New Funding Opportunities

Wolfson Foundation – Health and Disability Grants Programme (UK)

The Wolfson Foundation has announced that the next closing date for stage 1 applications to its Health and Disability Grants Programme is the 1st July 2016.

Through the programme, the Wolfson Foundation, makes grants of between £15,000 - £100,000 to charities for work that is focused on enhancing care, providing better opportunities and improving quality of life. The Foundation has awarded over £35 million to more than 200 different organisations over the last ten years. The Foundation's funding in this area is focussed on three themes:

  • Palliative Care and Hospices
  • Older People
  • Transitions and Independence.

Grants are awarded towards: New buildings, refurbishments and equipment, with the aim of increased access to services for new and existing users

  • Improved quality and range of services
  • Improved financial stability of the organisation.

Skipton Building Society – 2016 Grassroots Giving Programme (England, Scotland & Wales)

To celebrate its 163rd birthday, the Skipton Building Society will launch its Grantsroots Giving programme for 2016 on the 3rd May.

Through the programme 163 community and voluntary groups around the country can win award of £500 to help them with their community work. The idea behind our Grassroots Giving campaign is to help community organisations, or groups, who only have access to limited funding from elsewhere. The programme is also able to fund projects within schools but this needs to be addition to its statutory services.

For example, last year's winners included the creation of a frog garden at St Anthony's School in Kent and the Friends of Luttons School (FOLS) who received funding to improve the outdoor learning areas within the school. The closing date for applications will be 29th July 2016. Following the application closing date, a shortlist of organisations will be compiled and listed on the Grassroots Giving website. The public will then be free to vote for their favourite organisation.

Funding for Community Amenities (England & Scotland)

The next application deadline for funding from the Sita Trust is the 25th July 2016.

The SITA Trust provides funds to not-for-profit organisations to improve amenities that is available for leisure and recreation use by the general public. This could include:

  • Community cafes
  • Theatres
  • Play areas
  • Skate parks
  • Youth centres; etc.

Through the Landfill Communities Fund the Sita Trust can offer grants of up to £20,000 through its Smaller Projects Fund and grants of up to £50,000 through its Primary Fund. To be eligible the applicants needs to be a not - for profit organisations located within three miles of a qualifying SITA UK waste processing location (known as a SITA Trust funding zone) you may be eligible to apply to SITA Trust. N.B. due to the rural nature of the Aberdeenshire funding zone this zone has a 10-mile radius.

To see if your project is located within a funding zone, please click here.

Lloyds Bank Foundation Announces Next Funding Round (England & Wales)

The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, which provides funding to charities for projects to help people break their cycle of disadvantage, has announced that its grants programmes re-opened for applications.

The Foundations operates two funding programmes. These are: "Invest" which is a flexible, long term core funding programme for charities helping disadvantaged people. Grants are up to £25,000 per year for between 2 and 6 years; and "Enable" which is a smaller and shorter grants programme for charities that have identified clear development needs. This funding aims to help the organisations deliver their mission more effectively. Enable grants are up to a total £15,000 for up to two years. The funding is available to registered charities and charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) with an income of between £25,000 and £1 million. To be eligible, organisations are expected to be working with people 17 years or older, experiencing multiple disadvantage at one of the critical points in their life. The only exceptions are young people who are under 17 years of age and young parents or looked after children and disabled young people moving into independent living.

The next application deadline for the Invest programme is 5pm on the27th May 2016. Applications to the Enable programme can now be submitted at any time.

Community Business Fund Opens for Applications (England)

Power to Change, which supports community businesses, has announced that its £10 million Community Business Fund has opened for applications.

Businesses are defined as being accountable to their local community and that the profits they generate flow back into the community to deliver positive local impact. Power to Change will be awarding grants between £50,000- £300,000 to support and develop Community Businesses in England. Funding is available to Community Businesses that address one or more of the following aims:

  • Reduce social isolation
  • Improve health and wellbeing
  • Increase employability
  • Create better access to basic services
  • Improve local environment
  • Enable greater community cohesion
  • Foster greater community pride and empowerment.

Funding is available for both capital and revenue costs.

The closing date for applications is the 1st June 2016.

Ragdoll Foundation Open Grants Scheme (UK)

The Ragdoll Foundation's Open Grant scheme supports not for profit organisations working with children and young people using the arts and creative media.

