28 April

SRDP

Hilton Community Foundation

Organisations that work with young people have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to £50,000 per year through the Hilton Foundation. During 2006, the Foundation made grants totalling over £1.3m to numerous organisations including registered charities and schools for activities and projects that meet one of the Foundation's three chosen areas of focus; Young People - Education; Young People - Health; and Disaster Relief and International Fund. Previously supported projects by the Foundation have included the Palmer Junior School, which received a grant of £2,740 to help send 11 young people on a school field trip, who could otherwise not afford it and Express Link-Up, which received a grant of £10,000 for the provision of 25 laptops and IT equipment to encourage continued education for long-term sick children in hospitals. The next closing date for applications is the 6th May 2008 followed by the 4th August 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.hilton-foundation.org.uk/home.htm

Irish Youth Foundation

Organisations in the UK that work to improve the lives of Irish children and young people are able to apply for funding of between £500 and £25,000 (£5,000 in Northern Ireland). The Foundation supports a wide range of activities including help for the homeless; employment and training schemes; combating domestic violence and discrimination; help for young offenders; and educational, cultural and social activities, etc. Projects funded in the past include promoting Gaelic Games to socially deprived young people in the West Midlands; promoting play and youth provision for young Irish travellers and supporting Irish Arts & Education programmes, etc. The Foundation provides funding for a wide range of projects  including; training/Counselling; drug rehabilitation; advice/advocacy; youth work; family support; homelessness; educational, cultural & social activities; cross-community initiatives; travellers; and disability. Grant Application forms for funding in 2009 will be available for downloading from Monday 6 October 2008. The deadline for submissions will be Friday 5th December 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.iyf.org.uk/grants.html

GreenPrints

The SITA Trust has announced that the next application deadline for its Green Prints programme is the 20th June 2008. Through the GreenPrints programme grants of up to £10,000 as well as practical support and advice are available to enable young people to make a real difference to the communities in which they live. The funding is open to not for profit organisations for projects designed and delivered by groups of volunteers aged 16 to 25. One of the most unusual elements of this programme is the individual, dedicated mentor-support that will be provided by the BTCV and The Wildlife Trusts to assist with the practical delivery of every single project that is supported. A project currently supported through the programme is the Reclaim Primrose Hill project. This project brings together young people from Primrose Hill in Coventry who will work with local residents and community groups to reclaim their local park, transforming it from a neglected space into an inviting park that can be enjoyed by the community. For more information, please visit http://www.sitatrust.org.uk/greenprints/apply

Funding for Local Sustainable Energy Projects

Local community groups and not for profit organisations located in England, Scotland and Wales that wish to implement sustainable energy projects in their buildings have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to £30,000 through the E.ON Source Fund. Examples of organisations that have been funded in the past include schools, local-based and national charities, special education colleges and wildlife parks.
Projects that can be considered for funding include:

• the purchase and installation of one or more renewable energy technologies (e.g. wind, solar thermal, PV, wood etc);
• the renovation of existing facilities to incorporate micro-generation technology;
• an energy efficiency makeover for building that could  demonstrate significant energy savings and also behavioural change amongst users;
• the use of new or innovative technology to deliver either energy savings or micro-generation capacity;
• projects which can demonstrate the intelligent use of waste energy (e.g. a district heating system that uses waste heat from one building to heat or power another).

The deadline for applications is the 3rd October 2008. For more information, please click on the link : http://www.eon-uk.com/about/2654.aspx

14 April

Wee Green Grants

Grants of up to £500 to help communities carry out environmental improvements and activities that will encourage wildlife and support biodiversity are now available for groups in Argyll and Bute to apply for.

The sort of projects which could be funded include:

Developing a wildlife garden;
Planting native trees or a community orchard;
Having a community clean-up or a garden tidy scheme;
Enhancing an established green space or
Building bird or nesting boxes

The grants are funded by Lower Clyde Greenspace, a partnership between Inverclyde Council and Argyll and Bute Council which aims to make communities greener, healthier and stronger.

