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Rural Funding Digest - October 2023
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
Supporting Rural Communities – Royal Countryside Fund
The Royal Countryside Fund remains one of very few funders focused on rural communities across the UK. The Fund seeks to work with local organisations to help address the challenges faced by those who live and work in rural areas.
Supporting Rural Communities is the Fund’s flagship grant programme, awarding £500,000 each year to power community-led solutions that enhance the viability and sustainability of rural communities. Grants are for a maximum of £25,000 over two years, and applicants must be from properly constituted, not for profit organisations with an income of less than £500,000. They support projects taking places in villages and towns in rurally isolated areas, where access to services is limited.
The deadline for applications is 20 October 2023.
Rural Communities - The Royal Countryside Fund
Million Hours – The National Lottery Community Fund
This funding is for organisations to give extra support to young people in areas where they may be at risk of anti-social behaviour. The Lottery want to fund extra hours of youth work for additional activities that give these young people more places to go and positive things to do.
This programme is funded by the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund.
They can fund work with young people aged:
- 11 to 18.
- up to 25 if they have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The fund is only open to projects in some parts of England. A full list is available on the website.
The deadline for applications is 24 November 2023.
Million Hours | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)
Everyday Heritage Grants – Historic England
Historic England has launched a new round of their grant opportunity 'Everyday Heritage Grants: Celebrating Working Class Histories'.
Building on the success of the first round of Everyday Heritage Grants in 2022, they continue to be interested in funding projects that celebrate working class histories and the historic places that make up everyday life.
The grants are for creative projects that focus on heritage connecting people to historic places, specifically those people and places that are overlooked or underrepresented.
They will accept proposals for projects with costs of up to £25,000 but we are keen to fund a number of smaller projects up to £10,000.
All organisations and individuals are eligible to apply including community interest groups, charities and local authorities. Theye are especially interested in applications from groups and individuals that are not heritage organisations but can deliver heritage projects. While they are willing to fund proposals with links to established heritage institutions, they are especially interested in funding community-led projects. The closing date for applications is 7 November 2023.
Everyday Heritage Grants: Celebrating Working Class Histories | Historic England
Natural flood management programme – Environment Agency
Natural flood management (NFM) uses natural processes to reduce the risk of flooding. These processes protect, restore, and mimic the natural functions of catchments, floodplains and the coast to slow and store water.
NFM measures can include:
- soil and land management
- river and floodplain management
- woodland management
- run-off management
- coast and estuary management
In September 2023 the Environment Agency and Defra announced £25 million funding for improving flood resilience through a new NFM programme. The Environment Agency are managing this programme.
Any person can apply as the lead applicant including a company, partnership, or any other legal entity. Likely lead applicants include:
- risk management authorities
- farmers, land managers and landowners
- third sector organisations including environmental Non-Governmental Organisations - for example river trusts and wildlife trusts
- businesses
- community groups
The deadline for applications is 10 November 2023.
Natural flood management programme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Youth Climate Action Fund – Energy Saving Trust Foundation
The Energy Saving Trust Foundation’s Youth Climate Action Fund supports young people in the UK to take action on the climate issues that matter most to them.
They’re looking for organisations and projects that work with young people experiencing inequality and want to engage with them on the climate emergency.
They want to work with organisations to understand how young people view the climate emergency and what issues are most important to them. This could include practical environmental projects, carbon reduction initiatives, education and awareness work, or advocacy and campaigning.
Gants are available to organisations based in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, North East England and North West England for a period of two years.
Organisations can apply for up to £20,000 a year (£40,000 in total) and the deadline for expressions of interest is 16 October 2023.
