Published Thursday 20 August 2020 at 17:47
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
Grants of up to £1 Million Available for the Recovery of Foundation Industries
UK-registered businesses can apply for a share of £8 million in grant funding for projects supporting the recovery and growth of foundation industries such as cement, glass, ceramics, paper, metals and bulk chemicals. Grants of between £100,000 and £1 million are available through Innovate UK.
Projects must demonstrate how they address resource or energy efficiency of foundation industries and support resilience and sustainability of the sector and its supply chains. Applicants can include techno-economic assessment of new products, services and business models and must:
- help the UK’s foundation industries remain globally competitive and become more environmentally sustainable
- indicate how the innovation helps meet the needs of business and/or industry as it emerges from Covid-19 pandemic and aids rapid recovery
- demonstrate that the business has the capability to deliver the project
UK businesses of any size and research and technology organisations can apply. The closing date for applications is 11am on the 11th November 2020.
Funding opportunities between £25,000 and £100,000
Funding for 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.
The next deadline for applications seeking funding in excess of £10,000 is the 1st December 2020.
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.
Enovert Community Trust
The Enovert Community Trust has announced that the next closing date for funding applications is the 11th December 2020.
The Trust is committed to supporting community and environmental projects, such as improving community halls, creating new children’s play areas, restoring green spaces and habitats, and enhancing community sports and recreation facilities.
Funding is available to non-profit making organisations, constituted organisations or groups within 10 miles of a landfill site operated by Enovert Management Limited, or within ten miles of a waste facility managed by the company. These are located primarily in South West England, the West Midlands, South East England and East of England.
Most grants are up to £50,000 but there are no maximum or minimum grant levels given.
To discuss the project before submitting it, please contact Angela Haymonds, Trust Secretary, Enovert Community Trust, PO Box 3138, Slough SL3 9ZH, or email: ahaymonds@enovertct.org
Funding to Support Migrant and Refugee Charities Affected by the Pandemic
The Barrow Cadbury Trust has re-opened the COVID-19 Support Fund. The fund provides emergency response funding to organisations suffering acute financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic and operating within the Specialist Migration Sector. The fund originally closed for applications on the 2nd August 2020 but had fewer application than expected.
This, the second round of applications has also extended the eligibility criteria. The programme is now open to organisations with an income of £10,000 to £3 million that provide services and support targeted at refugees and migrants. This includes organisations that only work with these groups and those that have more general objects but are seeking to maintain or expand existing services targeted at refugees and migrants.
The maximum organisations can apply for is £50,000- or three-months’ expenditure, whichever is the smaller. Decisions will be made by mid-October and grants must be spent within six months.
There are no application deadline and the fund will close when all its funding has been awarded. Organisations are advised to submit their application without delay.
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 November 2020.
Funding opportunities under £25,000
Funding for Projects that Combat Abuse and Violation of Human Rights
UK-registered charities that work towards combating abuse and violations of human rights can apply for grants of usually between £10,000 and £20,000 through the A B Charitable Trust. The A B Charitable Trust (ABCT) was set up in 1990 and supports unpopular causes that champion human dignity and to focus on small and medium-sized charities working close to the ground.
Applications are particularly welcomed from charities working to support:
- migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
- criminal justice and penal reform
- human rights, particularly access to justice
The Trust generally makes one-off grants to charities registered and working in the UK with annual incomes of between £150,000 and £1.5m that do not have substantial investments or surpluses. Grants range in size, with most grants awarded being in the range £10,000 to £20,000. ABCT does not normally fund charities with large national or international links.
The next closing date for applications is the 31st October 2020.
Volant Trust Announces Launch of Covid-19 Response Fund
The Volant Trust has announced that its Covid-19 Response Fund is now open for applications. The Trust is accepting applications from registered charities, community interest companies, community organisations or social enterprises in the UK; and internationally that demonstrate a strong focus on alleviating social deprivation and helping vulnerable groups who have been particularly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Funding is available to support running and core costs as well as for medical equipment and the production or distribution of PPE will also be considered.
There are no funding levels indicated at the award of grants will be at the discretion of the Trustees.
The closing date for applications is the 31st December 2020.
Grants to Help New, Innovative Visual Arts Projects
The Elephant Trust has announced that the next deadline for applications is the 19th October 2020. 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.
