Published Friday 14 August 2020 at 11:45
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
Funding to Support Textile Recycling and Re-Use
Grants of between £20,000 and £170,000 are now available to commercial and not-for-profit organisations of any size to support clothing or linen waste textile recycling and re-use. The aim is to keep waste textiles out of landfill so that it remains a valuable resource.
WRAP is offering a total of £1.5 million in grants for projects that use innovative ideas, technologies and equipment, and that fit a range of criteria, including demonstrating “innovation beyond normal practice”. Projects also require match funding: 10% from not-for-profit and 50% from commercial organisations.
Funding is intended for capital expenditure only; either for equipment or technologies (excluding software apps) that enable recycling or re-use. Financing comes from Defra’s £18m Resource Action Fund, which supports resource efficiency projects across the board.
The next closing date for applications is the 24th August 2020.
Funding for Affordable Clean Energy Solutions
£20 million of UK aid funding is available to develop and demonstrate innovative solutions for low carbon, affordable and secure energy access in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or South East Asia. Solutions must be targeted at people, public services and local enterprises who are unable to afford or access existing provisions, or who lack the time or expertise to successfully use those provisions.
To be eligible projects must address:
- energy access needs of sub-Saharan Africa / South and South-East Asia
- all 3 areas of the ‘Energy trilemma’ – cost, emissions, and security of supply / energy access
- gender equality and social inclusion
The funding is being made available round 8 of the Innovate UK’s Energy Catalyst Competition.
The competition is also co-funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (Dfid). Up to £3 million will be prioritised for projects specifically for energy storage. Dfid is also particularly interested in supporting projects in the areas of:
- modern cooking
- sustainable cooling
- next generation solar
- efficient and productive appliances
- technologies and business models that help leave no-one behind
The closing date for applications is the 16th September 2020.
National Space Innovation Programme Launched
A new National Space Innovation Programme has launched, with an initial £15 million funding for projects related to Earth observation, communications and international partnerships.
The UK Space Agency is inviting proposals for high-risk, high-reward projects from industry, academia and research organisations to develop new technologies, products or services with the potential to grow the UK space sector, create high-skilled jobs and tackle global issues.
The first £10 million of this funding will support projects focusing on either:
- Earth observation technologies – half of the measurements needed to monitor climate change rely on satellites, so the development of more advanced instruments and data analysis techniques will support climate science and inform strategies to reduce emissions or protect local areas from impacts such as flooding, by identifying changes to the environment
- Communications projects – new technologies such as autonomous vehicles, AI and robotics rely on fast, reliable connectivity, and need to operate in remote areas that may be difficult or expensive to reach using ground-based signals or fibre. Satellite communications can fill in the gaps, and new projects could be funded to enhance how space and ground-based systems complement one another to ensure 100% coverage, support new technologies and increase resilience.
The remaining £5 million of this initial funding has been set aside for investing in international projects, which in turn will support closer working relationships with key space faring nations such as the US, Australia and Japan.
The deadline for applications is 12 noon on the 2nd September 2020.
The application form is available on the UK Space Agency website (link below)
The Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom has announced that a new £30 million fund to support independent cinemas will open for applications on the 10th August 2020.
The Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas in England, administered by the BFI for the Government, as part of the UK Government’s cultural recovery package providing support Britain’s world-class cultural, arts and heritage institutions. The Fund is intended for independent cinemas across England whose businesses have been unavoidably interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to be disrupted upon re-opening.
The Fund will have two components:
- One off Safety grants of up to £10,000 to help cinemas make their venues safe for staff and audiences.
- Business Sustainability grants of £30,000 – £200,000 to underpin ongoing organisational viability.
The closing date for applications is the 30th October 2020.
Arts Council England’s Culture Recovery Fund
Arts Council England has announced that it will open its new Culture Recovery Fund on the 10th August 2020. The fund will make grants of between £50,000 to £3 million to cultural organisations that were financially stable before Covid-19, but are now at imminent risk of failure.
This funding is available to:
Cultural organisations (both profit and not for profit) based in England that are properly constituted and are registered at Companies House and/or Charity Commission, and are able to produce at least one year’s full independently certified or audited financial statements.
Local Authorities, Universities and other Public Sector bodies who run or maintain cultural services can also apply.
For this programme, ‘cultural’ is defined as sitting within the remit of Arts Council England, however Library services are not eligible to apply.
The closing date for applications for round one is 12 midday on the 21st August 2020 and for round two 12 midday on the 4th September 2020.
Funding to Help Schools & Colleges Reduce Energy Usage
Individual academies, academy sixth forms, free schools and those in Multi-Academy Trusts will be able to apply for funding to install energy efficient technologies to lower energy bills and create a more comfortable learning environment.
