The Henry Smith Charity – Strengthening Communities

The Strengthening Communities grant programme aims to support small, grass roots organisations who are embedded in the community, working within the most deprived areas of the UK. Through this grant programme we want to make sure that our funding reaches organisations that provide services which are widely accessible to the whole community and respond to, and address the needs of the people living in it.
We fund established organisations with a track record of delivering services directly to beneficiaries and want to fund work that enables:
• People from across the community to participate in activities which improve connectedness, opportunities and wellbeing
• People who are excluded, vulnerable or facing other forms of hardship to have access to community-based services that support positive lasting change
• A stronger, active, more engaged community.
UK only, both physically based and working within or immediately next to an area within the 10% most deprived areas in England and Scotland and within or immediately next to an area within the 15% most deprived areas in Northern Ireland and Wales. £20k – £70k per year for 1-3 years.

Strengthening Communities Grants from The Henry Smith Charity Deadline: Rolling

The Chapman Charitable Trust

The Chapman Charitable Trust makes grants of either £1,000 or £2,000 to UK registered charities which:
• promote physical and mental wellbeing
• conserve our natural environment and promote the sustainable use of resources
• increase the accessibility of the arts, especially for young people
We only support registered UK charities and if you are not a UK charity then regretfully we cannot consider an application from you (unless you are an educational or research establishment with charitable status).
Examples of applications we will not consider include those related to:
• Individuals and their welfare, whether in the UK or abroad, including sponsorship of education, research or travel
• Community Interest Companies (CICs)
• Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs)
• Cooperative Societies and not-for-profit organisations
Deadline: Ongoing. Applications are reviewed twice a year, in March and September. Applications received before the beginning of those months will be considered at the relevant meeting.
Chapman Charitable Trust. Deadline: Rolling

UK Government – Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)

Decarbonisation of homes and small non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. Upfront capital grants of up to £7,500 to encourage property owners to replace existing fossil fuel heating with more efficient, low carbon heating systems including heat pumps and biomass boilers. Open to organisations, including companies, and individuals. Grants £5,000 to £7,500. Closing 31 Dec 27. Click here for more information.

The Community Ownership Fund

About Us: The government is providing £150 million over 4 years to support community groups in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of being lost.
Criteria: UK community organisations to take on the sustainable ownership of community assets such as community buildings, community shops and parks that are at risk of being lost to a local area.
Grant Size: Charities can bid for grants of up to £50,000 in revenue funding, and the government will match fund up to £250,000 in capital costs.
Deadline for applications: 31 December 2023

Find out more about The Community Ownership Fund

The Hinrichsen Foundation

About Us: This is a charitable incorporated organisation mainly devoted to the promotion and funding of new music.
Criteria: Funding is available to support those undertaking projects to promote music, particularly contemporary music, in the UK. Multi-year partnerships may be considered and applications may come from individuals, organisations, or charities.
Grant Size: one-off small grants (generally £500 – £2,500) or for larger projects or concert series (generally £2,000 and over).
Deadline for applications: 31 December 2023

Find out more about The Hinrichsen Foundation

Gardening With Disabilities Trust

About Us: We aim to help people back into gardening in spite of disability. We give out grants so that people can adapt their gardens and make gardening possible.
Criteria: Typically we can pay for raised beds, poly tunnels, greenhouses
tools, small-scale garden adaptations such as access pathways, plants, shrubs and compost. We cannot pay for fencing, gates, seating, clearing, ongoing maintenance, turfing,
and/or tree removal.
Grant Size: Not stated
Deadline for applications: Rolling fund

Find out more about Gardening With Disabilities Trust

The Hubbub and Starbucks Nature Fund

Together with Starbucks, Hubbub is offering 50 groups up to £6,000 of funding to develop green space initiatives and increase access to nature. Groups will be partnered with a local Starbucks store, who will support projects in a number of ways.

We will support groups to create or enhance green spaces. Applications must meet the criteria and relate to any one or more of these four themes:
• Increasing Access: To bring green space to an area where there is limited access to nature, e.g., by creating or enhancing a community garden, a green roof, increasing biodiversity in an urban area, or other similar ideas. And/or to encourage a particular demographic who might not otherwise or rarely access an existing green space to visit.
• Brining People Together: To bring people together and create community connection in/around a shared green space. Think activities like community growing, plant sharing, coffee and chats, or youth activities.
• Upskilling the Community: To teach community members new skills and encourage health and wellbeing through spending time in green space. Think workshops and/or events taking place in green spaces, how-to guides on increasing nature connection, or training around nature-based activities.
• Building Climate Resilience: To make an existing space more climate resilient and engage the local community on climate issues. Think changes to buildings and urban spaces that increase resilience to heatwaves, drought, coastal flooding, or sea-level rise, while creating community connection in the green space.
The Nature Hubs Fund is part of Hubbub and Starbucks’ wider ambition to build stronger, greener communities across the UK. This fund will improve access and connection to nature in the communities Starbucks serves, by creating green spaces within a 5km radius of Starbucks stores.