Grants of up to £50k are available but the majority of grants awarded are likely to be in the region of £5k to £30k and cover between 25% and 80% of total costs. Organisations can apply for both one-off short-term projects and for projects lasting up to three years. Preference will be given to those projects which have a deep commitment to listening to children and allow the perceptions and feelings of children themselves to be better understood. The Foundations is mainly interested in applications that involve children during their early years, but appropriate projects for older children (up to 18 years) will also be considered. Whilst the Foundation will fund work in and around London, they will prioritise projects taking place elsewhere in the UK.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Funding to Support Family Based Projects (UK)

The Kelly Family Charitable Trust is open to applications from registered charities for projects that support and encourage the family to work as a cohesive unit in tackling problems that face one or more of its members.

The overall objective is to reinforce the potential benefit and support that family members as a unit can give to each other. The fund also welcomes applications from sports and health-related charities whose activities comply with the above criteria. Grants are of between £1,000 and £5,000, but higher grants may be considered.

Projects supported in the past include:

"Mosac", a voluntary organisation that supports all non-abusing parents and carers whose children have been sexually abused. It provides advocacy, information and advice, befriending, counselling, play therapy and support groups following alleged child sexual abuse. A grant was awarded to help fund the salary of the Co-ordinator.

"Circle", a charity that aims to promote the social inclusion of families with children marginalised by poverty and discrimination. It provides family support services to some of Scotland's most vulnerable children and their families. This includes families with children in need or at risk as a result of parental drug and alcohol use and/or imprisonment; families with children at risk of school exclusion; children at risk of removal from care of birth parents.

The next closing date for applications is the 1st September 2016.

Help the Homeless (UK)

Help the Homeless, a national Charity which aims to help homeless people throughout the United Kingdom to resume a normal life, is currently accepting applications from small and medium sized charities and voluntary organisations (those with a turnover of under £1m per annum).

Grants of up to £5,000 are available towards capital costs to support projects that assist disadvantaged individuals in their return to mainstream society, through residential or training facilities. Grants to larger charities may be considered if the project is suitable innovative and only possible for a larger organisation to develop it.

Previous projects supported include:

Furniture Plus in Fife, a charity based ReUse and Recycling Social Enterprise for Furniture Household and Electrical items, which received a grant of £2,000 towards the construction of a new workshop for training.

A grant of £3,000 to the Amber Foundation to enable the Foundation to buy new bedroom furniture for their residential centre in Devon, where every year over 60 unemployed, homeless young people are able to rebuild their lives and gain the motivation, confidence, self-esteem and skills for independent living.

The next application deadline is the 15th June 2016.

Lord Taverners Minibuses Grant Programme (UK)

The Lords Taverners, the UK's leading youth cricket and disability sports charity, has re-opened its Minibuses grants programme.

Applications will be accepted from schools/ organisations that cater for young people under the age of 25 who have a physical/ sensory/ learning disability. Please note that the Lords Taverners are unable to support schools that cater for socially disadvantaged children, or mainstream schools for children with behavioural problems. Last year the Lords Taverners, delivered 32 specially-adapted, wheelchair-accessible minibuses to schools, clubs and youth organisations across the UK. These vehicles give young people with disabilities access to new places and experiences. Lord's Taverners minibuses are based on the current Ford Transit model, with a diesel engine. The average cost to the charity of an accessible minibus is £52,500.

The closing date for applications is the 29th July 2016.

Community Radio Fund Opens for Applications (UK)

Telecom's Regulator Ofcom, has announced that the Community Radio Fund 2016 - 2017 has opened for applications.

Funding is available to not-for-profit radio stations that have a social purpose, and work to involve their target community in running the service. Funding will be available to Community Radio Stations towards their core running costs. These can include:

  • Management costs
  • Administration, financial management & reporting costs
  • Fundraising to support the station
  • Community outreach work
  • The costs involved in using volunteers; etc.

There was no upper limit of grant that can be applied for, however applicants are asked to take note of previous grants awarded for an indication of realistic award figures. Grants can only be made to community radio licensees which are broadcasting under a community radio license (and not an RSL, for example). The average grant awarded over the last few years has been in the region if £15,000.

The closing date for applications will be 5pm on the 26th May 2016.