The Foundation - Energy Saving Trust
DHSC Community Automated External Defibrillator (AED) fund
Organisations across England are invited to bid for a share of £1 million of government funding to buy life-saving defibrillators for community spaces like town halls, local parks or post offices. The fund will support provision of 2000 AED's. These will be distributed across England during 2023-2024, supporting any organisation based in England that is not eligible for the current Department of Education AED programme. The funding for the scheme is based on a first come first served basis. The funding will be allocated on the following basis:
- 100 applications will be selected by DHSC to receive a fully funded AED - selection is based on areas that are most in need of AED throughout England. Applicants will be advised in mid October and units shipped in mid November.
- 1900 applications will receive partial DHSC funding for an AED - organisations will be required to provide their own match funding of c.£750.
The closing date for applications is 21 September 2024 – or once all the funding has been allocated.
Rewilding Challenge Fund – Rewilding Britain
The Rewilding Challenge Fund is awarded to one project per year. Funding is now open for Expressions of Interest and closes on 12 October 2023.
To apply, your project must be:
- based in Britain (England, Wales or Scotland)
- part of/?eligible to join our Rewilding Network
- at least 1,000ha/10 km² in size (the majority of which is contiguous and proposed for rewilding)
They're looking for diverse groups (landowners, sea-users, organisations, communities, businesses etc) who want to work together to develop innovative models to upscale rewilding.
Rewilding Challenge Fund | Rewilding Britain
Community Ownership Fund – Department for levelling Up, Housing & Communities
Pubs, community halls, gardens, sports clubs and other treasured locations across the UK can benefit from up to £2 million in government funding each through the Community Ownership Fund, which is open again for applications.
The fund gives local people the chance to save prized community assets that are at risk of being lost forever and keep them open for future generations to enjoy.
Government state that: “To encourage as many applications as possible and make the process easier, the money available for applicants has doubled to £2 million, and the amount organisations need to match fund has decreased from 50% to 20%.”
The deadline for applications is 11 October 2023.
Community Ownership Fund: prospectus - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Swimming Pool Support Fund – Sport England & DCMS
The government's Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) provides a total of £60 million to local authorities in England as a support package for public leisure facilities with swimming pools, and is split into two phases.
- Phase I - Revenue: £20m is available to support facilities with swimming pools with increased cost pressures, leaving them most vulnerable to closure or significant service reduction. This phase is now closed to applications.
- Phase II - Capital: £40m will also be made available by the government for capital investment to improve the energy efficiency of public facilities with pools in the medium to long term. This phase closes to applications on 17 October 2023.
The objectives of Phase II - Capital of the SPSF are to:
- Improve the energy efficiency of facilities offering public swimming and support the leisure sector to transition to a position of environmental and financial sustainability
- minimise the closure of public swimming pool provision within local authority areas
- prevent gaps in public swimming provision emerging
- reduce carbon output of the public leisure sector over the medium to long term
- prioritise support in those areas of greatest socio-economic need (as evidenced by deprivation), where all other factors are equal
For the purposes of SPSF, a pool must offer public pay-as-you-swim sessions to be eligible and this offer must be significant enough to be considered part of the local public swimming provision by the local authority. Private hire of a swimming pool is not considered to be public access.
Swimming Pool Support Fund | Sport England
Castle Studies Trust grants
The Castle Studies Trust is able to fund types of work that enhance the understanding and knowledge of castles.
Grants will initially focus on new work on castles such as architectural and geophysical surveys or scientific tests such as radio-carbon dating as well as projects to enhance the general public’s understanding of castles such as reconstruction drawings.
Grants will be up to a maximum of £10,000and the closing date for applications is 1 December 2023.
Rowing Foundation grants
The Foundation gives grants of £500-£4,000 (up to 50% of the overall cost of the project) to help organisations and clubs involved in on water elements of the sport of Rowing who are individually affiliated to British Rowing (other than via their governing body) and whose requirements may be too small or who may be otherwise ineligible for an approach to the National Lottery or other similar sources of funds.
Funds are limited and statistically the Foundation favours giving grants for equipment that will be used on the water and exclusively for juniors and the disabled of all ages.
The deadline for applications is 23 October 2023.
