New Funding Opportunities

Equipment Grants for Mentally & Physically Disadvantaged Children (UK)

Schools and not for profit organisations have the opportunity to apply for funding through the Wooden Spoon Society's Capital Grants programme.

Wooden Spoon the British and Irish Rugby charity which supports mentally, physically disadvantaged children. Through the programme funding is available for:

  • Buildings and extensions
  • Equipment & activity aids
  • Sensory rooms and gardens
  • Playgrounds and sports areas
  • Transport and soft playrooms.

Since being founded in 1983, Wooden Spoon has made grants of over £20 million to more than 500 projects in the British Isles. Projects funded in the past have included:

AshmountSchool in Leicestershire, which received a grant of £13,500 towards a sensory room.

EnfieldHeightsAcademy in London which received a grant of £23,000 to improve its play areas.

The Colehill &Wimborne Youth & Community Centre which received a grant of £8,000 towards a wheelchair lift. Applications can be made at any time and applicants should contact their regional volunteer group.

For more information on how to apply, please click on the link below.

Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation (UK)

The Wallace & Gromit's Children's Foundation has announced that its grants making programme will re-open for applications on the 1st October 2014.

The Foundation supports projects in children's hospitals and hospices throughout the UK to enrich and enhance the lives of patients. Projects that could be considered by the Foundation include amongst others:

  • Arts, music, play and leisure programmes
  • Facilities to support families of children treated in hospitals or hospices
  • Care and facilities in hospices
  • Supporting children with physical and emotional difficulties
  • Medical equipment; etc.

Grants awarded will usually range from £1,000 to £10,000.

Previous projects supported include:

Naomi House Children's Hospice Winchester which received funding for new play equipment and art materials.

The RoyalHospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, which received funding towards a new family accommodation facility to enable more parents to stay near their children.

The closing date for applications will be the 5th December 2014.

Funding to Raise Standards in the Private Sector Rented Housing Market (UK)

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) Charitable Foundation has announced that the next deadline for applications is the 9th September 2014.

The TDS Charitable Foundation aims to improve private rented housing standards. Organisations in the UK can apply for grants of up to £20,000 to advance education about housing rights and obligations. Activities must meet one of the following themes for funding:

Theme 1 - promoting knowledge of private landlord's obligations when renting homes. Under this theme, the Foundation invites proposals that will help to educate landlords who are inexperienced and do not fully understand the obligations that they have to meet as a landlord.

Theme 2 - promoting knowledge of tenants' rights and responsibilities. Under this theme, the Foundation invites proposals which will help educate tenants about their rights and responsibilities. A particular focus of this will be the student market.

Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund Accepting Applications (UK)

The Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) Challenge Fund has £4m funding available for global projects tackling illegal wildlife trade.

The fund supports action in 3 areas. These are:

  • Developing sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by illegal wildlife trade
  • Strengthening law enforcement and the role of the criminal justice system
  • Reducing demand for the products of the illegal wildlife trade

Applications are being accepted for projects between £50,000 and £500,000 that demonstrate a link to one, or more, of the commitments set out in the London Declaration on the Illegal Wildlife Trade. Projects must benefit people living in poverty in Low and/or Lower Middle Income countries. The IWT Challenge Fund can also fund projects within an upper middle income country (UMIC) if the application demonstrates that it advances knowledge, evidence and impact in other least developed or low income countries.

The deadline for applications is 6th August 2014.

Bright Ideas Research Fund (UK)

Nesta, the UK's Innovation Foundation, has announced that the next funding round of its Policy and Research Bright Ideas Research Fund is open for applications.

The fund provides grants of up to £10,000 to develop interesting research projects and policy proposals in fields that relate to innovation but where Nesta do not have big programmes already in place. This could include:

  • The development of a new idea about how innovation happens
  • A pamphlet making an interesting and compelling argument relating to innovation
  • An examination of a new innovation or technology, or a worked-up, evidenced proposal for a policy related to innovation.

The fund is open to a wide range of people and organisations, including:

  • Think tanks
  • Academics
  • Journalists
  • Charities
  • Businesses, etc.

The fields that Nesta are particularly interested in include;

  • What do emerging technologies mean for the economy and society
  • Developing an innovation policy for the arts
  • How to encourage new ideas and experimentation in social innovation
  • Smarter smart cities; etc.

The next closing date for applications is the 24th October 2014.

Funding for Schools to Develop International Partnerships (UK)

The British Council has announced that it has re-opened its School Partnerships Grants Programme.

Through the programme funding is available for UK schools to develop partnerships with schools in specific other countries. An annual grant of £1,500 for each school in the partnership is available. The funding offers young people the chance to collaborate directly with their international peers, bringing challenging global issues to life and creating cross-cultural relationships. The grant must be spent on visits from at least one teacher from each of the schools in the partnership. It should be used to:

  • Cover the cost of flights and accommodation
  • Travel insurance
  • Local transport
  • Visas
  • Vaccinations
  • Food; etc.

