Grant Funding - November
- Trevor Graham
- Nov 1, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Feb 14, 2024
Here are some sources of funding of which I am aware. They may be of interest.
National Garden Scheme Community Garden Grants
These grants support gardening projects carried out within local communities all over England and Wales.
Applicants must be a fully set up community group, registered charity or Community Interest Company (CIC) with a functioning non-personal bank account.
An application must relate to an existing or proposed community garden or similar site. There must be no query over access to the space (such as restrictions imposed by ownership by another body).
Grants up to £5000 are available and the closing date for applications is 13 November 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The deadline for applications is 12 January 2024.
Magic Little Grants – Local Giving and 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.