Published Wednesday 20 November 2019 at 14:43
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:
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
£10 Million Fund to Help Vulnerable People Claim Universal Credit
The Secretary of State has announced a new £10million Universal Credit Transition Fund. The fund will be available to organisations across the UK who are working to help vulnerable people, including the disabled, care leavers and those with mental health issues to claim Universal Credit as a route into work.
Current figures show that a fifth of claimant’s delay making a Universal Credit claim because they don’t know how to make a claim or think that they will find a job quickly. The fund aims to support innovative ideas that engage with vulnerable people early, helping them to make timely claims for the new benefit.
Applications will open in April 2020.
Funding Available to Expand Electric Car Charging Infrastructure
The UK Government is urging local authorities to take advantage of £5million of funding which is available to help build up local charging infrastructure and to increase access to chargepoints for drivers. Funding for electric vehicle chargepoints remains available through the following schemes:
- on-street residential chargepoint scheme (£5 million);
- workplace charging scheme (£500 per chargepoint socket and £10,000 per business);
- electric vehicle homecharge scheme (£500 per chargepoint socket).
Chargepoints are now being mapped and a league table of availability by council area aims to raise awareness. The government has also recently doubled the amount of funding available for councils to build chargepoints on residential streets.
Rural Businesses to Benefit from £35 Million Government Fund
A guaranteed £35million of funding has been made available to Rural businesses across the country to create new jobs, boost tourism and unlock growth in rural areas. This funding could be increased to £50million if enough high-quality applications are received.
The Growth programme has been funded by the Government and provides grants for rural start-ups and businesses to purchase state of the art equipment and machinery to grow their business or open up opportunities for tourism. The minimum grant available is £20,000 and an initial expression of interest form should be submitted to the Rural Payments Agency outlining how the application meets the criteria for the scheme – from creating new jobs, increasing business turnover and improving productivity.
The closing date for expressions of interest is the 16th February 2020.
CareerTech Challenge Fund
Grants of between £100,000 and £250,000 are available to UK registered companies and charities for innovative tech solutions that can help adults vulnerable to workforce changes to learn new skills and retrain. The innovative tech solutions funded will need to be delivered within the context of an existing (or adapted) online course of 15-50 hours that builds core skills such as communication, numeracy or digital skills.
To be eligible for funding, projects must be targeted to people who are most vulnerable to workforce changes. Target beneficiaries must be:
- Located in England;
- Working in roles most susceptible to change due to automation;
- Employed, self-employed or working part time in England;
- Aged 24-65 years old;
- Without a qualification at degree level;
- Earning below £35,000 per annum
In addition to the £250,000 grant funding made available through the CareerTech Challenge Fund, successful applicants will receive support to test their approach, design with target audiences in mind, refine their business model and connect with investors and potential buyers.
The closing date for applications is 2pm on the 9th December 2019.
Cure Parkinson’s Trust Grant
Commercial organisations, appropriately qualified scientists or clinicians based in an accredited university or hospital in any country worldwide can now apply for funding for laboratory or clinical research projects. Projects should have the potential to advance knowledge that might lead to a cure for Parkinson’s disease or that represent a substantial advance in treatment.
The Cure Parkinson’s Trust has a particular interest in projects that show the potential to delay, slow, stop reverse or prevent the progression of Parkinson’s disease. There are no specific limits to the amount of funding available but previous awards have been between £50,000 and £250,000 with a duration of 1-3 years.
Applications are considered four times a year, the next deadline for applications is the 12th December 2019.
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 Grants programme.
To be eligible to apply the total project cost must be less than £1 million, 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 January 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.
Funding for Research and Projects that Address Severe Learning Disabilities
The Baily Thomas Charitable Fund is a registered charity which was established to provide both research and project funding in the area of severe learning difficulties, including autism for both children and adults.
Grants are made to cover capital projects and core costs to include staff costs, general running and office costs at charitable organisations, schools and centres.
Projects funded include:
- Capital works for residential, nursing and respite care, and schools
- Employment schemes including woodwork, crafts, printing and horticulture
- Play schemes and play therapy schemes
- Day and social activities centres including building costs and running costs
- Support for families, including respite schemes
- Independent living schemes
- Support in the community schemes
- Snoezelen rooms.