The funding is available to all educational institutions with students aged from 3 to 18. The British Council accepts applications for schools from across the Middle East, Sub-Saharan and North Africa, South and East Asia, Central and South America, and the UK.

Schools need to be able to show how the Connecting Classrooms partnership will:

  • Increase global citizenship
  • Enrich education
  • Develop equitable and sustainable partnerships between schools.

The next application deadline is the 31st October 2014.

Society for Microbiology - Science Education and Outreach Grants (UK)

The Society for Microbiology provides grants to promote microbiology or to support developments likely to lead to an improvement in the teaching of any aspect of microbiology.

Full, Full Concessionary or Postgraduate Student Members of the Society living in the UK or Republic of Ireland can apply for grants up to £1,000 for educational outreach activities. A variety of educational outreach activities to promote public engagement with microbiology will be considered for support. These might include:

  • Talks
  • Workshops
  • Demonstrations
  • Posters
  • Leaflets
  • Broadcasts
  • Activities at science festivals and audio-visual or computer-based packages
  • Activities that take place as part of a National Science and Engineering Week event at the applicant's place of work.

The deadline for applications is 1st October 2014.

Funding to Alleviate Effects of Poverty on Women & Children (UK)

Registered charities whose purpose is to alleviate poverty and social deprivation with particular emphasis on children and women's issues have the opportunity to apply for funding through the Volant Charitable Trust.

The next application deadline is the 9th January 2015.

The Trust which was set up by the author J K Rowling also supports research into the causes, treatment and possible cures of Multiple Sclerosis. However this funding stream is currently fully committed and is currently not considering further applications for funding in this area. For projects based in Scotland only, with funding requests of up to and including £10,000 per annum, applications are dealt with by Foundation Scotland.

For further information and to make an applicationclick here.

Fuserna Foundation Grants Programme (EnglandWales)

Charities that have difficulty raising funds can apply for grants of up to £6,500 through the Fuserna Foundation. The Foundation which operates both in the US and EnglandWales supports registered charities that have:

  • Difficulty raising funds due to the lack of cash reserves
  • Statutory funding or good contacts and patrons to assist them
  • A projects that alleviate poverty and financial hardship
  • Relieve sickness and poor health and also support certain "unpopular" causes.

Funding is restricted to charities with an income of less than £3 million per year. Grants awarded in the past have ranged from £1,000 - £6,500. Organisations supported in the past include "CHICKS" a national children's charity which received a grant of £6,500 to provide respite care to 8 young people; and City Hearts in Sheffield which received a grant of £3,000 to help provide safe places for women with serious life issues.

The next closing date for applications is the 30th September 2014.

War Memorials Grant Scheme (England)

English Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation, in association with Friends of War Memorials, are providing grants for the repair and conservation of free-standing war memorials in England. These grants are intended to help those who are responsible for the upkeep of war memorials. The grants support the care and preservation of war memorials to a high standard, and to prevent the decay of this important part of our built heritage. Grants will normally be for up to a maximum of 75% of eligible costs, with a maximum grant of £30,000. The minimum grant that can be applied for is £3,000.

The next closing date for applications is the 30th September 2014.

Youth Engagement Fund Opens for Applications (England)

The Government has announced that the Youth Engagement Fund is now open for applications.

This is a £16 million payment by results fund. It aims to help disadvantaged young people aged 14 to 17 to participate and succeed in education or training. The funding will be provided through social impact bonds (SIBs) with investors funding innovative initiatives to prevent young people from becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training). Government will only pay if the initiatives are successful and lead to positive outcomes. The Government is seeking proposals from Social Investment Partnerships comprising one or more Investor, one or more Delivery Body and one or more Local Contributor. In some cases, an Intermediary may also be involved. The Government fully expect proposals to demonstrate engagement with local stakeholders and include a financial contribution from at least one other source. Local stakeholders could include schools/academies, local authorities, Youth Offending Teams or others interested in supporting projects that improve outcomes for young people. It is anticipated that between 4 and 10 contracts will be awarded.

There will be 2 bidder information events for the Youth Engagement Fund:

  • London on Monday 14 July
  • Leeds on Thursday 17 July.

The closing date for submitting initial applications is 10 am on the 18th August 2014.

Church and Community Fund (England)

The Church of England has announced that the next closing date for applications under theme 1 and theme 2 of its Church and Community Fund is the 30th September 2014.

The overall aim of the fund is to grow the Church of England and develop its capacity to engage with the whole community. Community projects run by parish churches, deaneries, dioceses and other bodies connected to or working in partnership with the Church of England can apply for funding of up to £20,000 for projects that significantly expand the Church's engagement with neighbourhood renewal; and seek innovative ways of developing established community projects so that they either grow existing or evolve into new communities of Christian Faith. In addition grants of up to £60,000 are available under theme 3 of the fund for projects that replicate models of successful community engagement across the wider church.