Going Places – Art Fund and National Lottery Heritage Fund
Applications have opened for Art Fund’s new programme, Going Places, which is investing in small to medium-sized museums across the UK.
The programme will enable museums to collaborate with each other and their local communities to create new and innovative touring exhibitions.
Art Fund are inviting applications in this first phase of the project. It will establish five networks of between three and five museums, with each network developing bespoke touring exhibitions. The focus is on engaging and involving under-served audiences with museum collections.
The national Lottery Heritage Fund has supported the first phase of the programme with £252,839 development funding, ahead of Art Fund making a delivery grant application at a later date.
The second phase of the project is due to start in 2025 and will run for five years. The programme will be shaped collaboratively with the participating museums, and will include funding for the museum networks to enable:
- delivery of up to two touring exhibitions per network
- community consultation, co-creation, co-curation and engagement
- training and mentoring opportunities
- programme evaluation
- development of a wider fundraising strategy around exhibitions and the sustainability of the networks
The deadline for applications is 24 November 2023.
Art Fund calls for museum partners in new UK-wide programme | The National Lottery Heritage Fund
UK Search & Rescue Volunteer Training Fund – Charities Aid Foundation
The aim of the UKSAR Volunteer Training Fund is to assist Search and Rescue volunteering, by providing support for the costs of volunteers' operational training, to help improve safety and the quality of UKSAR services.
Grants are available from the UKSAR Volunteer Training Fund (UKSAR VTF)and funding will cover the period April 2024 to March 2026. Grants will offer support to UK Search and Rescue (SAR) organisations towards the training costs of their operational volunteers to support UK Search and Rescue (SAR) organisations with the training costs of their operational volunteers. Training must be considered to be a high priority to the organisation and must improve both the capability of the organisation and its volunteers and reflect the proven operational need in the local area.
The fund will provide up to 50% of training costs and they expect requests for support to be a minimum of £1,000, depending on need, scale and impact.
The deadline for applications is 14 November 2023.
Apply for a UK Search and Rescue Volunteer Training grant |CAF (cafonline.org)
Community Organisations Cost-of-Living Fund – The national Lottery Community Fund
This funding is for organisations that support people and communities under severe pressure because of the increased cost of living.
The main priority is to fund organisations supporting low-income households and individuals. You can apply for between £10,000 and £75,000.
To apply your organisation must already run critical services around at least one of the following:
- food and emergency supplies – like food and baby banks or the provision of hot meals, clothes or toiletries
- emergency shelter – like night shelters or other accommodation for people experiencing homelessness
- safe spaces – like domestic abuse services and youth services
- warmth – like warm rooms and spaces
- financial and housing advice – like giving people advice because of the increased cost of living.
Your organisation must also be facing both increased demand for these critical services and increased costs of delivering these critical services.
The deadline for applications is 16 October 2023 and funding must be spent by 31 March 2024.
Neighbourhood Planning Grant Funding – Locality
Locality are pleased to announce that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities have extended the full support programme for a sixth year into 2023/24.
The programme will continue to offer grants and Technical Support packages. Applications for both are now open.
The programme offers 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
Physical activity grants – Parkinson’s UK
This grants programme aims to help people with Parkinson's to get and stay active.
In 2023 they are able to provide grants of up to £3,000 to support physical activity projects for people with Parkinson's all over the UK.
The application window for 2023 is now open and will remain open until 31 October 2023.
Grants for physical activity providers | Parkinson's UK (parkinsons.org.uk)
Branching Out Fund – the Tree Council
The Branching Out Fund is now accepting applications towards the costs of community planting projects.
Branching Out supports applications ranging in value from £250 up to £2,500, with specific criteria for those under £500, and those above £500.
Schools, community groups, residents’ associations, Parish Councils, charities and many others are eligible to apply,
The deadline for applications is 3 December 2023.
