December 2023 Funding News

Inclusive Communities

Up to £300,000

Deadline: varies

The Inclusive Communities Fund is set to ignite communities across the West Midlands to imagine, propose, and bring to life solutions that directly address the challenges in their neighbourhoods and local areas. This Fund is inspired by the momentum generated by the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which provided support to community-based organisations across the West Midlands, enabling access to exciting opportunities and fresh funding streams.

The Fund aims to strengthen the achievements, prompted by the Games, offering community organisations access to new funding to make a difference for the people they work with. The Fund will serve as a catalyst to address inequalities, forging deeper connections between individuals and organisations to continue the legacy of the Games.

This Fund shares the four original core mission principles of the Commonwealth Games:

• Bringing people together

• Improving health and wellbeing

• Helping the region to grow

• Putting the region on the map

Grants will be available for works, activities and services that will contribute to the four core missions, and which fall within one or more of the following three themes:

• Physical activity and sport

• Mental health and well-being

• Arts, culture and creativity

• All grant thresholds open on 6th November 2023.

• Small Works and Refurbishment Grants close on 4th January 2024 (up to £100,000).

• Small Grants (up to £15,000) and Medium Grants (£15,000 to £75,000) will have varying closing dates in throughout 2023 – 2024.

• Large Grants (£75,000 to £300,000) will close on 4th January 2024.

Figure out which fund you'll apply for...

£ 75,000

Deadline: 04/01/2024

Grants for constituted, not-for-profit organisations and local authorities for projects that make improvements to community facilities and the natural environment that are located near a qualifying Veolia site in England.

The funder is looking for projects that:

• Protect and enhance biodiversity and natural habitats

• Inspire the creation of a sustainable carbon neutral space.

• Promote community action and wellbeing.

• Are inclusive and accessible to everyone and anyone to use.

Community grants of between £10,000 and £75,000 for:

• Projects with a total cost of no more than £350,000 (including VAT and professional costs).

• Projects where the 10% Contributing Third Party (CTP) payment has been secured.

Match funding of at least 10% is required for projects before the full application is submitted.

For all awards, an independent third party contributor will need to reimburse the landfill operator the 10% shortfall to release the grant. This contribution can be made by another funder, a local council or an individual.

Applicants must use the Postcode Checker to check that their project is located within the proximity of a qualifying Veolia site.

Community Grant Funding is available for capital improvement projects at a single site with discrete start and end dates.

Funding can be used for the construction and/or improvement of buildings or outdoor spaces, such as:

• Physical improvement to a building or outdoor space with public access, such as community centre or space, public park, play area, skate park, MUGA, sports ground, woodland, nature reserve, community garden, public right of way, inland waterway

• Fixed items, including kitchen cupboards and worksurfaces, boilers and radiators, windows and doors, toilets, and fencing.

Funded projects must be completed within 12 months of the start date.

Start your application on the website!

West Midlands - UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Multiply Small Grants

£25,000 - £100,000

Deadline: 10/01/2024

Grants are available to organisations in the West Midlands Combined Authority area to carry out projects focused on increasing the levels of functional numeracy in the adult population, as part of the wider UK Shared Prosperity Fund programme.

The following priority approaches have been identified for the West Midlands:

• Financial literacy delivered via local authority partners.

• Universal Credit claimants in work delivered via West Midlands colleges.

• Delivery through employers by independent training providers.

• Residents who are in work, learning online with tutoring delivered via Higher Education partners.

Grants of between £25,000 and £100,000 are available.

For the minimum grant of £25,000 at least 100 employed residents should be engaged in the project. Any funding above the minimum grant value should reflect a maximum unit cost of £250 per resident engaged.

Delivery of projects must take place between 1 February 2024 and 31 July 2024. There will be opportunities to access further funding depending on the success of the initial project

Projects should include the following:

• Employment of a ‘Numeracy Champion’ to engage with employed residents accessing their services to promote the benefit of enhanced numeracy skills and qualifications.

• Provision of a numeracy-based taster session to residents (between one and two hours) with the intent of raising awareness and referring onto more formal training (e.g., other Multiply strands. adult education or community learning provision).

• Facilitating a planned transition to WMCA Multiply or other skills provider to facilitate any progression towards full qualifications.

• Oversight of the relationship between resident and training provider during the transition phase and until the resident has commenced learning.

Find out more...

Grants are available for charities and other not-for-profit organisations that are supporting people in fuel and food poverty in England, Scotland or Wales.

The funding is for projects that fall within Utilita Giving’s purpose of supporting people in fuel and food poverty.