Applications will only be considered from voluntary organisations which are registered charities or are associated with a registered charity. Schools and Parent Teacher Associations and Industrial & Provident Societies can also apply. Funding in the past has ranged in value from £250 to £150,000.
Applications for £10,000 and below are considered under the Small Grants procedure and can be submitted at any time.
Recent awards have been made to:
- Rose Road Association, £30,000 towards capital costs and funding of short breaks.
- Stepping Stones Play and Learn Group, £25,000 towards core costs of Play Group.
- Willow Tree Garden, £30,000 towards refurbishment and development of buildings connected with the woodworking workshops.
The next deadline for applications seeking funding in excess of £10,000 is the 1st January 2020.
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 2nd March 2020 for a decision in July 2020. Find out more
Grants of up to £35,000 available to widen access to hospice care
£450,000 of funding has been made available to adult and children’s hospices based in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man that are full members of Hospice UK. Grants of up to £35,000 each are available to support projects which seek to address inequality and widen access to hospice care.
The scope of projects should focus on one of the following:
- People experiencing homelessness (or who are vulnerably housed) , or
- People with learning disabilities.
Funding has been made available by the Masonic Charitable Foundation under the Hospice Grants – Widening Access programme.
Support is available for projects that run for up to 18 months and that work in collaboration with partners and the local community to develop support to address the needs of local people.
The closing date for applications is the 27th January 2020.
Health foundation announces new funding programme to improve health and address health inequalities
The Health Foundation has announced that it will be launching a funding programme in partnership with the Local Government Association for councils to work with others from their local area to improve health and address health inequalities.
The Shaping Places for Healthier Lives programme is due to launch in November 2019 and will provide grants of up to £100,000 per year for up to 3 years to take system-wide action on the wider determinants of mental and physical health.
The projects selected will demonstrate a coordinated approach to improving health and addressing health inequalities in local communities through creating conditions for better health
Up to five projects will be selected for funding.
The expression of interest stage will open on 20 November 2019 when the full programme prospectus will be released. Applications must be made through the Local Government Association. Please email sphl@local.gov.uk to be sent programme updates and the prospectus on the launch date, or visit the programme page on the Local Government Association website.
Homes in community hands: funding programme opens for applications
Power to Change is awarding grants of between £15,000 and £100,000 (the average will be around £50,000) through the “Homes in Community Hands Fund” to community led housing projects that will create schemes that deliver affordable homes for rent or sale to locally connected people. These can be either as new build housing or by refurbishing empty properties.
Small amounts of capital funding averaging around £25,000 are also available to applicants to sit alongside the main revenue grant.
The funding is focused on community groups in the early stages of their community-led housing development and is intended to support feasibility and pre-development work, leading up to submitting a planning application.
Grants awarded through the programme can be used for the following:
- Feasibility work to assess the viability of a site or buildings for development
- Pre-development costs to develop plans, leading to submitting a planning application (if required)
- Post-planning costs for work to get your project ready to start on site
Funds will be mostly focused in Leeds City Region, Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley City Region, West of England and West Midlands but will also be available to genuinely innovative community led housing projects anywhere in England.
Applications can be submitted at any time. All funding must be committed by December 2021.
Grants to support children’s health and education
The Foundation distributes a total of around £200,000 per quarter.
Grants of up to £30,000 are available per year for up to two years to registered charities for projects that improve education and health for young people in three key areas:
- Children and young people with disabilities
- Children and young people who are sick in hospital
- Children and young people who are life limited (requiring palliative care)
The Foundation is a small charity and generally will not make awards of over £30,000 (per year). Funding can be requested for one-off projects or for up to 2 years work.
Applications from schools and hospitals are welcomed as long as they are made through an appropriate registered charity.
If favoured, grant applications for up to £5,000 can be approved by the Director, up to £10,000 can be approved by the Grants Committee, and applications for more than £10,000 are recommended to the Trustees for final approval.
