Get Involved With The Month of Community

Good causes across the UK are teaming up next month to celebrate summer 2021 with a whole #MonthOfCommunity. This year, the Big Lunch will kick off a summer event, all about of community, friendship and fun, with a truly unforgettable feast! This event is about celebrating community connections and getting to know one another a little better. You can join in with a Big Lunch when it works for you and your community, whether that’s to say cheers to volunteers, connect with your neighbours or simply to say thank you. Pick your own big date to celebrate and hold a Big Lunch when it works best for you and coincides with the awareness week that you connect to best:


Great British Spring Clean: 28th May – 13th June
Volunteers Week: 1st-7th June
Neighbourhood Watch Week
: 5th-11th June
Carers Week: 7th-13th June
Loneliness Awareness Week: 14th-18th June
Refugee Week: 14th-20th June
Small Charity Week: 14th-19th June
The Great Get Together: 18th-20th June
National Picnic Week: 19th-27th June
National Cream Tea Day: 25th June
Thank You Day: 4th July


Click on the links above to find out more about each of these important awareness events and let everyone know how you’re getting involved and making a difference by sharing your celebrations on social media using the hashtag #MonthofCommunity and #BFGetInvolved!


Funding Opportunities in June

Small Grants for Small Charities
The Foyle Small Grants Scheme is designed to support UK charities which are financially stable and which are working at grass roots and local community level, in any field, across a wide range of activities. We make one-year grants only to cover core costs or essential equipment, to enable ongoing service provision, homeworking, or delivery of online digital services to charities that can show financial stability. Small charities with turnover of less than £150,000 can apply for between £1,000 and £10,000. For further details, click here.

Grants For Small Local & Grass Roots Groups
‘Charity Pot’ is funded by Lush hand and body cream support and distribute as grants, to mainly small grass roots groups working in the areas of animal protection, the environment and/or human rights (including social justice, peace, diversity and equality). Charity Pot grants range from £100 to £10,000 per project/application.  The average Charity Pot grant is between £2,000 – £4,000. Priorities include projects that aim to create long-term change, or support for basic life needs and, or that are often overlooked by other funders. 
Lush supports organisations that take on issues that others don’t or that push the boundaries and challenge the mainstream opinion. Click here for more info.

Co-op Local Community Fund
If your project helps people access food, improves mental wellbeing or provides opportunities for young people, apply
for funding and become a co-op cause. As well as providing some funds, the scheme can help you:
~   find people who can help grow your group
~   tell others about the impact you’re having in your community
~   connect with other groups and activities to grow your network
You can use the money to pay staff salaries or running costs for your project, but not your group. For example, to pay a professional to give local children mental health awareness training. For more information and for the application form, click here

Grants For Horticultural & Art History Projects
The Finnis Scott Foundation makes grants for horticultural and art history projects. In general, the Trustees only consider applications for grants up to £10,000. Exceptionally, larger
grants may be considered at the Trustees’ discretion. Preference is given to smaller charities where a grant would have a significant impact. The Foundation funds both capital and revenue projects. Requests for salaries will not be considered, except in the case of educational support (bursaries and apprenticeships). Grants are not given for expenditure which has already been made. Click here for more details.

People’s Health Trust

Their Active Communities programme is open locally. Not for profit organisations with an annual income below £350,000 can a apply for a grant of £5,000 to £40,000, which can be over two years.

Projects need to:

  • Be designed and led by local people
  • Support their neighbourhood or community to come together to address an issue that is important to them
  • Create stronger connections between people by supporting them to meet up regularly (weekly, fortnightly or monthly, for at least one year)
  • Be for people who experience greater social and economic disadvantage than people living in other parts of the country

They will support small local projects, or those supporting a community of interest. Deadline for applications is 1pm on 9 June 2021

Read more

The Wakeham Trust

The Wakeham Trust provides grants to help people rebuild their communities. They are particularly interested in neighbourhood projects, community arts projects, projects involving community service by young people, or projects set up by those who are socially excluded.Read more

Grocers’ Charity – Memorial Grants
Deadline: N/A
One-off grants are available to small UK registered charities for work in the specific areas of: relief of youth poverty, the disabled, the elderly, health, military, and the arts and heritage.

