A monthly bulletin facilitated by your membership of the Rural Services Network highlighting a selection of current funding opportunities

- Download a printable version of the Funding Digest here

2023-2026 Investment Programme – Arts Council

Arts Council England is inviting arts organisations, libraries and museums in England to become a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) or Investment Principles Support Organisation (IPSO).

Successful organisations will receive regular funding aimed at implementing the Arts Council Strategy 2020-2030.

There is no minimum turnover for organisations that wish to apply, but the minimum grant award is £50k per year. It is mandatory for new applicants to have had a conversation with the Arts Council before submitting an application.

The deadline for applications is 18 May 2022.

2023-26 Investment Programme | Arts Council England

Traveller Site Fund 2022/23 – Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

On 20 March 2022 the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities launched £10 million of capital funding for 2022/23 to support local authorities in building new transit and permanent traveller sites, to refurbish existing permanent traveller and transit sites and provide temporary stopping places and facilities for travellers.

Funding is available to local authorities in England for building new or improved accommodation for travellers who have their needs assessed under the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites or the National Planning Policy Framework. It can also be used for the provision of temporary stopping places.

The deadline for applications is 13 June.

Traveller Site Fund 2022/23 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Neighbourhood Planning Grant Funding – Locality

The department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) have confirmed that the 4-year support programme for Neighbourhood Planning (2018-22) will be extended for a fifth year, so the new end date will now be March 2023.

DLUHC will shortly be announcing more detail on the coming year’s support programme which will be in line with the approach of the last four years.

Locality plan to open for new grant and Technical Support applications in April 2022. Specific details about when the programme will reopen in the new financial year, will be made available in due course. So please continue to monitor this website for further updates.

Home - Locality Neighbourhood Planning

Small grants programme – Theatres Trust

Theatres Trust's Small Grants Programme, supported by The Linbury Trust, funds small projects that make a big impact to a theatre’s resilience, sustainability or accessibility.

This new scheme will provide grants of up to £5,000 for essential works to enable not-for-profit theatres across the UK to be viable and thrive in the future.

Eligible projects include small capital works, the installation of key plant and machinery and works which make theatre buildings digital-ready. Applications are also welcome for projects that help theatres reopen as Covid-secure.

This scheme will prioritise improvements to buildings that protect theatre use and remove barriers to participation and attendance.

Please note that revenue and survey costs are ineligible. This fund is to support improvements and repairs to the building fabric, and the key plant and machinery or the purchase of key equipment (not software) to improve digital infrastructure.

The deadline for applications is 3 May.

Small Grants Programme supported by The Linbury Trust (theatrestrust.org.uk)

Green Deal Heat Network Fund – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

The Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) is a 3-year £288 million capital grant fund that will support:

• the commercialisation and construction of new low and zero carbon (LZC) heat networks (including the supply of cooling)
• the retrofitting and expansion of existing heat networks

The GHNF is open to organisations in the public, private, and third sectors in England. Individuals, households and sole traders cannot apply.

The main scheme opened its first application round on 14 March 2022.

This will be followed by quarterly rounds until the scheme closes in 2025.

For off-gas grid rural heat networks applying to the GHNF, a minimum of 100 dwellings connected to the network is proposed within a minimum 5-year window from the date that heat is forecast to be first supplied to customers.

The final submission date for inclusion in the first round is 27 May.

Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Urban Tree Challenge Fund – Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Funding for public bodies, non-government organisations, community groups, charities, individuals and private companies, to support the planting and establishment of large and small trees in urban and peri-urban areas of England is available from Defra. Applications will be accepted from public bodies, community groups, charities and non-government organisations, individuals and private companies in England.

Land included in an application must fall within an urban area. An urban area, as defined for the purposes of the Fund, is a built-up area (based on Office of National Statistics data) with a population of at least 2,000 people, and a buffer of 1km to account for peri-urban planting.

The application deadline is the 31 May.

Urban Tree Challenge Fund - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Youth Social Action Fund – BBC Children in Need

BBC Children in Need, in partnership with the #iwill Fund and The Hunter Foundation, are delivering a £3 million fund to support organisations to embed youth social action across the UK. This fund will help to build children and young people’s confidence and skills, empowering them to take an active and leading role in developing solutions to issues which affect their lives and their communities.

The #iwill Fund is a £54 million joint investment between The National Lottery Community Fund and The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

This funding will support organisations to bring social action and youth empowerment opportunities to children and young people, to help prevent or overcome the effects of the disadvantages they face. The fund especially wants to reach:

• organisations who focus on addressing issues of disadvantage affecting children and young people
• children and young people who have some experience of social action and want to develop their skills and experience to do more.
• children and young people who have no experience of social action work at all but want to find out what it is all about.

