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Rural Funding Digest - August 2022
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
Climate Action Fund – The National Lottery Community Fund
This funding aims to help communities across the UK to address climate change.
They’re looking for projects that focus on the link between nature and climate. They want to fund projects that use nature to encourage more community-led climate action. The Fund expect these projects to bring other important social and economic benefits such as the creation of strong, resilient and healthy communities or the development of ‘green’ skills and jobs.
They are interested in projects that can do at least one of the following:
- show how creating a deeper connection with nature will lead to changing people’s behaviours and greater care for the environment.
- show how by bringing nature back into the places we live and work, we can help communities to reduce or adapt to the impacts of climate change.
They’re looking to fund between 12 and 15 projects with up to £1.5 million over 2 to 5 years, with most projects between £300,000 and £500,000. Development grants of £50,000 to £150,000 over 12 to 18 months are also available.
To get more information about this funding, you can attend events online in August and September.
Climate Action Fund | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)
Air Quality Grants – Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
The government is inviting local councils across England to bid for funding from a £7 million pot to find innovative ways to improve the air quality in their areas.
The government’s Air Quality Grant helps councils develop and implement measures to benefit schools, businesses and communities and reduce the impact of air pollution on people’s health.
The grant will encourage and support projects that deal with improving air quality as well as improving knowledge about the health risks.
Local authorities across the country can bid for a portion of the fund for a wide range of projects to improve air quality and create cleaner and healthier environments. The criteria for this year’s grant period will prioritise three areas:
- Projects that reduce air pollution where there are nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exceedances;
- Projects focusing on improving public knowledge and information about air quality, including steps individuals can take to reduce their exposure to air pollution; and
- Projects that include measures to deal with particulate matter, which is the pollutant most harmful to human health.
The grant will be competitive, and applications must be submitted by 23 September.
£7 million fund for local action to cut air pollution - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Heritage Innovation Fund – National Lottery Heritage Fund
The Heritage Innovation Fund is a pilot initiative. It is intended to build innovation capacity within, across and between different parts of heritage around a shared priority challenge area – the workforce, skills and ways of working needed for the future.
The Heritage Innovation Fund is intended to involve three phases:
- Explore is for organisations at the early ideas stage. This phase will focus on defining a clear problem statement and helping you to develop potential solutions for testing in practice. Grants up to £25,000 are available.
- This phase will offer support to put promising prototypes and ideas into practice to gather evidence of what works.
- This phase will support you to implement findings more widely, embedding, sharing and rolling out good practice across the heritage sector.
Applications are currently invited to the ‘Explore’ phase only. The fund closes on 27 September 2022.
Heritage Innovation Fund | The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Brownfield Land Release Fund – Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
Councils are able to apply for a share of the new £180 million Brownfield Land Release Fund 2, which will aim to transform disused urban areas into 17,600 new homes and create around 54,000 jobs over the next 4 years.
An initial £40 million is available to support local regeneration projects, releasing council land for around 4,000 new homes (and creating 12,400 jobs). The move is intended to boost local economies and help thousands of young people and families into homeownership. The remaining £140 million of the Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 will be made available to councils over the next 2 years.
The fund aims to support the transformation of small council-owned sites that have been previously developed, by funding small scale infrastructure and remediation work to enable the release of the land for new homes.
The deadline for applications is 19 August 2022.
Derelict sites to be transformed into new homes as new brownfield fund opens - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Branching Out Fund – The Tree Council
Grants are available for planting trees, orchards and hedgerows for schools, community groups, parish/town councils and Tree Warden Networks.
You can apply for trees, hedges, orchards, or any combination of these.
Key requirements of this fund are that there is strong community involvement, and that children and/or young people up to the age of 21 are involved in the planting, and ideally the planning and aftercare of the project.
You can apply for grants of between £200 and £2000 and the deadline for applications is 4 December 2022.
Nature-based Solutions for Climate: Habitat Creation Grant
The Nature-based Solutions for Climate programme offers one-off grants to partnership-led pilot projects. Projects must achieve habitat creation and restoration at a landscape scale - an area of at least 500 hectares in size.
