National Lottery Community Fund updates how it offer support in Wales, plus more funding news
Melanie May | 16 October 2024 | News
Funding news and opportunities from the National Lottery Community and Heritage Funds, plus other opportunities for charities and community groups around the UK.
The National Lottery Community Fund to invest up to £20mn a year in Wales
The National Lottery Community Fund has announced that its funding programme People and Places will invest up to £20 million per year to communities across Wales, thanks to the money raised by players of the National Lottery.
Following the launch of its new strategy – It Starts with Community, the fund has updated how it will support communities in Wales. People and Places is now looking to make a bigger difference in the years ahead by being guided by the Fund’s new four missions, which are supporting communities to:
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- come together
- be more environmentally sustainable
- help children and young people thrive
- enable people to live healthier lives.
Grants of up to £500,000 will be available. Groups applying will need to demonstrate how they have involved the community, and built upon the skills, experiences and strengths of people and show how they are filling a gap. All projects will also need to consider the environmental impact of their activities.
John Rose, Director of The National Lottery Community Fund, said:
“We are looking to make a bigger difference in the years ahead and to be more focused across our four new missions which are supporting communities to come together, be more environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.
“We will be applying a sharper focus on tackling inequality meaning we will focus more on the places, people and communities who experience poverty, disadvantage and discrimination in Wales. We will also be supporting environmental action across all our funding, investing in environmental sustainability and supporting projects to consider the environment even when it isn’t their main focus.
“We have therefore refreshed our main funding programme People and Places which builds upon our new strategy ‘It Starts with Community’ and the consultation we conducted with the public and stakeholders in Wales asking what would be their key priorities for The National Lottery Community Fund in Wales.”
Groups with ideas for funding are encouraged to get in touch to discuss their idea on 0300 1230 7335 or email wa***@tn**************.uk
More information here.
National Lottery Heritage Fund commits £15mn to help transform green spaces
The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s new strategic initiative, Nature Towns and Cities, aims to enable 100 places across the UK to transform access to green space in urban areas and bring nature closer to home for everyone all to enjoy.
It is backed by a partnership between the fund, the National Trust and Natural England, which are working closely with NatureScot, Natural Resources Wales and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
As part of the initiative, the fund has committed £15mn to support local authorities and community partners across the UK. There will be one round of funding with grants available from £250,000 up to £1mn.
It is looking to support projects focused on capacity building that will enable local authorities and their partners to put public green spaces like parks, linear walks, nature sites and community gardens at the heart of their thinking to realise the benefits for health, prosperity, heritage, nature and local pride.
Applications should identify what resources or support will be needed.
Expressions of Interest can be submitted until 12noon on 12 November 2024, and full applications for those successful will then need to be submitted between 16 December 2024 and 7 March 2025.
More information here.
The Robertson Trust reopens Wee Grants & Transport Grants
The Robertson Trust’s Wee Grants offer funding of up to £5,000 for constituted community groups and charities in Scotland with an annual income of less than £30,000.
Funding of up to £5,000 for one year is available, and it is unrestricted so can cover revenue or capital costs.
A webinar is taking place this afternoon (16 October, 2-3pm) to provide an introduction to the Wee Grants. Booking here.
Transport Grants are for registered charities working in Scotland, with an annual income of £30,000 to £2 million, that support people who are experiencing (or are at high risk of experiencing) poverty and trauma. Funding of between £5,000 and £20,000 per year, for one to three years is available, to contribute towards the costs of transport to support their work.
More information here.
Investec Bank plc announces winners of its 2024 Investec Beyond Business programme
Backing social impact entrepreneurs across Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets, Investec Beyond Business is a social enterprise incubation programme executed in partnership with the community charity Bromley by Bow Centre.
The programme provides this year’s four winners with seed funding and intensive support, including mentorship and expert advice from volunteers across Investec.
The winners were each awarded over £20k in funding, and are:
- Hackney Wolves Basketball Club (£36,000)
- Good Nugget (£24,000)
- The Matchbox (£24,000)
- Empower Box (£24,000)
For updates on next year’s programme, sign up here.
£1,000 grants to be available for grassroots running clubs
Manchester headquartered running/sportswear brand SUDU has announced a new partnership with charity Sported, launching the ‘Project Fair Play’ initiative to make running more accessible and inclusive for young people across the Northwest and beyond.
The project launch will see SUDU and Sported roll out a grant programme for grassroots running clubs with eligible community running groups invited to apply for £1,000 grants. There will also be an additional award of one Deep Impact Grant to support an existing Manchester-based Sported-supported grassroots club.
In year one, it is hoped the project will enable at least an estimated 1,000 young people to participate in running with grants that can be used across elements including but not limited to the likes of venue hire, participant/activity costs, coaching costs, volunteer expenses, equipment or infrastructure, kit, marketing and communications, training and qualifications, insurance and affiliation.
SUDU will also work with Sported to commission and fund research investigating the disparity between running and other sports in how it generates a positive social impact with the funding allocated to this research facilitating the development of a comprehensive plan to address these gaps and enhance accessibility for all running groups across Northwest England and beyond.
More information here.
Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation celebrates donating £10 million – with more grants available
Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation made its first donation in 1999 and 25 years later, thanks to the ongoing generosity of the Society’s members, it has now donated over £10 million to charities where colleagues and members live and work.
Since its inception, thousands of charities have benefitted from donations from the Foundation and it has recently announced the launch of the Building Bradford Skills Fund which will provide £1million in grants to charities in Bradford’s most deprived areas to improve employability.
Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation is funded through the Small Change Big Difference® scheme where members donate the pennies from the interest on their accounts just once a year to help smaller charities around the UK. Thousands of society members, who collectively hold over 950,000 accounts, are part of the scheme.
Applications for the Small Change Big Difference® Fund are currently being accepted from members and colleagues of the Society and charities can be nominated here.
Applications are reviewed on a quarterly basis by the foundation’s trustees, and the deadlines for applications are: 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December annually.
Wealden District Council opens Community Grants Programme 2025-2028
Wealden District Council’s Community Grants Programme 2025-2028 supports and enables partners to deliver projects and services to support Wealden residents and its communities.
Registered charities, not for profit organisations and Community Interest Companies can apply for funding of £5,000 or above per annum for a period of three years with a deadline of Wednesday 4 December.
Organisations must contribute the same level or more match funding (cash and/or in-kind) against the funds they are asking the Council, and will receive funding over the course of three years, between the period of April 2025 – March 2028 (subject to annual budget reviews and availability).
More information here.
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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.