Loans of up to £150,000 will be available from Salix’s Energy Efficiency Fund, in partnership with the Department for Education, to reduce energy usage. Each applicant may submit one application, which can consist of multiple projects, and must cost no more than £222 for every tone of carbon saved. The loan value must be repaid within an eight-year period. Projects exceeding this payback can be part funded.
The new round is planned to open after the 2020 Summer holidays. More details will follow shortly.
Funding for Projects that Bring Museum & Gallery Collections Closer to People
Museums and galleries in the UK can apply for funding for projects that bring art collections closer to people by demonstrating their significance, distinctiveness and power. Provided by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and administered by the Museums Association, the Collections Fund will award more than £3.75 million through two types of grants:
- Collections Innovation and Engagement Grants will award funding of up to £90,000 over two to three years. The deadline for expressions of interest is the 14th September 2020;
- and funding of up to £250,000 for up to five years will be awarded through Collections Strategy and Development Grants, however, organisations are advised to delay contacting the Association until September 2020 when suitable projects will be invited to submit expressions of interest in Spring 2021.
Please contact Sally Colvin or Sarah Briggs for advice on eligibility for the fund and help to develop applications:
Sally Colvin, Programmes Manager: sally@museumsassociation.org 020 7566 7851
Sarah Briggs, Collections Development Officer: sarah@museumsassociation.org 020 7566 7834
Funding opportunities between £25,000 and £100,000
Grants of up to £50,000 Available for Community Projects
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 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 want to support projects that boost the resilience of communities in the face of uncertainty and will be supporting projects in two key areas:
- Community resilience: tackling inequality and improving environments by building inclusive and resilient
- communities; or
- Financial capability and inclusion: promoting financially inclusive communities, where people can better manage their finances and avoid problem debt
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.
The next closing date to apply to the Aviva Community Fund is the 13th October 2020.
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.
GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards
The 2021 GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards, run in partnership with The King’s Fund, are now open to applications from community-based health and wellbeing charities. The awards are designed to recognise success and achievements for existing work by providing mentoring and funding.
To be eligible to apply, organisations must be at least three years old, working in a health-related field in the UK, with income between £80,000 and £2.5 million.
Judges will be looking for applications which provide evidence of:
- Innovation
- Management
- Partnership
- Achievement
- Community focus
- Targeting need
Up to ten winners will receive £30,000, with one overall winner receiving £40,000. Ten runners-up will receive £3,000. Award winners will also be offered high quality training and development valued at an average of £9,500, have a film made about their work and receive help with press and publicity.
The deadline for applications is 5pm on the 14th September 2020.
Funding opportunities under £25,000
Funding to Enable Disadvantaged Young People Reach their Potential
Registered charities (including Schools that are registered as charities for young people with disabilities) that work with disadvantaged children under the age of 25 can apply for funding of up to £10,000 through the Ironmongers Company’s grants programme.
Projects must meet all of the following criteria:
- For children and young people under the age of 25 who are disadvantaged
- Consist of educational activities that develop learning, motivation and skills
- Have clear aims and objectives to be met within a planned timescale
- Are within the UK
The Company is particularly interested in enabling primary age children to develop a strong foundation for the future. Projects could, for example:
- support special educational needs,
- address behavioural problems
- promote citizenship, parenting or life skills.
Preference will be given to projects piloting new approaches where the outcomes will be disseminated to a wider audience.
The next deadline for applications is the 15th December 2020.
Common Call Grants Programme
Grants of between £1,000 and £3,000 are available to UK based social organisations led by people that identify as Black or Mixed with Black that have a positive impact on deprived communities and are providing services to people that have been adversely affected by the COVID crisis in terms of physical health, mental health and/or financially.
The grants are specifically aimed at supporting Black-led social enterprises and charities so that they are able to survive and even thrive in the COVID period.
The funding aims help grantees:
- Get better informed about their options (moving to new methods of delivery) post-COVID19.
- Develop new enterprising activities and earned income strategies.
- Test the viability of specific propositions.
- Develop clear implementable action plans for such activity.
This is a flexible fund that can be spent on anything that will help organisations best deliver impact to their beneficiaries. The funding is being made available by Do it Now Now’s Common Call Covid Fund. Do it Now Now is an innovation organisation committed to bringing social empowerment to Black communities across the globe.
Funding for Local Projects to Support the Armed Forces Community
Grants of up to £20,000 are available for projects supporting Armed Forces communities to become less isolated and engage more in their local area and the needs that have arisen as a result of Covid-19.
To be eligible to apply, the applicant organisation must be:
- An established registered charity or Community Interest Company (CIC) with substantial recent experience of supporting Armed Forces communities;
- An Armed Forces unit or base;
- A local authority;
- A school.
