Published Thursday 4 June 2020 at 17:34
This insight outlines a range of funding opportunities open to the public sector, businesses, community groups etc. Regular funding opportunities are also available via the websites below:
National Lottery Grant for Heritage
Community groups can now access potential grant funding opportunities through the free Blackburn with Darwen Open4Community online search tool.
For all Blackburn with Darwen Council funding bids
Please check whether match funding is required, if it is please contact and inform your Finance colleague.
Funding opportunities greater than £100,000
Covid-19 Support Fund from the UK Insurance and Long-term Savings Industry
The UK insurance and long-term savings industry has launched a Covid-19 Support Fund to support vulnerable and disadvantaged people affected by the crisis.
The Fund aims to raise a total of £100 million, with £82.6 million already pledged in voluntary donations from firms across the sector.
The key aim is to provide immediate relief to charities affected by Covid-19, as well as a longer-term programme of support for people, communities, and issues where there is the greatest need, including:
- Community based charities that are under unprecedented strain
- Charities supporting the most vulnerable – in particular, families and children living in poverty and older people in isolation
- Initiatives to promote wellbeing and mental health across society
Of the donations pledged so far, £20 million is going to The National Emergencies Trust to help them continue their vital work supporting community-based charities on the frontline tackling the Coronavirus crisis.
The Fund is in partnership with the Charities Aid Foundation, and a network of partners, including the National Emergencies Trust.
Umbrella charity organisations will be used to distribute funding.
£5 Million funding from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust in Response to Coronavirus
In response to the coronavirus crisis, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust is making at least £5 million available in funding for its second phase of support.
The Trust has agreed that during May to December 2020 the funding should be used for a range of purposes:
- Stabilise: contribute to the ability of the organisations, communities and sectors they currently support to survive crises related to the challenges of Covid-19, so that you can continue to make a difference
- Sustain: contribute to the capacity of current grantees to adapt to the current context, by increasing their financial security, funding unforeseen costs related to adjusting existing programming or adding a new element to their work
- Challenge: contribute to the costs of new initiatives which seek to challenge or influence responses to and narratives about the crisis through the lenses of rights, peace, climate justice or accountability
- Envision: contribute to the costs of new initiatives which build support for systemic change in a post-Covid society, in line with our work themes and values.
New funding opportunities will include:
- emergency grants for current grantees who are facing immediate financial crisis. Criteria for applying these awards is available on request.
- 12-month grant extensions for current grantees with ongoing projects. Your Grants Officer will contact you in late May if you are eligible for a grant extension.
- grant increases to enable current grantees to meet costs associated with adapting activities in order to sustain work. Please contact your Grants Officer if you would like to request an increase of this sort.
- a Covid-19 Initiatives Fund will be launched over the summer which is open to grantees and non-grantees to support new initiatives which build support for systemic change. Full details will be published on the website.
Which opportunities can you access?
- If you are a current grantee, contact your Grants Officer
- If you are not currently a grantee, keep an eye on the website and Twitter account for information about the launch of new funding opportunities.
The Rank Foundation – Pebble Grants Programme
UK registered charities and recognised churches which are raising money for capital projects (building work, refurbishment or the purchase of long-term equipment) or a one-off short term activity (such as an annual respite break or holiday for disadvantaged young people) can apply for funding through the Rank Foundation – Pebble Small Grants programme.
To be eligible to apply the total project cost must be less than £150,000, the organisation must have an annual income of less than £500,000 and the organisation applying must already have raised a third of the total costs.
Applications can be submitted at any time and the Foundation is currently accepting applications for the November 2020 meeting of Trustees. Please note that the Foundation do not publish deadlines or maximum amounts as this is dependent on the number of applications received.
Organisations can only apply once every 12 months regardless of the outcome of their application.
Any applications received after early June 2020 will be seen in the November 2020 meeting.
£30 Million Competition to Deliver Innovations that Revolutionise the Way We Fly
UK Research and Innovation have launched a £30 million competition to develop systems and technology that support the use of new types of electric and/or autonomous air vehicles.
Bids are invited from aviation and non-aviation companies and organisations of all sizes for projects which will tackle the challenge of using these air vehicles practically and safely, such as building public confidence, developing new business models, and integration into existing airports, airspace, and rural and urban environments.
