Funding news round up – grant support for cost of living, environment & more
Melanie May | 31 August 2022 | News
Bank of Scotland Foundation is offering charities financial support to help them through the cost of living crisis, while grants are also on offer to North East organisations inspiring teamwork and inspiration in their communities, and for projects benefitting the environment in Kent. More on these and other funding news below.
Cost of living support from Bank of Scotland Foundation
Bank of Scotland Foundation is providing almost £1,000,000 of additional financial support to Scotland’s third sector to help charities through the cost of living crisis. This will enable them to provide more grants throughout the remainder of this year, as well as providing extra support to their current grantees.
All current Foundation grantees have been offered a 10% grant uplift to help towards rising costs and ensure they can continue to deliver their services. It is expected that 179 charities will share £327,332.
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The Foundation has also increased the budgets of its remaining programmes for this year by £650,000 to enable more charities to benefit.
The Foundation has two grant programmes that eligible charities can apply to in the remainder of this year, and supports applications for core costs such as salaries, fuel, electricity and heating.
While its Change grants programme for unrestricted core costs closes today (31 August), the Foundation’s Reach grants programme has two deadlines: the current round closes on 20 September, and is followed by another round which opens on 4 January and closes on 10 January. This programme is for smaller charities with an income of £1m or less and offers £1,000 – £25,000 of funding over one year. Charities can apply for funding for their greatest area of need whether that be project costs, capital costs or core costs.
Grants for North East organisations inspiring teamwork & innovation
TK Elevator’s Community Fund awards grants to North East based groups and organisations that inspire teamwork and innovation. The fund is open to grassroots clubs, Ofsted registered educational providers, community and not for profit groups and social enterprises. All applicants have to do is to propose, in no more than 250 words, how the grant will be used to promote togetherness and innovation in their community.
Applications for the TK Access Solutions Community Fund must be submitted online by Friday 30 September.
The 23 applicants with the most votes will be awarded a grant. The most voted for project will receive a top award of £1,500, followed by a second prize of £750, a third prize of £500 and 20 awards of £250.
All proposed projects must benefit communities based in the North East of England, within the local authority boroughs of Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Hambleton, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Redcar & Cleveland, South Tyneside, Stockton and Sunderland.
Grants available from Kent Community Foundation’s Environmental Themed Programme
During Great Big Green Week, Kent Community Foundation will be highlighting the financial support that is available for charities and community groups who want to affect change. Kent Community Foundation awards funding from its Environment Themed Programme to projects improving local spaces and encouraging more sustainable ways of living that understand the link between poverty of life and poverty of environment and aim to improve the most affected communities.
Average grants of £4,000 are awarded to projects which may include the planting of trees and hedging regeneration, restoration of local habitats, organised litter picking, and beach cleans, community garden projects, projects focused on educating children about local wildlife and nature or learning about growing and cooking your own food, or initiatives using solar panels or insulation to make community buildings greener.
More information about funding from Kent Community Foundation’s Environment Themed Programme can be found on its website, and Kent Community Foundation Themed Programmes are open for applications throughout the year with funding decisions made every three months.
Great Big Green Week is a celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. It will take place between 24 September and 2 October.
Applications to open soon for Science Museum Group Wroughton Solar Park Sustainable Futures Grants
The Science Museum Group Wroughton Solar Park Sustainable Futures Grants supports charitable and community activities that focus on science, technology, engineering, maths and the environment such as renewable energy, ecology or habitat conservation.
Grants of up to £20,000 are available for projects that benefit communities within a 10km radius of Wroughton Solar Park, with applications opening on 5 September.
Projects must focus on the STEM subjects and/or the environment, either create a physical asset, address an issue and/or encourage learning or engagement, and benefit communities within a 10km radius of Wroughton Solar Park in Wiltshire.
Priorities for the fund are projects or activities that help groups or communities to:
- Reduce carbon emissions/footprint
- Create sustainable/renewable energy solutions
- Take positive local action to tackle climate change
- Improve learning or engagement in STEM subjects and/or the environment
- Trial or implement a new STEM or environmental solution to a local problem
Two Meet the Funders events are taking place to explain this programme in more detail:
Wednesday 7 September 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Thursday 8 September 10.30am – 11.30am
Funding available for community projects in N & E Yorks
The Dulverton Trust Fund is offering grants of up to £5,000 for community projects in North & East Yorkshire including York & Hull.
There are two deadlines: 12 September 2022 for decisions in late October 2022, and 6 January 2023 for decisions in late February 2023.
The Trust provides grants for community projects covering youth opportunities, general welfare, and conservation and preservation. Its main aim is to:
- Support local solutions to meet local needs
- Promote community cohesion
- Develop sustainable and supportive communities
- Provide social and educational development opportunities
- Support general conservation and protection of wildlife habitats
- Support the protection of heritage assets and the preservation of heritage skills
BMA Giving announces grant recipients with next round to be announced later this year
The charitable arm of the British Medical Association, BMA Giving, has announced a total sum of £125,000 to be donated in grants to 10 charities sharing the mission of the BMA – to look after doctors so they can look after their patients.
Ten charities were selected in addition to a further £25,000 of emergency funding awarded in February in support of the crisis in Ukraine. The grants included projects supporting refugees, equality, diversity, and inclusion and suicide awareness for medical students. A record 47 charities applied to this year’s scheme, marking an increase of 62% compared with applications received in 2021.
The charities include Bloody Good Period, which will use the £10,000 grant to help volunteer medical professionals share menstrual, sexual, and reproductive health knowledge to asylum seekers and refugees, and Freedom from Torture, which will use its £13,000 to support doctors working with refugees and asylum-seeking residents in the UK who have experienced torture.
Through BMA Giving, BMA is committed to supporting doctors and the communities they serve. As such, it offers grants to UK-registered charitable groups that support healthcare initiatives that reflect its priorities and values. The 2023 grant round will be announced later this year.
Hubbub & Virgin Media O2 support device lending schemes
Environmental charity Hubbub and Virgin Media O2 are sharing £400,000 between five charities to enable them to run a device lending scheme providing tablets and data to people who need them.
Grants between £55,000 and £83,000 from the Tech Lending Community Fund (more here) have been made to the charities, which provide support to groups such as women seeking refuge from domestic violence, refugees, asylum seekers and people at risk of homelessness.
The charities are Thames Reach; Kurdish and Middle Eastern Women’s Organisation; Willowacre Trust; Refuge; and Leeds Refugee Forum. Between them they will provide more than 1,000 tablets to people living in temporary accommodation and who are digitally excluded.
The tablets will be powered by free O2 mobile data provided by the National Databank, set up by Virgin Media O2 and digital inclusion charity, Good Things Foundation.
The tablets and data will help people to improve their digital skills, and to access essential services such as healthcare appointments, mental health support, training courses, and to apply for jobs and to take part in virtual interviews.
The grant fund is also supported by Amazon which is providing an additional £100,000 to support the running costs of the lending hubs. The initiative forms part of Virgin Media O2’s Better Connections Plan – the company’s sustainability strategy to create a better, more connected and greener world for everyone.
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.