The funding is being made available through the Armed Forces Covenant Fund’s Force for Change programme.
The Trust will fund a wide range of projects under this programme. However, applicants must be able to show that their project fits under one of these two main themes.
- Empowering Armed Forces communities to become more engaged in their local area.
- Providing opportunities for isolated members of the Armed Forces community to take part in activities that improve general wellbeing.
This year, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Trust will be particularly welcoming applications for projects that help Armed Forces communities move to the ‘new normal’ while continuing to support local needs and reduce isolation. There will be a particular focus on ensuring volunteers can carry out local projects.
There will be two funding rounds between now and noon on the 30th November 2020.
The first closing date will be noon on the 11th September 2020.
To be considered in Round 2, applications need to be submitted by noon on Monday the 30th November 2020.
Funding to Support Charitable Equine Welfare Organisations Affected by the Covid-19 Crisis
Grants of up to £5,000 are available to help small and medium-sized charitable equine welfare organisations which have experienced unprecedented financial and operational challenges as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
The Petplan Charitable Trust has joined together with World Horse Welfare and the National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC) to create a Covid-19 Equine Rescues Emergency Fund to help smaller equine welfare organisations whose primary focus is the rescue and rehoming of equines.
Priority will be given to NEWC members and those smaller organisations that have not received emergency funding from other emergency funds. The average grant is expected to be around £2,500-£3,000. The deadline for this round of applications is the16th October 2020.
Successful applicants notified by 23rd October 2020. Payment made by 30th October 2020.
Funding for Christian Projects Focusing on Improving Young Peoples Lives
Grants of up to £25,000 are now available to churches and Christian organisations to help them connect with children and young people and forge lasting links with families in their area. Support is available for projects that focus on improving the lives of young people (aged 0-18) and encouraging church growth as young people discover faith for themselves and begin to play an active part in church communities.
Examples of the types of items that can be funded include:
- Musical instruments for a junior choir;
- Soft play sessions for toddlers and;
- Transforming an under used room into a chill out zone for young people.
The funding has been made available by the Allchurches Trust under the Growing Lives programme. Applications are accepted at any time. Every application is reviewed by Trustees and a decision communicated within three to six months.
Some 21 projects received a share of £276,487 of funding in the first wave of Growing Lives grants to be awarded, and another 65 benefited from almost £650,000 funding in the second wave.
The Cruach Trust
The Cruach Trust, which is a small charity, which provides financial support of up to £1,500 for gardeners, retired gardeners and for preserving gardens throughout the United Kingdom has announced that the next deadline for applications is the 18th September 2020. The funding is available to registered or recognised charities, societies, trusts or other bodies. There is a preference for small local and national charities. Previous projects supported have included:
- Supporting a horticultural apprenticeship, arranged through the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
- Grants for gardens, wildlife and the natural environment.
- Grants for music, the arts and cultural charities.
- Grants for medical research and support.
- Grants for organisations working with children, the elderly and vulnerable.
The trustees also have discretion to make donations to a wide range of organisations in the UK and abroad, with charitable objectives of whatever nature.
Hellenic Society Hardship Grants
The Hellenic Society makes grants of various kinds to schools, universities and other institutions, undergraduates, graduate students and young researchers which are engaged in Hellenic Studies at all levels. In response to the coronavirus, the Society is temporarily offering small hardship grants to those who have been affected by the crisis.
Funding of up to £200 will be made to:
- those who have held a temporary post in a UK Higher Education Institutions in the last twelve months and whose employment has come to an end during 2020;
- self-funded Post Graduate Researchers, especially those in their third or fourth year;
- and self-funded MA/MPhil/MSt students.
The deadline for applications in this round is the 31st August 2020.
Applicants should email secretary@hellenicsociety.org.uk with the following details: a brief account of the personal circumstances necessitating the grant, the purpose for which the money is to be used, and the precise sum needed (not more than 300 words in total). They should also include the name of their previous line manager or thesis supervisor as appropriate and ask them to email the same address separately to confirm their personal circumstances in broad terms.
Please email Dr Fiona Haarer (Executive Secretary: secretary@hellenicsociety.org.uk) with any queries.
Funding Available to Support Local Good Causes
The Morrison’s Foundation awards grants of up to £25,000 to community projects that improve people’s lives.
Applicants must demonstrate how the project will deliver public benefit, who in the community will specifically benefit and how it will bring about positive change.
Grants may be applied for by any charity which is registered with the Charity Commission (England and Wales) or the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (Scotland) that have financial information dating back to 2012. Applicants must also have raised some funding towards the project elsewhere.
Projects supported have ranged from support groups to children’s hospitals and homeless shelters to hospices across England, Scotland and Wales. In 2018, a total of £9,717,536 was distributed to 807 organisations which included:
- Groundwork London received a grant of £11,578 to run a series of activities for people at risk of social isolation.
