Funding Opportunities
Included in this section are summaries of available funding opportunities which community groups may wish to apply for. For more detailed information, community groups are advised to visit the individual website of the funder. Please take note of the timescales / deadlines for applying for funding and the funding criteria which you will need to meet in order to be eligible to apply.
The information contained in this section of the website was correct at the time of publication.
Funding announced for community owned urban food shops
The Plunkett Foundation has announced that its ‘Our Urban Shop' programme is open for applications, with a closing date of 18th December 2015.
The Our Urban Shop is a pilot project that aims to help urban communities in the UK overcome the issues of buying good food locally. The Plunkett Foundation have partnered with Locality and received funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to help urban communities access the support and resources available for urban communities to set up community-owned shops.
Grants of £20,000 to £30,000 are available to urban areas where people have come together to set up a community owned shop. Applications for funding need to be match funded through a range of other sources such raised through the community. This can include community shares, grants from other funders or loans.
The Deadline for applications is the 18th December 2015.
http://www.plunkett.co.uk/our-urban-shop
Woodland Trust Tree Packs
Free trees available for school, community and youth groups
The Woodland Trust has 3,250 free tree packs to give away to schools, community and youth groups this autumn, with the closing date for applications being 6th January 2016.
The free tree packs are available for planting on one publicly accessible site. Each pack is worth £30, £105 or £420. All applicants need to do is find a suitable site and supply the volunteer planters and tree protection. The packs come in different mixes of tree species so applicants can choose the best one for their project. All those eligible will receive their tree packs between 7th and the 11th March 2016.
The closing date for applications can be made up to the 6th January 2016.https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/in-your-community/
Youth Clubs Grants
Variety has grants of £250 to £600 available for youth organisations that are affiliated to either Ambition or UK Youth. They can be used to buy equipment to provide challenging activities that engage young people aged 8-18 and provide them with alternatives to becoming involved in the anti-social behaviour that often stems from boredom and peer pressure. You'll have to raise some of the funds yourself and applications that have young people involved in the fund raising will be looked upon favourably.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Grow Wild Funding
Grow Wild is awarding funding of £1,000 to £4,000 to community groups that want to bring people together to transform a communal space by sowing and growing UK native plants.
What’s what?
- Apply now to be part of our 2016 community projects. The closing date for applications is 1 December 2015. Successful projects will be awarded funding in March 2016. We are looking to fund at least 60 groups across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Please read our community project application guidance to find out more and request an application form.
- All of our funded community groups have a dedicated profile page to share their journey and achievements. Take a look at the inspiring Grow Wild network of 150 community projects that we funded in 2014 and 2015.
- Get ready to put your brilliant ideas into action and inspire others to join you in bringing colour and wildlife to your community.
For more information please visit: https://www.growwilduk.com/content/community-project-funding
Big Society Capital
A new financial institution set up by the UK government to finance charities and community groups has been launched.
Big Society Capital will have £600million, of which the majority comes from unused cash in bank accounts that had been dormant for more than 15 years. The fund will back social enterprises that prove they can repay an investment through the income they generate. It will seek to connect social organisations to financial markets and to revolutionise the funding alternatives available to them. Most importantly it will provide new investment capital specifically focused on improving lives and supporting communities around the country.
The fund has already agreed investments worth £3.6m in a number of schemes including:
Think Forward Social Impact, which helps young people into work and education.
Franchising Works, which trains the unemployed how to run a franchise business.
The Community Generation Fund, which supports the development of renewable energy infrastructure, such as solar panels and biomass boilers, for local communities.
