Funding for Community Radio Stations (UK)

New Funding Opportunities

Funding for Community Radio Stations (UK)

Telecom's Regulator Ofcom, has announced that the Community Radio Fund has re-opened for applications.

Funding is available to Community Radio Stations towards their core running costs. These can include:

Management costs
Administration, financial management & reporting costs
Fundraising to support the station
Community outreach work
The costs involved in using volunteers; etc.

In previous funding rounds a total of £500,000 was available and there was no upper limit of grant that can be applied for, however applicants are asked to take note of previous grants awarded for an indication of realistic award figures. Grants can only be made to community radio licensees which are broadcasting under a community radio license (and not an RSL, for example). The average grant awarded over the last few years has been in the region if £15,000.

The closing date for applications is 5pm on the11th November 2015.

GALAXY Hot Chocolate Fund (UK)

Food manufacturer, Mars has announced that its GALAXY Hot Chocolate Fund 2015-16 will open for applications on the 2nd November 2015. During this funding round, the GALAXY Hot Chocolate Fund will be awarding £300 donations to 85 local community projects, charities and individuals across the UK and Ireland. In the past, the Fund has been open to individuals aged 18 and over and to organisations and clubs based, in the UK and Ireland.

Projects supported in the past include:

The Ear Foundation, a projects that offers free service to hearing aid users to check their hearing aids are working effectively, provide batteries, re-tubing and cleaning their equipment. The funding from the Galaxy Hot Chocolate Fund enabled the group to purchase items such as batteries and tubing for this service.
Little Miracles is a parent led support group and charity for families with children who have special needs, disabilities and life limiting conditions. The funding from Galaxy Hot Chocolate enabled the group to expand the range of multi-sensory toys that they have available for the children.

Further information on how to apply will be published on the GALAXY Hot Chocolate Fund website on the 2nd November 2015.

Tesco Launches Local Community Scheme (England, Scotland & Wales)

Grants of up to £12,000 are available to communities in England, Scotland and Wales through the Tesco Local Community Scheme.

The scheme which is being funded through the 5p carrier bag charge and Administered by the environmental charity "Groundwork" will provide grants of between £8,000 and £12,000 to improve green spaces in communities. This can include:

Creating pocket parks
Sports facilities
Woodland walks
Community gardens; etc.

Organisations eligible to apply include not-for profit organisations such as voluntary and community organisations, registered charities, health bodies, community councils, development trusts, local authorities and housing organisations. The scheme will award six grants per year in each of the 428 Tesco regions. Tesco customers will vote over two weekends in their store for their favourite shortlisted local project.

Grants will then be awarded as follows:

1st place in Tesco customer vote: £12,000 grant
2nd place in Tesco customer vote: £10,000 grant
3rd place in Tesco customer vote: £8,000 grant.

The closing date for the first round of funding is the 27th November 2015.

Funding for Outdoor Play Spaces (UK)

The Lords Taverners Outdoor Play Spaces grants programme has re-opened for applications.

Through the programme, special schools catering for children with severe learning and physical disabilities can apply for funding towards outdoor play equipment. Play time' is proven to improve children's physical and mental health, help develop emotional responses and learning skills and improving basic numeracy and literacy. Since 2009 the Lord's Taverners have provided outdoor play equipment to 83 special schools, benefiting nearly 8,000 pupils.

The closing date for applications is the 30th November 2015.

Grow Wild Spaces Grants (England, Wales & Northern Ireland)

Grow Wild which aims to transform communal spaces by sowing and growing UK native plants has announced that local voluntary, community, parish and town councils, youth groups, health authorities and secondary schools; etc. can apply for grants of between £1,000 and £4,000 to create a "Grow Wild Community Site.

Grow Wild projects can include an unloved area that organisations want to reclaim for their local community or perhaps somewhere that's a bit neglected or run-down and applicants want to turn it into an inspiring space for everyone. The funding cannot cover staff costs but can cover costs specifically for the Grow Wild project. Grow Wild expect most of Grow Wild's money to be used in creating the site, such as for materials, plants and seeds, and any volunteer costs. Grow Wild expect to fund 60 groups in 2016.

The closing date for applications is the 1st December 2015.