The next deadline to apply to the DM Thomas Foundation Central Grants Programme is the 5th February 2020.
Asda foundation grants for local community projects
The Asda Foundation is committed to developing stronger, better connected, sustainable communities across the UK. The Significant Local Community Projects programme allows colleagues to nominate initiatives which will make a real long-term difference, benefiting the wider community and transforming communities to improve lives locally.
Awards are typically made to projects where:
- The charity or good cause has developed a relationship with the local store or home office at a grassroots level
- The work will tackle the underlying problems in the local community
- Community needs and aspirations are evident in the development of the project
- The project benefits the wider community not just a single user group
- There is a need for this facility locally
- It will make a real long-term difference and will transform the community, improving the lives of those who live there
Grants awarded have previously ranged from £2,600 – £32,000 (in 2017) although no minimum or maximum amounts are published.
Projects funded include:
- Citizens Advice, Boston – £8,093.91 to set up a community computer access point where people can use their online facilities as some cannot afford a computer or have no IT skills.
- Light Project Peterborough – £19,380 to fund minibus to help move people from the streets into community living
Any charity/good cause wishing to apply should first approach their local store or home office to see if their project is something that the Community Champion would be willing to support. Applications can be submitted at any time.
Funding opportunities under £25,000
Funding to support leisure activities for people with physical disabilities
The Bruce Wake Charitable Trust will consider grant applications relating to the provision of leisure activities for people with physical disabilities. The Trust was established to encourage and assist the provision of leisure activities for the disabled.
The Trustees particularly favour applications where the potential beneficiaries meet one or all of the following criteria:
- The potential beneficiaries are physically disabled wheelchair users
- Improved access for wheelchair users is proposed
- A sporting or leisure activity involving disabled wheelchair users is proposed
One donation in any 12-month period may be made to charitable organisations.
In 2018, 209 grants were made totalling £608,054. Of these 42 were for over £5,000, these included:
- Charity Link Leicester – £34,000
- Revitalise Respite Holidays – £6,000
- The Wheelyboat Trust – £5,000
- WhizzKids – £5,000
All applications should be submitted together with appropriate financial information. Charitable organisations should include a copy of their latest financial statements.
Applications meeting the above criteria will be considered from charitable organisations.
Applications on behalf of individuals will only be accepted through a charitable organisation or equivalent recognised body.
Trustees meet quarterly to consider grant applications.
Funding for projects that promote a better understanding of the environment and countryside
UK based schools and not for profit organisations can apply for funding to the Nineveh Charitable Trust for a broad range of projects and activities that promote a better understanding of the environment and countryside, whilst facilitating improved access, education and research. Whilst the Trust does not specify a minimum or maximum grant amount that can be applied for, an analysis of previous grants would suggest a maximum of £5,000 per year for up to three years.
Previous projects supported include:
- Busby Primary School which received a grant of £2,000 to build a ‘vertical garden’ for environment enhancement as well as the children’s educational value;
- a grant of £1,400 to Bickleigh-On-Exe Primary School to create an all-weather school and community gardening area with poly-tunnel and shed;
- Castlemilk Day Nursery which received a grant of £5,000 to build a multi-function shelter with provision for special needs teaching; and
- St Joseph’s Specialist School & College, which received a grant of £4,000 towards a community garden expansion.
Applications are usually discussed at the Trustees’ quarterly meetings and applications can be submitted at any time.
Warburton’s community grants scheme
Charities and organisations with charitable aims can now apply for up to £250 worth of funding for projects that have a direct and tangible social impact on families and solve significant social issues. Funding is available for projects that meet the following themes:
- Health, Health Education
- Financial Stability
- Worklessness
- Aspiration
- Employability and Skills.
The Community Grant scheme is being made available by Warburton’s and is administered by the Charities Aid Foundation. Community investment funds are allocated to the local Warburton bakeries and depots. This helps to make the best decisions for the local community, the applicant’s postcode will be used to find the relevant bakery or depot. Application will then be sent to that site to make a decision.
The closing date for applications in this round is the 10th February 2020.