Royal Society of Chemistry – Outreach Fund Small Grants Scheme
Individuals and organisations such as researchers, museums, schools, community groups, not-for-profit organisations, arts groups and libraries can apply for grants of up to £10,000 to run chemistry-based events and activities for public audiences and in schools.
Applications for school’s engagement activities should demonstrate how the proposed activities will:
- enrich student’s chemistry education and not solely deliver the curriculum
- provide students with opportunities to explore chemistry through local contexts, AND/OR
- demonstrate career opportunities and develop employability skills, AND/OR
- provide opportunities which would not normally be accessible to the students taking part, e.g. for hard-to-reach student audiences.
Applications for public engagement activities should demonstrate how the proposed activities will:
- increase chemists’ visibility as approachable people AND/OR
- increase the publics’ confidence in discussing chemistry AND/OR
- demonstrate the relevance of chemistry to everyday interests and concerns.
The Outreach Fund is split into two categories: small grants – up to £5,000 and large grants – up to £10,000.
Previously funded projects include “Cool chemistry at the seaside” where the Society awarded a grant of £2,000 to volunteers in Ramsgate who transformed an empty town-centre shop into a makeshift theatre, delivering free chemistry demonstrations to anyone.
The closing date for applications to the small grants and large grants programme is the 14th September 2020.
Theatre Reopening Fund
The Theatres Trust has announced that theatres across the UK can apply for grants of up to £5,000 to address urgent building repairs, improve operational viability, introduce environmental improvements, and enhance physical accessibility. In response to the coronavirus crisis, the scheme will now be able to support theatres to cover the additional costs of reopening after several months’ closure. This can include:
- alterations to circulation spaces to enable social distancing
- changes to ventilation systems
- purchase and installation of Perspex screens and sanitisation stations
- any other equipment and building improvements that support reopening
To be eligible for funding, the theatre must be run by a charity or not-for-profit group that can clearly demonstrate the value capital improvements to their theatres would make to their work in local communities. Please note that applications for technical equipment and refurbishment of soft furnishings are a low priority for the scheme.
To be eligible the applicant:
- must own or manage theatres with titles or signed leases of more than 5 years on buildings;
- demonstrate that they run a regular theatre programme of professional, community and/or amateur work presenting no less than 30 performances a year;
- and 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.
Applications can be made at any time up to the 5th October 2020.
Architectural Heritage Fund – Project Viability Fund
Grants of up to £15,000 (England) and £7,500 (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are now available for formally constituted charities or social enterprises that have the necessary powers to undertake a project involving the acquisition and conversion of an historic building.
The Architectural Heritage Fund Project Viability Grant aims to enable organisations to work out whether a proposed use for a building will be economically viable. The grant will contribute towards the cost of exploring different options for reuse or testing a single option. At the end of the process applicants should be able to make an informed decision on whether the organisation should commit to further cost, risk and effort in developing the project.
Priority will be given to:
- Projects involving historic buildings that have statutory protection (i.e. listed or in a Conservation Area and of acknowledged historic significance) and at risk.
- Projects that have the potential to make a significant positive social impact, particularly (but not exclusively) in disadvantaged areas such as urban communities experiencing structural economic decline or isolated rural areas with poor access to services
To apply for a grant applicant must be a formally constituted charity or social enterprise whose members have limited liability. This includes:
- Unincorporated charities (for Project Viability Grants only)
- Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs)
- Charitable Companies Limited by Guarantee
- Charitable Community Benefit Societies
- Community Benefit Societies
- Not-for-private-profit Companies Limited by Guarantee
- Community Interest Companies (CICs) Limited by Guarantee
- Parish and Town Councils; Community Councils (in Scotland and Wales)
The next closing date for applications in this round is the 30th September 2020.
Leeds Building Society Charitable Foundation Grant
UK registered charities working to help those at disadvantage in society can apply to the Leeds Building Society Charitable Foundation for support. Grants of between £250 – £1,000 are available to cover the costs involved directly supporting those in need including those with disabilities, affected by homelessness, or with serious health issues.
Previous grants have gone to organisations supporting young people in applying for jobs and towards the purchase of a portable multi-sensory environment that will turn any room into a sensory room.
Donations usually fund items of “capital expenditure” i.e. items must directly help those in need, rather than contributing to the charity’s running costs.
The Foundation accepts applications from UK registered charities with a turnover of less than £1 million per year.