Up to £15k is available for unregistered organisations and up to £50k for registered bodies.

Information sessions are being held from 5 to 11 April and the deadline for applications is 23 May.

Youth Social Action Fund - BBC Children in Need

Scops Arts Trust grants

Scops Arts Trust awards a limited number of grants each year to support high quality arts projects. Their aim is to give people of all ages, backgrounds and life circumstances, opportunities to access, participate in and enjoy the arts, particularly the performing arts. They are keen to find projects which widen access and have a lasting cultural impact on the community.

For 2022, the Trust welcome applications from organisations planning smaller regional festivals in areas where there is little arts provision, due to socio-economic circumstances or geographically remote locations. They are especially interested in supporting performing arts projects aimed at adults and projects which will benefit all ages across the generations within communities.

The next funding round opens on 12 April for consideration at the July meeting. Please visit the website for more information on what is supported and how to apply.

Scops Arts Trust 

Food for the planet campaign grants - Sustain

Grants of up to £5,000 are open to any local food partnership, local authority or community group in the UK.

These grants, operated by Sustain as part of the Food for the Planet project, aim to support communities to campaign and advocate to make food in their area better for people and the planet. Applicants are encouraged to propose their own ideas for great local action, but should focus on areas that have a big impact locally, for example:

• Encouraging and celebrating climate-friendly food in public institutions and council settings
• Growing more sustainable and healthy food, especially in urban fringes
• Tackling unfair and unhelpful pricing and advertising of the most climate-damaging foods
• Supporting groups and communities that are marginalised to campaign for food climate justice and tackling racial injustice in the food system
• Divesting from industrial agriculture

The deadline for applications is 15 April 2022.

New grants to help communities tackle food and climate change | Sustain (sustainweb.org)

General grants programme – Benefact Trust

Benefact Trust’s General Grants Programme supports projects that demonstrate an impact on people and communities.

 Churches, cathedrals, denominational bodies, Christian charities, and schools and educational institutions are all eligible to apply. All applicants must be able to demonstrate a clear Christian foundation or ethos.

The programme typically funds capital projects, not salaries or running costs. The Programme supports the repair, restoration, protection and improvement of churches, cathedrals and other places of Christian worship where changes support wider community use and enable greater impact.

The programme also supports projects that help to tackle social issues, for example homelessness, poverty, climate change and cultural cohesion, and projects that support Christian leaders, and help to share the Christian faith.

Most grants range from £1000 to £15,000.

General Grants Programme | Benefact Trust

Grant schemes for electric vehicle charging infrastructure – Office for Low Emission Vehicles

The government offers grants to support the wider use of electric and hybrid vehicles via the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV). This includes:

• The EV chargepoint grant provides funding of up to 75% towards the cost of installing electric vehicle smart chargepoints at domestic properties across the UK. It replaced the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) from 1 April 2022. The grant is open to flat owner-occupiers and people living in rented properties. Private landlords and social housing providers can also apply. The grant is not open to homeowners (including people with mortgages) who live in single-unit properties such as bungalows and detached, semi-detached or terraced housing.
• The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) is a voucher-based scheme that provides support towards the up-front costs of the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charge-points, for eligible businesses, charities and public sector organisations.
• The On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) provides grant funding for local authorities towards the cost of installing on-street residential chargepoints for plug-in electric vehicles.

For more information visit the website below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-grants-for-low-emission-vehicles

Listed Places of Worship grant scheme – Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

The Listed Places of Worship (LPW) Grant Scheme gives grants that cover the VAT incurred in making repairs to listed buildings in use as places of worship. The scheme covers repairs to the fabric of the building, along with associated professional fees, plus repairs to turret clocks, pews, bells and pipe organs.

The Scheme has been run by DCMS with a focus on preserving heritage in the fabric of UK listed places of worship. Since its establishment in 2001, the Scheme has adapted to changes while continuing to support places of worship by delivering the fairest possible system of making grants and ensuring that all faiths and areas of the UK are equally able to make use of scheme.

The scheme only accepts applications where the minimum value of eligible work carried out on any one claim to the scheme is £1,000 (excluding VAT).

The Government has confirmed funding is available for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme until 31 March 2025.

Listed Places of Worship - Home page (lpwscheme.org.uk)

Dynamic Collections – National Lottery Heritage Fund

This campaign supports collecting organisations across the UK to become more inclusive and resilient, with a focus on engagement, re-interpretation and collections management.