The fund is aimed at developing projects which benefit the wider community. So, for example: improving the surroundings of a community facility, a church or scout hall, or even the wider neighbourhood would all be acceptable projects.

Charlie Cairns, of Lower Clyde Greenspace, said: “Green space, at a local level, has a direct impact on people’s lives. These small grants are an important way of improving local environments in partnership with the communities of Argyll and Bute.”

Applicants should be able to demonstrate that their ideas will benefit a range of people. Projects which consider recycling and composting as part of their activity, if suitable, will be considered. It should be noted that the fund is limited and will be allocated to appropriate schemes on a first come first served basis.

The grants are being administered by CVS Inverclyde and application forms can be obtained by writing to : Norma Norris, Development Officer, CVS Inverclyde, Port Glasgow Business Centre, Muirshiel Road, Port Glasgow, PA14 5XS. By phone : 01475 710207 or by e-mail : norma.norris@cvsinverclyde.org.uk

19 February

UK - German Challenge Fund

Primary, secondary schools and FE colleges as well as youth groups in the UK and Germany are able to apply for funding support through the UK - German Challenge Fund. This is a new fund to develop curricular and extra-curricular projects between UK and German schools and youth groups that encourage young people to; pick a topic or subject of their choice and explore it in an international context; take a fresh look at cross or extra-curricular project work; take an active role in a practical, ''hands-on'' team venture; and work together towards a concrete outcome, product or event of their choice. Grants provided through the UK-German Challenge Fund cover project resources, joint activities and reciprocal partner visits.
The total amount of grant provided will be judged on a case-by-case basis, depending on the size, circumstances and numbers involved in the individual projects. The Challenge Fund provides grants of normally 50% towards the overall costs; in exceptional circumstances, the grant can cover up to a maximum of 75% of the total costs. Grants are available for both large and small projects and the amount can be to anything. The next closing date for applications is the 31st July 2008.
For more information, please click on the link: http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/microsites/?location_id=216

European Cultural Foundation Announces New Funding Streams

The European Cultural Foundation, which aims to bring people closer together through cultural cooperation and creative activities has announced far reaching changes to its grant making programme. From now on, the Foundation will be making grants available through two separate funding streams. Under the "Making Collaboration Work" grants scheme cultural organisations will be able to apply for funding of up to £30,000 to encourage collaboration between cultural organisations in Europe. Projects will be assessed specifically on their collaborative nature and
the added value they bring to the practice of cultural cooperation in Europe. The closing date for applications under this funding stream is the 1st April 2008. In addition, cultural organisations and individual artists will be able to apply for grants of between £15,000 - £25,000 for artistic projects that show vision in illuminating the issues of diversity in Europe.  Projects will be assessed specifically on their artistic quality. The closing date for artistic projects is the 1st September 2008. For more information, please click on the link: http://www.eurocult.org/we-support-cultural-cooperation/grants/

Music

The PRS Foundation for New Music (PRSF), which is the UK's largest independent funder for new music of any genre, provides a range of grants to stimulate and support the creation and performance of new music in the UK. This includes grants to support music festivals, new music, unsigned bands and promoters, etc. The Foundation also provides a range of bursaries to individuals. For more information on the types of grants available and the application deadlines, please click on the link: http://www.prsfoundation.co.uk/funding/2008deadlines.htm

Community Tree Planting Fund

The Woodland Trust has announced the launch of it's Community Tree Planting Fund for this winter. Through the fund, the Trust is offering grants for community tree planting initiatives. Community groups, associations and not for profit organisations such as community action groups, local
residents groups, environmental action group, scouts, brownies, etc. can apply for grants of £100 for tree planting projects organised by the local community. The grant covers costs directly related to the tree planting project. This can include purchase of native trees, the purchase of other tree planting materials and publicity costs. Applications will be judged monthly and decisions made soon after. Successful applicants will receive a grant cheque one month before the date of your event. The grants are offered on a first come first serve basis. For more information, please click on the link: http://www.treeforall.org.uk/GetDigging/Events+grants.htm