Music for All – Community Project Funding
Deadline: 1 July 2021
Grants are available to UK-based community groups that aim to bring musical projects to their local communities.

The Prince’s Countryside Fund – Barclays 100x100UK
Covid-19 Community Relief Fund

Deadline: N/A
Funding for farming and rural communities to cope with the impact of Covid-19, to expand on new services that have emerged to support the local community during this time and to build future resilience.

Matthew Good Foundation – Grants for Good Fund
Deadline: N/A
Grants are available for local community groups, charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises in the UK for projects that have a positive impact on communities, people, or the environment.

Postcode Society Trust – South of England
Deadline: N/A
Grants are available for smaller charities and good causes in the south of England.

Ansvar

We’re asking registered charities – big or small – to tell us about a project they’re either running or hoping to run, which could do with some extra cash. We have £25,000 to give away – the first prize will be £15,000 and the two runners up will both receive £5,000 each. All we’re asking for is 500 words or less about the project, which can be emailed to us at community.campaign@ansvar.co.uk  Entries need to be in by the 30th June and we’ll be letting the lucky winners know they’ve been successful by the 23rd July. Click here for the terms and conditions.

Return to Play: Small Grants

This fund will make awards, using National Lottery and government funding, of between £300 and £10,000 from a total pot of £15 million, to help sport and activity groups, clubs and organisations respond to the immediate challenges of returning to play in a coronavirus-safe way. It seeks to help support sport and physical activity groups, clubs and organisations in responding to the immediate challenges of returning to play in a Covid-safe manner. For more details please click here.

Ocado Foundation Grants Programme

Grants programme for UK charities and community groups, with BizGive offering grants of up to £1,000 to successful applicants, with in-kind goods also available on request and applications for digital volunteering also accepted. For further details please click here.

Funding for Allotment and Garden Projects
Deadline: 1 July 2021
The National Allotment Gardens Trust grant funding to registered Allotment Associations and Committees for the improvement and development of facilities on registered and permanent sites. Non statuary sites may also be granted funding if a long term lease is in place.

Pets at Home Foundation – Pets Through People Grants
Deadline: N/A
Grants are available for charities who provide temporary or ongoing assistance to ensure pets can remain with their owners, and/or change the lives of adults and children through the provision of animal-based activities.

National Lottery Awards for All – England
Deadline: N/A
Grants are available for charities, voluntary groups, schools and local authorities in England to carry out projects that will improve their local community

National Lottery Community Fund – Partnerships
Deadline: N/A
Grants are available to voluntary and community organisations in England which work together with a shared set of goals and values to help their community thrive.

National Lottery Community Fund – Reaching Communities
Deadline: N/A
Large grants are available to voluntary and community organisations in England for projects that make positive changes in their communities.

National Lottery Grants for Heritage
Deadline: N/A
Grants for organisations working with heritage to adapt and respond to the changing environment they are now operating in due to the coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis.

Emergency Government funding for the Coronavirus Community Support Fund

Government funding is being awarded alongside National Lottery funding, to support organisations to continue to deliver services to people and communities affected by COVID-19. We can also help organisations overcome any acute financial difficulties they face as a result of the pandemic. Those unable to accept lottery funding can specify the application is for Government funds. Read about the types of projects and organisations we’re prioritising

Funding of between £300 and £10,000 is being awarded to cover six months of expenditure.  Applications are ongoing though eligibility will change after 17th August. See https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/covid-19-funding-under-10k-1#section-1 

Core funding charities supporting for disadvantaged groups 
Charities, social enterprises, and community interest companies can apply for core cost funding of up to £3,000. Priority is given to projects that make good use of volunteers, encourage past and current users to participate, ensure that funds awarded are being well used and fall within the following areas:

  • Children and young people who are isolated, at risk of exclusion or involved in anti-social behaviour.
  • Disadvantaged families,
  • Prisoners and ex-offenders. 

