Funding news: grants to tackle food waste, & more
Melanie May | 20 June 2023 | News
Funding to tackle food waste, for work protecting the record of the Holocaust, Windrush 75 commemorations, and more.
£200,000 fund to encourage creative solutions to tackling food waste
Environmental charity Hubbub is offering funding for new creative solutions to food waste through its new Eat It Up Fund, launching today (20 June), with applications open until 21 July.
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The Eat It Up Fund is looking for ideas that:
- address pre-farmgate waste (the food production process, up to the point where the products have been harvested and prepared as produce for sale)
- prevent food from being wasted at manufacturing and processing stage
- minimise food waste from retailers
- find ways to use surplus food in creative ways in communities or at home
Small businesses, social enterprises, charities, local authorities and universities can apply for a grant of £40,000 to support ideas that are ready to test, or concepts that have been tested and are ready to progress further.
Hubbub is also expanding its Food Connect initiative. Now entering its fourth year, this is a food redistribution service that uses zero-emission vehicles to tackle the ‘final mile’ challenge by delivering good quality surplus food for community groups to share.
Both the Eat It Up fund and the expansion of Food Connect are being supported by Starbucks through funding made possible by donations from the Starbucks 5p cup charge.
Grants available for organisations working to protect Holocaust record
Organisations that work to protect the record of the Holocaust are invited to apply for an IHRA grant.
The IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) will make a total of €450,000 of funding available annually, with the largest grant size available being €50,000 over two years.
Following the launch of the IHRA’s organisational strategy in 2017, grant-making has focused on funding projects which further the 2018-2024 Strategy’s two key priorities: 1) Projects which aim to safeguard the historical record (including sites, testimony, and archival materials) of the Holocaust and the genocide of the Roma; and 2) projects which counter distortion. These priorities remain in place until 2025.
The IHRA grant programme will also prioritise funding for institutions working in and around Ukraine. It is keen to receive applications from projects that will allow continued remembrance of the Holocaust during Ukraine’s recovery process and beyond.
In honour of Professor Yehuda Bauer, who has now retired from his position as IHRA Honorary Chair, the IHRA has also relaunched the Professor Yehuda Bauer Grant. The winner of this grant will receive €50,000 for a project which aims to undertake new and significant research on the Holocaust and antisemitism, with no co-funding required. Applicants will be able to apply for both the Professor Yehuda Bauer Grant as well as funding through the regular IHRA grant programme.
The deadline for abstracts is 29 September 2023. A full list of criteria for grant applications is available here, and a Q&A webinar on how to apply will take place on 5 July. Potential applicants can reserve their spot via Eventbrite.
New £800,000 VCSE business support programme launches
Clarion Futures, the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group, has launched a new £850,000 programme providing business support and core cost grants to voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in communities nationwide.
The Resilience Programme will be delivered by Clarion Futures in partnership with Places for People and the Fusion21 Foundation.
All three partners will be funding the programme, which aims to build the capacity and capability of grassroots VCSE organisations, helping to deliver greater impact for the communities they serve.
In addition to reaching communities where Clarion, Places for People and the Fusion21 Foundation have a presence, other housing associations are invited to refer organisations who would benefit from support, helping to increase the reach and impact of the programme.
For each organisation enrolled in the programme, an expert team of charity consultants will identify areas of need and develop a bespoke, targeted plan to help them to move forwards. This could include anything from support with governance and structure, fundraising and strategy through to understanding community need and volunteering.
The programme aims to provide business support to up to 100 organisations nationwide, with funding available to contribute towards the core costs of 50 of these organisations.
Applications will be considered based on eligibility and remaining space on the programme so should be submitted as soon as possible. Organisations will hear the outcome of their application by the end of September 2023.
More information here: Re*****************@cl*******.com
£1mn National Lottery funding boost for UK communities to commemorate Windrush 75
More than 100 community groups across the UK have received a share of almost £1 million from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Windrush this year.
The historic occasion falls this Thursday 22 June and National Lottery grants of up to £10,000 are being made available throughout the year for communities to come together to celebrate and reflect upon the huge contribution made by Windrush pioneers and their families to the UK.
Almost £1 million has been granted to date and projects funded include carnivals, history exhibitions, intergenerational workshops in schools, and an event celebrating Caribbean jewellers in the British jewellery trade.
Windrush 75 grants of up to £10,000 are still available from The National Lottery Community Fund for activities taking place later this year, including for Black History Month in October.
Tips on how to apply can be found here.
A free grant application clinic takes place next Monday 26 June, 4pm – 5pm.
The PA Foundation announces grant donations of over £1.2mn in year one towards STEM & skills education
The PA Foundation has announced that it distributed over £1.2million of grant-based funding in 2022 in its inaugural annual report.
The report also provides updates on initiatives established with its 20 charity partners to bridge accessibility gaps in the areas of STEM, digital skills training, and employment.
The PA Foundation, the independent charity partner of PA Consulting (PA), has reaffirmed its funding commitment of £10 million over five years (2022-2027) towards targeted initiatives that increase access to opportunities for people in underserved communities or who face societal, cultural, or financial barriers.
In its first full year of operation, The PA Foundation has:
- Distributed over £1.2 million in funding to 20 charity partners across the UK, US, Nordics, and the Netherlands
- Got initiatives underway that will reach more than 3,000 people annually
- Focused funding towards supporting people into decent work (74% of funding) and improved education outcomes, particularly in STEM fields (26% of funding)
As well as financial support through The PA Foundation, charities also benefitted from the contribution of PA people, who gave their time and expertise through volunteering in areas such as mentoring, digital skills training, and career workshops, enabling its charity partners to scale their impact, as well as through pro-bono consulting work.
Rugby star launches fund to support education in Nigeria & Ghana
British-Nigerian rugby star Maro Itoje is launching THE PEARL FUND: The Maro Itoje African Education Programme. The fund aims to generate a multi-million-pound investment in the education of children in Nigeria and wider African countries, offering long-term support to help break the cycle of poverty. Donations will be given with Christian charity Stewardship.
The fund will be for a new cohort of 40 children from one of Lagos’ most deprived areas to start school annually. Their entire education will be financed ‘from cradle to college’, at schools that provide the same quality education as provided by the UK state. There is a particular focus on ensuring orphans and fatherless children complete both primary and secondary school education irrespective of their parental losses.
For those who complete secondary school education and wish to enter economic life through entrepreneurship, The Pearl Fund will look to support them pending approval of their business plan. An additional programme in Nigeria will focus on the town of Eku where Maro’s parents are from, to support those who have successfully completed primary and secondary education but can’t afford university or vocational training.
The Fund will also fundraise for World Vision education projects in Ghana. Programmes like reading clubs, advocacy classes and mobile libraries will be secured for young people. Both areas of funding – in Nigeria and Ghana – will also have additional sectoral programmes embedded around them, such as economic support for their family, improved nutrition, and access to clean water.
£10m funding ‘lifeline’ highlighted during Refugee Week
Support from City Bridge Trust for people coming to the UK in search of sanctuary has passed £10 million in three years, it has announced.
The City of London Corporation’s charity funder, City Bridge Trust has awarded 40 grants totalling £4 million for projects specifically aimed at supporting refugees, asylum seekers and migrants across the capital. And, over the same period, a further £6 million was awarded to 42 schemes which are partially aimed at people from those groups.
The milestone was passed as the Trust marks Refugee Week, which runs all this week.
Charities benefitting include The Bike Project, based in Camberwell, which received £71,200 from City Bridge Trust for its work donating bikes to refugees and asylum seekers from across London, and Breaking Barriers, which received £123,000 to provide holistic support for unemployed refugees across London.
It has also made an extra £200 million available over five years from 2021 to 2026 to support London’s charity sector.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.