The Heritage Fund want to support museums, libraries, archives and other organisations to make the most of their collections. The Dynamic Collections campaign will support collecting organisations by bringing together project funding through the Fund’s open programmes, digital resources and knowledge sharing.

It is designed to address long-term challenges in the sector, many of which have been made worse by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It will also help organisations build on innovative ideas and trends developed over the past few years, particularly in digital engagement.

The campaign also acts on the demand for collections to evolve to meet the changing needs of the communities around them, and to reflect more people's history and experiences.

Dynamic Collections is primarily aimed at collecting organisations, including:

• museums (accredited and non-accredited)
• archives
• historic libraries
• community and other organisations that hold collections, or are working in partnership to develop a collection-based project

Grants are expected to be below £250,000. There are no specific deadlines – you can apply as part of the campaign until 31 March 2023.

Dynamic Collections | The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Masonic Charitable Foundation

The Foundation now has rolling grant programmes with no deadlines as follows:

• Children and young people: This programme is open to national and local charities helping disadvantaged children and young people to overcome the challenges they face. Small grants are for charities whose annual income does not exceed £500,000. These grants are unrestricted. Small grants range from £1,000-£5,000 per year, for up to three years.

Large grants are for larger charities whose annual income exceeds £500,000. They must be restricted to a project. Large grants usually range from £10,000 to £60,000. They can be awarded over one to three years.

• Later life: This programme is open to local and national charities that are working to reduce loneliness and isolation in later life. Small grants are for smaller charities whose annual income does not exceed £500,000. They are to fund overhead costs. Small grants range from £1,000-£5,000 per year, for up to three years.

Large grants are for larger charities whose annual income exceeds £500,000. They must be restricted to a project. Large grants usually range from £10,000 to £60,000. They can be awarded over one to three years.

Grants to charities - The Masonic Charitable Foundation (mcf.org.uk)

LGBT+ Futures: Equity Fund

Consortium and its Community Collaborators, working in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund, have announced the launch of the LGBT+ Futures: Equity Fund. This Fund has been enabled thanks to National Lottery players.

£465,000 is available through small grants to LGBT+ groups and organisations who are community-led and whose primary focus is one of their 5 priority targeted areas: Trans and Non-Binary people; Those facing racial injustice; D/deaf and/or Disabled people; Older people; and Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans+ Women.

Grants will be available for organisational running costs, projects and organisational / leadership development and can range from £100 - £25,000.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis and the programme will close to new applications on 30 October 2022.

LGBT+ Futures: Equity Fund (consortium.lgbt)

Magic Little Grants – Localgiving

After successfully distributing 2,000 grants to Localgiving members in 2021, the 2022 programme has been announced, supported by the People’s Postcode Lottery.

They will be awarding £500 grants to 2,650 charitable organisations on Localgiving.

Applications for Magic Little Grants 2022 will be open from 16 March and applications should take just ten minutes to complete.

Magic Little Grants | Localgiving

Local Action Fund – National Emergencies Trust

Crowdfunder and the National Emergencies Trust have teamed up to make more than £1.2m match funding available.

This match fund of up to £10,000 per project has been launched by the National Emergencies Trust as part of its Coronavirus Appeal. It offers support to voluntary and community organisations in the UK by helping them to counter financial challenges created by the pandemic, including the inability to fundraise in the usual ways, reductions in staff and volunteers, and increased demand on their services.

You need a crowdfunding project to apply for funding.

NET: Local Action Fund | Crowdfunder UK

Queen's Platinum Jubilee Activity Fund – Sport England

This Fund aims to use sport and physical activity as a means of bringing a community together and tackling inequalities via awards of between £300 and £10,000 from a pot of £5 million of National Lottery funding.

Sport England want organisations to consider how they could work more collaboratively across their community, in order to make the biggest possible impact. The priority is to support projects working with people in disadvantaged communities.

Awards are to help inactive people get active, or less active people become more active.

Queen's Platinum Jubilee Activity Fund | Sport England

Archives Revealed – The National Archives

Archives Revealed is a partnership programme between The National Archives, The Pilgrim Trust and the Wolfson Foundation, and is the only funding stream in the UK dedicated to cataloguing and unlocking archives. There are two funding strands:

• Cataloguing grants: up to £45,000 for archives to create catalogues of important archival collections. This is an annual programme that opens in the autumn each year.
• Scoping grants: these fund an assessment report incorporating expert advice on a range of areas relating to collections management and the development of your collection. This is a rolling programme with decisions made on a quarterly basis.

