Grant Funding - January
- Trevor Graham
- Jan 10, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Feb 14, 2024
Here are some sources of funding of which I am aware. They may be of interest.
VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme – Groundwork UK
The VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme will help voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations (VCSEs) across England to deliver more efficient services for people and communities by saving money on their energy bills.
The Scheme is offering independent energy assessments to help identify energy-saving opportunities in your building. From January 2024, the scheme will also be offering capital grants to implement measures recommended in your assessment.
Applicant organisations must be a VCSE based in England and delivering frontline services. They must be able to demonstrate that they are financially sustainable, require support around energy and are not suitable for blended finance or loan support through other schemes.
The scheme is funded as part of a package of over £100 million of support being delivered by the Government to help frontline delivery organisations with the increased cost of living.
Capital Grants of between £2,000 and £150,000 can be used to install capital energy efficiency measures, identified in your Independent Energy Assessment (IEA), to reduce your building’s energy costs and support the delivery of your frontline services.
Community and Environmental Grants – Veolia Environmental Trust
The Trust award grants towards projects that make improvements to community facilities and the natural environment.
The Trust’s Community Grant Scheme is available to constituted not-for-profit organisations, local authorities and Environmental Bodies (EBs). Grants of between £10,000 and £75,000 are available to create or improve buildings or outside spaces for the benefit of the community.
The Habitat and Biodiversity Grant Scheme offers grants between £10,000 and £75,000 whilst the Environmental Improvement Grant Scheme offers grants over £75,000. Nature Conservation grants are also available.
The next funding round opens on 29 February and closes on 11 April 2024.
Fuel and food poverty grants – Utilita Giving
Utilita Giving will support individuals, families and households who are experiencing fuel and/or food poverty across England, Scotland and Wales, and who meet the charity’s purpose and eligibility criteria.
The charity will also support groups and organisations whose intentions match that of Utilita Giving, helping people in fuel and food poverty.
Examples of projects include:
A new van or transport for foodbanks charities to collect and redistribute food.
Additional paid staff to support a fuel poverty advice phoneline.
Additional money to feed disadvantaged families in a warm and welcome space.
Canoe Foundation grants
The Canoe Foundation is looking for projects across the whole of the UK that will:
Increase or enhance existing public access points to water for all forms of paddlesport
Create launching and landing sites, to and alongside water, for all sectors of the community and all abilities. They should be designed to be durable and use sustainable materials when applicable
Protect and enhance the natural blue spaces we enjoy such as rivers and coastlines
Are “ready to go.”
The Canoe Foundation welcomes applications from:
Paddling clubs
Community groups
Parish Councils
Local Authorities
Anyone in the UK with an active interest in improving access to water and protecting the environment in the UK
Organisations or partnerships with local paddlesport groups who will continue to support the maintenance and use of the facilities on an ongoing basis
The latest funding window is open until 31 January 2024.
DHSC Community Automated External Defibrillator (AED) fund
Organisations across England are invited to bid for a share of £1 million of government funding to buy life-saving defibrillators for community spaces like town halls, local parks or post offices. The fund will support provision of 2000 AED's. These will be distributed across England during 2023-2024, supporting any organisation based in England that is not eligible for the current Department of Education AED programme. The funding for the scheme is based on a first come first served basis. The funding will be allocated on the following basis:
100 applications will be selected by DHSC to receive a fully funded AED - selection is based on areas that are most in need of AED throughout England. Applicants will be advised in mid October and units shipped in mid November.
1900 applications will receive partial DHSC funding for an AED - organisations will be required to provide their own match funding of c.£750.
The closing date for applications is 21 September 2024 – or once all the funding has been allocated.
Bernard Sunley Foundation grants
The Foundation offers grants in the categories of Community, Education, Health or Social Welfare.
They offer three levels of grants. These are large grants of £20,000 and above; medium grants of up to £20,000 and small grants of £5,000 and under. Grants can be used for:
Capital projects which include new buildings, extensions, refurbishments and recreational spaces.
New minibuses and other vehicles that provide a vital service to those most in need in their local community.
Churches and other places of worship with a strong, secular community focus.
Charities or CIOs (Charitable Incorporated Organisations) registered in England and Wales.
Certain organisations with exempt status such as specialist schools, scout and guide groups, housing associations, cooperatives, and community benefit societies.
Applications are accepted all year round.
Small Grants Programme – Sport England
The Small Grants Programme seeks to develop opportunities for communities to get more people physically active. New projects from not-for-profit organisations will be supported through providing National Lottery funding of between £300 and £15,000.
They want to support projects that bring communities together and provide sport and physical activities for people who may be less physically active.
They also particularly want to support projects focusing on environmental sustainability.
They believe that communities that work together and share resources provide a stronger and more sustainable impact. Therefore, Sport England want applications from projects that demonstrate how they connect with their communities, make best use of the existing skills and assets in an area, and will provide the biggest possible impact to those who need it most.
The closing date for applications is 31 March 2024.
Armed Forces Families Fund: Early Years programme – Armed Forces Covenant Fund
Under this programme the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust will award grants of between £5,000 and £80,000 on behalf of the MOD’s Armed Forces Families Fund Early Years Programme, towards projects lasting up to two years, which help enhance early childhood education and childcare settings to meet specific needs of young children from Armed Forces families.
The deadline for applications is 12 January 2024.
Defibrillator grants – London Hearts
Grants are available to fund Public Access Defibrillators in communities all over the country.
London Hearts is a charity aiming to help and support communities with the provision of heart defibrillators and teaching CPR/defibrillator skills. They can provide a grant of £300 towards the cost of a defibrillator and storage as well as a free online training video.
When someone has a cardiac arrest, timely intervention is the key to survival. By making more defibrillators available, and by training more people to use them, the better the chance of survival for a cardiac arrest victim.
Grant schemes for electric vehicle charging infrastructure – Office for Low Emission Vehicles
The government offers grants to support the wider use of electric and hybrid vehicles via the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV). This includes:
The EV chargepoint grant provides funding of up to 75% towards the cost of installing electric vehicle smart chargepoints at domestic properties across the UK. It replaced the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) from 1 April 2022. The grant is open to flat owner-occupiers and people living in rented properties. Private landlords and social housing providers can also apply. The grant is not open to homeowners (including people with mortgages) who live in single-unit properties such as bungalows and detached, semi-detached or terraced housing.
The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) is a voucher-based scheme that provides support towards the up-front costs of the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charge-points, for eligible businesses, charities and public sector organisations.
The On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) provides grant funding for local authorities towards the cost of installing on-street residential chargepoints for plug-in electric vehicles.
For more information visit the website below.
Morrisons Foundation
The Morrisons Foundation awards grant funding for charity projects which make a positive difference in local communities. Applications should deliver on (at least) one of three objectives to be considered for support, these are: Tackling the cost of living; Enhancing community spaces, facilities and services; Improving health and wellbeing.
Veterans’ Foundation grants
If you represent a charity or an organisation that provide assistance to serving and former members of the British Armed Forces who are in need, you can apply for a grant from the Veterans' Foundation. Grants are also available to operationally qualified seafarers and their dependants.
More details and more opportunities can be found at: Rural Funding Digest - January 2024