Funding

National Lottery Community Fund - Local Connections Fund

The Local Connections Fund is a new £4 million fund to help charities and community groups in England that are working to reduce loneliness by helping them build connections across their communities.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund are investing £2 million each.

This will be used to fund hundreds of ‘microgrants’ between £300 and £2,500, so small, local organisations (with an annual income of £50,000 or less) can bring people and communities together.

The funding is to:

• build relationships in and across communities to help reduce loneliness and build connections between people and communities
• bring together organisations who are working on social connections to celebrate their work, share learning and best practice, and form/bring together peer networks.

This is to help make:

•     people and communities feel more connected
•     individuals feel supported and less lonely or isolated
•     people more aware of services available that help them to connect with others and get involved
•     organisations learn from each other.

Deadline 26th January, a further round will open in the Summer.

Full details are available on the NLCF website.

Association of Mental Health Providers - Mental Health Sustainability Programme

Association of Mental Health Providers is pleased to announce the launch of the small grants fund as part of the Mental Health Sustainability Programme. This fund will be used to provide grants of up to £5,000 to support the sustainability of mental health voluntary, community and social enterprise provider organisations, with a turnover of £25-500k.
 
VCSE mental health organisations have a vital role working in the community providing support to anyone who has a mental health need but continues to face many challenges in delivering services during COVID-19, intensified by the lockdowns and varying tier systems. It is vital that service providers working in the community are supported to enable them to continue delivering essential, life-saving services to people who need it most so it can be effective and sustainable during and after the pandemic.
 
As such, the AMHP are looking at funding costs that can positively impact the sustainability of an organisation – specifically those that are supporting the mental health and wellbeing of communities disproportionately impacted by Covid-19; with a focus on organisations that are led by and/or are supporting Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic communities. They will also be considering applications from organisations supporting other disadvantaged groups such as the homeless community, those in contact with the criminal justice system, children and young people, women and girls, victims of domestic violence etc.
 
To apply for the fund, please read more here and ensure you complete and return an application form to Daniah Hafez This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before 11:59pm on Sunday 13 December 2020.

Northumbria PCC Coronavirus Response Fund

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness has launched a Coronavirus Response Fund aimed at providing additional support to those VCS organisations that are struggling to maintain their current level of support to vulnerable people.  

"I am today announcing that I am bringing forward my annual community fund as a new Coronavirus Response Fund. This is an increased £200,000 fund designed to help you adjust to these difficult times. Whether you need to increase capacity, or reach out to people offering support in innovative new ways, what is clear is that the work you do simply cannot be put on hold. Initially, we’ll prioritise applications from organisations supporting the most vulnerable within our communities. The fund will also look at ways to support young people at risk of abuse or neglect or the impacts of poverty now the stability and support of schools has been taken away"

If you would like to learn more about the fund please follow this link http://www.northumbria-pcc.gov.uk/police-crime-plan/commissioning-services-grants/coronavirus-response-fund-launched/

Northumberland Tyne & Wear Suicide Prevention Steering Group Community Grants Fund

There are still a few more weeks to apply to this fund, developed with part of NHS England Transformation the Steering Group successfully secured. The fund will enable Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) organisations to bid for up to £5,000.

The desired outcomes from bids are as follows:

•  Build resilience to Mental Health problems in local communities
•  Promoting Positive Mental Health in local communities
•  To reduce the stigma of self-harm and suicide.
•  To increase the community-based support for those at risk of suicide, including in high risk groups.
•  To reduce the incidence of self-harm and repeated self-harm.
•  To reduce the impact of self-harm and suicide.

If you have an idea for local action, the Suicide Prevention Steering Group would love to hear from you. Just complete the attached application form and send it, as detailed below, to Suzanne Sleeth, Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the area.

