Published Thursday 22 August 2019 at 12:03
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
£10 Million Available to Work on Highly Innovative, Late Stage Projects (UK)
Micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can apply for a share of £10 million in loans to support cutting-edge innovations become successful commercial realities. Loans can be between £100,000 and £1 million.
The funding should be used to develop new products and services, or highly innovative uses of existing ones. Projects must show:
- A clear game-changing idea
- How the idea can lead to innovative products, processes or services significantly ahead of the current field
- Practical financial plans
Applications can come from any technology and in any part of the economy, as long as they are sufficiently disruptive. Projects must focus on commercialisation, growth or scale-up, and priority will be given for projects likely to lead to growth in productivity. Previous successful applicants of Innovation Loans include:
- Callaly, a new feminine hygiene care product manufactured entirely in the UK which has had further success following their loan
- Ashwood Electric Motors, creating smaller, lighter and more efficient permanent magnet electric motors
- The Electrospinning Company, making clinical-grade biomaterials
The funding is being made available through Innovation UK and applicants need to register for the funding by the 11th September 2019.
£2 Million Support Fund Opens for Applications for Schools with Armed Forces Children (UK)
State funded schools that cater for pupils of military service families can apply for a share of £2 million. The funding is available to help meet the need of pupils that are subject to exceptional mobility as a result of the family moving from one location to another resulting in a change of school for the child and/or have Service children whose parents are subject to deployment such as on operational tours, long exercises, training courses etc.
Applications can be accepted from:
- Maintained Schools;
- Academies; Free Schools;
- Sixth Form colleges;
- Groups of schools as described above (referred to as ‘Cluster bids’ and are strongly encouraged)
- Local authorities on behalf of the publicly funded schools in their area.
The funding is being made available through the Ministry of Defense Education Support Fund for Schools with Service Children and the closing date for applications is the 30th September 2019.
Funding of £2.4 Million Available to Farmers to Improve the Environment (England)
Groups of farmers and landowners can apply for a share of £2.4 million to deliver large-scale environment improvement in their area over the next three years. Improvements could include natural flood prevention, enhancing wildlife habitats or planting more trees.
To apply, groups must submit plans showing how they will work together and share knowledge to protect and enhance their local environment, in line with their local Countryside Stewardship priorities. The funding is being made available through the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Countryside Facilitation Fund.
The closing date for applications is the 4th October 2019.
Funding to Help Community Businesses Become Sustainable (England)
From the 11th September 2019, Community Businesses in England will be able to apply for grants of up to £300,000 to make their business more sustainable.
Grants will be available towards capital costs including building, vehicles, equipment of significant value, refurbishment costs as well as project-specific revenue costs like staff costs, professional fees, volunteer costs. The funding is being made available through the Power to Change Trust’s Community Business Fund. Previous grants have been awarded to a wide range of businesses including: community libraries, bakeries, pubs, farms, hubs, transport, energy schemes, art centres and construction organisations.
The fund closes on 9 October 2019 at 12 noon.
Funding opportunities between £25,000 and £100,000
Funding for Rural Community and Education Projects (UK)
The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust, which supports charities in the UK working in agriculture, rural development and insurance has announced that the next closing date for applications is the 1st November 2019. Trustees are particularly interested in funding larger initiatives, which would have a significant impact on the rural community. The Trustees are particularly interested in initiatives in the areas of education of young people in rural areas and relief of poverty within rural areas.
Grants of between £1,000 and £50,000 are available. In 2016, the Trust made donations totaling £256,500 to a total of 15 organsiations.
Projects supported in the past include:
Farms for City Children, which aims to expand the horizons of children from towns and cities by offering them a week in the countryside living together in one of their farms and the Royal Highland Education Trust which aims to create an opportunity for each child in Scotland to experience the countryside and to facilitate a wider understanding of the environmental, economic and social realities of rural Scotland. Its key activities include farm visits, classroom speaker visits and a number of high-profile national competition.
The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust also provides small grants of up to £250 through the NFU Mutual’s Community Giving Fund which supports worthwhile community events, charities, schools and community group activities that are local to their operations.