The next deadline for Scoping grants, up to the value of £3000, is 24 May 2022.

Archives Revealed - Archives sector (nationalarchives.gov.uk)

Methodist Grants Programme – Allchurches Trust

This programme seeks to enhance the mission and ministry of the Methodist Church in the UK and Ireland.

Funded primarily by donations from Methodist Insurance PLC, the programme provides grants to Methodist churches to run building development projects that focus on church growth (both numerically and spiritually), community engagement and improving accessibility. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate how their planned projects will give an environmental benefit.

Grants of up to £60,000 are available, based on a percentage of project cost, and funding uplifts are awarded in the most disadvantaged areas.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

Enhancing mission and ministry – the Methodist Grants Programme | Thematic Programme (allchurches.co.uk)

Community Shares Booster – Power to Change

Delivered by the Community Shares Unit and funded by Power to Change, Community Shares Booster supports community businesses in the process of setting up and launching a community share offer that can demonstrate high levels of community impact, innovation and engagement. The programme provides:

• Development grantsof up to £10,000 to prepare a community share offer; financial planning, governance support, marketing costs and being awarded the Community Shares Standard Mark
• Match equity investment– typically matching pound for pound up to £100,000 providing that the minimum share offer target is achieved
• Ongoing support and adviceas an active investor in community businesses

Community Shares Booster - Power to Change

Community Business ReBoost – Power to Change

Community Business ReBoost aims to support community businesses to raise community shares capital that can support their recovery, pivot or expand the business in response to Covid-19. The ReBoost fund provides grant funding and matched equity investment as follows:

• Development grants between £3,000 and £5,000 to prepare a recovery community share offer and be awarded the Community Shares Standard Mark
• Match equity investment – typically matching pound for pound up to £25,000 providing that the minimum share offer target is achieved

Additional business development support may also be provided where required and will be prioritised to help community businesses operating in deprived neighbourhoods, or those led by and supporting communities experiencing racial inequity, and those led by and supporting disabled people.

Community Business ReBoost - Power to Change

Community Business Crowdmatch – Power to Change

Power to Change has teamed up with Crowdfunder to launch Community Business Crowdmatch to back new or existing community businesses to deliver brilliant community-led projects.

Whether it’s launching new ideas to help your neighbourhood, help meet increased demand, save a community space or help bridge a funding gap, Power to Change will match fund up to 50% of your target, to a maximum of £10,000, as long as you can raise the rest through crowdfunding.

Through this fund Power to Change are particularly keen to support new and existing projects in more deprived areas of the country, and to work with communities experiencing racial inequity across England.

Crowdmatch - Power to Change

Forestry England Woodland Partnership

The Forestry England Woodland Partnership offers long-term leases with guaranteed income for public and private landowners to create new woodlands. The partnership scheme supports government plans for woodland creation, nature recovery and progress towards net zero targets.

Forestry England are looking for sites of at least 50 hectares suitable for woodland creation for leases of between 60 and 120 years, and landowners will receive a guaranteed annual rent throughout the lease period. Forestry England will design, plant and manage every woodland created, ensuring each is resilient to a changing climate, supports wildlife, and provides wider ecosystem services.

All woodlands created through the partnership scheme will be open to the public, providing valuable health and wellbeing opportunities for communities.

Part of the Nature for Climate Fund to support the government’s tree planting commitment, the Forestry England Woodland Partnership aims to create at least 2,000 hectares of predominantly broadleaf woodland over the next five years.

Applications are open all year round. Full details and brochures for public and private landowners are available on the Forestry England website.

https://www.forestryengland.uk/woodland-creation

Recovery Loan Fund – Social Investment Business (SIB)

The Recovery Loan Fund provides loans to UK charities and social enterprises who have been impacted by Covid 19 and need funds to help them to survive, recover and grow. It has been established by Social Investment Business (SIB) to make an existing Government guarantee scheme, the Recovery Loan Scheme, more easily accessible to charities and social enterprises.

The Fund will lend to organisations that are improving people’s lives, or the environment they live in, across the UK. All funding purposes will be considered including refinancing of existing debt onto more patient terms.

The Fund closes to submissions on 20 May 2022. Applications will be reviewed on a first come, first served. Eligible organisations can apply for loans of £100k-£1.5m.

Recovery Loan Fund (sibgroup.org.uk)

Grants for Heritage – National Lottery Heritage Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund provide different levels of funding to heritage of all shapes and sizes. Their grants range from £3,000 up to millions of pounds.

