Our network body ACRE is aware of a future government grant fund that may be of interest to rural community groups
In March, the Minister for Rural Affairs Robbie Moore MP announced the government’s intention to establish a new grant fund, “creating and enhancing […] green spaces at the very heart of rural communities to preserve and protect their essential character”.
Up to £7 million will be available to rural community groups to fund projects that aim to create, restore, and enhance green spaces.
It is envisaged that funds will be available for capital expenditure such as landscaping, planting, installation of natural play facilities, paths and seating.
Richard Quallington, ACRE’s Executive Director said, “We welcome the government’s commitment to supporting rural communities so they can make the most of green spaces. The fund has the potential to support a wide range of initiatives that contribute to Net Zero and biodiversity net gain, as well as improving the health and wellbeing of local residents.
We know from our experience of administering recent grants to village halls that the availability of capital funding can catalyse new projects, many of which have had an environmental focus. We stand ready to support this new scheme.”
Rural community groups interested in the fund are encouraged to register their details with ACRE so they can receive more information about the fund when this becomes available. Click here.
Since 2020, our Activate Village Halls project has been working to ensure physical and mental health through exercise classes is available to all abilities. These seated exercise classes provide older individuals in rural communities with the opportunity to stay active, socialize, and have fun. These sessions combines exercise with social sessions, which help improve participants’ mental health.
Here you get to meet the fabulous Debbie from Moveability and a keen participant, Bev, who describes the difference attending just 6 weeks of classes has made to her life! 😊👍
The first session is free and the next session, in Lambourn, is at 2 pm on Friday so please share with any local family and friends and encourage them to come along and try it out! Further details of class delivery (including in rural Hermitage & Chieveley) can be found here: https://moveability.org.uk/seated-chair-exercise-classes-in-berkshire/
Connecting Communities in Berkshire is urging candidates standing in the general election across Berkshire not to forget the needs and circumstances of people living and working in the countryside.
The charity, along with other members of the ACRE Network, claims that for too long, the government has overlooked the challenges that rural residents face, including diminishing public services, inadequate infrastructure, and housing which has become increasingly unaffordable resulting in hidden poverty and ageing communities.
Tim Parry, CEO of Connecting Communities in Berkshire said, “Approximately 100,000 people in Berkshire live in a rural community. But we get the impression that all too often the needs of people who live and work in the countryside in Berkshire and beyond are overlooked.
“Because of this we’re joining with our national body Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) and other rural charities across England to say more needs to be done to close this gap, from creating a new statutory advisory body requiring government departments to appraise the impact of policies on rural dwellers, to funding more community-led housing, and supporting villages to develop plans so they can become more resilient to climate change.”
ACRE, which represents charities such as Connecting Communities in Berkshire has set out a suite of policy recommendations for the next government which it hopes will trigger a debate about what it means and takes to represent rural communities in 2024.
Tim added, “Too many services are delivered in areas where population is at its most dense. People living in the more sparsely populated areas of Berkshire, particularly those without their own transport, face added costs in both time and money to access basic services that people in urban areas take for granted. Older people and the young in particular will continue to face added isolation and social deprivation unless more service providers recognise the benefits of outreach service delivery models: taking services out into the community and utilising the network of village halls for example, to access customers and service users where they live. We hope to work with whoever is elected to represent rural communities across Berkshire to consider how these delivery models could increase the quality of life of Berkshire’s rural population.”
An Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) is a portable life-saving gadget that can zap someone’s heart back to its normal rhythm if it suddenly stops beating. It works by checking the person’s heart rhythm and giving them a shock if necessary. Using an AED before the ambulance shows up can significantly increase someone’s chance of survival.
We know through organising Essential Life Saving Skills workshops with British Red Cross the difference they can make to Berkshire’s rural communities so we thought we’d pull together a brief article on where you can find funding to support your community installing one.