Funding for Music Making Projects for Young People in Challenging Circumstances (England)
Schools as well as other not-for-profit organisations can apply for grants to fund developmental music-making projects for children and young people in challenging circumstances as well as for projects that support the development of the workforce, organisations and the wider music making sector. The funding is being made available through Youth Music, England’s largest children’s music charity, which provides funding for music-making projects.
Youth Making’s funding programme is made up of three separate funds. These are:
- Fund A which offers small grants (£2,000 to £30,000) for high quality music-making projects;
- Fund B offers medium-sized grants (30,001 – £150,000 per year for up to two years) for larger programmes of work;
In applying for funding schools will have to justify how the activities to be funded do not duplicate Department of Education funding.
The closing dates for applications to Fund A is 5pm on the 6th December 2019 and Fund B 5pm on the 8th November 2019.
Funding Available to Support Armed Forces Families (UK)
A new £7.5 million funding programme has been launched to support Armed forces families. The focus of the programme is on supporting the families rather than serving personnel or veterans. The funding will be available for projects that focus on one of the following:
- Young people from armed forces families;
- Families and carers of veterans
- Serving families.
The funding is being made available through the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust’s Removing Barriers to Family Life programme. Medium Strand grants of between £30,000 and £100,000 to support existing or new projects that meet a clear need for Armed Forces Families.
The closing date for medium strand grants is the 12th September 2019.
Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund (UK)
Museums, galleries and partnerships from across the UK can apply for grants of between £20,000-£120,000 to support projects that can demonstrate the significance, distinctiveness and power of collections to people and deliver social impact for people and communities. Projects can last up to three years.
To be considered, applications must both:
- work with an existing collection or collections to improve understanding of them and increase their use; and
- through that collections work, involve, inspire and have value for people, communities and audiences.
Applications are assessed for:
- the potential of the collection to inspire and interest their audiences, and the coherence of their plans to enhance its understanding and use
- the approach to engage and involve local communities, communities of interest, or other audiences in the collection, and the sense of how this will enhance the lives of those taking part
- the beneficial impact on the applicant organisation and individuals within it, and, where appropriate, how the project benefits partner museums, the wider museum sector, or partners from other sectors
- the project’s feasibility and value for money
- the longer-term legacy of the work and the strength of the applicant’s plans to make it sustainable.
The funding is being made available through the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund and the deadline for applications is 5pm on the 11th September 2019.
Hospice Funding to Support People Living with Progressive Lung Disease (UK)
Adult and children’s Hospices that are members of Hospice UK can apply to a new grants programme to support people living with progressive lung disease.
The Breathe Easy programme provides grants of up to £40,000 to support projects running over a period of 18 months. The grants will enable hospices to initiate or build on a hospice enabled approach to lung health. The total available funding in this grant round is £500,000 and it is anticipated that between twelve and fifteen grants in this round.
The grants will enable hospices to initiate or build on a hospice enabled approach to lung health. This can be through a number of ways:
- Putting into practice the recommendations or findings from an organisational or local scoping exercise
- Piloting a new project based on a robust needs assessment
- Introduction of an intervention or tool
- Adapting existing activities where, through the investment of additional resources, greater impact can be achieved through adoption of new roles and approaches.
- Responding to national policy or research evidence.
Examples of potential projects could include; the funding of a post, service model, intervention or education programme. To underpin the programme aims, the Foundation are looking to support projects such as:
- Advance Care Planning – documenting a person’s care wishes
- COPD clinics/drop-in sessions – breathlessness management groups
- Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy – to help people live more comfortably and independently
- Counselling and emotional support – for patients and family carers / informal carers
- Specific programmes to increase the evidence of non-pharmacological interventions – training and teaching of healthcare staff to offer these
- Creative use of virtual consultation to support independence in preferred place of care.
The closing date for applications is 5pm on the 1st October 2019.
Grants of up to £100,000 Available for Community Facilities (England)
Registered Charities, churches, Parish Councils, Local Authorities and CASC registered sports clubs can apply for grants of between £2,000 and £100,000 for the provision, maintenance or improvement of community facilities.