Funding for teaching internships
Grants are available for school-led partnerships to design and provide teaching internships targeted at science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate students.
The aim of the scheme is to let STEM undergraduates experience mathematics or physics teaching before they commit to it as a career.
Schools are invited to apply for funding to provide opportunities in summer 2020.
As part of the development of the programme, the Department for Education aims to improve the availability of internships across England. The DfE encourages applications to provide internships in geographic areas where there are gaps in provision, for example, the East of England and South West.
Applications from school partnerships covering wide geographical areas are also welcomed. To reduce duplication, schools in close proximity are encouraged to work together to submit an application with one lead school responsible for the administration and grant relationship with the DfE.
For the minimum cohort size of 10 interns, the grant funding would equate to £20,000.
The funding is for £500 per week for each student. Of this £500 per week:
- £300 will be used to cover the intern’s expenses
- £200 will go directly to the school to cover co-ordination costs and overheads
Funding is for the 2020 cohort only.
Funding available to encourage collaboration between community organisations
Not for profit organisations in England can apply for grants of over £10,000 for up to five years to the Big Lottery Funds £40 million Partnership Fund. The aim of the fund is to help local organisations develop a more strategic approach to improving their community by developing and growing new and existing partnerships with other organisations.
The funding can support many different types of partnership, including:
- cross-sector partnerships;
- local place-based collaboration;
- local and national organisations working together around a particular theme.
The grants can be used to fund project activities, operating costs, organisational development and capital costs. A total of £40 million is available this year.
The Big Lottery Fund will support ideas that meet one or more of their three funding priorities:
- Bring people together and build strong relationships in and across communities
- Improve the places and spaces that matter to communities
- Enable more people to fulfil their potential by working to address issues at the earliest possible stage.
Organisations eligible to apply include:
- Voluntary and community organisations
- Registered charities
- Social enterprises
- Groups of organisations, as long as they are led by a voluntary and community organisations or social enterprise
- Schools
- Statutory bodies (including town, parish or community councils)
- Community interest companies (with two or more directors).
The funding is being made available through the Big Lottery Fund’s Partnership Fund and applications can be submitted at any time.
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 15th April 2020.
Funding for community cohesion projects
The Allen Lane Foundation’s Social Cohesion Programme, provides funding to support local communities in breaking down barriers and reduce tensions between different groups of people, and help to build a more cohesive and inclusive community. The aim of the funding is to:
- Proactively work towards building better community cohesion and trust, and encouraging respect and understanding in the local area
- Proactively promote the inclusion of marginalised groups and individuals in the life of the local community
- Fund work which breaks down barriers and tensions in the local community thereby reducing feelings of division and “them and us”.
The Foundation is seeking applications from community-led grassroots groups and organisations which have a focus of work being at a very local/community level, which could be a housing estate or distinct community. The Foundation is particularly concerned about divisions in communities that occurred around the 2016 Referendum and subsequently.
Applications will be particularly encouraged from areas of high deprivation but not exclusively and the Foundation is keen to support communities in coming up with their own solutions to local issues of division. New initiatives, those that may have been tried before or are on-going, are considered as long as the work has lasting benefits for those people the projects are aimed at.
No minimum or maximum grant levels are published. In 2018, of the 153 grants awarded 112 were single grants with the remainder being for two or three years. The majority ranged from £750 to £15,000 with recipients including:
- Shelley Over 60’s Club – £4,000
- South Tyneside Prison Matters – £1,000
- Manchester Refuge Support network – £9,935
Potential applicants need to check their eligibility. Once this has been confirmed they will be directed to the application form.
Applications may be submitted at any time.
Grants to help new, innovative visual arts projects
The Trust offers grants to artists and for new, innovative visual arts projects. It aims to make it possible for artists and those presenting their work to undertake and complete projects when confronted by lack of funds.
The Trust supports projects that develop and improve the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the fine arts. Priority is given to artists and small organisations and galleries making or producing new work or exhibitions.
The Trust normally awards grants of up to £2,000, but larger grants of up to £5,000 may be considered.
The Elephant Trust has announced that the next deadline for applications is the 26th January 2020.