Current programmes include:

• National Lottery Grants for Heritage - £3,000 to £10,000; £10,000 to £250,000; £250,000 to £5 million. The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic means?the Fund will prioritise heritage projects that:
• promote inclusion and involve a wider range of people (a mandatory outcome)
• boost the local economy
• encourage skills development and job creation
• support wellbeing
• create better places to live, work and visit
• improve the resilience of organisations working in heritage

Full information on all National Lottery Heritage Fund programmes is available on their website.

Welcome | The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Cornerstone, Gateway & Foundation Grants – National Churches Trust

The National Churches Trust has three grant programmes currently open:

• Cornerstone grants. The Cornerstone Grant Programme offers grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 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 will never exceed 50% of the project cost. See the website for the next deadline for applications.
• Gateway grants. The Gateway Grant Programme offers grants of between £3,000 and £10,000 towards project development and investigative work up to RIBA planning stage 1, to support churches preparing for a major project, and in developing their project to the point at which they can approach a major grant funder. Grants will never exceed 50% of the project costs for this phase. The next deadline for applications is 12 May 2022.
• Foundation grants. The Foundation Grant Programme will offer grants of between £500 and £5,000 towards urgent maintenance works and small repairs identified as high priority within a recent Quinquennial Inspection or Survey Report. Also, small investigative works and surveys. Project costs should not exceed £10,000. The next deadline for applications is 31 October 2022.
• Preventative maintenance micro grants. If the cost of booking maintenance services is a problem, the National Churches Trust, with its partner the Pilgrim Trust, can offer grants towards the cost of a building's maintenance services. You could receive up to 50% of the cost of works (excl. VAT) up to a maximum grant of £500. The cost of your service must not exceed £1,000 (excl VAT).

http://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/our-grants

Covid-19 Response Fund – National Heritage Memorial Fund

Launched in June 2021, this funding stream offers project grants to support any heritage asset which is:

• of outstanding importance to the national heritage
• at risk due to the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19)

A total of £40million is being distributed by NHMF, made up of two lots of £20m:

• NHMF has made a commitment of £20m, which is available to applicants from across the UK.
• A £20m Cultural Assets Fund has been made available by DCMS as part of the government’s wider Culture Recovery Fund. This funding will safeguard nationally important heritage assets within England.

Distributing NHMF’s own commitment as a single fund with the Cultural Assets Fund aims to ensure a UK-wide balance of funding.

There are no deadlines for applications. The fund will close at the end of April 2023.

COVID-19 Response Fund | National Heritage Memorial Fund (nhmf.org.uk)

Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme – Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme is a part of Defra’s Agricultural Transition Plan.

It will offer funding to farmers and land managers in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), National Parks and the Broads. It is not an agri-environment scheme.

The programme will fund projects that:

• support nature recovery
• mitigate the impacts of climate change
• provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage
• support nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses

The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme has been developed by Defra with the support of Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and National Park staff from across England.

The programme runs from July 2021 to March 2024.

Get funding for farming in protected landscapes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

England Woodland Creation Offer – Forestry Commission

Landowners, land managers and public bodies can apply to the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) for support to create new woodland, including through natural colonisation, on areas as small as 1 hectare. EWCO opened for applications on 9 June 2021 and replaces the Woodland Carbon Fund, which closed for applications in March 2021.

The grant is administered by the Forestry Commission and is funded through the Nature for Climate Fund.

There are four types of payments available under EWCO:

• support for the capital items and activities to establish new woodland, at 100% of standard costs
• 10 years of annual Maintenance Payments to help establish the young trees once the capital works are complete
• contribution towards the actual cost of installing infrastructure to either enable the current and future management of the woodland, or to provide recreational access
• optional Additional Contributions where the location of the woodland and its design will deliver public benefits. You can apply for multiple Additional Contributions on the same land where it touches the right spatial layer and the design is compatible

EWCO is a criteria-based, competitive scheme, with funding offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

England Woodland Creation Offer - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Energy Redress Scheme – Energy Saving Trust

Energy Saving Trust has been appointed by Ofgem to distribute payments from energy companies who may have breached rules. The funds can pay for anything from making a home more energy efficient, to providing advice that helps consumers keep on top of their bills.

Energy Saving Trust has developed an open application process for charities seeking funding from the Energy Redress Scheme. Successful projects will be selected with input from an independent panel of experts and could cover a range of locations across England, Scotland and Wales.