Call for Proposals - Intra-EU Job Mobility Scheme for Unemployed Over 35s (UK)

The EU has issued a call for proposals under the Social Affairs programme for projects that help place EU citizens aged over 35 in jobs, traineeships or apprenticeships in an EU country other than their country of residence.

The actions will be targeted to citizens who are in a vulnerable situation in the labour market, notably unemployed people, including long-term unemployed. Projects should:

  • Deliver a comprehensive, tailor-made package of mobility services combined with direct financial support to citizens and employers (in particular SME's)
  • Include recruitment services, information and assistance with offers and vacancies. A total of €3 million is available and the grants awarded will be between €500,000 and €700,000 and 4-6 projects are expected to be funded.

To be eligible, actions must have the involvement of a minimum of four organisations established in at least four different Member States where the applicant organisations are established.

The deadline for submitting proposals is 1st July 2016.

People's Postcode Trust Small Grants Programme (South of England, Scotland and Wales)

The People's Postcode Trust has announced that its Small Grants Programme has re-opened for applications.

Since 2009, People's Postcode Trust has awarded over £11 million to more than 1600 projects across Great Britain. Through its Small Grants Programme, the Trust offers grants of between £500 and £20,000 (£10,000 in Wales) to small organisations and community groups for projects lasting up to 1 year (for organisations in Wales 6 months. Projects must be for the advancement of community development. Applicants that are not formally registered as a charity with OSCR / Charity Commission can apply for up to £2,000 in funding.

Previous projects supported:

A grant of £20,000 to Sandwell Women's Aid for a project to supporting adult and child victims of domestic and sexual abuse and violence - with a range of services to help them cope with trauma and rebuild their lives; and Home-Start Doncaster which received a grant of £2,871 to provide a series of financial support and literacy classes to help families living in poverty.

The closing date for applications is the 31st May 2016.

Postcode Community Trust Grants Programme (England Scotland, and Wales)

The Postcode Community Trust's Community Grants Programme has re-opened for applications.

The Postcode Community Trust supports marginalised groups in obtaining the skills & resources to effect change in their own communities. Some groups may not be able to participate fully in activities within their community because of isolation, disability or age. The fund aims to help them overcome these barriers in creative and sustainable communities by improving social cohesion, economic infrastructure and provide or improve community-based facilities. Grants of up to £20,000 (£10,000 in Wales) to registered charities for projects that advance community development and promote social inclusion. Constituted not for profit organisations that are not registered as charities can apply for grants of up to £2,000.

The type of activities that could be funded include:

  • Exercise programmes for older people
  • Special programmes for disabled children and their families
  • Programmes that provide respite/additional care for parents of disabled children
  • Sporting projects that involve disabled people
  • The purchase of mini-buses to enable disabled or the elderly to take part more fully in community activities; etc.

The closing date for applications is the 31st May 2016.

Funding to Support Disadvantaged Young People (UK)

The Weavers' Company, a textile-related, charitable and sociable organisation, has announced that the next closing date for its grants programme is the 1st August 2016.

The Weaver's Company Benevolent Fund supports projects working with disadvantaged young people (aged 5 to 30 years) to ensure that they are given every possible chance to meet their full potential and to participate fully in society. The Fund also aims to help young people at risk of criminal involvement to stay out of trouble and assist in the rehabilitation of offenders, particularly young offenders both in prison and after release. Grants are usually no more than £15,000 per annum, and to make sure grants of this size have an impact, we will not fund large organisations. To be eligible for funding, local organisations such as those working in a village, estate or small town should normally have an income of less than £100,000. Those working across the UK should normally have an income of not more than £250,000.

New Daphne Call for Projects to Respond to Violence Against Women and Children (UK)

The European Commission has issued a new call for proposals under the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme.

It has €3m funding to provide Action grants to support transnational projects that support and protect women and children victims of violence and to bring about more frequent reporting of such violence. In particular, the priorities of this call for proposals cover two strands. These are:

  • To encourage victims and witnesses to report violence against women and/or children to the relevant authorities and institutions
  • And /or to develop and implement multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary cooperation (at national, regional or local level) that enables relevant professionals to effectively collaborate to prevent and respond to violence against women and/or children.

The funding is available to not-for profit organisation for both trans-national and national projects. The deadline for submitting proposals is 1st June 2016.