- Friends of East Preston School received a grant of £5,000 to replace their old and dilapidated outdoor trim trail.
- Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice received a grant of £20,000 to buy a new minibus and run activity trips for young patients.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis can be submitted at any time.
New £20 Million Fund to Support Small and Medium Sized Businesses
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has launched a new £20 million fund to help smaller businesses in England recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic Small and medium sized businesses will have access to grants of between £1,000 – £5,000 to help them access new technology and other equipment as well as professional, legal, financial or other advice to help them get back on track.
The support will be fully funded by the government from the England European Regional Development Fund and distributed through Growth Hubs, embedded in local areas across England.
To establish a viable grant programme, the Ministry has set a minimum of £250,000 for all LEP areas.
The Coalfields Food Insecurity Response Fund Opens for Applications
The Coalfields Regeneration Trust has joined forces with Company Shop to launch a new £100,000 fund to tackle food poverty within the top 30% most deprived former coalfield areas in England. The Coalfields Food Insecurity Response Fund will provide grants to food banks; food parcels schemes; and meal delivery services; etc to support families that are going hungry during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Projects can apply for up to £2,500 and if successful, will be granted a Company Shop membership to maximise their purchasing power. The discounts offered means for every £10 spent, a project will typically get £30 in goods (if they purchased these goods directly from the retailer). So, for a £2,500 award a project could receive goods up to the value of £7,500.
Priority will be given to organisations that are supporting the most vulnerable.
There is a rolling application process, with no application deadline. The programme will close when all of the funds have been allocated. Eligible organisations are advised to apply early to avoid disappointment.
Funding of up to £20,000 Available for Projects Working with Disadvantaged People and Communities
Small charities and not-for-profit organisations working with disadvantaged people and communities in Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Suffolk, East Sussex and West Sussex can apply for grants of between £500 and £20,000 to the Henry Smith Charity County Grants Scheme.
The funding available can cover running costs, salaries, projects and small capital projects or expenditure.
Projects can last between 1 and 3 years and to be eligible the applicant organisation need to have a turnover of up to £250,000 (up to £1million if activities are county-wide).
Applications can be submitted at any time. There are no deadlines.
Projects supported in the past include:
- Abbey Physic Community Garden in Kent received a grant of £15,000 towards three years’ salary of a Garden Manager at a project providing therapeutic horticultural activities for vulnerable people.
- Age Concern Farncombe received a grant of £10,000 towards one year’s running costs of a project in Surrey that helps ensure isolated older people can access a day centre.
- Mersey Park Primary School PTA received a grant of £2,000 towards a one-night trip to an activity centre for a group of children from the Borough of Wirral
Grants to Enable Disabled People to Play Tennis
The Dan Maskell Tennis Trust has announced that the next closing date for applications the 7th October 2020.
Individuals can apply for grants of up to £500 for support for sports wheelchairs, tennis rackets, coaching lessons with a Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) licensed coach or course fees for official LTA development/coaching courses. Groups can apply for a maximum of £1,500.
Groups can apply for: Wheelchairs; Court hire; Coaching fees; and equipment packages which will include:
- Rackets
- Balls
- Mini net
- Coaching aids such as cones and throw down marker lines.
In the case of wheelchairs, a deposit will be required; for individuals, the amount of deposit required will depend on the wheelchair type requested, clubs will need to raise a deposit of £200.
Funding to Help Disadvantaged Young People and Children
Charities in England and Wales can apply for Early Years Opportunities Grants through the Masonic Charitable Foundation. The Early Years Opportunities programme is open to charities that help disadvantaged children and young people (up to the age of 25 years) overcome the barriers they face to achieve the best possible start in life.
Grants can be offered to charities that provide:
- Mental and physical health support
- Learning and development, including language and communication skills, social and emotional etc.
- Parental support, including whole family approach
- Pastoral and advocacy support
The type of activities that could be funded include:
- Additional educational opportunities such as improving literacy and numeracy
- Individual interventions, i.e. parent education, home visiting or mentoring
- Encouraging healthy behaviours with regards to diet, activity and wellbeing
- Psychological interventions for domestic abuse and behavioural issues etc.
- Provision of vital adaptive technologies and equipment removing barriers
- Alternative methods or specialist therapies to help children and young people integrate into the mainstream education system.
The programme offers both small grants of up to £5,000 per year for up to 3 years to charities with an annual income of up to £500,000; and grants on average of between £20,000 and £60,000 to charities with an annual income of above £500,000 for projects lasting up to three years.
The small grants programme is now closed. The next deadline for stage 1 applications to the large grants programme is the 31st August 2020 at 4pm.