Vehicles could include:
- flying taxis
- drones delivering medical supplies
- small electric aircraft
- vertical take-off and landing vehicles
- autonomous aircraft – innovations that could help people and goods get around faster, reduce road congestion and reduce the carbon footprint of the aviation system
Organisations can bid for either:
or
The competition is the second phase of the Future Flight Challenge, part of UKRI’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
The deadline for applications is 12pm on the 1st July 2020.
£20 million Additional Funding to Encourage Businesses Developing New Technologies
The UK Government has announced that they are doubling investment in the Fast Start Competition to encourage innovative technology and research-focused businesses and start-ups to develop new ways of working and help build resilience in industries such as delivery services, food manufacturing, retail and transport, as well as support people at home in circumstances like those during the coronavirus outbreak.
Organisations must:
- be a UK registered business of any size
- carry out its project work in the UK
- intend to deliver the proposed outcomes for UK domestic or global benefit
The additional £20 million funding, which is managed by Innovate UK, comes from a £211 million government investment package to encourage businesses developing new technologies.
This brings the total amount available to £40 million and ensures investment into over 800 projects.
Projects must:
- have total eligible costs between £25,000 and £50,000
- be able to start by 1st June 2020 at the latest
- be no longer than 6 months in duration
Current project examples include a virtual-reality training/teaching platform to enable medical students to upskill remotely, and a new virtual farmers’ market.
Organisations can claim 100% of project costs which will be paid in advance of the project start date.
Solutions which tackle the new or emerging societal or industry needs in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, including but not exclusively:
- community support services
- couriers and delivery (rural and/or city based)
- education and culture
- entertainment (live entertainment, music, etc.)
- financial services
- food manufacture and processing
- healthcare
- hospitality
- personal protection equipment
- remote working
- retail
- social care
- sport and recreation
- transport
- wellbeing
£100 million Programme of Loans and Investment for Organisations Affected by the Coronavirus
Charities and, social enterprises in disadvantaged areas facing financial hardship and disruption to their trading due to the coronavirus will be able to apply for emergency funding from a £100 million programme of loans and investment.
The emergency package is made up of a £25 million Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund to provide emergency loans with no fees or interest for the first twelve months; £29 million for smaller, emergency loans to small businesses in more deprived areas; and up to a further £50 million over the coming months for existing and future investments as needed.
Applications to the Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund are expected to open in mid-April, with the first loans completed by the start of May.
Further details on the programme will be available shortly.
Funding opportunities between £25,000 and £100,000
Grants for Urgent Structural Repairs to Churches
National Churches Trust has changed its grant programmes in line with the new Building Resilience Strategy for 2019-2023 and now offers three grant streams.
The Cornerstone Grant Programme supports the conservation and sustainable use of church buildings, focusing on larger and more complex projects.
Grants are offered towards the cost of urgent structural repair projects costed at more than £100,000 including VAT. The Trust will also consider projects that introduce kitchens and accessible toilets to enable increased community use, costed at more than £30,000 including VAT.
Grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 are awarded to represent a maximum of 50% of the project cost.
Applications are accepted from listed and unlisted Christian places of worship, of any denomination, across the UK. The Trust particularly encourages applications from priority areas i.e. North East England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The next deadline to apply for a Cornerstone Grant is 6th July 2020 for a decision in November 2020.
£50 Million Emergency Funding to Support the Heritage Sector during the Coronavirus Crisis
In response to the coronavirus, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has created a £50 million Heritage Emergency Fund as part of a support package to help safeguard heritage sites and organisations. Grants of between £3,000 and £50,000 are available to not-for-profit organisations to ensure stability and longer-term recovery by covering unavoidable, essential costs that cannot be met for up to four months.
To be eligible, organisations must be a current or previous recipient of a grant from the Heritage Fund, and be an owner, manager or representative of heritage, or have delivered participatory heritage activity.
Funding will be prioritised to organisations which have limited or no alternative access to other sources of support.
The deadline for applications is the 30th June 2020.