This can include:
- Village Halls and Community Centres
- Public Play Areas;
- Publicly available Multi use games areas,
- Skate parks and BMX tracks;
- Sport and recreation grounds including pavilions and clubhouses with full public access;
- Churches – community spaces only;
- Nature Reserves;
- Public gardens, parks, country parks and woodlands with at least dawn to dusk access;
- Museums.
The funding is being made available through the FCC Community Action Fund and is available to projects located within 10 miles of an eligible FCC Environment site.
The closing date for applications is 5pm on the 11th September 2019.
Grants of Up to £100,000 Available for Cyber Skills Training (England)
Training providers and charities in England can apply for grants of up to £100,000 to work with employers to increase the diversity and numbers of those working in the UK’s cyber security sector.
The funding is being made available through the UK Government’s third bidding round of the Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund (CSIIF). The CSIIF already provides funding to a number of training programmes targeting groups underrepresented in the cyber security sector. A number of previously funded initiatives have developed new and inventive ways of reaching a wider range of candidates and offer flexible learning opportunities to fit different lifestyles.
The deadline for applications is the 27th September 2019.
Funding opportunities under £25,000
Funding to Projects that Promote Social Justice, Nonviolence and Environmental Sustainability (UK)
The next closing date for applications to the Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation is midnight on the 13th September 2019.
Grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 per year are available to registered charities in the UK for projects that contribute to the development of a just society based on a commitment to non-violence and environmental sustainability. Grants can be for up to three years.
The Foundation’s priority is to address systemic threats by seeking to change policy and attitudes at a national or European level. The Foundation also supports organisations or projects that are not UK registered charities if they can indicate a UK registered charity that is able to receive funds on their behalf. Priority will be given to small, pioneering organisations with an income of between 10,000 and £500,000.
Previous projects supported include:
- Conflicts Forum which received a grant of £24,000 over three years to promote understanding between the Western and Muslim worlds by challenging attitudes, values and ideologies that promote conflict.
- Airport Watch which received a grant of £15,000 over two years to educate UK policy-makers about the dangerously unsustainable growth and levels of air freight to the environment and communities, and the influences and interests that lie behind them.
Funding for Sensory Equipment for Schools that Cater for Pupils with Special Education Needs (UK)
SEN Schools can apply for grants of up to £5,000 to enable them to purchase a range of sensory equipment to help enhance the pupils’ experience at school. To be eligible schools need to cater for young people under the age of 19 who have a physical/ sensory/ learning disability. Schools that cater for socially disadvantaged children or mainstream schools for children with behavioural problems are unable to apply.
The funding is being made available through the Lords Taverners, the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity. Schools are is required to pay a self-help contribution of around 25% of the total cost of the package.
There are no application deadlines and applications can be submitted at any time and are reviewed on a quarterly basis.
Funding to Support Disadvantaged Young People and Offenders (UK)
The Weavers’ Company, a textile-related, charitable and sociable organisation, has announced that the next closing date for its grants programme is the 30th November 2019.
Small registered charities can apply for grants of up to £15,000 for projects working with:
- Young offenders;
- Prisoners and ex-prisoners;
- Young disadvantaged people at risk of criminal involvement.
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 or in larger areas should normally have an income of not more than £250,000. Grants are usually given for one year.
Applicants must show that they have investigated other sources of funding and made plans for the future, which should include replacement funding if appropriate. To apply for a grant, complete the application form online, then print the form and mail it to The Weavers’ Company together with your supporting documents.
Funding for Projects that Tackle the Root Causes of Social Inequity (UK)
The next closing date for grant application to the Scurrah Wainright Charity is the 14th September 2019.
The Charity supports a wide range of charitable projects with an emphasis on social reform and tackling the root causes of social inequity. The charity favours causes that are outside the mainstream, and unlikely to be funded by other charities. Typically, grants are between £1,000 and £5,000.