Hubbub – The Nature Hubs Fund

Deadline: Applications close on Thursday the 11th of January, 3pm

Archive Resilience Grants

Applications close Fri 19th January. Grants of up to £20,000 are available to public sector bodies, registered charities, and other not-for-profit organisations in
the UK to support archives to be adaptable, resilient and sustainable, and contribute to communities and the economy. Learn more.

Wilfred Francis Southall Trust

Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
We award grants to charities that are registered
in the UK and working in the areas of quaker work / witness, peace / reconciliation, environmental action / sustainability, and/or social action.
The majority of our grants are for one-year and we will consider appeals for both core and capital costs. Generally speaking, we look most favourably upon grassroots initiatives and projects that encourage wider support of the categories listed above and where grants of up to £5,000 will make a quantifiable difference. We also prefer charities who make good use of volunteers, who show creativity and innovation in their work and who promote social justice, inclusion, diversity and challenge structural inequalities and injustice. Learn more.

Matthew Good Foundation

About Us: Since 2011, we have been empowering employees of the John Good Group to support many good causes in the UK and around the world by nominating good causes for funding. However, in 2021, our tenth year, we wanted to extend our impact and allow small charities, community projects and social entrepreneurs to come straight to us.
Criteria: Projects that have a positive impact on communities, people or the environment.
Grant Size: share £15,000 between 5 shortlisted projects
Deadline for applications: 15 December 2023
Find out more about the Matthew Good Foundation

Money Saving Expert (MSE) Charity

About Us: Money Saving Expert (MSE) Charity has announced the theme for its January 2024 grant round is ‘Living with Long Term Challenges’.
Criteria: To support projects focused on improving and delivering personal financial life skills to people living with Long Term Challenges, such as:
• Dementia
• Autism
• Learning Difficulties
• Disabilities
• Caring Responsibilities
• Mental illness
• Brain injury / stroke
Small to medium-sized non-profit organisations with a constitution can apply, including UK registered charities, community interest companies, social enterprises and credit unions. To be eligible, applicants must be based in the UK, looking for funding for UK based activities, have an annual income of less than £750,000 and unrestricted reserves that are less than six months of their running costs.
Grant Size: up to £8,000
Deadline for applications: Applications are expected to open on 15 January 2024 and close on 16 February 2024.
Find out more about the Money Saving Expert (MSE) Charity

Newly Opened: Music for All

Working with Children Age 0-4 – This award is open to community group applicants, providing music-making opportunities to young-people aged between 0-4. We welcome applications from groups operating in caring as well as more formal educational settings. A grant of up to £2150 is available for this award. Applicants should be able to demonstrate ways in which they nurture underprivileged young talent through their work.

Groups Working with those Experiencing Financial Hardship – This award is open to community group applicants, providing music-making opportunities to those facing financial hardship of any age group and background. A grant of up to £2150 is available for this award. Applicants should be able to demonstrate ways in which they nurture musical talent through their work.

Choral Groups – This award is for community-based groups providing choral singing opportunities. We welcome applications from groups operating in caring, community and formal educational settings. A grant of up to £2150 is available for this award. Applicants should be able to demonstrate ways in which they nurture underprivileged individuals through their choral singing work.

Electric Guitars – Open to applications from groups using electric guitars to support communities in deprived or marginalised areas and developing music education for those living in the area. Please note that the electric guitars are not supplied with amplifiers or cases.

Ukulele Bundle – This bundle offer is open to applications from community and educational groups working with deprived or marginalised communities and developing music education for those living in the area. Please note that a bundle offer of 3x soprano, 1x tenor and 1x bass-baritone ukuleles will be awarded to each successful applicant. NB no cases are provided.
Behinger Multi-purpose Headphones – This headphone offer is open to applications from community and educational groups working with disadvantaged communities and developing music making opportunities within their area. Please note that a bundle of 25 headphones will be awarded to each successful applicant.

Funding for Music Projects | Music Grants – Music for All | Music For All

Deadline: Applications for these awards categories should be made by 8am Monday 18 December 2023.

Cosaraf Charitable Foundation

Grants of up to £2,000 are available to charities, housing associations, schools and social services providing support for individuals and families across the UK who are in financial need. The Grant will support individuals and families who have exhausted all other sources of funding and are struggling with everyday costs, such as basic living expenses, household items and utilities, work or education-related expenses, or rent arrears.

Priority will be given to:
• The most financially excluded people
• Families over individuals
• Those with caring responsibilities
• Items that will make the most difference to the individual/family’s long-term future.
Other than in exceptional cases, Hardship Grants will only be made available for:
• Household items (white goods and occasionally other items i.e., sofas, wardrobes etc.),
• Basic living expenses (utilities or food)
• Work or education-related expenses (interview clothes, school uniforms, laptops)
• Rent arrears and council tax arrears, but only where there is a clear and obvious risk of homelessness (for rent arrears involving a social landlord please outline what support has already been offered to your tenant)
• Contribution to immigration-related costs, where the current immigration status directly causes financial hardship to the applicant.
Hardship Grants – COSARAF

Deadline: Applications can be made at any time and are assessed every six weeks.

Thanks to Berkshire’s CVS’s for the information contained in this article – Volunteer Centre West Berkshire, Wokingham & Bracknell InVOLve and Slough CVS