Branching Out Fund | Grants towards trees and hedgerows (treecouncil.org.uk)
Open Grants Programme – The Clothworkers’ Foundation
The Foundation award grants to UK registered charities, CICs, and other registered UK not-for-profit organisations (including special schools). Grants are awarded towards capital projects, which they define as:
- Buildings: purchase, construction, renovation or refurbishment.
- Fittings, Fixtures, and Equipment: this includes but is not limited to office equipment/furniture, sports/gym equipment, digital/audio visual equipment, software and websites (more guidance on digital infrastructure can be found here), garden equipment, specialist therapeutic (excluding medical) equipment. It does not include equipment for one-off use, or which will be given to service users for personal use on a permanent basis.
- Vehicles: This includes a minibus, car, caravan, people-carrier, or 4X4. We are unlikely to fund the total cost of a new vehicle and do not provide grants towards vehicle leasing.
They fund both large and small projects.
What We Fund | The Clothworkers' Foundation (clothworkersfoundation.org.uk)
Toy Trust grants
The Toy Trust welcome applications from small UK based children's charities working for the benefit of children across the UK.
Grants up to £5000 are available and the next deadline for applications is in mid-November.
Bernard Sunley Foundation grants
The Foundation offers grants in the categories of Community, Education, Health or Social Welfare.
They offer three levels of grants. These are large grants of £20,000 and above; medium grants of up to £20,000 and small grants of £5,000 and under. Grants can be used for:
- Capital projects which include new buildings, extensions, refurbishments and recreational spaces.
- New minibuses and other vehicles that provide a vital service to those most in need in their local community.
- Churches and other places of worship with a strong, secular community focus.
- Charities or CIOs (Charitable Incorporated Organisations) registered in England and Wales.
- Certain organisations with exempt status such as specialist schools, scout and guide groups, housing associations, cooperatives, and community benefit societies.
Applications are accepted all year round.
What We Fund - Bernard Sunley Foundation
Thrive Together Fund – Social Investment Business
The Thrive Together Fund provides a funding package of loan (75%) and grant (25%) to eligible charities and social enterprises in England.
The Fund is delivered by a partnership made up of Social Investment Business, Co-operative and Community Finance, Fredericks Foundation, Groundwork, Homeless Link and The Architectural Heritage Fund.
The fund is for small and medium sized charities and social enterprises based in and delivering impact in England, who are looking to grow or diversify their business models.
Between £25,000 and £150,000 is available to apply for (inclusive of loan and grant). The fund is currently open.
Thrive Together Fund | Funding | Social Investment Business (sibgroup.org.uk)
Small Grants Programme – Sport England
The Small Grants Programme seeks to develop opportunities for communities to get more people physically active. New projects from not-for-profit organisations will be supported through providing National Lottery funding of between £300 and £15,000.
They want to support projects that bring communities together and provide sport and physical activities for people who may be less physically active.
They also particularly want to support projects focusing on environmental sustainability.
They believe that communities that work together and share resources provide a stronger and more sustainable impact. Therefore, Sport England want applications from projects that demonstrate how they connect with their communities, make best use of the existing skills and assets in an area, and will provide the biggest possible impact to those who need it most.
The closing date for applications is 31 March 2024.
Small Grants Programme | Sport England
New Stories, New Audiences – Association of Independent Museums (AIM)
AIM know that all museums need to increase and widen their audiences to enhance their sustainability, and to widen participation to groups that are currently under-represented. They want New Stories New Audiences to inspire museums to stay relevant to their audiences and to increase their impact.
Funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund, New Stories New Audiences is open to all AIM members in the small museum category (up to 20,000 visitors).
They will fund projects up to £15,000 that result in a wider range of people being involved in heritage at your organisation. They expect you to have identified a new story that you wish to tell and undertaken some initial research to identify who the new audience will be. They also expect you to work with a new partner, to work differently and to try something new.
Successful projects will be allocated an experienced project mentor and will take part in the New Stories New Audiences network with other successful applicants. At the end of your project, you will be brought together to share learning, contribute to the evaluation of the experience and inform the creation of new resources.