Successful applications will receive part of a £5 million pot from public funding. The programme aims to:
- learn how carbon accumulates in, and is released from, different habitats across the country
- show how private and public funding can combine to achieve economically viable and long-term environmental objectives
- understand the benefits of considering nature-based solutions at the landscape scale
- provide evidence to inform future grant schemes
You can apply for funding as a partnership (not as an individual) if your project is based, or partially based, in England and led by a:
- not-for-profit organisation, including charities and environmental non-governmental organisations
- public body, including local authorities and national park authorities
- company or other business registered with?HMRC, including sole traders, academic institutions, community interest companies and community benefit companies
The deadline for applications is 29 August 2022.
Nature-based Solutions for Climate: apply for a habitat creation grant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
UK Community Tree Planting Grants – International Tree Foundation
Every year, ITF supports community groups to achieve their tree-planting ambitions. During the summer they issue a ‘call for proposals’, inviting you to send your ideas and proposals. This could be something small, such as community woodland or orchard. Or it could be a large-scale project like landscape restoration or rewilding.
The UK Community Tree Planting Programme aims to support community projects
that will:
- Conserve, restore and protect indigenous trees and woodlands, forests, habitats and associated biodiversity
- Support community engagement in tree planting to promote reforestation and to increase awareness of the importance of trees and forests to environmental and human well-being
- Encourage social cohesion and inclusion
There are two tiers of funding available:
- Small scale: A maximum of £1,000 is available for projects of up to 1 year induration. This could be small community woodland, orchards, hedging projects, etc.
- Larger scale: Projects to range from 1000 – 10,000 trees, with a maximum price equivalent to £1.50/tree (inclusive of tree protection). Most suitable for community woodland or hedging projects.
The final deadline for applications is 16 December 2022.
UK Community Tree Planting Grants — International Tree Foundation
Regulators’ Pioneer Fund – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Regulators and local authorities can apply for grants of up to £1 million for projects that will help create a UK regulatory environment that encourages business innovation and investment. The government will particularly welcome those initiatives aimed at tackling the cost of living, aiding the transition to net zero, or supporting efforts to level up the UK.
Projects must be innovative and reflect a research, learning and experimentation approach to regulation.
The competition opened on 21 July and closes on 29 September 2022.
Apply for the Regulators' Pioneer Fund: round 3 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Re-imagine Fund – Art Fund
The Reimagine programme is designed to inspire creativity and increase stability in the sector. It supports organisations to develop or refresh their work in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Through this scheme grants of up to £50,000 are available for projects that are:
- Creative or innovative
- Context-specific
- Impactful
- Engaging
In 2022, there is one key aim for the Reimagine programme – to fund projects that will help organisations reimagine their approach to engagement.
The deadline for applications is 12 September 2022.
Powering Up – Power to Change
Powering Up is a programme for community businesses who need support shifting from an emergency mindset to investing in future planning. Powering Up supports community businesses in the key areas of digital growth, environmental sustainability, and financial resilience, with a cross cutting theme of diversity, equity and inclusion.
The initial phase of the programme focuses on community businesses looking to learn how digital skills could help their business become more effective and efficient. The programme is now expanding to include support to help your business become more environmentally sustainable.
They anticipate supporting 30 community businesses in this bidding round with a tailored support package for each community business worth up to £20,000 in total.
The deadline for applications is 19 September 2022.
Community Ownership Fund – Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The government is providing £150 million over 4 years to support community groups in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of being lost.
Voluntary and community groups can?bid?for?match?funding to acquire important assets?and?run them for the benefit of the local community.
The Fund will run until 2024/25 and there will be at least 8 bidding rounds in total.
The Community Ownership Fund launched the updated prospectus on 27 May 2022 with the first bidding window commencing 10 June 2022 for expressions of interest.
The closing date for full applications to this bidding window is 19 August 2022.
Community Ownership Fund: prospectus - GOV.UK (www.gov.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 second round is now open to applications and closes on 26 August 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.
Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) will upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock currently below Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C up to that standard. It will support the installation of energy performance measures in social homes in England, and help:
- deliver warm, energy-efficient homes
- reduce carbon emissions
- tackle fuel poverty
- support green jobs
- develop the retrofit sector
- improve the comfort, health and well-being of social housing tenants
Local authorities, combined authorities and registered providers of social housing (including housing associations and ALMOs that are registered providers) can apply to Wave 2 of the SHDF for funding.
The competition window for SHDF Wave 2 funding is likely to open in late August / early September 2022.
Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund: Wave 2 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Empowering Local Communities and Under 18 Better Starts grants – Asda Foundation
U18 Better Starts is an Asda Foundation grant for local groups aimed at supporting a broad range of activities for children under the age of 18 which contribute towards transforming communities and improving children’s lives.
Empowering Local Communities is an Asda Foundation grant for local groups aimed at supporting a broad range of activities which contribute towards transforming communities and improving lives. Groups supporting refugees arriving to the UK are also welcome to apply under this grant.
The Foundation state that they know the rising cost of living is having a big impact on communities and these grants are open to groups helping to address this issue.
The application window for both grants is 30th May – 19th August.
Foundation Grants | Asda Foundation
School musical equipment grants – Universal Music UK Sound Foundation
The Universal Music UK Sound Foundation (formerly the EMI Music Sound Foundation) provides grants to help towards the purchase of musical instruments and/or equipment for schools who require the equipment to fund music education.
Applications are open for funding up to £1500 from Schools (teaching the national curriculum) based in the UK and Ireland towards the cost of musical resources.
The deadline for applications is 10 August 2022.
UMUKSF SCHOOL AWARDS – UMUK Sound Foundation
Sustainable farming Incentive – department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Sustainable farm Incentive opened for applications in England on 30 June 2022. The scheme is available to all farmers who currently receive Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments, designed to be accessible, and will reward sustainable practices which support food production and benefit the environment.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive is the first of three new environmental land management schemes being introduced under the Agricultural Transition Plan, the UK’s new system of farming now we are outside the EU. Government states: “The schemes will ensure long-term food security by investing in the foundations of food production: healthy soil, water, and biodiverse ecosystems. Defra has worked with more than 4,000 farmers to test and trial the new approach.”
How to apply online for an SFI standards agreement on land outside a common - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund – Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
England’s village halls are set to benefit from a major new renovation fund launched by the Government on 28 May 2022 to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
At the heart of rural life and communities, village halls are home to fitness classes, coffee mornings, community groups, jumble sales, art clubs and post office services – even in the most remote of locations. They often provide the only place for a community to meet and socialise locally and are vital in tackling loneliness, providing a lifeline for those who can’t travel long distances.
The new £3 million grant fund aims to provide a significant boost to rural communities with 125 village halls set to benefit, allowing vital modernisation and improvements to take place.
Details on how the funding will be administered are due to be announced in due course.
Platinum Jubilee fund creates boost for village halls - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Neighbourhood Planning Grant Funding – Locality
DLUHC have extended the 4-year support programme (2018-22) for a fifth year into 2022/23.
The programme will continue to offer grants and Technical Support packages. If you're working on a neighbourhood plan or neighbourhood development order, you can apply for grant funding of up to £10,000. Further grant funding up to an additional £8000 is available to groups meeting certain criteria.
Home - Locality Neighbourhood Planning
Armed Forces Covenant Fund: Reaching and Supporting Armed Forces Communities programme
Charities and CICs can apply for a grant of up to £100,000 over a period of up to three years.
This is a programme that will fund projects that will deliver significant changes or improvements for Armed Forces communities where there are hidden or compelling needs. They want to hear from those who know the most about what is needed and that’s why this year they are running such a broad programme.
If you apply for a grant, you need to show how this would help to address hidden, compelling and complex needs, for specific and identified beneficiaries, in a meaningful way, and where evidence has highlighted gaps in support and provision.