Help the Homeless (UK)

Help the Homeless, a national Charity which aims to help homeless people throughout the United Kingdom to resume a normal life, is currently accepting applications from small and medium sized charities and voluntary organisations (those with a turnover of under £1m per annum).

Grants of up to £5,000 are available towards capital costs to support projects that assist disadvantaged individuals in their return to mainstream society, through residential or training facilities. Grants to larger charities may be considered if the project is suitable innovative and only possible for a larger organisation to develop it.

Previous projects supported include:

A grant of £3,000 to the Amber Foundation to enable the Foundation to buy new bedroom furniture for their residential centre in Devon, where every year over 60 unemployed, homeless young people are able to rebuild their lives and gain the motivation, confidence, self-esteem and skills for independent living.
A grant of £2000 to Spires, a South London Homeless charity towards the cost of providing their daily services to clients, including food and clothing.

The next application deadline is the 15th December 2015.

Hilden Charitable Fund (UK)

The Hilden Charitable Fund is open for applications. Within the UK, the Hilden Charitable Fund makes grants to projects that address disadvantage, notably by supporting causes which are less popular. In particular, the Fund wants to support projects that:

Address homelessness
Supports asylum seekers and refugees
Support community based initiatives for disadvantaged young people 16 – 25
Penal affairs.

The average grant awarded is £5,000 and preference is given to supporting small community organisations with an income of less than £500,000 per year. The Trust will consider funding project as well as core running costs of organisations.

The closing date for applications is the 16th December 2015.

BBC Children in Need Main Grant Programme (UK)

BBC Children in Need has announced that the next applications deadline for its Main Grants Programme is the 15th January 2016.

Funding is available to organisations that work with young people who:

Are suffering from illness
Are in distress
Suffer abuse or neglect
Are disabled
Have behavioural or psychological difficulties
Are living in poverty or situations of deprivation.

The Main grants programme is open to applications for grants of over £10,000.

Examples of projects that recently received funding include:

Mount St Catherines Out of School Club, Armagh, which received a grant of £18,728 to provide a daily after-school club and a summer scheme for children affected by multiple disadvantage, encouraging new friendships and offering support with school work.
The Three Ways School in Bath which received a grant of £19,080 to provide activities for children and young people with disabilities.

Funding for Community Amenities (England, Scotland & Wales)

The next application deadline for funding from the Sita Trust is the 25th January 2016.

The SITA Trust provides funds to not-for-profit organisations to improve amenities that is available for leisure and recreation use by the general public. This could include:

Community cafes
Theatres
Play areas
Skate parks
Youth centres; etc.

Through the Landfill Communities Fund the Sita Trust can offer grants of up to £20,000 through its Smaller Projects Fund and grants of up to £50,000 through its Primary Fund. To be eligible the applicants needs to be a not - for profit organisations located within three miles of a qualifying SITA UK waste processing location (known as a SITA Trust funding zone) you may be eligible to apply to SITA Trust. N.B. due to the rural nature of our Aberdeenshire funding zone this zone has a 10 mile radius. To see if your project is located within a funding zone, pleaseclick here.

The Royal British Legion External Grants Programme (UK)

The Royal British Legion External Grants Programme is open to applications from organisations running, or planning, charitable activities in support of the Armed Forces community.

Grants of up to £50,000 are available and priority will be given to projects that support:

Employment and training
Family support; homelessness and outreach
Supporting the elderly.

The first stage in the application process is to submit and Expression of Interest (EOI) and if successful at this stage applicants will be invited to submit a full application.

The next stage one deadline for submitting an Expression of Interest is 26th February 2016.

Funding to Regenerate Public Parks and Gardens (UK)

The Heritage Lottery Fund has announced that the next deadline for its Parks for People programme is 12 noon on the 29th February 2016.

The Parks for People programme provides grants of between £100,000 and £5 million to Local Authorities as well as not for profit organisations that own public parks and gardens to regenerate public parks of national, regional or local heritage value. To be eligible applicants will need to show that:

The community values the park as part of their heritage
The parks meets local social, economic and environmental needs
The park management actively involves local people.

Recent awards include:

A £1.84 million grant to restore Castle Park in Cheshire back to its original historic landscape and to improve sports facilities, the play area, and cafe and kiosk facilities.