The deadline for applications is 31 October 2023.
New Stories New Audiences - AIM - Association of Independent Museums (aim-museums.co.uk)
Veterans Capital Housing Grants – Armed Forces Covenant
The Trust has announced two new programmes under the Veterans’ Capital Housing Fund that will help increase the stock of housing available to veterans.
The grants awarded under these programmes will enable homes for veterans with a housing need to be brought up to date through a refurbishment grant, or will support organisations with the early-stage development of more complex building projects.
- The Refurbishment Grants Programme will award grants of up to £75,000 for projects that will refurbish or extend existing accommodation for veterans. This could be transitional or permanent housing.
- The Development Grants Programme can help if you would like to apply for costs of getting a building idea to provide new housing for veterans to the stage where on site works could start. Grants of up to £25,000 are available for projects lasting up to one year.
If you apply by 23 October 2023, you’ll receive a decision before the end of December 2023. If you apply by 8 January 2024, you’ll receive a decision before the end of March 2024.
Veterans Capital Housing Fund launches first programmes : Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust
Forces for Change Programme – Armed Forces Covenant
This programme will award grants of up to £15,000 for community projects that reduce isolation and promote integration in local Armed Forces communities.
Under this programme, they want to make a big difference to Armed Forces communities that are facing particular challenges due to cost-of-living challenges, or where there are hidden or complex needs within local Armed Forces communities and a local project could help address problems that vulnerable people are facing.
There is one more application deadline this year: 13 December 2023.
Force for Change programme (covenantfund.org.uk)
Reaching and Supporting Armed Forces Communities programme – Armed Forces Covenant Fund
This programme will award grants 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 we 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, particularly those of vulnerable Armed Forces communities who are most impacted by cost-of-living challenges, and where evidence has highlighted gaps in support and provision.
There is one more application deadline this year: 13 November 2023.
Reaching and Supporting Armed Forces Communities (covenantfund.org.uk)
Armed Forces Families Fund: Early Years programme – Armed Forces Covenant Fund
Under this programme the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust will award grants of between £5,000 and £80,000 on behalf of the MOD’s Armed Forces Families Fund Early Years Programme, towards projects lasting up to two years, which help enhance early childhood education and childcare settings to meet specific needs of young children from Armed Forces families.
There are two application deadlines this year on 11 October 2023 and 12 January 2024.
Armed Forces Families Fund: Early Years programme 2023-24 : Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust
UK Community Tree Planting Grants – International Tree Foundation
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.
To be eligible, your organisation must be community-based e.g. a school, community group or non-governmental organisation.
There are two tiers of funding available:
- Community Woodlands / Hedging: Projects to range from 100 – 10,000 trees planted per year, with a maximum price equivalent to £1.75/tree (inclusive of tree protection and mulch). Most suitable for community woodland or hedging projects.
- Community Orchards: Projects up to 30 trees planted per year.
Applications can be submitted from June onwards with a final deadline of 15 December 2023.
UK Community Tree Planting Grant — International Tree Foundation
Project Viability Grants – the Architectural Heritage Fund
The Fund is offering grants of up to £10,000 to support early-stage feasibility work on historic building projects.
You may be thinking about forming an organisation, have been recently constituted, or be a longstanding organisation tackling a new project. You have identified a building - either already in your ownership or one you have a reasonable prospect of acquiring. You may have some ideas about how the building could be restored and used but want to explore the options and test whether these will work.
In 2023/24, we will prioritise projects that meet the following criteria:
- Involve new use of a vacant historic building.
- Help revive high streets.
- Are in the top 30% most deprived areas (according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation).
- Involve and support diverse communities.
- Have a strong focus on environmental sustainability and energy efficiency.
- Contribute to local regeneration schemes.
These grants should help you to establish whether a project is feasible. Work will probably focus on understanding the condition of the building, how it might be used, and whether that intended use is appropriate for the building and likely to be sustainable.