Applications are reviewed every quarter. The next deadline for applications is the 5th October 2020.
Projects previously funded include:
- SASH, an organisation that provides guidance on creating CVs and applying for jobs to aid homeless 16 to 25-year olds, received £985.
- Byker Community Association received £500 to buy new books and build an interactive story hub designed by the children of Byker themselves.
Funding for Christian Charities Promoting Social Inclusion
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 2021.
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 large 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 next closing date for applications to the small grants programme is 4pm on the 31st August 2020. The large grants programme is currently closed and will re-open on the 1st September 2020.
Funding to Support Dairy Farmers Affected by the Coronavirus – Deadline Extended
Dairy farmers in England will be able to apply for government funding of up to £10,000 each to help them overcome the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The aim of the Dairy Response Fund is to support those most in need due to a decrease in demand for their products as bars, restaurants and cafes have been forced to close.
To be eligible for support from the fund, farmers will need to demonstrate that they have suffered a reduction in the average price paid for their milk of 25% or more in April 2020 when compared with February 2020. Eligible dairy farmers will be to entitled to funding which covers 70% of their lost income during April and May 2020 to ensure they can continue to operate and sustain production capacity without impacting animal welfare.
Competition rules for the dairy industry have been temporarily relaxed.
Farmers can apply for a single payment and applications can be submitted directly to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).
The deadline for applications has been extended to midnight on the 11th September 2020.
Government Increases Neighbourhood Planning Grants to £18,000
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has announced that grants available to help communities in urban and deprived areas plan their local neighbourhoods will almost double to £18,000.
The grants which are made available through the Neighbourhood Planning Grant Scheme provides funding to neighbourhood planning groups who shape planning decisions in their area – such as the location of new homes, shops, offices and green spaces – through the production of neighbourhood plans.
The government also announced it is providing these groups with access to additional technical expertise free of charge, such as for assessing their area’s housing needs, or developing masterplans.
There is additional grant funding available for the following
- An additional £8,000 for groups based in or areas where 30% or more of the neighbourhood area or population is in the 20% most deprived areas in England in accordance with the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
- An additional £10,000 to develop ideas to bring forward affordable housing ideas.
Applications can be submitted at any time.
Royal Society of Chemistry – Outreach Fund Small Grants Scheme
Individuals and organisations such as researchers, museums, schools, community groups, not-for-profit organisations, arts groups and libraries can apply for grants of up to £10,000 to run chemistry-based events and activities for public audiences and in schools.
Applications for school’s engagement activities should demonstrate how the proposed activities will:
- enrich student’s chemistry education and not solely deliver the curriculum
- provide students with opportunities to explore chemistry through local contexts, AND/OR
- demonstrate career opportunities and develop employability skills, AND/OR
- provide opportunities which would not normally be accessible to the students taking part, e.g. for hard-to-reach student audiences.
Applications for public engagement activities should demonstrate how the proposed activities will:
- increase chemists’ visibility as approachable people AND/OR
- increase the publics’ confidence in discussing chemistry AND/OR
- demonstrate the relevance of chemistry to everyday interests and concerns.
The Outreach Fund is split into two categories: small grants – up to £5,000 and large grants – up to £10,000.
Previously funded projects include “Cool chemistry at the seaside” where the Society awarded a grant of £2,000 to volunteers in Ramsgate who transformed an empty town-centre shop into a makeshift theatre, delivering free chemistry demonstrations to anyone.
The closing date for applications to both the small and large grants programme is the 14th September 2020.
Funding for Projects to Increase the Employment Skills of People Aged 11 or Older
Grants of up to £5,000 are available to registered charities to assist with specific projects or core activities that support literacy, numeracy, digital and additional skills for people aged 11 or older in order to increase their employment prospects within the UK.
The funding is being made available through the Thomas Wall Trust.
To be eligible the applicants must:
- Be a UK charity that has been registered with the Charity Commission for at least 3 years
- Be a project or running costs for a charity that equips people (aged 11 and over) with the skills ready for employment
- Have an annual turnover of less than £500,000
Annual repeat funding for up to 3 years – subject to satisfactory annual reviews of progress and impact
Grants will be awarded in November 2020.
Grants to Support Children’s Health and Education
The next deadline to apply to the DM Thomas Foundation Central Grants Programme has been extended to the 6th October 2020. 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.