The charity runs three funding programmes:
- Yorkshire. Trustees give priority to applicants working in the Yorkshire region. Your organisation needs not be based in the region but the project itself must directly benefit the Yorkshire community. We fund national charitable organisations ONLY if the project is specifically working in the Yorkshire region, with clear evidence of local control and access to the grant.
- Southern Africa, particularly Zimbabwe.
- Projects that have applied to the Andrew Wainwright Reform Trust because they meet the AWRT’s broad objectives to work for a just and democratic society and to redress political and social injustices, but have not been able to proceed with an application to that Trust because they are eligible for charitable funding.
Previous organisations supported include:
- The Boaz Trust a Christian organisation serving destitute asylum seekers in Greater Manchester which received a grant of £2,000.
- The Grandparents Association in Leeds which received a grant of £4,800.
Organisations applying do not have to be a charity, but its work must satisfy the Charity Commission’s definition of charitable purposes and public benefit.
Grants for Small Organisations Making Good Use of Volunteers (UK)
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:
- Children / young people who are isolated, at risk of exclusion or involved in antisocial behaviour.
- Prisoners and ex-offenders and prisoners’ families.
- Disadvantaged women, covering refuges, domestic violence and parenting.
- Disability projects, including rehabilitation and training.
- Arts outreach work by local groups involving disadvantaged people.
- Projects that promote integration and community cohesion amongst minority groups, including refugees and travelers.
Three types of grant are awarded following bi-annual meetings in February and October:
- Small grants of £100 – £5,000
- Large grants over £5,000 – these are usually given to charities known by the Trustees
- Preference is given to small to medium-sized charities with an income of less than £300,000 where small grants can have more impact. 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 December 2019.
University Liaison Grants Scheme (UK)
The Institute of Mathematics offers University Liaison Grants to university student mathematical societies as funding for activities to enhance their programmes for their members and to promote mathematics.
Grants of up to £360 can be used to support:
- Mathematical activities (such as putting on talks of mathematical interest, printing a mathematical newsletter or travelling as a group to IMA Early Career Mathematicians’ conferences or places of mathematical interest)
- Supporting students participate in and attend the Tomorrow’s Mathematicians Today Conference
- Careers activities
- Promotional activities (printing t-shirts, hoodies, pens, etc. including the IMA logo)
- Networking activities, quizzes etc.
Previous grants have been made to:
- IMA King’s College, London to reduce the barrier that students felt existed between them and the teaching staff through a number of social events and to educate students with some useful skills not taught in the main course.
- The Students’ Actuarial Society (SAS) at Heriot-Watt organised a number of events that included talks given by industry leaders like Scottish Widows and EY on the impact of Brexit and implementation of Solvency II.
- University student mathematical societies are eligible to apply at any time.
Grants of £1,000 Available to Fund Innovative Geography Teaching at Secondary Level (UK)
Two grants of £1,000 each are available to fund innovative geography teaching at secondary level. The aim of the grants is to enable imaginative, innovative or creative teaching materials to be developed.
The grants will be awarded to teacher – higher education partnerships. Ideally these will comprise one school teacher and one lecturer/researcher from a UK Higher Education Institution. The funding is being made available through the Royal Geographic Society Innovative Geography Teaching Grants.
Every year, the Society identifies an area of research which is either based upon a timely issue or approach. The aim is to serve both geography pupils and the wider teaching community through the creation of teaching materials on this particular issue. The materials produced will be published on the Society’s website.
The application deadline is the 15th February 2020.
Funding to Develop the Classics in Primary and Secondary Schools (UK)
Classics for All, which aims to develop the teaching of classics such as Latin, Greek, Classical Civilisation and ancient history in UK state schools has opened its 2018 grants programme. In 2018 the funding focus remains on supporting the development or introduction of Classics in schools or consortia of state schools especially in areas where there is limited or no access to school provision.
Classics for All aims to reach 200 new schools.
Previous grants awarded have ranged in size from £100 to £15,000 supporting everything from the establishment of an after-school Classics club to training for teachers in 20 schools to introduce Latin or Classical Civilisation at Key Stage 2 and 3, GCSE or A level. Classics for All have also supported a number of schools already teaching Classics to develop the scale and ambition of their Classics offer. Applications can be submitted at any time.