This grant programme is supported by funding from Historic England.
England | The Architectural Heritage Fund (ahfund.org.uk)
Funding for Places – The Wolfson Foundation
The Trust’s main grants programme provides support for places. These grants are for capital initiatives, i.e. buildings (new build or refurbishment) and equipment.
They fund a broad range of organisations working across the fields of education, science & medicine, health & disability, heritage, humanities & the arts.
The Foundation accepts applications from the following types of organisation:
- Charities working with disability.
- Charities working in mental health.
- Charities working with older people.
- Historic buildings and landscapes.
- Hospices and palliative care organisations.
- Places of worship.
- Libraries and archives.
- Museums and galleries.
- Performing arts organisations.
- Public engagement with science organisations.
- Secondary schools and sixth form colleges.
- Special needs schools and colleges.
- Universities and research institutions.
Specific funding criteria apply to each.
Decision dates are in June and December annually. Corresponding application deadlines are 5 January and 1 September each year.
Funding for places - The Wolfson Foundation
The Steel Charitable Trust
The Trust makes discretionary grants where they believe that their contribution will make a real difference.
Applications must be for charitable purposes that fall into one of the five core categories below:
- Arts and Heritage
- Education
- Environment
- Health
- Social or Economic Disadvantage
The minimum grant size is £10,000. Awards of more than £25,000 are rare.
Rolling grants programme – The Steel Charitable Trust
Building Improvement Grants – Benefact Trust
Benefact Trust’s Building Improvement Grants programme provides essential support to protect and enhance churches and Christian charity buildings, ensuring their continued use, viability, and the safeguarding of their heritage.
The programme is open to applications from churches, cathedrals, denominational bodies and Christian charities.
Under Building Improvement Grants, they are able to support direct capital costs relating to the following types of work:
- Essential, one-off repairs or other capital works to ensure the continued use or viability of a building (capital work must be considered urgent or necessary within 12 months)
- Minor capital works or equipment purchases to meet operational or accessibility requirements (e.g. essential operational equipment, AV equipment, hearing loops, ramps, etc)
- Conservation or restoration of historic features (e.g. stained glass, carvings, interior furnishings, clocks, tower bells, organs etc) which contribute to preservation and appreciation of a building’s heritage
- Other aesthetic enhancements (e.g. interior decoration, furnishings or public realm improvements) to improve indoor or outdoor spaces for users
- Energy efficiency/renewable energy measures (e.g. heating/lighting upgrades, solar panels, etc) which improve the sustainability of church buildings/facilities and enable their continued use
All applicants will be expected to have secured funding for at least 30% of their total project costs before making an application.
New - Building Improvement Grants | Benefact Trust
Magic Little Grants – localgiving & People’s Postcode Lottery
After successfully distributing £500 grants to 2,650 charitable organisations in 2022, applications are now open for 2023. The deadline for applications is 31st October 2023.
With a simple 20-minute application process for a £500 grant and an outcome within six weeks, the Magic Little Grants fund reduces the work required for grass-roots organisations to access the funding they need to launch or strengthen their services. The following criteria apply:
- Organisations must either be in their first year of operation or have an annual income under £250,000.
- Funding can be used to launch new projects, support existing ones, or cover core costs associated with ongoing work.
- Organisations and the projects for which they apply must be located within England, Scotland, or Wales,
Please note that schools are eligible to apply if they are a registered charity. Groups may only apply once in 2023 for a grant.
Magic Little Grants | Localgiving
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, accessibility or improving the diversity of audiences.
This scheme provides 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.
This scheme will prioritise improvements to buildings that protect theatre use and remove barriers to participation and attendance.
The deadline for applications is 12 January 2024.
Small Grants Programme supported by The Linbury Trust (theatrestrust.org.uk)
Urban Tree Challenge Fund – Forestry Commission
The Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF) is open for new applications, there is no application deadline, but it takes three to five months from submitting a valid and complete application to an agreement being offered.