The amount of funding available through the scheme varies throughout the year and will be reviewed on a quarterly basis in October, January, April and July. Eligible charities that have registered interest in the scheme will be notified when funds become available.

The minimum grant that can be requested is £20,000 and the maximum amount is the lesser of £2 million or the total value of the current fund.

The scheme can fund projects lasting up to two years, can fund 100 per cent of the project cost and can cover revenue and capital measures.

Round 13 of the Energy Redress Scheme is expected to open shortly. The previous round included the following elements:

• The Main Fund aimed at projects seeking grants between £50,000 and £750,000 that will support energy consumers in vulnerable situations.
• The Small Project Fund aimed at projects seeking grants of between £20,000 and £49,999 that will support energy consumers in vulnerable situations.
• Innovation Fund aimed at projects that will develop innovative products or services to benefit energy consumers. Applicants can apply for grants between £50,000 and £500,000.
• Carbon Emissions Reduction Fund is targeted at projects that can help domestic energy consumers participate in the just transition to Net Zero CO2 emissions. The fund awards grants between £50,000 and £500,000.

https://energyredress.org.uk/apply-funding

Garfield Weston Foundation

The Foundation supports UK registered charities working within the UK in the areas of Welfare, Youth, Community, Arts, Faith, Environment, Education, Health and Museums & Heritage.

The Foundation awards grants for Capital, Project and Revenue costs. Where they already have a funding history with you, the Trustees may consider a multi-year request for up to three years, provided you can demonstrate that a longer term commitment will add value to your organisation’s objectives.

There are no deadlines for applications under £100,000. Grants above this level are reviewed at one of 8 board meetings a year.

Grant Programmes - Garfield Weston Foundation

FCC Community Action Fund

The FCC Community Action Fund provides grants of between £2,000 and £100,000 to not-for-profit organisations for amenity projects eligible under Object D of the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF).

The following types or organisation can apply:

• Registered Charity which operates a community facility
• A Church or Parochial Church Council
• A Parish or Town Council or a Management Committee or User Association acting on behalf of a Parish or Town Council
• A Local Authority
• A CASC Registered Sports Club

Only applications for projects sited within 10 miles of an eligible FCC Environment waste facility can be accepted, you can check if you are located near an eligible site on their website.

The current round of applications closes on 8 June 2022.

FCC Community Action Fund / FCC (fcccommunitiesfoundation.org.uk)

Morrisons Foundation

The Morrisons Foundation awards grant funding for charity projects which make a positive difference in local communities. From support groups to children’s hospitals and homeless shelters to hospices, the grants aim to provide vital funding for good causes across England, Scotland and Wales.

In the main grants are available to fully fund projects up to £25,000.

Morrison Foundation Making a difference to people's lives (morrisonsfoundation.com)

Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme – Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

The Government is providing up to £210m worth of voucher funding as immediate help for people suffering from slow broadband speeds in rural areas.

Vouchers worth up to £1,500 for homes and £3,500 for businesses help to cover the costs of installing gigabit broadband to people’s doorsteps.

You can check whether your premises is eligible for a voucher, find a list of registered suppliers, and see those who are active in your area on the website below.

https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/

Lloyds Bank Foundation

The Foundation fund small and local charities, investing in their work helping people overcome complex social issues across England and Wales. They support charities with an annual income of £25,000 to £1 million with a proven track record of helping people on a journey of positive change through in-depth, holistic and person-centred support. The Foundation offer unrestricted funding, including around core costs, and tailored development support to help your charity be more effective.

The priority complex social issues are:

• Addiction and dependency
• Asylum seekers and refugees
• Care leavers
• Domestic abuse
• Homeless and vulnerably housed
• Learning disabilities
• Mental health
• Offending, prison or community service
• Sexual abuse and exploitation
• Trafficking and modern slavery
• Young parents

We Fund (lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk)

Transforming Places through Heritage Grants – Architectural Heritage Fund

This programme supports projects that will contribute to the transformation of high streets and town centres in England helping them become thriving places, strengthening local communities and encouraging local economies to prosper.  It is part of a wider initiative to revive heritage high streets in England, alongside Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zones.

This programme is for individual heritage buildings in, or transferring to, community ownership. They will support charities and social enterprises to develop projects with the potential to bring new life to high streets by creating alternative uses for redundant or underused historic buildings in town centres.