7 February

Comic Relief Encourages Scottish Groups to Apply for Domestic Violence Grants

Comic Relief is encouraging Scottish charities and voluntary groups working with young people (11-21) affected by domestic violence to consider applying to its domestic violence programme. Grants are usually between £5,000 and £120,000, and run over a 3 year period.
The programme funds work which:
• Increases access to emotional and practical support
• Helps young people understand their right to be safe within families and relationships
• Increases awareness amongst mainstream organisations, policy makers and planners of the needs of young people affected by domestic violence.
Examples of the type of work that can be funded are:
• Group work (including arts/drama, peer support and building life skills)
• One to one work (including counselling, advocacy, emergency interventions and peer support)
• Preventative work (especially with organisations who already have materials, who have existing relationships with schools/youth clubs and who have a plan for how the work can be embedded into the curriculum)
The deadline for applications is the 15th August 2008.
For full details and application forms visit http://www.comicrelief.com/apply-for-a-grant/uk/application/dv-preview.php or telephone the UK Grants Team on 020 7820 5555.

Biffawards Flagship Programme

Biffawards, which awards grants to community and environmental projects through monies raised from landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services has announced, that its "Flagship" Programme will re-open for applications on the 1st March 2008. Through its "Flagship" Programme, Biffawards will be looking to support regionally or nationally significant voluntary sector led regeneration or biodiversity projects.
In 2008 the priority themes supported through the programme will be rebuilding biodiversity and cultural facilities. The programme will no longer support community buildings. Flagship projects involve the community working together with a variety of partner organisations to have a major impact on quality of life and/or the environment. Suitably qualified organisations can apply for grants of between £150,000 - £500,000. In addition Biffawards makes grants of up to £50,000 through its Community and Biodiversity main grants programme as well as grants of up to £5,000 through its small grants programme. For more information, please visit http://www.biffaward.org

It's Your Community is a programme managed in partnership by the Conservation Foundation and O2. Up to 60 projects from all over the UK receive awards of up to £1000 every month. The awards are designed to support individuals and groups seeking to make a positive change in their community.

The 470 plus projects so far awarded throughout the UK, including Scotland, represent different aspects of our communities - social, cultural, sporting and environmental - they all share the common theme of bringing people together to make a difference.

Further information, including an application form, criteria and a full guide to applying is available to access here or you can call free on Tel: 0800 902 0250.

The James Tudor Foundation is a grant-giving charitable organisation established for the relief of sickness. The Foundation makes grants, gifts or loans within its area of benefit, principally to organisations that can maximise the effectiveness of its donations.

They prefer to consider applications from organisations that have been established for at least two years and that are registered as charities within the United Kingdom. They also prefer smaller charities rather than large national charities that enjoy widespread support.

They make grants for charitable purposes, but their principal objective is the relief of sickness.
Further information on their six programme areas, application process and application form click here. Tel: 0117 985 8715 or via Email at admin@jamestudor.org.uk 

30 January

Strengthening the Voluntary Sector Programme 2008

The Baring Foundation, which is an independent charitable foundation and distributes just over £3 million in grants each year has announced that its "Strengthening the Voluntary Sector" grants programme is likely to re-open for applications in March 2008. The programme, which is open to
registered charities or constituted not-for-profit organisations, provides grants to help organisations to maintain or increase their independence from government by supporting work to strengthen core systems, skills, structures and strategies. In 2008 the programme will focus on
strengthening the independence of advice and advocacy organisations. Previously funded projects have included amongst others developing the capacity of small charities through skills development; developing IT support systems within smaller charities and to develop partnership working across the sector, etc. For more information, please visit http://www.baringfoundation.org.uk/program.htm

Funding Toolkit

Renfrewshire Council for Voluntary Service (in conjunction with Renfrewshire Council and Paisley Partnership Regeneration Company) have developed a Funding Toolkit. The toolkit aims to help organisations to prepare their funding application - to explore the application process and to identify 'outcomes' and 'evidence of need'. For more information and to obtain the toolkit contact Renfrewshire Council for Voluntary Service please e-mail: info@rcvsweb.co.uk or telephone (0141) 587 2487.