The charity will prioritise funding that goes to:

• Relieve fuel poverty or food poverty.

• Educating the public in matters relating to fuel poverty or food poverty, including causes and impacts of such poverty and the things people can do to help prevent it.

The funding can be used for a number of different things that support people in fuel and food poverty.

Examples include:

• A new van or transport for foodbanks charities to collect and redistribute food.

• Additional paid staff to support a fuel poverty advice phoneline.

• Additional money to feed disadvantaged families in a warm and welcome space.

Applications can be made at any time. Each application will be carefully reviewed individually and any applicant can expect to receive a response within 14 working days.

Take a look at their FAQs and other info ready for the 2024 application window

Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Windrush Justice Programme

£ 22,000 over 2 years

No deadline

Not-for-profit organisations based in the UK who provide advocacy support to those wishing to access the Windrush Compensation Scheme, including work to regulate their status before being able to access the fund, can apply for grants of £22,000 over two years.

The funding is for organisations already providing advocacy support to victims of the Windrush Scandal.

For this fund, advocacy support is taken to mean:

• Assisting people with applications to the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

• Supporting applications to the Windrush Scheme (formally the Windrush Taskforce).

• Signposting to other organisations offering support (for example, signposting more complicated cases to solicitors providing pro bono support).

To be eligible, applicants must:

• Have at least 51% of their Trustees/Governing body who are Black, Asian or mixed heritage.

• Be already providing advocacy support to those seeking to access the Windrush Compensation Scheme

• Have at least three unrelated individuals responsible for the governance of their organisation

• Have a bank account in their name, requiring two independent signatories.

Fit all the criteria? Start your application!

£ 2,500

Deadline: 5pm 05/01/2024

Grants are available to small UK registered charities to help them improve their digital presence.

UK registered charities with an annual average income of less than £400,000 may apply.

Successful applicants must agree to commence work on their project within three months of being awarded a grant.

The funding is to be used on a distinct digital project: to build websites or digital products.

Priority will be given to projects in the following areas during the appropriate application period:

• 2023/24 Application Period 4: Art and Culture

• 2024/25 Application Period 1: Social Justice/Refugees/Housing

• 2024/25 Application Period 2: Education

Get funding for your digital project...

£ 5,000

Deadline: 08/01/2024

Grants are available for UK registered charities for specific projects or core activities that equip disadvantaged people aged 18 and over with the necessary communication skills for employment.

The Trust views communication skills as critical capabilities for people who want to improve their employment prospects, self-confidence, resilience, and life chances.

The funding is for registered charities that are working to develop communication skills for people from disadvantaged groups who want to improve their employment prospects.

As an inclusive charity, the Trust welcomes proposals which target people experiencing multiple deprivation or other groups demonstrably facing major hurdles to employment, such as women, people with physical, mental, or learning disabilities, refugees and asylum seeker

The Trust will support annual repeat funding for up to three years – subject to satisfactory annual reviews of progress and impact.

Priority will be given to:

• Match funded projects.

• Charities that can provide compelling evidence of impact.

• Charities working with collaborative networks.

• Self-sustainable projects, with a view to becoming less reliant on grants in the future.

Check out their website for further information!

Discretionary amount

Deadline: 10/01/2024

Awards are available to registered charities working in the Midlands, North of England, and Wales, in the fields of youth, welfare, community, and environment. A package of support will enable winners to develop, raise their profiles, become more sustainable and face the future with greater confidence.

The Awards offer a package of support intended to deliver long-term benefit to the charity, including a fully funded year of support from Pilotlight and an unrestricted cash contribution of £6,500.

The 22 Award Finalists will receive:

• A fully funded year of support from Pilotlight.

• An unrestricted cash contribution of £6,500 to support the work with Pilotlight, this includes travel expenses to meetings.

• Access to a network of local charities working with Pilotlight.

• Two ‘connect’ sessions with other Award Winners across the year.

To be eligible, your charity should work in one of the following areas:

• Youth - the provision of services to children and young people up to age 25, including advice and guidance, work experience, training and coaching.

• Welfare - helping vulnerable individuals, including adults experiencing exclusion, social or economic hardship or homelessness, offenders, providing support for older people and disabled.

• Environment - practical action around sustainable land use and fishing, renewable energy, recycling schemes, biodiversity, species preservation, marine life, education, climate change science and conservation.

• Community - including volunteering work, practical projects to improve an area, running community centres and providing a range of services for their local community.

Work in one of the above areas? Let's start your application...