For a decision in October, the deadline for applications is 8 August. For a decision in February 2023, the deadline for applications is 14 November.
Reaching and Supporting Armed Forces Communities (covenantfund.org.uk)
Force for Change programme – Armed Forces Covenant Fund
This programme will award grants of up to £10,000 for community projects that reduce isolation and promote integration; supporting post-Covid recovery in local Armed Forces communities affected by isolation.
To be eligible to apply, your organisation must be one of the following:
- A registered charity or Community Interest Company (CIC) with substantial recent experience of supporting Armed Forces communities and have been registered for at least one year at the time of your application.
- An Armed Forces unit or base.
- A local authority.
- A school.
- A statutory body that delivers or co-ordinates NHS care
For a decision in October, the deadline for applications is 8 August. For a decision in February 2023, the deadline for applications is 14 November.
Force for Change programme : (covenantfund.org.uk)
Voluntary Lump Sum Exit Scheme – Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
As set out in the government’s Agricultural Transition Plan 2021-24, they will offer farmers who wish to leave the industry the option of taking a lump sum payment. This is designed to enable those who want to leave the industry to be able to leave in a managed way. Once they have received a lump sum, they won’t be eligible for any further Direct Payments (Basic Payment Scheme payments or delinked payments) in England.
Farmers are able to apply up to and including 30 September 2022. Applicants then have until 31 May 2024 to transfer out their agricultural land where required.
Alongside the Lump Sum Exit Scheme government also want to support new entrants coming into the industry and will be providing more details later this year.
Lump Sum Exit Scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Community Transport Grants – Motability
Through this new grant programme Motability aim to help charities and organisations to make an immediate impact for disabled people, by awarding funding to develop, expand and improve community transport options. The programme is focussed on:
- Funding support for staff or volunteer training and costs.
- Funding to increase the number of vehicles available in the community to help organisations support disabled people.
- Funding local, regional, or national initiatives to increase awareness of community transport and influence its inclusion in transport strategy and policy.
- Funding to schemes, programmes and initiatives that already exist, and who provide best practice solutions, but need further support to remain operational or scale up the service they can provide to help more disabled people.
Charities and organisations working in the community transport sector can apply for grants from £100,000 to £4 million at any point over the next three years until March 2025.
Charitable Grants | Community Transport Grant | Motability
VCSE Health and Wellbeing Fund 2022 to 2025 – Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England and Improvement (NHSEI)
DHSC and NHSEI are seeking applications from voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations for the next round of the Health and Wellbeing Fund.
The theme of the fund 2022 to 2025 is women’s reproductive wellbeing in the workplace. Linking in with the development of the new Women’s Health Strategy, this fund aims to support VCSE organisations who can provide a holistic support offer to assist women experiencing reproductive health issues (for example menopause, fertility problems, miscarriage and pregnancy loss, menstrual health and gynaecological conditions) to remain in, and return to, the workplace.
Projects must:
- develop or expand a programme that supports women to remain in, and return to, the workplace
- have been operating in this area, or a closely related area, for at least the last 3 years
The deadline for applications is 5 August.
Sustainable Farming Incentive – Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is?the first of 3 new environmental schemes being introduced under the Agricultural Transition Plan. The other 2 schemes are Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery.
SFI aims to help farmers manage land in a way that improves food production and is more environmentally sustainable.
Farmers will be paid to provide public goods, such as:
- improved water quality
- biodiversity
- climate change mitigation
- animal health and welfare
In 2022, SFI aims to:
- encourage actions that improve soil health
- recognise how moorland provides benefits to the public (public goods)
- improve animal health and welfare by helping farmers with the costs of veterinary advice for livestock
You’ll be eligible to apply for an SFI standards agreement if you’re a farmer who is eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), with land in England. The scheme opened to applications to all BPS eligible farmers on 30 June 2022.
Sustainable Farming Incentive: full guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund
This fund supports museums to use their collections to become relevant and sustainable organisations that are connected to and valued by their communities. All applications to the fund must focus on existing collections, typically held by an accredited museum or partnership of museums and other organisations, and the funded work must engage and involve audiences to achieve public benefit.