A range of grants are available:

• Project Viability Grants: up to £15,000, for early viability and feasibility work, open now for applications.
• Project Development Grants: up to £100,000, for capital project development costs, open now for applications.
• Crowdfunding Challenge Grants: up to £25,000, to match fund crowdfunding campaigns, open now for applications.
• Community Shares Booster Grants: supporting community share offers with development grants and matched investment.

http://ahfund.org.uk/england

Awards for All, Reaching Communities and Partnerships – The National Lottery Community Fund

The National Lottery Community Fund is open to all applications that meet their criteria, including support during COVID-19. With the COVID-19 pandemic still with us, they'll continue to support people and communities most adversely impacted by COVID-19. They can support you to:

• continue to deliver activity, whether you're supporting your existing users, responding to the immediate crisis or undertaking recovery activity
• change and adapt, becoming more resilient in order to respond to new and future challenges.

The Awards for All programme can provide between £300 and £10,000 for up to one year. The Reaching Communities programme offers larger amounts of funding (over £10,000) for up to 5 years. The Partnerships programme also offers a larger amount of funding (over £10,000) for organisations that work together with a shared set of goals to help their community thrive – whether that’s a community living in the same area, or people with similar interests or life experiences.

https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/covid-19/learn-about-applying-for-emergency-funding-in-england

Small Grants Scheme – Foyle Foundation

This Small Grants Scheme is designed to support charities registered and operating in the United Kingdom, especially those working at grass roots and local community level, in any field, across a wide range of activities.

Online applications can be accepted from charities that have an annual turnover of less than £150,000 per annum. Larger or national charities will normally not be considered under this scheme. 

The focus will be to make one-year grants only to cover core costs or essential equipment, to enable ongoing service provision, homeworking, or delivery of online digital services to charities that can show financial stability.

The priority will be to support local charities still active in their communities which are currently delivering services to the young, vulnerable, elderly, disadvantaged or the general community either directly or through online support if possible.

Grants are available between £1000 and £10,000.

Small Grants Scheme - (foylefoundation.org.uk)

Return to Play Fund – Sport England

One element of this fund remains open.

• Return to Play: Active Together – is a crowdfunding initiative that can match fund, up to £10,000, successful Crowdfunder campaigns from a pot of £1.5m. The partnership with Crowdfunder also includes advice, guidance and training to help create a successful campaign.

https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/coronavirus/funding-innovation-and-flexibility

National Lottery Project Grants – Arts Council England

National Lottery Project Grants is an open access programme for arts, libraries and museums projects. The fund supports thousands of individual artists, community and cultural organisations.

Individual artists and practictioners, community and cultural organisations, museums and libraries can all apply. National Lottery Project Grants is open all the time, there are no deadlines.

Grants of between £1000 and £100,000 are available.

https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/projectgrants

Financial support for businesses during coronavirus – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Public Health England

You can find out more details about the government’s support for businesses through this website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19

Veterans’ Foundation grants

Many armed forces charities struggle to raise sufficient funding to support serving and former members of the British Armed Forces’ and sometimes their dependants who are in need. The Veterans' Foundation has been created to establish a new and nationwide source of funding to help these charities.  It acquires its funds through the Veterans’ Lottery and donations.

The trustees of the Veterans' Foundation will disburse funds to Armed Forces charities and charitable activities.

They will support projects that:

• Reduce homelessness
• Increase employment
• Provide welfare and medical support
• Increase confidence and social integration
• Reduce dependence on drugs and alcohol
• Support other charitable activities that may be needed

You can apply for grants of any sum up to a maximum of £30K. Trustees will also consider a bid for a spread grant, i.e. £30K as £10K for each of the next three years. Please note that the trustees are likely to award more small grants than large grants. They will consider a range of factors including the service or item being applied for, the number of beneficiaries, the importance of the grant to the applicant charity and the needs of the beneficiaries.

https://www.veteransfoundation.org.uk/

Church Conservation Grants – Morris Fund

Grants between £500 and £5000 are awarded to churches, chapels and other places of worship in the United Kingdom for the conservation of decorative features and monuments, but not for structural repairs.

Grants will be awarded to support smaller programmes of work concerned with the conservation of decorative or non-structural features such as:

• stained glass windows
• sculpture
• furniture
• internal monuments and tombs
• wall paintings

The decorative feature, monument, etc must date from no later than 1896 (the year of William Morris’s death). The next deadline for applications is 31 August 2022.

https://www.sal.org.uk/grants/morris-fund-conservation-grants/

Heritage Impact Fund – Architectural Heritage Fund

The HIF offers tailored finance for charities, social enterprises and community businesses across the UK to develop sustainable heritage at the very heart of vibrant local economies.

