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.
Government Supports "Grow Your Tenner" Campaign
The Cabinet Office has announced match funding of £122,500 for the Localgiving's Grow Your Tenner fundraising campaign, which helps small, local charities and community groups with an annual income of up to £1 million.
The fundraising campaign will match one-off donations pound-for-pound up to £10, and monthly donations up to £10 per month for 3 months, helping make donations from the public to UK local charities and community groups go further. Grow Your Tenner runs from until the match fund is fully allocated, or 5pm on 18 November 2015 - whichever comes first. All charities with active Localgiving memberships are eligible to receive up to a maximum of £10,000 of match funding and the campaign will run across the whole of the UK.
LandAid Launches Empty Properties Funding Programme
Property Charity LandAid has launched a new empty properties Fund. A total of £1 million is available to fund work across the UK which turns empty properties into supported accommodation for young people who are at severe risk of becoming homeless. LandAid welcomes applications from organisations with experience in renovating empty properties. To be eligible applicants need to be either UK registered charities or UK registered societies, community benefit societies, ‘pre-commencement societies', industrial and provident societies. LandAid will not fund statutory organisations, churches or individuals. LandAid will consider funding towards:
- Capital costs of the building work for the refurbishment and conversion of empty properties
- Salary costs related to the building work e.g. to organise on-site construction training opportunities.
Applicants can apply for grants between £50,000 and £150,000. The main focus of this grant round is to provide capital funding to part fund or fully fund building work. Up to 25% of the total grant applied for can be for a contribution towards a related salary. The closing date for applications is 10am on the 16th November 2015.
http://www.landaid.org/our-cause-impact/applying-funding-support
Tesco Local Community Scheme
New funding for community green spaces – applications open 19 October 2015.
Do you know of a local community green space project that would benefit from funding? If so, then get ready a new community grant programme!
The first funding round of the programme opens for applications across England, Wales and Scotland on the 19 October and will close on 30 November 2015.* This will be your first chance to submit an application for a grant of up to £12,000 to create better and happier places where you live, although there will be two funding rounds per year over the next three years.
The grants programme is managed by Groundwork and funded by Tesco customers from the proceeds of the 5p charge for plastic carrier bags as a result of a government carrier bag levy.
Tesco has 428 store regions and we will award six grants in each region per year to make sure the funding is spread widely across the countries. You’ll easily be able to find details on our website on which Tesco region your project falls under when the scheme opens for applications. In total the programme will support around 2,500 projects each year.
* Funding round 1: The deadline has been extended to 12 noon on 11 December 2015.
How to apply
You’ll need to make your application online – so be sure to check the Tesco website www.tesco.com after 19 October 2015 for details on how to do so.
Because we’re expecting there to be a major demand for grants, Groundwork will first assess all of the applications received and then provide a shortlist of the applications received for a Tesco regional panel to agree three successful projects to go forward to a public vote. Local Tesco customers will then be able to vote for a local project over two weekends. Applicants at this stage will be awarded grants 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
Checking your project is eligible
The grants programme will be open to voluntary/community organisations, registered charities, health bodies, Parish/Town councils, local authorities and housing organisations. It will fund capital projects that provide community benefit and have free and open access to all members of the community for a minimum of six days a week, during daylight hours.
Projects that would typically receive funding include:
- Parks, pocket parks and urban green spaces
- Green corridors – river and canals, cycle ways
- Formal and informal play areas
- Open access sports facilities within public parks and recreation grounds – eg football pitches, tennis courts and cricket pitches
- Informal outdoor recreation facilities; eg gym equipment, trim trails and woodland walks
- Nature reserves, community woodland, ponds and village greens
- Churchyards
- Seafronts
- Community allotments, community gardens, orchards and city farms
Full eligibility criteria and detailed application guidance will also be available online.
There’s no match funding requirement to access this grant, but the grant should be the majority of the funding required for your project, which should be a stand-alone project or a discrete, self-contained part of a larger project or part of a phased project and will need to be delivered within six months of receipt of the grant. You will also need the landowner’s permission and, if required, planning permission.
It’s time to apply
Let’s create thousands of better and happier places together.
For Durham contact: Joanne Ashworth on 0191 5273333 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tesco Community Scheme Fund
Community green spaces are set to benefit from a new community grant programme- the Tesco Local Community Grant Scheme.
The first funding round of the programme is now open for applications across England, Wales and Scotland and will close on Monday 30th November 2015.* Applications can be submitted for a grant of up to £12,000 to create better and happier places, although there will be two funding rounds per year over the next three years.
The grants programme is managed by Groundwork and funded by Tesco customers from the proceeds of the 5p charge for plastic carrier bags as a result of a government carrier bag levy.
Tesco has 428 store regions and six grants will be awarded in each region per year. In total the programme will support around 2,500 projects each year.
* Funding round 1: The deadline has been extended to 12 noon on 11 December 2015.
Further information and guidance on how to apply can be accessed via www.tesco.com or using the link http://www.groundwork.org.uk/Sites/tescocommunityscheme
NATIONAL TREE WEEK 2015
The Tree Council organised the first National Tree Week in 1975 and now up to a million trees are planted nationally each year as a result of this campaign. Since 1979, Durham County Council has taken part in National Tree Week.
This year’s Tree Week will run from 28 November to 6 December 2015.
A 100% grant up to a maximum of £150 is available to Parish Councils, Community Groups and Schools wishing to undertake well-planned tree planting projects during National Tree Week.
Grants of up to £150 are also available for individuals or organisations to plant in-field (individual large open-grown trees), hedgerow trees and field corners up to 50 m² (538 square feet).
Please note, you will be required to fund the work and then claim the grant from the County Council. Please ensure that you keep a complete record of spending on the project. Notes on tree planting and aftercare are available upon application.
Due to the outbreak of the potentially serious disease Chalara dieback which affects Ash trees, as a precaution - Ash hedgerow trees will not be permitted to be planted under this grant scheme until the full impact that the disease will have is known.
Should you wish to apply for a grant, for an application form, please contact:
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: 03000 267133
As requests will be on a first come, first served basis provided you fit the criteria, early application is recommended.
Completed application forms must be received by Friday 13th November 2015
