Grant Funding - October
- Trevor Graham
- Oct 3, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 14, 2024
Here are some sources of funding of which I am aware. They may be of interest.
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. They 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.
Community Ownership Fund – Department for levelling Up, Housing and 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.
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.
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 30 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.
Endangered Crafts Fund – Heritage Crafts
Thanks to support from the Sussex Heritage Trust, Ashley Family Foundation and Essex Community Foundation – Heritage Crafts invites craft practitioners and organisations in the UK to apply for small grants to fund projects that support endangered crafts (the craft must be listed as endangered or critically endangered on the current Red List of Endangered Crafts).
Applications may, for example, include:
training for yourself to learn a new craft or technique;
training for an apprentice so that you can pass on skills and knowledge;
investing in more efficient tools and machinery;
developing reduced-carbon routes to market;
exploring the use of alternative materials while maintaining the heritage character of your practice; or
innovative approaches to supporting and promoting endangered crafts.
Grants between £500 and £2,000 are available and the closing date for applications is 6 October 2023.
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.
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.