grant making trust that aims to make grants totalling £300,000 to about 100 small registered charities each year. Grants of up to £3,000 per year for up to three years are available to sustain the work of registered charities with a total annual expenditure of less than £40,000 that work with:

  • Elderly people
  • Children and young people aged 5 – 25
  • People with disabilities or mental health problems
  • Moral welfare – people trying to overcome life-limiting problems of a social, rather than medical, origin (such as addiction, relationship difficulties, abuse, offending)
  • Education and learning.

The Trust can only make grants for core funding which are associated with regular activities or services that have been ongoing for at least a year.

Previous projects supported include:

  • Barnsley Beacon Support Services which received a grant of £4,000 over 2 years towards running costs of this volunteer led charity offering support to parents and carers of drug and alcohol misusers.
  • The Bridge To Cross Charitable Trust which received a grant of £9,000 over 3 years towards the part-time salary of the Administrator at its drop-in youth provision in Abergavenny, Wales.

Applications can be submitted at any time.

Schools Partnership Programme (UK)

The British Council has announced that schools in the UK as well as sixth form and further education colleges wishing to develop partnerships with schools in the EU can apply for funding of up to €25,000 through the Comenius School Partnerships programme. The aim of the programme is to enable pupils, students and staff from across Europe to work together on joint projects. Funding is available to support and develop Bilateral Partnerships or Multilateral Partnerships between schools across Europe. Bilateral partnerships offer students aged over twelve years the opportunity to become actively involved in a joint project with a European partner institution and include a reciprocal exchange for students. Multilateral partnerships involve at least three schools or colleges from at least three European countries. Partnerships can focus on themes broadly linked to the pupils' curriculum and interests, and on questions of school management, teaching techniques and methodologies.

An example of a school that benefited from the scheme is:

DurhamTrinitySchool is a large special school catering for students between the ages of two and nineteen years, all with statements of educational need. DurhamTrinitySchool’s first Comenius partnership, the Compass Project, was based on comparing the lives of citizens in Finland, Portugal, Hungary and Durham. Their second partnership, the Rainbow Project, involved schools in Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Romania. The schools shared the diversity of their cultures and promoted the equality of European citizens, especially those with special educational needs.

The closing date for applications is the 21st February 2013.

Budweiser Club Futures (England)

The Football Association in association with Budweiser has announced a new scheme which will provide non-league clubs with the chance to bid for grants of £50,000. Those grants aim to help clubs to become more financially sustainable by improving their facilities. Projects that could be funded include everything from building conference facilities, improving any part of the clubhouse interior or exterior, and expanding the car park. The scheme, called Budweiser Club Futures, will give clubs from steps five, six and seven of the league pyramid the chance to apply for 16 individual grants of £50,000 over the next two years. Eight grants are up for grabs during the 2012-13 season, with a further eight to be awarded the following season. Of the eight clubs who are granted a £50,000 financial boost, one could then receive a further £100,000.

The Budweiser Club Futures grant applications will open shortly and will stay open until the 31st October 2012.

Traveller Pitch Funding (England)

The Homes and Communities Agency has announced that it is currently inviting applications for funding under its Traveller Pitch Funding programme.

A total of £12.1 million (a further £850k will be allocated to schemes in London by the Greater London Authority). Traveller Pitch Funding is available as part of theAffordable Homes Programme, to support local authorities, housing associations and other delivery partners to provide good quality public sites to help meet the need for accommodation for these communities. The programme will remain open to receive bids until April 2014 or until all funding is fully committed, whichever occurs first.

The first round of allocation decisions will be made in the autumn. In order to be eligible for consideration in the first round of allocations bidders should ensure they have submitted a full bid by 30 September 2012. Bidders are advised to contact theirlocal HCA area officeto discuss their proposals before applying for funding. This funding is for England outside of London only. Providers wishing to bid for funding to deliver traveller pitches in Greater London should contact theGreater London Authorityto discuss their proposals.

The Law Society Charity (UK)

The Law Society Charity, was set up in 1974 by the Law Society as a charitable fund. The Charity provides grants of between £5,000 and £15,000 to voluntary sector organisations for projects that:

  • Promote Human Rights
  • Access to Justice
  • Legal Education.

Organisations supported in the past include:

Youth Net which received funding towards the development of information to young people via alternative communication tools.

The Legal Action Group which received funding towards the development of LAG's monthly magazine Legal Action.

The NSPCC which received funding towards the 'Caring for Children in Court Appeal', part of the Young Witness Support Services.

Next deadline is the 2nd November 2012.

BritishAcademy - Small Research Grants (UK)

The BritishAcademy, the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences, has announced that its Small Research Grant scheme will re-open for applications on the 17th September 2012 with a closing date of the 7th November 2012.

Under the Small Research Grants programme grants of between £500 and £10,000 over two years are available to support primary research in the humanities and social sciences. Funds will be available to:

  • Facilitate initial project planning and development
  • To support the direct costs of research
  • To enable the advancement of research through workshops, or visits by or to partner scholars.

Funding for Financial Literacy Projects (UK)

The MSE Charity has announced that its grants programme will re-open for applications on the 1st September 2012.

The MSE Charity provides grants to both individuals and constituted community based groups (including schools) to help fight financial and consumer illiteracy and to educate and inform adults and children about consumer and debt issues. Under the programme, grants of up to £5,000 are available for group projects such as self-help groups, schools, workshops and other innovative schemes that seek to educate people about money, debt and consumer issues. Individuals over the age of 18 can apply for a grant of up to £500 to help pay towards a recognised and approved course that will help improve their ability to budget and manage their finances. The grant can be used to pay for financial education course fees and other associated expenses.

Groups that have been supported in the past include:

  • Helping Hands for Refugees
  • Torbay Advice Network
  • The HolyCatholicSchool
  • Asperger East Anglia.

The programme will close once 40 completed applications that meet the criteria have been submitted.

Hilton in the Community Foundation Grants (UK)

Organisations that work with young people have the opportunity to apply for grants through the Hilton Foundation. Organisations such as charities and other not for profits can apply for grants ranging from a few hundred pounds up to £30,000 per year for up to 2 years that meet one of the Foundation's chosen areas of focus. These are: