Funding round up: grants for climate action projects, suicide prevention, & more
Melanie May | 7 September 2023 | News
Grants to empower young people to take climate action, for community food projects, suicide prevention, and more.
Applications open for Youth Climate Action Fund grants for charities across the UK
The Energy Saving Trust Foundation, with support from Airbnb, has announced the launch of the next grant round for its Youth Climate Action Fund.
Charities and organisations facilitating youth-led projects focused on empowering young people to take action on the climate emergency are invited to apply. In particular, the fund aims to support organisations working with young people experiencing inequality.
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Eligible organisations can apply for grants of up to £40,000, which will be received over two years. To be eligible, an organisation must have an annual income of less than £1 million and be based in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales or the north of England.
Earlier this year, four organisations in the West Midlands received grants in a pilot grant round from the Fund. The grants awarded included funding for projects working with D/deaf and LGBTQ+ young people as well as those not in education or training.
This next round of funding will support organisations in other parts of the UK with a wide range of initiatives, such as practical environmental work, carbon reduction initiatives, education and awareness programmes, or advocacy and campaigning.
The deadline for applications is 27 October. Successful organisations will be announced in December.
For further details on the fund and how to apply, click here.
Grants available from Crowdfunder Cost of Living Crisis Emergency Fund for community food projects
The Cost of Living Emergency Fund is provided by donations from members of the public and run by Crowdfunder. A match-funding initiative, it will provide grants of up to £5,000 conditional upon applicants first securing crowdfunding via Crowdfunder’s platform.
The funding is for community organisations helping to tackle food poverty in their local area, and is for revenue costs. Projects could include:
- Supporting the creation or continuation of foodbanks.
- Providing support to those helping to provide free meals for children during the summer holidays.
- Providing food budgeting or food education support to those in financial difficulties.
- Reducing food waste and therefore food costs through community fridge creation/continuation.
Priority will be given to organisations new to crowdfunding. The funder is seeking to ensure funding is distributed equitably, particularly in terms of geographic location and types of beneficiaries.
The first step is for applicants to set up a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdfunder where they can find the terms and conditions and criteria. All projects must be delivered by 31 December, and the fund will close when all the funding is allocated.
More information here.
Government launches £10mn Suicide Prevention Grant Fund for England
The £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund is open to voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations providing suicide prevention services, activities or interventions that are free of charge to their service users in England only. Grants of up to £750,000 can be applied for.
The funding is to be used for running costs and cover small capital costs which are critical to the delivery of suicide prevention activities. It is expected that, wherever possible, successful projects will start work between December 2023 and January 2024 and be completed by 31 March 2025.
Applicants must meet the fund’s strategic objectives, which are to support:
- Nonprofit organisations to configure their suicide prevention services and activities to better meet the increased demand seen in recent years.
- A range of diverse and innovative activity that can prevent suicides, both at a national and community level.
Organisations and groups are encouraged to apply provided their project meets the strategic objectives of the fund and they can make a convincing case of the need for funding.
The deadline for applications is 23:55 on 1 October 2023.
More information here.
Voltalia launches Solar Community Benefit Fund in Dorset
Voltalia has launched a community benefit funding programme to support local community projects around two of its solar parks in Dorset.
The fund will provide grants of up to £5,000 to projects within a 4-kilometre radius of its Clifton Farm Solar Park and Higher Stockbridge Solar Park, near Yeovil and Sherborne in Dorset. Voltalia is inviting groups to apply to the fund via BizGive, with projects that bring environmental, social or economic benefits to the local area.
The closing date for applications is 6 May 2024, with decisions made quarterly. For further details on the fund and how to apply, click here.
Digital Poverty Alliance expands Tech4Families scheme
The Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) have expanded their Tech4Families scheme to help drive digital inclusion by connecting disadvantaged families across Northern Ireland and Lincolnshire Coast with laptops and digital access.
The scheme consists of microdonations from customers of Currys, allowing the DPA to purchase new laptops for children experiencing digital poverty. Parents are able to apply online or via a dedicated text line, and the successful families will receive a laptop and resource pack.
The scheme was initially launched in September 2022, targeting five key areas in the UK including Staffordshire, West Cumbria, the Norfolk Coast, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend, and Ayrshire, and is now being extended to Northern Ireland and Lincolnshire Coast – Northern Ireland being the UK’s most digitally deprived area where almost one in five people aged 16 have no digital skills.
Anyone wishing to apply for the Tech4Families scheme, or to donate in support, can visit the DPA site or text their name and address to 07984 445476 to receive a paper form.
Co-op to provide £3mn for Hubbub to invest in Community Fridge Network
Environmental charity Hubbub has announced £3 million of funding from Co-op to invest in its Community Fridge Network, with the partnership set to continue over the next three years.
The funding is from Co-op members raising funds by shopping at Co-op.
The Community Fridge Network connected over 450 community fridges across the UK in 2022, and the new investment aims to grow the impact of the existing network by supporting fridges to become integral to their local community.
Hubbub will also be supporting groups to share knowledge and inspiration across the network, as well as funding 75 fridges in new locations across the UK.
Hubbub’s latest annual impact report for the Community Fridge Network estimates that in 2022, more than 7,000 tonnes of surplus food were collectively shared across the network – the equivalent of nearly 17 million meals. This is almost six times the amount in 2019, when the network shared three million meals in a year.
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.