Funding opportunities under £25,000
Funding for Projects that Support the Armed Forces Communities
Grants of up to £10,000 are available for projects that support people from the Armed Forces communities who are isolated as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding which is being made available through the Armed Forces Covenant Trust’s Forces Communities Together programme is looking to support projects that are enjoyable and engaging; and encourage social interaction between people from Armed Forces communities.
It is important that the projects supported should be able to take place while restrictions relating to the pandemic are ongoing.
To be eligible to apply, the applicant must be a UK-based organisation that is:
- a registered charity or Community Interest Company (CIC) and able to show that they have three or more unrelated Trustees/directors
- a school
- an Armed Forces unit or base.
The funding is available for six-month projects beginning no later than mid-October 2020.
The closing date for applications is noon on the 30th June 2020.
Grants for Small Organisations Making Good Use of Volunteers
The Woodward Charitable Trust primarily funds charitable organisations (charities, social enterprises and community interest companies) in the UK and can make grants for overseas projects usually via UK charities. Priority is given to projects that make good use of volunteers, encourage past and current users to participate, ensure that funds awarded are being well used and fall within the following areas:
- Arts outreach work by local groups involving disadvantaged people;
- Children and young people who are isolated, at risk of exclusion or involved in anti-social behaviour and in particular organisations that work to discourage individuals getting involved in gangs or violent behaviour;
- Disability projects, which can include rehabilitation and training for people who are either physically or learning disabled as well as charities supporting mental health issues, particularly where it relates to our other priority areas;
- Disadvantaged women and their children, covering refuges and domestic violence shelters and groups;
- Disadvantaged families including parenting support;
- Prisoners and ex-offenders and specifically projects that help the rehabilitation and resettlement of prisoners and/or ex-offenders as well as requests to help prisoners’ families;
- Projects that promote integration and community cohesion particularly amongst minority groups, refugees and traveler communities.
Three types of grant are awarded following bi-annual meetings in March and October:
- Small grants (under £3,000)
- Large grants (over £3,000) – these are usually given to charities known by the Trustees
- Please note that the Trust do not fund unsolicited applications from charities whose annual income exceeds £200,000 or an organisation that has more than six months running costs in its unrestricted reserves. Most grants made are for one-off projects although some grants fund salaries and running costs.
Previous grants awarded include:
- Futures Theatre Company, £1,000 for a touring production across schools in London to engage young people to challenge issues relating to peer pressure and coercion
- Training and Learning Company, £2,000 to establish a multi ethnic lunch club for disadvantaged BME people in Dorset
- Henry Dancer Days, £500 for a story telling project to distract children undergoing cancer treatment in Durham.
To apply for funding applicants will be required to complete an application form and submit it with a project budget.
The deadline for receipt of applications for the February meeting is noon on the 31st July 2020.
Equipment Grants for Youth Clubs
Variety, the Children’s Charity, has grants of £250 to £600 available to youth organisations that are affiliated to either Ambition, UK Youth or the or National Association of Boys and Girls Clubs. The grants can be used to buy equipment to provide challenging activities that engage young people aged 8-18 and provide them with alternatives to becoming involved in the anti-social behaviour that often stems from boredom and peer pressure.
On occasion, applications for improvement of youth club premises, refurbishment of existing equipment or facilities will also be considered.
Applicants have to raise some of the funds and applications that have young people involved in the fund raising will be looked upon favourably.
There are no deadlines when applying and applications can be made at any time.
Please be aware that due to the Covid-19 crisis the funding process is likely to be delayed.
Grants for Tree Planting
Schools and Community groups within the UK can apply for grants of between £300 and £1,500 to get communities and young people up to the age of 21 involved in tree and hedge planting and care during National Tree Week – 28 November to 6 December 2020.
The funding is being made available through the Tree Council’s Branching Out Fund. Applications will be considered as they are received and applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application within four weeks.
In addition, free tree packs are available for schools supported by the Tree Angel Orchards Fund. Schools can register to hear when applications open.
Funding to Support Arts Projects
The Trust offers grants of up to £5,000 in support of the Arts, in particular Music, including:
- Opera
- Lieder
- Composition
- Dance.
The Trustees aim to help individuals and groups such as:
- Colleges
- Arts Festivals
- Other arts organisations who would not be able to carry out a project or activity without financial support.