In 2022 they have simplified the grants they are offering, recognising the challenge of the pandemic and seeking ways to build on the great work undertaken in the last two years.
This year they will offer grants of up to £90k over around two years for museums to test new, ambitious, creative collections engagement that has a social impact. These grants are for museums to innovate, kick-start or develop their collections engagement practice where there is a strong link between a relevant collection and audience.
The deadline for expressions of interest is 14 September 2022.
Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund - Museums Association
NFU Mutual Charitable Trust grants
The Trust focuses on providing funding to 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.
The Trustees meet twice a year to consider applications received. These meetings are currently held in June and November.
Applications for the November meeting must be submitted by 28th October 2022.
Applications for Funding | Charitable Trust | NFU Mutual
Places and Spaces Fund – Sport England
A £7 million pot with up to £10,000 available in match funding for Crowdfunder projects, as part of a Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games package to help community sport and physical activity groups improve places and spaces across the country.
Working with projects across the country, Places and Spaces is a match-funding initiative, delivered in partnership with Crowdfunder.
They're especially interested in receiving bids from areas experiencing high levels of deprivation, impact of coronavirus (Covid-19), loss capability and capacity in community organisations.
They anticipate the fund will remain open until December 2022.
Places and Spaces | Sport England
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 grassroots groups and organisations who are run by and for one or more of their 5 communities of focus: D/deaf, Disabled, Neurodivergent LGBT+ people: LGBT+ People of Colour and People from Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnicities: LGBTQI+ Women; Older LGBT+ people; Trans and Non-Binary people.
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 opened on 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 £20,000 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
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 grantsaveraging £5,000 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 £25,000 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
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
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. The next deadline for applications is 7 November 2022.
- 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 15 September 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 until 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. EWCO is one of a suite of Forestry Commission initiatives to support woodland creation and tree planting across England.
EWCO is open to owner occupiers, tenants, landlords and licensors who have full management control of the land in the application (if you don’t have full management control you will need consent from those who do). Joint applications, multiple land managers and applications on common land and areas of shared grazing are eligible.
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 7 September 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/
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.
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.
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 £2000 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:
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.
Emergency Essentials Programme – BBC Children in Need
BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme supports children and young people who are facing exceptionally difficult circumstances, and is delivered by Family Fund Business Services. The programme provides items that meet a child’s most basic needs such as a bed to sleep in, a cooker to provide a hot meal and other items or services critical to a child’s wellbeing.
The Fund can help:
- Children and young people up to and including the age of 17 who are experiencing a crisis or emergency and live in the UK.
- They can only accept one application per household within a 12 month period.
https://www.familyfundservices.co.uk/emergency-essentials/
HS2 Community and Business Funds – Groundwork UK
Groundwork is working with High Speed Two (HS2) to deliver HS2 Community and Business Funds to help with the disruption that will be caused by the construction
In October 2014 the government announced two funding programmes to help offset the disruption of Phase One on local communities and businesses – the Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and the Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF).
In January 2018, the then HS2 Minister announced an additional £5 million is to be added to the CEF and BLEF funding pot for those disrupted during construction of the Phase 2a scheme from Birmingham to Crewe. This brings the overall total of CEF and BLEF combined for Phase One and Phase 2a to £45m.
£40 million is for communities experiencing disruption from the construction of Phase One and £5 million is for communities experiencing disruption from the construction of Phase 2a. The Funds will be available during the construction period and for the first year of operational HS2 services. The Funds will support good quality bids that meet CEF and BLEF criteria, and funding will be available throughout this time period.
Both funds (CEF and BLEF) will award money from the same funding pot and so the amounts allocated for each Fund will depend on the number and quality of applications.
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 normally awarded at 50% of eligible costs depending on the priority level of your project 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 £20,000. The minimum award is normally £125 but there is some discretion on minimum and maximum grant levels.
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
Prepared by Andy Dean, Assistant Director at the Rural Services NetworkEmail: andy.dean@sparse.gov.uk |
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