Funding for Cultural and Educational Links with Japan (UK)
The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation has announced that the next application deadline for its grants making programme is the 15th September 2019.
Through its grant making programme cultural organisations, universities and schools; etc that wish to develop links with Japan and Japanese schools are able to apply for funding. The Foundation’s grants average £1,500 to £2,000 and do not normally exceed £5,000 for larger-scale projects.
Grants are available to support the study of the Japanese language and culture, School, Education and Youth exchanges.
In the past the Foundation has made grants towards visits between the UK and Japan by teachers and young people and the teaching and development of Japanese language and cultural studies in schools.
Organisations that have successfully applied to the Foundation include:
- Hessle High School and Sixth Form College which received a grant of £3,000 to visit to Japan to create curriculum on Japan in Key Stage 3 Geography lessons.
- Truro College which received a grant of £2,000 for a football exchange programme with Tokai Daigo High School in Japan.
- Campion School received a grant of £2,000 to support a school trip to Tokyo for students of Japanese.
- Escomb Primary School received a grant of £3,000 for an exchange visit with Ogawara Minami Elementary School.
Grants for Small Museums for Conservation and Management (UK)
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.
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.
Applications close on the 30th September 2019.
Funding Available to Music Creators to Develop their Career (UK)
The Do it Differently Fund offered by Help Musicians UK is due to re-open for application in September 2019. The Fund helps independent, entrepreneurial music creators to build their career. Grants are offered under the following two strands:
- Recording & Releasing
- Touring & Live Development
Grants of £500 – £3,000 can cover professional development opportunities and creative projects at a crucial point in the artists career. Successful applicants will also be able to access a suite of wellbeing and development services worth up to £2,000, including business development sessions, education around “healthy” touring practices, online CBT and wellbeing tools, specialist hearing assessment, bespoke hearing protection and short-term treatment of performance related conditions.
Please note that PR & Marketing and Equipment costs can only account for up to 50% of the total grant request. For example, if you apply for the full grant amount of £3,000, a maximum of £1,500 can be allocated towards PR & Marketing and Equipment. Applications exceeding this limitation will be regarded as ineligible.
The fund is open to emerging and professional musicians of all genres and disciplines, with a focus on independent music creators who can evidence self-sufficiency in one or more aspects of their career (e.g. self-managing, self-releasing, self-producing). Applicants can be a solo artist, composer, group member, songwriter, producer or a multidisciplinary artist. Bands or ensembles of up to 6 members can also apply.
Applicants must be aged over 18, based primarily in the UK and be eligible to work here and been a resident in the UK for at least 3 consecutive years and also have an active career and track record.
National Archives Scoping Grants (UK)
The National Archives has announced that the next deadline for it Scoping Grants is the 28th October 2019. The funding is available to museums and other public bodies, registered charities and not for profit organisations that hold collections.
A Scoping Grant prides funding of up to £3,000 to produce a report that incorporates expert advice on a range of areas relating to collections management and the development of an organisation’s collection.
The report will provide:
- an overview of the current status of the collection
- analysis of its overall condition, significance, existing and potential use, levels of access, and existing documentation
- a conclusion with recommendations about next steps and development goals for the service
Please note: the fund is currently heavily oversubscribed, and there is currently funding to award four Scoping Grants per application round.
Funding for Christian Charities Promoting Social Inclusion (UK)
The Anchor Foundation provides grants of between £500 and £10,000 per year to Christian Charities that encourage social inclusion through ministries of healing and the arts. Funding can be awarded for up to three years.
The Foundation will consider applications for either capital or revenue funding. Only in exceptional circumstances will grants be given for building work.
Previously funded projects include:
- The Karis Neighbour Scheme which received a grant of £700 for revenue costs at a drop-in centre for women refugees in Birmingham.
- Discovery Camps which received a grant of £1,500 to subsidise holidays for children arranged by churches in and around Dundee.
- Scargill House which received a grant of £5,000 to facilitate cross cultural engagement and understanding amongst children using arts based residential courses in Yorkshire.