Loans from £25,000 to £500,000 are available for up to five years with tailored terms and both flexible and incentivised interest rates for impactful projects. These could include both capital and interest repayment holidays.

HIF supports applicants across the UK who are undertaking a capital project or are looking to build upon or scale-up an existing enterprise.

The HIF is a joint initiative with contributions from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, Cadw and the Architectural Heritage Fund.

http://ahfund.org.uk/hif

Emergency Essentials Programme – BBC Children in Need

Family Fund Business Services are working in collaboration with BBC Children in Need to deliver the Emergency Essentials programme supporting children and young people living with severe poverty as well as additional pressures such as domestic violence, disability or poor health in the family.

The programme can deliver or fund 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.

https://www.familyfundservices.co.uk/emergency-essentials/

HS2 Community and Business Funds – Groundwork UK

Two funds are available to local communities to help with the disruption that will be caused by the construction of Phase one of HS2 between London and the West Midlands; the Community and Environment Fund and the Business and Local Economy Fund. The objective of these funds is to add benefit, over and above committed mitigation and statutory compensation, to communities and local economies along the route.

The administration of these funds is managed on behalf of HS2 Ltd by the charity Groundwork who will ensure both funds remain available for applications throughout the construction of Phase One.

https://www.groundwork.org.uk/Sites/hs2funds

BlueSpark Foundation grants

Schools, colleges and community groups in England can apply for grants to Blue Spark Foundation for a wide range of projects. The Foundation value academic, vocational, artistic and sporting endeavour in equal measure but are particularly keen to support projects which will help enhance the self-confidence, team working skills and future employability of children and young people.

Many grants will be under £2,000 and none are more than £5,000.

Projects which could be supported include drama, music, sport, art and design, debating, public speaking, academic education, vocational training, community projects, enterprise projects and educational excursions. This list is illustrative and not exclusive as to the types of projects that the Foundation support.

http://bluesparkfoundation.org.uk/

Family Fund – The Family Fund Trust for families with severely disabled children

The Family Fund helps families across the UK who are raising a disabled or seriously ill child or young person aged 17 or under. You can apply to Family Fund subject to a number of criteria which include that you are the parent or carer of a disabled or seriously ill child or young person aged 17 or under and that you have evidence of entitlement to one of the following: Universal Credit, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, Employment Support Allowance, Housing Benefit and Pension Credit.

See the website for more details.

https://www.familyfund.org.uk/

Landfill Communities Fund – SUEZ Communities Trust

SUEZ Communities Trust (formerly SITA) provides funding awards of up to £50,000 to not-for-profit organisations to undertake work that is eligible under the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF). Applications are considered for three areas of work which qualify for funding through the LCF. These include:

• Public Amenities
• Historic Buildings, Structures or Sites
• Biodiversity

Projects can be supported that make physical improvements at sites located in any of 100 funding zones around qualifying sites owned by SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK.

http://www.suezcommunitiestrust.org.uk/

Help the Homeless grants

Help the Homeless makes grants to charitable organisations with the aim of helping homeless people return to the community and enabling them to resume a normal life. Grants are available to small and medium-sized charitable organisations to fund the capital costs of projects with grants of up to £5,000. The quarterly deadlines for grant applications each year are: 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December.

http://www.help-the-homeless.org.uk/

Grants to support repair and conservation of war memorials – War Memorials Trust

War Memorials Trust grants support repair and conservation works undertaken following best conservation practice. Almost all war memorials are eligible for support and custodians/owners can find information about eligibility and processes on the website.

Grants are available between 25% and 75% of eligible costs and are likely to be considered up to a maximum grant of £5,000 for non-freestanding war memorials while freestanding, non-beneficiary war memorials may be considered up to a maximum grant of £30,000. There is no minimum award. 

War Memorials Trust seeks to help all war memorial custodians, whatever the nature and size of their war memorial by facilitating repair and conservation projects. Details on current eligibility and deadline dates as well as how to apply can be found at the web address below.

http://www.warmemorials.org/grants/

Football Foundation grants

The Football Foundation provides grants for building or refurbishing grassroots facilities, such as changing rooms, 3G pitches, fencing, portable floodlights, pitch improvements and clubhouse refurbishment. The Fund is available to football clubs, schools, councils and local sports associations and gives grants for projects that:

• Improve facilities for football and other sport in local communities.
• Sustain or increase participation amongst children and adults, regardless of background age, or ability.
• Help children and adults to develop their physical, mental, social and moral capacities through regular participation in sport.

Grants are available for between £10,000 and £500,000.

Looking for funding | Football Foundation