The fund provides 80% of published standard costs for the planting and establishment of trees in urban and peri-urban areas. In 2023 payments for trial pits have been introduced to check for the presence of services. The remaining costs of planting and establishing trees supported under the UTCF must be met through match funding, either in the form of money or labour. Applications received from 1 July 2023 onward can only schedule tree planting to take place in 2024/25, the last year of the fund. There is a minimum application value of £10,000.
Applications are assessed year-round, if you want to plant trees in 2024/25 your application needs to be submitted no later than 30 June 2024.
Urban Tree Challenge Fund - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Big Energy Saving Loans – Big Issue Invest
Big Issue Invest is offering loan finance between £20,000 to £200,000 to social enterprises and charities in England, for energy efficiency and renewable energy installation.
This lending programme is aimed at enabling social enterprises and charities to access loan funding to help save money on energy during the unprecedented cost of living crisis. Investment can be used for a variety of projects, including:
- Insulation
- Buying and installing renewable energy equipment
- Heat exchangers and heat pumps
- LED light installations
- Replacing old gas fired boiler systems with new efficient ones
- Property improvements, such as extra single glazing on existing windows, double glazing improvements, systematic draught improvements
- Energy efficiency survey and technical assistance costs
The loans can be structured to your individual needs. They can be unsecured which means they will not require you to put any personal guarantees in place, or interfere with other financing arrangements that require security.
Big Energy Saving Loans - The Big Issue
Small Grant Programme (older people) – Charles Hayward Foundation
Grants are available up to £7000 for charities with an annual income of less than £350,000.
This programme wishes to fund preventative and early intervention programmes being delivered at the community level which allow older people to stay in their own homes and remain independent. They are particularly interested in seeking out programmes which show some creativity in improving the quality of life of older people.
- Programmes aiming to alleviate isolation and depression in older people, including informal day care or social, physical and recreational activities.
- Programmes which give practical help, assistance and support for older people living in their own homes.
- Programmes addressing the emotional and practical needs of older carers.
- Programmes designed to meet the specific needs of people with dementia.
Applications will be considered every three months (March, June, September and December).
Older People - Charles Hayward Foundation
UnLtd
UnLtd have funding available to get your social business started, or progress to the next stage of your journey.
Up to £18,000 is available to fund organisational costs of businesses less than four years old, including a dedicated support manager, expert mentors, workshops and learning opportunities.
The next deadline for applications is 31 December 2023.
UnLtd - Awards | Funding and support to grow your impact |
Project Cost and Core Cost grants – BBC Children in Need
Children in Need often have several funding programmes open at any one time. These include:
- Project Costs grants – support the aims and delivery of a specific piece of work. This work will usually be time-limited and based on a defined set of activities.
- Core Costs grants – can be spent on an organisation’s central running and operational costs.
Charities and not-for-profit organisations can apply for these grants for up to three years. They aim to give quicker decisions for grants of £15,000 or less per year. There is no application deadline.
Apply For A Grant - BBC Children in Need
Defibrillator grants – London Hearts
Grants are available to fund Public Access Defibrillators in communities all over the country.
London Hearts is a charity aiming to help and support communities with the provision of heart defibrillators and teaching CPR/defibrillator skills. They can provide a grant of £300 towards the cost of a defibrillator and storage as well as a free online training video.
When someone has a cardiac arrest, timely intervention is the key to survival. By making more defibrillators available, and by training more people to use them, the better the chance of survival for a cardiac arrest victim.
Climate Action Fund – The National Lottery Community Fund
This funding aims to help communities across the UK to address climate change.
They want to fund projects that:
- encourage communities to use energy in an environmentally friendly way
- bring communities together so that they can explore ways to promote energy efficiency
- enable communities to understand and engage with opportunities for clean energy generation, which do not use fossil fuels.