The next deadline for applications is the 31st January 2020.
Field Studies Bursary Fund (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland)
The Field Studies Council (FSC) Bursary provides support to individuals who are from disadvantaged backgrounds enabling them to take part in FSC curriculum focused courses with their school class. This support, for individuals, is valuable as it can be a deciding factor on whether or not a whole class experiences fieldwork and out of classroom learning.
Bursaries can be awarded to a maximum per school of £1500 for residential courses and £450 for day visits per academic year. Each individual student may only benefit from one bursary. Bursaries will represent a maximum of 80% of the curriculum course fee. Applications from schools with a group size of more than 30 students of whom at least 50% are eligible for bursary support will be considered on an individual basis.
Children and young people aged 4-19 attending school or college in the state sector who live in the 10% most deprived areas of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland and who are attending a curriculum focused FSC course are eligible to apply. Applications can be made at any time but must be made at least 4 weeks prior to the date of the FSC course.
Examples of Projects Funded include:
- Archbishop Sentamu Academy, Hull: 25 of the group who visited FSC Malham Tarn to study GCSE geography received a bursary to enable them to go.
- Corpus Christi Primary, Glasgow: This school received bursary support for 12 of their group of 45 primary students to attend a course at FSC Kindrogan.
Grants to Support Action for Marine Conservation (UK)
Sea-Changers provides grants of up to £600 (£1,000 in exceptional circumstances) to a range of primarily UK based, marine conservation charities and not for profit organisations. The projects funded will achieve one or more of the following objectives:
- To address the root causes of marine conservation threats and challenges in the UK.
- To prevent or reduce negative impacts on UK coastal and marine environments and / or species.
- To add to the body of knowledge about marine conservation threats and challenges in the UK.
Sea-Changers is particularly interested in grassroots projects which galvanise community action and in projects which increase the number of people taking action for marine conservation. Data and results from research projects undertaken as a result of Sea-Changers grant funding must be made available to Sea-Changers and shared with appropriate marine databases when completed.
The closing date for applications is the 30th September 2019.
Grants Available to Support the Teaching of Physics in Primary and Secondary Schools (UK)
From 1st September 2019, primary and secondary schools in the UK will be able to apply to become an Ogden school partnership and access funding to enhance physics teaching and learning. The funding is available to groups of schools working together to promote physics both with primary and secondary education. Partnerships of schools can apply for funding to support events, activities, trips and training.
The aims are to:
- Support physics teaching – through subject specific CPD and supporting schools to improve retention.
- Support students to develop physics identity – through collaborative partnerships, enrichment and enhancement activities, working with families and career awareness.
For Secondary Schools this means:
- Increasing the number of students taking physics at GSCE, A-level and at university, particularly for under-privileged and under-represented students.
- Supporting for teachers of physics, particularly for those without a subject specialism and those teaching in state schools in remote rural areas, or areas of social deprivation.
A secondary partnership can apply for up to £3,000 per academic year for the first three years and £2,000 in the fourth year.
For Primary Schools this means:
- Raising the profile of science in the primary curriculum, with the emphasis on physical processes
- Enhancing teachers’ confidence in the planning, delivery and assessment of primary science (physical processes)
- Supporting science subject leaders in creating a sustainable network.
A primary partnership can apply for up to £2,500 per academic year for the first three years and £1,000 in the fourth year.
Schools Partnerships can apply for funding to support events, activities, trips and training, for example:
- Trips to local museums or places of interest
- Careers events
- Visits to lectures and universities
- Extra-curricular physics or astronomy clubs, physics fairs or competitions
- Shows and talks hosted at the school
- Family and community science days
In addition, primary schools can apply to have a Phiz Lab and secondary schools can apply for funding to support a visit to CERN. Schools that want to set up a new school partnership will need to register for the Ogden Trust’s grant management system and complete the Expression of Interest form. To be considered for the next academic year this will need to be completed before 1st February each year. Partnerships can be a mix of maintained schools, academies, free schools and independent schools.
The Ogden Trust aims to launch a new partnership in each region at the beginning of the academic year.