Argyll and Bute Council Funding Alert January 2008

11 January

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

The Foundations has launched a new approach to its grant funding that will see two-thirds of its money spent through a main fund that will distribute an estimated £60m over the next three years.
The main fund will be complemented by three further funding strands focusing on areas where the Foundation feels its direct intervention could have a greater impact, including biodiversity, museum and heritage collections and new approaches to learning. There is no change to the areas of work the Foundation will support and its focus will remain on cultural life in the UK, education, the natural environment and helping disadvantaged people participate in society.
Dawn Austwick, Esmée Fairbairn’s director, said the Foundation’s new and more open guidance should allow organisations to look to it for support for their core costs as well as project funding. She added that on the outside the Foundation’s work may look like “business as usual”, but the new approach would mean it would be “open to more ideas from people who haven’t come to us in the past”. Austwick said that in the past the  Foundation had four quite well-defined funding streams, and “we were a bit worried that we were losing people, that some were falling through the cracks between the programmes”.
The launch of the main fund will help the Foundation become more responsive to the needs of its applicants and allow it to look at the work organisations do within a particular region or context. The three new funding strands will also see £11m distributed over the next three years, but new strands may be added or the existing ones extended. The biodiversity strand will spend £3m on funding species and habitats that prove difficult to attract funding; another £3m will be given to time-limited museum and heritage collections that are outside the scope of an organisation’s usual work; and £5m will be spent on projects that develop new ways of teaching in pre-schools and state schools.
Austwick said the Foundation had also decided to begin operating on a three-year, rather than an annual basis, so it could better tailor the amount it spent over time. Esmée Fairbairn has already received applications since the launch of the new approach on the 3rd January. It will make monthly funding decisions and expects the first round of grants to be made by March. The  Foundation has also been working with a range of organisations to explore non-grant finance mechanisms such as loans and guarantees and Austwick said it hoped to make a decision in the Spring about whether to take this work forward.
For more information, please visit http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk

Funding to Promote Educational Opportunities for Disadvantaged Young People

Schools, universities, community groups, charities and research bodies with new project and research ideas that provide educational opportunities for young people from non-privileged backgrounds have the opportunity to apply for funding through the Sutton Trust. The Sutton Trust will fund projects in formal educational settings in any area where there is need, including rural and inner city areas. The only exception is for specialist  schools - The Trust generally only funds these schools in the London area. Previously funded projects by the Trust have included curriculum enrichment projects which help gifted and talented primary children to achieve their educational potential as well as projects that provide support for parents and carers as their children's first educators. In particular the Trust is looking to fund projects that are able to connect with the "hard to reach" parents and encourage them to engage in their child's early learning. There is no deadline for applications, as the Trustees meet at regular intervals throughout the year.
For more information, please visit http://www.suttontrust.com/funding.asp

Dulverton Trust

Registered charities and organisations with charitable status active in the areas shown below may have the opportunity to apply for funding through the Dulverton Trust:
 Youth and Education
 General Welfare
 Conservation
 Religion
 Preservation
 Peace and Security; and
 Africa
The Trust provides two principal types of grants. These are major grants of up to £25,000 for national or regional projects and minor grants of up to £3,000 aimed at organisations operating at local or county level. A very limited number of grants are awarded on a recurring basis. The Trustees meet four times a year to consider Major Appeals, in February, May, July and October. Appeals on the Minor Appeals Agenda are considered four times a year at variable times between the Main Agenda Meetings.
During 2006/07 the Trust awarded grants totalling £2.8 million.
For more information, please visit http://www.dulverton.org

Creative Fundraising Website Launched

An online showcase of fundraising creativity from around the world was launched this week by fundraising expert Ken Burnett. SOFII, which stands for ‘Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration’, is a website containing examples of fundraising dating as far back as 1235. It was developed by Burnett as a response to what he perceives as a  persistent lack of innovation from fundraisers. The site is free to use. Simply send an email to maxine@sofii.org asking to be registered. To visit, and for more information, go to www.sofii.org

4 January

Scottish Community Action Research Fund (SCARF)