Funding is available towards:
- Tuition or coaching costs
- To participate in external competitions
- To be supported for a specially arranged performance
- To receive support for a special publication, musical composition or work of art.
The Fidelio Trust has announced that the next closing date for applications is the 25th September 2020.
Coronavirus Community Support Fund Opens for Applications
The Government’s new £200 million Coronavirus Community Support Fund has opened for applications. The fund is part of the Government’s £750m financial support package for charities and social enterprises announced by Government.
The fund which is being administered through the National Lottery Community Fund has two key objectives.
- To increase community support to vulnerable people affected by the COVID-19 crisis;
- To reduce temporary closures of essential charities and social enterprises, ensuring services for vulnerable people impacted by COVID-19 have the financial resources to operate, and so reduce the burden on public services.
Priority will be given to:
- Organisations supporting people and communities who experience disproportionate challenge and difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
- Organisations providing services and support for vulnerable people, for which there will be increased demand as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
- Organisations which connect communities and support communities to work together to respond to COVID-19.
Charities and not for profit organisations will be able to apply for grants of between £300 and £10,000 or for grants above £10,000. Decisions on funding will be made within weeks. Applications can be submitted at any time.
Emergency Funding to Help Young Refugees and Asylum Seekers Affected by the Coronavirus
In response to the coronavirus, Hope for the Young have launched a Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund to support vulnerable young refugees or asylum seekers up to 30 years of age who are in need of immediate financial support.
Grants of up to £250 will be available for up to twelve weeks and will be allocated on a case by case basis to help relieve social isolation and financial hardship. Funding is available to help with costs such as purchasing food, medication and toiletries, and essential utilities.
The fund is open to external applications, however, in the first instance, priority will be given to young people receiving support from the Hope for the Young who meet the fund criteria. Hope for the Young aims to respond to all applications within one week of receipt to discuss the application further.
Applications can be submitted at any time.
For further details about the Emergency Relief Fund please contact the Grants and Advocacy Coordinator Pamela: Email: Pamela@hopefortheyoung.org.uk Telephone: 07448 155126.
Grants for Small Museums for Conservation and Management
The Collections Care Grant Scheme (formally known as the Preventive Conservation Scheme) is managed by the Association of Independent Museums (AIM), supported by funding from the Pilgrim Trust and run in association with the AIM Remedial Conservation Grant Scheme and the AIM ICON Pilgrim Trust Collections Care Audit Scheme. AIM is looking for projects that enable a step-change in the quality of collections care that a museum can provide in the knowledge that better collections care supports museums long-term sustainability.
Grants awarded may be used for:
- Environmental surveys
- Obtaining professional advice to compile conservation and implementation strategies
- Environmental monitoring and control equipment
- Ultraviolet filters
- Integrated pest management
- Display cases and picture framing (where this is required for conservation reasons)
- Storage containers and packing materials
- Development of emergency plans
- Improvements to museum stores, especially to increase their capacity
- Equipment or other support for digitalisation projects where this aids conservation
- Training for volunteers or staff
- Collections audits and collection management plans
The maximum grant is £10,000 with the average grant expected to be around £5,000. Grants of less than £1,500 are paid in full on award; others receive 50% on award, 50% on completion and receipt of the conservator’s report.
Applications should show how the proposed project fits with the Collections Care priorities of the museum as assessed through a collection care audit, collections management plan or other similar document. If the museum does not already have such an assessment, they are advised to consider applying for an AIM Collections Care Audit as a first stage.
Eligible applicants will be AIM members; registered or accredited museum, or be confident of achieving accreditation within two years; a registered Charity, an associated charity can receive the grant on the museum’s behalf, if the museum itself is not a charity; have fewer than 50,000 visitors p.a. or a turnover of less than £300,000 p.a.
The next closing date for applications is the 30th September 2020.
Funding to Support Grassroots Organisations during the Coronavirus
In response to the coronavirus, The Alpkit Foundation are prioritising funding to support projects that demonstrate an immediate impact on those affected by the crisis.
Grants are available to grassroots organisations serving those affected by the outbreak. Funding can provide support for activities which might include
- helping vulnerable and elderly people who are self-isolating,
- supporting the homeless,
- providing access to food, medicines or social care,
- supporting foodbanks,
- increasing the number of meals on wheels deliveries,
- bringing exercise indoors.