This theme is currently closed for applications.

Arts Council - Strategic Touring Programme (England)

The next closing date for grant applications to the Arts Council, England Strategic Touring Programme is the 29th August 2014.

The £45 million Strategic touring programme provides grants for projects that encourage collaboration between organisations, so more people across England experience and are inspired by the arts, particularly in places which rely on touring for much of their arts provision. The funding is available to both organisations and individuals. Partnerships, networks and consortia can also apply. These can include:

  • Promoters
  • Producers
  • Artists
  • Agencies
  • Companies
  • Marketing or audience development specialists
  • Local authority representatives or any other kind of organisation or individual.

Projects supported through the programme include:

The Ultimate Holding Company Collective who received a grant of £89,370 to work with four social housing providers in the North and London to establish a touring network for socially engaged artists.

The Red Ladder Theatre Company which received a grant of £21,500 to tour 26 venues, comprising of sports and rugby league clubs across the north area. The tour will work towards building new partners and a network of touring venues to attract new and low engaged audiences.

BBC Children in Need Small Grants Programme (UK)

The next deadline for applications to the BBC Children in Need Small Grants programme is the 1st September 2014.

Through the Small Grants programme, funding up to £10,000 is available for projects that combat disadvantage and improve children and young people's lives. In particular, grants are available for projects that help children and young people experiencing:

  • Illness, distress, abuse or neglect
  • Any kind of disability
  • Behavioural or psychological difficulties
  • And / or living in situations of deprivation.

Applications for funding are accepted from not for profit organisations such as:

  • Registered charities
  • Voluntary organisations
  • Schools
  • Churches
  • Community interest groups.

Projects supported in the past include:

The Bangladesh Community Development project which received a grant of £9,935 to run a weekly supplementary school working with children.

Young people experiencing poverty in the Nechells area of Birmingham.

CorleySpecialSchool in Coventry which received a grant of £6,000 to provide lunchtime horse riding sessions for children with disabilities.

EU Launches First Call for Proposal under its new Life Programme (UK)

The European Commission has announced that it is seeking applications for funding through its Life Programme 2014 - 20.

Life is the European Commissions' main programme to address environmental issues and climate action. For the sub-programme for Environment, this call will cover action grants"Traditional" projects,Preparatory projects,Integrated projects,Technical Assistance projects andCapacity Building projects. For the sub-programme for Climate Action, this call will cover action grants only for "Traditional" projects andCapacity Buildingprojects. The funding is available to public bodies,private commercial organisations and not for profit organisations (including NGOs).

The total budget for project action grants for this call is €283,122,966. Of this, €238,862,966 is foreseen for the sub-programme for Environment and €44,260,000 for the sub-programme for Climate Action.

The deadline for project submissions is the 16th October 2014.

Funding to Enhance Community Facilities (England, Scotland and Wales)

Under the Sita Trust's Enhancing Communities Programme Core Fund, grants of up to £60,000 are available to not for profit organisations, community groups, schools, parish councils, local authorities and charities for projects that make physical improvements to community facilities and historic buildings / structures. SITA will accept applications from projects which are within 3 miles of qualifying SITA UK waste processing sites.

Grants of up to £20,000 are also available through their Fast Track Fund for projects with an overall cost of no more than £40,000. Projects on school or pre-school sites where the facilities will primarily benefit the school are not eligible. However, an application may be considered from a school if it can be clearly demonstrated that the wider community has significant opportunities to use the facility and the facility is run by an organisation that is separate from the school (although the school may be represented); and access to the facility for community use must be via an entrance that is separate from the school.

The next closing date for applications is 10 am on the 18th August 2014 for the Fast Track Fund and 5 pm on the 21st July 2014 for the Core Fund.

Funding for Artists and Bands (England)

PRS for Music Foundation and Arts Council England have announced that the next application deadline for the Momentum Music Fund is the 12th August 2014.

The Momentum Music Fund is a £500,000 fund to develop the careers of talented artists and bands. It is anticipated that grants of between £5,000 and £15,000 will be awarded to between 50 and 75 artists/bands over the next 2 years. Applications can be submitted by the artists themselves or those who are working on their behalf, e.g. a manager, an independent label or publisher. Priority will be given to those that haven't been funded by PRS for Music Foundation in the previous 12 months.

For further information on how to apply, please click on the link below.

Funding to Enhance Pupil Attainment (England)

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has announced that it is seeking applications from schools, charities, local authorities, universities, colleges and social enterprises, etc for projects that address educational disadvantage. In particular, the Foundation is seeking to support projects that:

  • Focus on the use of digital technology to improve educational attainment
  • That can be replicated in schools across England

As part of the EEF's grant funding agreement with the Department for Education they are required to target their funds for the first two years at children entitled to free school meals attending those schools which are not meeting the Government's floor targets for attainment and progression. The Foundations would typically expect their smallest grant to be in the order of £50,000 a year and to reach at least 100 students. There is no maximum grant limit.