# New £2mn winter support fund launches, & more funding news

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/11/30/new-2mn-winter-support-fund-launches-more-funding-news/
- Published: 2023-11-30T08:45:00+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Read on for new and recent funding announcements – both funds available and awarded,
including Cadent Foundation’s new £2mn Winter Support Fund, and more money for the
Adventures Away from Home Fund.**

#### Cadent Foundation launches £2mn Winter Support Fund

The [Cadent Foundation](https://cadentgas.com/cadent-foundation) has today announced
the launch of its first ever Winter Support Fund to support communities across the
UK.

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The new £2 million pound fund aims to offer energy and food support to people living
in the most vulnerable situations this winter and will be distributed through Cadent
Foundation’s current charity partners, including Citizens Advice, Groundwork UK 
and Trussell Trust.

Launching on Fuel Poverty Awareness Day (30 November), the fund is designed to allow
charities offering energy and money guidance, to have rapid access to additional
financial resources, helping to make an immediate impact for people needing extra
support.

The food and energy vouchers will be available to people who are living in the most
vulnerable situations and who Cadent Foundation’s current charity partners, including
the Trussell Trust and Citizens Advice, are supporting with energy efficiency and
money management guidance.

![](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2023/11/CF-WSF_advice.jpg)

The funding boost will be available between December and March. Each household can
receive up to two vouchers, with the option of also having up to £100 to spend on
essential heating and cooking appliances, such as heated blankets, slow cookers 
and air fryers.

---

#### £1.5 million additional funding for outdoor learning fund to support underrepresented young people in England

UK Youth has been selected as the delivery partner for the second phase of the Adventures
Away from Home Fund (AAfH), 2023/24. In partnership with the Department for Culture,
Media and Sport, the new £1.5 million fund aims to provide 8,500 disadvantaged young
people, aged 11-18, or up to 25 for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities(
SEND), with bursaries to take part in outdoor learning.

The fund will allow underrepresented young people to take part in outdoor learning
experiences that support their personal development through connections with other
young people, trusted adults and nature.

The AAfH fund will support charity and not-for-profit organisations in England to
deliver outdoor learning experiences in the form of full day sessions and/or two
night residential stays. Applications are now open for organisations to apply.

Application forms must be submitted by midday on Monday 11 December and full eligibility
details can be found on the [UK Youth website](https://www.ukyouth.org/aafh/).

Using the charity’s Experience, Learn, Develop model as a framework for delivery,
UK Youth will ensure programmes are accessible, support personal wellbeing and development,
and create positive connections to nature and physical literacy. UK Youth provides
a structure whilst allowing organisations to personalise delivery to meet the needs
of young people.

As part of the first phase of the Fund in 2022/23, the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport provided £600,000 to support UK Youth to work with 45 outdoor learning
providers, enabling more than 3,500 disadvantaged young people to engage in outdoor
learning experiences across England. Every young person received a bursary to attend
their session and were provided with additional assistance to overcome any accessibility
barriers they faced.

---

#### Royal Society Edinburgh launches Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Community-led Awards

The [‘Healthy Planet, Healthy People’: Community-led Awards](https://rse.org.uk/funding-collaboration/award/healthy-planet-healthy-people-community-led-award/)
are designed to support community-led ​​research projects focused on climate, nature,
and food for a healthier planet and people, and are available to cover eligible 
costs arising from a defined research project.

Funding will be provided to support new and existing research projects that promote
the health of individuals through fostering healthy environments and communities,
and enabling access to healthy foods.

Projects should fall broadly under three types: 

 * People: awarded projects may identify neglected voices on particular topics and
   conduct research on this topic guided by these voices, taking a people-centred
   approach. 
 * Problem: awarded projects may address and identify issues through data collection
   and analysis.
 * **Practice: awarded projects may propose novel practical solutions to an established
   problem. **

The impact of the project should be Scottish based, although it may be transferable
to other communities. 

[The Williamson Trust](https://williamsontrust.org.uk/) and [RSE](https://rse.org.uk/)
are looking to award ten demonstrator pilot-scale projects led by community-based
individuals or organisations, who would each receive an award amount of up to £5,000
to conduct a research project for up to 12 months.

Applications are open until noon on 22 January 2024.

---

#### Gigaclear Rural Sports Club Fund launches to support grassroots sports clubs

Launched by the UK’s leading rural alternative broadband provider, [Gigaclear](https://gigaclear.com/),
the £75,000 Gigaclear Rural Sports Club Fund has been created to bolster grassroots
sports clubs in rural England, within Gigaclear’s broadband network area.

Clubs can get in touch with Gigaclear to explain what they would use the money for
and what it would mean to their club.

It is being supported by former England cricket international, and season 3 winner
of Strictly, Darren Gough.

More information [here](https://www.gigaclear.com/ruralsportsclubfund).

---

#### Leeds Building Society pledges £240,000 to support people into safe & secure housing in Yorkshire

Five Yorkshire community projects will receive a share of £240,000 funding thanks
to nominations from colleagues at Leeds Building Society, who teamed up with local
organisations to secure support for causes close to their hearts.

The five projects all support diverse groups of people who experience barriers to
home ownership, delivering practical support for marginalised groups to help them
into safe and secure housing, and reducing their energy bills during this cost-of-
living crisis.

Organisations receiving a share of the £240,000 funding:

 * Pride of Place Living awarded £41,500 to establish the first ever LGBTQ+ affordable
   housing project in Leeds.
 * Leeds Asylum Seekers Network (LASSN) awarded £27,500 to help retrofit one of 
   their properties to reduce their carbon emissions and energy bills.
 * Rush House awarded £76,500 for its A Place of Your Own pre-tenancy training programme
   to help vulnerable people, including young care leavers prepare to live independently.
 * Leeds Action to Create Homes (LATCH) awarded £54,500 to help with essential furniture
   for single women and their children as they move from supported housing to independent
   living.
 * Keighley Association for Women and Childrens Centre (KAWACC) awarded £40,000 
   for its Energy Know How project, supporting Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslim 
   women living in the most deprived neighbourhoods of Keighley to reduce their 
   energy and household bills.

More on Leeds Building Society grants [here](https://www.leedsbuildingsociety.co.uk/your-society/about-us/foundation/).

---

#### Wesleyan’s Equality Grant launches with £70,000 donation to projects tackling inequality in society

Financial services mutual Wesleyan has donated grants totalling £70,000 to eight
organisations across the UK dedicated to reducing inequalities in their local communities.

The [Wesleyan Foundation](https://www.wesleyan.co.uk/foundation) launched its Equality
Grant earlier this year with the goal of helping to drive greater equality for disadvantages
groups within our society. This follows Wesleyan’s alignment to the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goal of reducing inequalities within countries.

Wesleyan invited organisations from around the UK to apply for grants to support
their projects, with the eight successful charities being:

 * DWRM (Doing What Really Matters) 
 * The Ledward Centre 
 * Edgbaston Foundation
 * Young Enterprise
 * Crohn’s & Colitis UK 
 * The Brilliant Club 
 * Oasis Community Housing 
 * Project Mama

Applications for its grants will reopen in 2024.

---

#### Clifford Chance chooses Alive and Kicking as the winner of £50,000 Sustainable Development Goals award

Global law firm Clifford Chance has named [Alive and Kicking](https://aliveandkicking.org/about/)
as the winner of its 2023 [United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) award](https://www.cliffordchance.com/about_us/responsible-business/community-and-pro-bono/clifford-chance-sustainable-development-award.html).

Alive and Kicking’s core operation is the production of ethically and sustainably
made sports balls to help adults in vulnerable job groups, including refugees, by
creating employment opportunities across sub-Saharan Africa. The charity will receive
a £50,000 donation and 500 hours of pro bono support over an 18-month period.

This year’s UN SDG Award was primarily centred on UN [SDG 8](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8)
and the creation of sustainable economic opportunities to help people become self-
reliant.

Alive and Kicking creates direct employment through its own centres and works in
partnership with beneficiaries for its “Business in a Box” training programme which
teaches refugees how to make and fix high quality sports balls, as well as build
entrepreneurship skills so they can set up their own businesses. The award will 
support Alive and Kicking to scale up to working in other countries in Africa, develop
commercial partnerships with more organisations and build awareness of its work.