Applications can be made at any time and will be checked on a daily basis.
Leeds Building Society Charitable Foundation Grant
UK registered charities working to help those at disadvantage in society can apply to the Leeds Building Society Charitable Foundation for support. Grants of between £250 – £1,000 are available to cover the costs involved directly supporting those in need including those with disabilities, affected by homelessness, or with serious health issues.
Previous grants have gone to organisations supporting young people in applying for jobs and towards the purchase of a portable multi-sensory environment that will turn any room into a sensory room.
Donations usually fund items of “capital expenditure” i.e. items must directly help those in need, rather than contributing to the charity’s running costs.
The Foundation accepts applications from UK registered charities with a turnover of less than £1 million per year.
Applications are reviewed every quarter. The next deadline for applications is the 3rd August 2020.
Projects previously funded include:
- SASH, an organisation that provides guidance on creating CVs and applying for jobs to aid homeless 16 to 25-year olds, received £985.
- Byker Community Association received £500 to buy new books and build an interactive story hub designed by the children of Byker themselves.
Funding for Ideas that Address the Impacts of Covid-19
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are inviting proposals from UK businesses for research projects and related data collection of up to eighteen months to address the health, social, economic and environmental impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.
UKRI will support excellent proposals up to 18 months duration which meet at least one of the following:
- new research or innovation with a clear impact pathway that has the potential (within the period of the grant) to deliver a significant contribution to the understanding of, and response to, the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts.
- supports the manufacture and/or wide scale adoption of an intervention with significant potential
- gathers critical data and resources quickly for future research use
Funding is for new research projects. In addition, researchers holding existing UKRI standard grants can apply to re-purpose their existing funding to address the objectives of this call.
If a grant is awarded, funding at 80% of the full economic cost will be provided. Proposals can be submitted at any time and will be assessed on a rolling basis.
Grants for Churches for the Conservation of Decorative Features and Monuments
The Fund accepts applications from churches, chapels and other places of worship built before 1896 for grants of between £500 and £3,000 to carry out small programmes of conservation work to decorative features and monuments. All work funded must be directed by a professional architect or established conservator and completed according to the principles of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB).
Eligible work could include (but is not limited to):
- Stained glass windows
- Sculpture
- Furniture
- Internal monuments
- Tombs
- Wall paintings.
Previous awards have been made to:
- St Mary’s Church, Cerne Abbas for the conservation of wall paintings (£1,000).
- Holy Trinity Church, St Austell to restore a monument to Joseph Sawle (£750).
- The Lye and Wollescote Chapels, Dudley for the repair of a weathervane (£1,600).
The next closing date for applications to the William and Jane Morris Fund is the 31st August 2020.
Funding to Support Pet Rescue Organisations Affected by the Coronavirus
Pet rescue organisations can apply for funding to help support rescues throughout the short- and medium-term impact of the coronavirus. Through the Support Adoption for Pets Grant Programme, charities and not-for-profit organisations which rescue and rehome pets or provide temporary support to ensure pets can remain with their owners can apply for funding of up to £10,000 or up to 30% of total annual expenditure, whichever is the lower amount.
Funding must have a direct impact on animal welfare and can be used to cover vet bills, boarding costs, food, salaries of animal care staff, utilities and consumables. Priority will be given to organisations whose medium-term survival is at risk.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Funding to Promote Public Engagement and Teaching of MicroBiology
The Microbiology Society has announced that grants of up to £1000 are available for a variety of educational outreach activities to promote public engagement with microbiology. Funding is available to support relevant science teaching or promotion initiatives, or to support developments likely to lead to an improvement in the teaching of any aspect of microbiology.
Full, Full Concessionary or Postgraduate Student Members of the Microbiology Society who reside in the UK or Republic of Ireland can apply under the Microbiology Society Education and Outreach Grants Programme.
Funding is available for talks, workshops, demonstrations, posters, leaflets, broadcasts, activities at science festivals and audio-visual or computer-based packages. Applications relevant to the teaching of any aspect of microbiology in primary, secondary or tertiary (including postgraduate) education will be considered.
There are two funding rounds each year, the next closing date for applications is the 1st October 2020.