Please note that there will not be a SCARF funding round in February 2008. This is because there has been a very high level of successful SCARF applications since they launched the fund in October 2006 and the money for grants is now fully committed. Communities Scotland are considering whether there should be more SCARF funding rounds later in 2008 and will make a decision in due course. For more information, please click on the link below: http://www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/webpages/cs_006402.hcsp#TopOfPage

Northern Rock Foundation - Update

The Northern Rock Foundation has decided to close four of its funding programmes and scale down its 2008 grants budget from £30m to £22m after the Northern Rock bank applied for emergency loans from the Bank of England in September. The foundation has also decided to axe its programmes in Money and Jobs, Strong and Healthy Communities, Culture and Heritage and Better Buildings. It will concentrate funding on its Safety and Justice, Building Positive Lives and Independence and Choice programmes. For more information, please visit http://www.nr-foundation.org.uk/important_message.html

Funding for Youth Organisations

Adam Ingram, Minister for Children and Early Years, announced a £1.5 million funding increase for youth organisations on 7 December 2007. The funding support package of £0.5 million will be delivered over the next three years to national youth voluntary organisations. The package will mean the continuation of the Voluntary Organisations Support Fund which was set up as part of the Youth Work Strategy Year of Action to support national voluntary youth organisations. The fund is being delivered through Youthlink, the National Youth Work Agency.
For more information, please click on the link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2007/12/07094436

The Foundation for Sport and the Arts

The Foundation for Sport and the Arts (FSA) was established in 1991 and has awarded grants worth over £350 million since then. The Foundation will stop giving out funds at the end of March 2009. Until then, their goal is to increase active participation in sport and the arts, especially amongst young people and those with more ability than resources.
The FSA looks to support a wide range of activities where there is clearly beneficial impact across the community. Their particular goal at this time is to encourage active participation by young people. They look for evidence of energetic fund raising and the involvement and commitment of local people in trying to help themselves, where an award of up to £40,000 can make the difference between success and failure.
To apply visit their website at www.thefsa.net or contact them at The Foundation for Sport and the Arts, Walton House, 55 Charnock Road, Walton, Liverpool L67 1AA, call (0151) 259 5505 or e-mail contact@thefsa.net

3 January 2008

Funding Fact Sheets

The Cultural Enterprise Office has created new individual funding fact sheets that cover the following sectors:

• General Business Funding Sources
• General Creative Funding Sources
• Literature Funding Sources
• Music Funding Sources
• Performance Funding Sources
• Visual Arts Funding Sources
• Further Reading Funding Sources (useful funding websites and publications) 

Lloyds TSB Funding Surgeries - dates for Argyll

Islay - Monday 30 June
Tarbert - Tuesday 21 October

Prince's Trust Community Cash Awards

Community Cash Awards are grants of up to £5,000 to help young people set up a project that will benefit their community. For example setting up a music studio, a youth club, a youth advisory board, a local magazine. Anyone aged 14-16 and in school, but struggling or anyone aged 16-25, unemployed or working less than 16 hours a week can apply.

Projects must: be run and managed by people between the ages of 14 and 25; clearly benefit the local community; benefit the people running the project; be a new or developing project.

Formal groups or organisations are not eligible to apply. Funding of up to £1,000 is available for 14-16 year olds; up to £5,000 is for those aged 16-25.

The Cattanach Charitable Trust

The Cattanach Charitable Trust has launched an online application form. With its new website, the Trust has also changed its grant-making programme to prioritise families with young children. It will focus for the next five years on organisations and projects offering hope of a better life to children, especially those under 10 years of age, and their families and communities. 

Scottish Community Projects Fund

The Scottish Community Projects Fund promotes the involvement of local people in the design, use and management of buildings and spaces they use and encourage them to have more control over decisions affecting their environment. Grants are awarded to community led organisations wishing to employ an architect or other professional to prepare a feasibility study for building or environmental improvement projects or employment and other initiatives giving social benefit. Projects may include refurbishment, renovation, new build and landscaping, environmental projects, community plans and employment generating projects. Up to half the cost of the study, normally to a maximum of £2,000 inc VAT is available.