Projects can apply for up to £1.5 million over 2 to 5 years, with most projects over £500,000. Minimum grant £500,000. They aim to fund around 8-12 projects. They expect the programme to remain open until at least December 2023 but it will depend on when and how many others apply for our funding.
Biffa Award – Main Grant Scheme
Biffa Award’s Main Grants Scheme is aimed at community and cultural groups and organisations, situated in the vicinity of landfill sites, that are in need of funding to improve the quality of life in their community or to conserve wildlife.
There are four themes - Community Buildings, Recreation, Cultural Facilities and Rebuilding Biodiversity. Under these themes we provide funding to create or improve community amenities. For example, upgrading kitchens, meeting rooms and toilets in village halls and community facilities; creating new playparks; installing new seating, lighting and exhibitions within theatres and museums; or establishing, protecting and enhancing habitats for biodiversity.
Between £10,000 and £75,000 can be awarded to projects that have a total cost of less than £200,000 including VAT.
Project sites must be within 5 miles of a significant Biffa Operation or active Biffa Landfill Site (15 miles for Rebuilding Biodiversity projects) and within 10 miles of
any licenced landfill site in England and Northern Ireland.
This is a rolling programme and as such there are no deadlines to submit an Expression of Interest in the Main Grants Scheme.
Home Page - Biffa Award (biffa-award.org)
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
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.
The deadline for applications for the November 2023 meeting is 27 October 2023.
Applications for Funding | Charitable Trust | NFU Mutual
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)
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)
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 £10 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
Small, Medium and Large Grants – National Churches Trust
The National Churches Trust is making changes to its grants programme.
They will continue to offer three types of grant. These will be:
- Small grants - these were formerly called Foundation grants for maintenance. This programme offers 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 be up to £20,000 incl. VAT and awards will never exceed 50% of the costs. The next deadline for applications is 31 October 2023..
- Medium grants - these were formerly called Gateway grants. This programme offers grants up to £10,000 towards urgent and essential maintenance and repair projects costing between £20,000 and £80,000. Also 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 net project costs (for this phase). The next deadline for applications is 11 December 2023.
- Large grants – these were formerly called Cornerstone grants. This programme offers grants up to £50,000 towards the cost of major urgent structural repair projects costed at more than £80,000 including VAT. Grants of £40,000 to £50,000 are extremely limited and reserved for cases which demonstrate a very high case for investment. They 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 2023.
http://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/our-grants
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 2025.
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 support a wide range of charities that make a positive difference, working in different sectors in the UK. These include welfare, youth, community, environment, education, health, arts, heritage and faith.
They fund small local organisations and large national institutions. Grants range from £1,000 to several million pounds, depending on each charity’s size and scope of work. The grants can be for your organisation’s running costs, for a specific activity or for capital projects. The Foundation are flexible and fund what charities need the most.
Normally, capital grants are no more than 10% of a total project cost. However, for local community projects (e.g. village halls, community centres, places of worship, etc.), grants are unlikely to be over £30,000 regardless of the project size. If your organisation wants to apply for £100,000 or over, they expect your annual income or project to be over £1 million.
What we fund - 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 closing date for the current round of applications is 6 December 2023.
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. Applications should deliver on (at least) one of three objectives to be considered for support, these are: Tackling the cost of living; Enhancing community spaces, facilities and services; Improving health and wellbeing.
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 £4,500 for homes and 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/
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)
Active Together – Sport England
This 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.
Active Together | Sport England
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 practitioners, 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
Veterans’ Foundation grants
If you represent a charity or an organisation that provide assistance to serving and former members of the British Armed Forces who are in need, you can apply for a grant from the Veterans' Foundation. Grants are also available to operationally qualified seafarers and their dependants.
The closing date for the autumn round of applications is 23 October 2023.
Apply for a grant | Veterans' Foundation (veteransfoundation.org.uk)
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/
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, Consultant to the Rural Services NetworkEmail: andy.dean@sparse.gov.uk |
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