A £3.5million grant to restore the historic landscaping and buildings, upgrading footpaths, entrances, furniture and signage of Brockwell Park which is located between Brixton, Norwood and Dulwich.

UnLtd Launches Refugee Response Programme (UK)

UnLtd, the charity for social entrepreneurs, has announced a new £100,000 fund to tackle the emerging challenges faced by local authorities, churches, mosques and charities as the UK agrees to take in 20,000 displaced people fleeing conflict.

UnLtd is offering one to one support and up to £5,000 cash to UK based social entrepreneurs or refugees with asylum status or humanitarian protection status, who wish to establish a venture, or develop a new service at their existing venture, to meet the long-term needs of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. This can include:

Organising and managing accommodation for those who need it
Whether in private homes or unused spaces
Collecting, restore and distribute clothing and furniture
Interpretation and English language learning opportunities
Organising meaningful voluntary experiences that can help integrate people; etc.

Funding for Projects Benefitting Physically and Mentally Disabled and Disadvantaged Adults (England)

The next round of funding from the Greenhall Community Fund will re-open for applications on 1st November 2015.

This round will fund projects benefitting physically and mentally disabled and disadvantaged people over the age of 25. Only the first 100 applications received will be forwarded to the trustee board for consideration and they will meet in May 2016 to allocate the funds. The grants of £1,000 to £10,000 are only available to trusts, associations, institutions or organisations registered as charities in England. Preference will be given to applications for specific projects rather than to supplement funds used for general purposes.

Applications are accepted from all areas of England however some preference will be given to charities operating in Yorkshire.

Funding for Projects Benefitting Physically and Mentally Disabled and Disadvantaged Adults (England)

The next round of funding from the Greenhall Community Fund will re-open for applications on 1st November 2015.

Peter Harrison Foundation Sports Grants (UK)

The Peter Harrison Foundation has grants of up to £5,000 available for UK charities to support sports projects or projects providing opportunities for people who are disabled or otherwise disadvantaged to fulfil their potential and to develop other personal and life skills.

Grants will often be "one off" grants for capital projects but applications for revenue funding for a new project, or if funding is key to the continuing success or survival of an established project, will also be considered. The Trust is looking to support projects that:

Provide a focus for skills development and confidence building through the medium of sport
Have a strong training and/or educational theme within a sporting activity
Provide sporting equipment or facilities for disabled or disadvantaged people
Have a high degree of community involvement; and help to engage children or young people at risk of crime, truancy or addiction.

The first step in applying is to complete the eligibility questionnaire and submit an initial enquiry.

Projects supported in the past include:

A grant of £20,000 to the Disabled Waterski & Wakeboard Association to fund a water ski boat and a grant of £20,000 to the Down's Syndrome Association to provide opportunities for people with Down Syndrome to play sports.

Support for Schools to Set Up Breakfast Clubs (England)

Magic Breakfast a UK registered charity dedicated to ensuring every child starts their school day with the right breakfast, has announced that have new funding to support schools that currently have no breakfast provision in establishing their own breakfast clubs.

Support is available to schools that have 35% or more Free School Meals and currently do not have a breakfast club. Magic Breakfast will:

Provide healthy free food to the breakfast club
Meet the cost of food and delivery to the school
Provide a fridge to store the food if needed. Schools are required to provide a venue and staff to run the club
Identify and encourage attendance by the hungriest children and host at least one visit per year to the school from friends or supporters of Magic Breakfast.

If you have 35% or more Free School Meals and currently do not have a breakfast club, please get in touch as soon as possible. To register your interest, please email r for further information and to download an application form, please go to

Funding Reminders

Funding for Community Youth Projects (UK)

Telecoms provider O2 has announced that its "Think Big with O2" youth programme will re-open for applications on the 30th September 2015.

The programme supports young people in the UK (aged between 13 and 25) who want to make positive changes to their communities. Initially funding of £300 is available to get projects off the ground. If the project is completed successfully young people may be invited to apply for the second level of the programme --Think Bigger where O2 provides funding of up to £2500. The programme is open to individuals and groups of young people and the money can be used to cover project related costs such as:

Materials & equipment
Cost of renting space
Transportation
Advertising, etc.

The closing date for applications is the 11th November 2015.