Grants to Enable Disabled People to Play Tennis (UK)
The Dan Maskell Tennis Trust has announced that the next closing date for applications the 4th October 2019.
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: 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 around £250; depending on the type of wheelchair.
BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme (UK)
The BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme which supports children and young people up to the age of 18 living with severe poverty as well as additional pressures such as domestic violence, disability or poor health in the family is currently open for applications from referral organisations that will be able to apply for grants on behalf of families or young people.
The fund will cover the purchase of critical items such as:
- Gas or electric cookers
- Essential household items
- Furniture and kitchen equipment
- Children’s beds and bedding
- Washing machines
- Fridges and freezers
- Baby equipment
- Clothing in exceptional or emergency situations.
Applications must be completed by a registered referrer who is part of an organisation that is supporting the family or young person and capable of assessing their needs. The referrer’s organisation should also be able to administer and supervise the grant on behalf of the BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme.
British Ecological Society – Outreach Grants (UK)
The British Ecological Society has announced that its Outreach Grants programme is now open for applications. Through the programme, individuals and organisations such as schools, museums, libraries and community groups will be able to apply for grants to promote ecological science to a wide audience.
The funding is available for projects that increase public understanding of, and engagement with ecology by:
- Increasing public understanding of, and engagement with, ecology
- Stimulating discussion about ecology and its implications for society
- Inspiring and enthusing people of all ages about the science of ecology, especially those not previously interested
- Developing skills in communicating the science of ecology
Applications from museums and schools are welcome but projects must involve significant outreach beyond schools as those aimed solely at delivering curriculum to school children will not be considered. Grants are not be awarded for purely nature conservation purposes or any activity that does not promote the science of ecology.
Projects supported will:
- Be aimed at a non-academic audience
- Provide a clear demonstration of direct interaction with the audience
- Show evidence of links to the research community at UK, regional and international levels, where appropriate
The maximum award is £2,000 which may form all or part of the total costs of the project. Larger projects involving other sponsors are also funded. In 2017, 14 grants were awarded from a total of 112 entries, therefore potential applicants are advised to take note of the Scoring Criteria to make sure that their project is in line with the expectations of the BES assessors.
The closing date for applications is 5pm on the 9th September 2019.
Capital Grants for Theatre Improvements (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
The Theatres Trust’s Theatre Improvement Scheme awards capital funding as grants of up to £20,000. The Trust works in association with the Wolfson Foundation and each year funds projects with a specific theme – in 2019 the theme is to reduce their environmental impact. From sedum roofs to new windows, building management systems to more efficient water heaters, funding will be given to projects that demonstrate how a small intervention can have a big impact.
Theatres and projects of all sizes are eligible as long as they can demonstrate excellence in the pursuit of becoming an accessible theatre. Applicants must also:
- Own or manage theatres with titles or signed leases of more than 15 years on buildings in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Run a year-round programme of live performance, of no less than 30 performances a year
- Have a bona fide UK charitable or not-for-profit legal structure and be able to provide certified or audited accounts for at least two years.
- Operate theatres that achieve excellence through their producing and programming or architectural significance
Early stage pre-application conversations are encouraged. Application forms should be downloaded from the website and emailed to advice@theatrestrust.org.uk
The closing date for applications is the 13th September 2019.
Funding of up to £3,000 Available to Groups Fighting Discrimination and Injustice (UK)
Small community groups working towards tackling discrimination and injustice because of their class, ability, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or other factors have until the 16th September 2019 to apply for grants of up to £3,000. The funding is available to non-profit organisations (including groups that are not formally registered) based in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.
The grants are being made available through the Edge Fund which is interested in supporting small groups that struggle to get funding elsewhere, particularly if other funders might consider them to be too radical. Previous groups supported include the Black Triangle Campaign which is run by and for disabled people and campaigns against government welfare reform, work capability assessments, compulsory workfare, privatisation of the welfare state and all disability cuts; and DPAC Norfolk which received a grant of £750 to establish a UK wide network of individuals and organisations dedicated to scrapping Universal Credit.
Deadline for applications is by the 16th September 2019.