See http://woodwardcharitabletrust.org.uk/general_applications/ for details.  Apply by 30th July 2021

Thank you to Berkshire’s terrific CVS’s for the information contained in the post, namely – Wokingham & Bracknell InVOLve, Reading Voluntary Action, Slough CVS and Volunteer Centre West Berkshire.


Have you joined Community Organisers yet?

Community organising is the work of bringing people together to take action around their common concerns and overcome social injustice. Community organisers reach out and listen, connect and motivate people to build their collective power.

CCB has been working with Community Organisers Ltd for the last 3 years, bringing their training to Berkshire and helping active citizens improve their skills in community engagement, empowering them to bring about positive changes within their communities.

Membership of Community Organisers Ltd is free and brings with it access to an incredible network of like-minded people from across England. See https://www.corganisers.org.uk/membership/join-the-movement/become-a-member/ for details on how to join.

Joining Community Organisers will also connect you with local people working to improve life within Berkshire. Community Organisers Berkshire, a CCB initiative, provides support to anyone needing information and advice with progressing their own community-led project.

Members of Community Organisers can now take advantage of a new benefit: Peer Learning Circles. People often find that the best way to learn new skills is through doing something, and then reflecting on this with others. The Peer Learning Circles will help you apply the skills that you are developing as community organisers, to the work you are involved with on the ground.

Members can sign up to join a Peer Learning Circle and be matched with people either from the local area or members from farther afield but with similar interests or working on similar projects. If you’d like to hear more about Peer Learning Circles or find out about Community Organisers Berkshire, please contact Tim Parry at CCB. tim.parry@ccberks.org.uk


Help us help communities in Berkshire

AmazonSmile

Want to help make a difference while you shop in the Amazon app, at no extra cost to you? Simply follow the instructions below to select Connecting Communities In Berkshire as your charity and activate AmazonSmile in the app. Amazon will donate a portion of your eligible mobile app purchases to us.

How it works:
1. Open the Amazon app on your phone
2. Select the main menu (=) & tap on “AmazonSmile” within Programmes & Features
3. Select Connecting Communities In Berkshire as your charity
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to activate AmazonSmile in the mobile app

EasyFundraising

Please remember to use easyfundraising every time you shop online. Over 5,000 shops and sites will donate to Connecting Communities in Berkshire, including all the big names like eBay, John Lewis & Partners, Argos, ASOS, M&S and Just Eat!

Plus, you could raise up to £215 when you use easyfundraising to save money on your household bills including car and home insurance, energy, phone contract or broadband. Uswitch, GoCompare, Confused.com and many more will all donate to us for FREE! That money will be reinvested to our Family Home Energy Education & Advice Project – helping families throughout Berkshire at risk or in fuel poverty. For further details on the project please click here.

If you haven’t signed up to support us yet, it’s easy and completely FREE. These donations really help us, so it would be great if you could take a moment to get started!

You can find our easyfundraising page here: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ccberks/?utm_campaign=raise-more&utm_medium=email&utm_content=rm-rbd21-e1


Ensure a tree is planted in YOUR community

Campaign launched to mark Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Trees are a vital part of nature. This week celebrated #loveatree day – Berkshire is full of ancient and awe-inspiring trees but it would be great to take advantage of the campaign (also launched this week) to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee.” 

Everyone from individuals to Scout and Girlguiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates will be encouraged to play their part to enhance our environment by planting trees from October, when the tree planting season begins, through to the end of the Jubilee year in 2022. To read more about please click here.

At CCB we are always working to ensure that we as friendly to the climate as we possible can be so we would encourage people to plant a bare root/root balls plants if possible (not the ones in plastic pots) and ensure they are grown without peat and preferably planted with peat free composts. For further tips on how you can help our climate please click here.

One of our favourite trees – the one outside of our office in Swallowfield!