AEDdonate offer support to help you fund, maintain, and register your public access defibrillator.https://www.aeddonate.org.uk/apply-for-funding/ – £400 towards a defibrillator anywhere in the UK
Defibrillator funding for community spaces across England The Department of Health and Social Care is currently running a £1 million match funded Community Automated External Defibrillators Fund, aimed at increasing the number of AEDs in public places where they are most needed and to help save lives: https://www.defibgrant.co.uk/
The number of people surviving cardiac arrests outside of a hospital is 10.8%, which is the highest level it’s ever been and is twice the rate that it was a decade ago. London Hearts help fund defibrillators throughout the UK: https://londonhearts.org/
Berkshire Heart Foundation – opens again in September 2024. A limited number of funded defibrillators are available in each annual funding cycle. Applications will be reviewed monthly against a set of criteria so awards can be made to communities that need them most. Areas prioritised include those with fewer registered defibrillators and communities where local health needs indicate a higher risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. – https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life/defibrillators/apply-for-a-free-defibrillator-for-your-community
Barchester’s Charitable Foundation is a registered charity that helps older people and adults with a disability across England, Scotland & Wales. Our focus is on connecting or re-connecting people with others in their local community, and we support applications that combat loneliness and enable people to be active and engaged.
We help small community groups and local charities with activities, outings, equipment and materials for members/service users. Our grants range from £100 up to £2,500. Before starting the application, make sure to have a cost breakdown/budget and your latest annual accounts ready to upload.
We do not have a formal definition for a small charity, but if a charity has financial reserves in the hundreds of thousands or millions, it is very unlikely that we would be able to help.
We help groups with:
Activity projects
Equipment and materials for use by members
Member transport
Day trips, outings and group holidays in the UK
Our grants for groups range from £100 up to £2,500. It takes us up to 10 weeks to process an application.
Grants are available for voluntary groups, social enterprises, and other not-for-profit organisations to deliver cycling projects and activities across England (outside of London) for people who do not normally cycle. Application deadline: 25 June 2024
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The Treebeard Trust is a charitable foundation supporting transformational initiatives that have the potential to create a healthier planet and fairer society. We try to invest time as well as money. We advocate on behalf of causes we are passionate about and try to support our partners, by amplifying their work, or by providing advice, connections or simply a general sounding board. If you think your organisation might be a good fit for the trust, visit our website for more info.
Applications re-open in May 2024. We award grants towards projects that make improvements to community facilities and the natural environment. Grants are for projects by constituted, not-for-profit organisations and local authorities that are located near a qualifying Veolia site in England.
Applications accepted on a rolling basis. The TCV Chestnut Fund grant scheme has been designed to support grassroots community groups and initiatives wanting to deliver practical volunteering that improves the natural physical environment and better connections between people and green spaces. Groups must be members of the TCV Community Network prior to applying. Start-Up grants are for groups who have little or no money when they are first set up and are available to groups in their first year of existence. The grant will enable them to begin practical work and will cover administrative expenses, e.g. insurance fees, postage, publicity or hire of meeting rooms. Maximum grant is £200. Support grants are for existing groups who have little or no money for tools, equipment and training. Maximum grant is £500.
About Us: SPAR is launching its third £100,000 Community Cashback scheme.Our grant scheme is aimed at supporting and giving back to the communities that we serve. Criteria: Local voluntary or community organisations and charities. Grant Size: up to £10,000 Deadline for applications: 22 May 2024
Find out more about the SPAR £100k Community Cashback
About Us: The University of Reading’s Community Engagement Fund (CEF) sets aside a total of £30,000 every year to support local charities and community groups’ projects across the Thames Valley region. Criteria: Local charities and community groups’ projects Grant Size: The Community Engagement Fund provides one-off, small awards (usually around £1,000 per year), as well as larger awards (up to a maximum of £10,000 per year) on a one-off or multi-year basis, depending on the project. Deadline for applications: 30 June 2024
About Us: Eden Projects is inviting communities to tell them how the act of sharing supports their community including their plans for sharing food on The Big Lunch weekend on 1-2 June. Award: The community receiving the award will receive a specially designed The Big Lunch Sharing Table made by the people at City & Guilds, plus funds towards their community projects and ideas, and a hamper of food and resources for a Big Lunch that are together worth £5,000. Three finalists will each receive a hamper of goodies to support them to have a Big Lunch, and £500 towards their project or idea to support the local community. Deadline for applications: 9am, Monday 20 May 2024.
This scheme supports local charities, sports clubs and good causes across the country. They have 30 offices across the UK that will each make a donation of up to 6,000 every quarter to those local organisations who are the lifeblood of our communities. Smaller donations are also available.
The Women’s Health Community Fund is designed to support small, grassroots organisations and community groups to deliver health information and support to women, girls and people from underrepresented groups.
Deadline: 19-05-2024
Thank you to Berkshire CVS’s for the information contained in this article – Slough CVS, Wokingham & Bracknell InVOLve and West Berkshire Volunteer Centre.
Connecting Communities in Berkshire 