Grants and Funds for the New Financial Year

My Community - free advice and grants to be had

You have powers to make a difference in your area - saving local pubs, shops and community centres. Support and grants for developing your area through neighbourhood planning and buildings for your community are available, help with owning and managing local land and buildings, running services and boosting the local economy opens on 1 April.
Visit: mycommunity.org.uk for information, resources, advice and grants.

The Power to Change Trust

The Power to Change is an independent charitable trust endowed with £150m from the Big Lottery Fund to support community businesses across England. Power to Change was to back people to build successful community businesses for the benefit of their local places.

For information please click here

BBC Children in Need

BBC Children in Needs Main Grants programme is open to charities and not-for-profit organisations applying for grants over £10,000 a year for up to three years. Grants are aimed at children and young people of 18 years and under who are experiencing disadvantage through:

1. Illness, distress, abuse or neglect
2. Any kind of disability
3. Behavioural or psychological difficulties
4. Living in poverty or situations of deprivation

More information available here

Community Sport Activation Fund

The kind or projects Sports England expect to fund include;

• activities reflecting a broad range of sports
• informal opportunities which could lead to regular participation
• multi-sport activities which provide people with a range of choices and opportunities to suit them
• family orientated activities with a focus on the 14 plus age group
• local activator roles that focus on directly organising and delivering new opportunities for participation

Projects can be up to three years and grant awards will range from £50,000 to £250,000. For further information please click here.

Energy Funds

The Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) supports rural communities in England to develop renewable energy projects that provide economic and social benefits to the community. The fund will provide up to around £150,000 of funding for feasibility and pre-planning development work to help projects become investment ready. More information available here.

Urban Community Energy Fund (UCEF) is the urban counterpart to the RCEF. It is a £10m fund to kick-start renewable energy generation projects in urban communities across England. Community groups will be able to access grants and loans to support renewable energy developments. For further information please click here.

Heritage Project Grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)

The HLF funds project which focus on heritage. HLF offer a range of different grant programmes with grants from £3,000 to over £5m. In assessing applications, HLF take account of the broad range of outcomes for heritage, people and communities that projects will achieve. For further information on the range of grants available please click here.

Information courtesy of NALC briefing