How to Apply

To apply for funding, organisations must satisfy certain conditions, outlined in the guidance document alongside the Grant application.   The application form and guidance notes can be found here.
Applications should be submitted by 30 November 2019 via:
Email: Suzanne Sleeth – Suicide Prevention Co-ordinator –
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Subject: Suicide Prevention small Grants fund
Post: Suzanne Sleeth, Suicide Prevention small Grants fund Applications, Northumbria Police Force Headquarters, Middle Engine Lane, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, NE28 9NT

Children’s Mental Health Projects Now Eligible for Grants (England)

For the first time, groups offering mental health support to children and young people in England are eligible for government top-up grants. They will be able to bid for a share of next year's Voluntary and Community Sector Grants.
Voluntary and community sector organisations, social enterprises and other not-for-profit organisations can apply for funding up to £750,000 from the £25m fund. Groups offering services in six other priority areas can also apply:
• Early education and childcare
• Special educational needs and disability
• Child protection
• Children in care and care leavers
• Adoption
• Family advice and support.
The grants are designed to bolster the work of organisations that make a difference to children and their families.
The deadline for applications is 21st November 2014.
http://www.youngminds.org.uk/news/blog/2282_childrens_mental_health_projects_now_eligible_for_grants

Tech Partnership's Training Fund (England)

Following a successful bid into the government's Employer Ownership of Skills Pilot, the Tech Partnership has launched the Tech Partnership Training Fund.
The Tech Partnership Training Fund has been introduced to help stimulate increased investment in training from employers to support business growth and competitiveness in the digital economy. Funding is available to support Enhanced Apprenticeships, for additional training for IT apprentices over and above their standard programme. It is also available for short courses, for training in strategically important skills such as cyber security, big data, mobile, cloud and e-commerce. Employers can apply for up to 50% of the cost of training with limits of £1000 for enhanced apprenticeships or £500 for strategic skills short courses.
http://www.thetechpartnership.com/news-tech-partnership-training-fund.html

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
• 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:
Ashmount School in Leicestershire, which received a grant of £13,500 towards a sensory room.
Enfield Heights Academy 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.
Applications can be made at any time.
http://www.woodenspoon.com/projects/apply_for_funds.php

Breaks for Kids

The Youth Hostel Association has announced that its "Breaks for Kids" fund is open for applications.
This is a discretionary fund in support of disadvantaged young people. These are young people under the age of 18 who receive either free school meals, or whose family receive housing benefit or income support. Funding may be available for schools/groups who have a provisional booking with a Youth Hostel in England or Wales and who have yet to pay the balance on their stay.

Applications must be received at least eight weeks in advance of your arrival date and grants are deducted from the final bill. See - http://www.yha.org.uk/school-trips/breaks-for-kids

Funding for Projects that Address Urban and Rural Deprivation

The Trusthouse Charitable Foundation has announced that capital and revenue funding is available to support the work of local and national charities and not-for-profit organisations that address rural and urban deprivation.
Within these two main headings, the Trust is interested in helping established projects which work in the fields of:

• Community Support
• Arts, Education & Heritage
• Disability & Health Care.

The type of projects the Trust are interested in funding include projects providing transport for the elderly, disabled or disadvantaged; contact networks for the young disabled; projects which encourage a sense of community such as community centres and village halls; employment training schemes especially those promoting local, traditional crafts; projects addressing issues such as drug/alcohol misuse or homelessness.

There are three grants schemes. These are:
• The Large Grant Scheme, with grants of between £10,000 and £30,000 to cover capital costs
• The Small Grant Scheme, grants of between £5,001 and £9,999 to cover capital and revenue costs;
• The Fast Track Scheme with grants of up to £5,000 to cover capital and revenue costs. In addition,

The Foundation also provides funding to support capital projects at hospices throughout the UK; and on local projects providing support for mothers and babies in the first two years of life.
The Grants Committee meets quarterly to consider applications at the beginning of February, May, September and November. The deadlines for submitting applications are generally 2 months before the date of a meeting.
http://www.trusthousecharitablefoundation.org.uk/