Funding Update – November 2017

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BlueSpark Foundation 

BlueSpark Foundation is a registered charity which supports the education and development of children and young people by providing grants for educational, cultural, sporting and other projects.

They are particularly keen to support projects which will help  the self-confidence, team working skills and future employability of children and young people. They will fund schools, voluntary groups, and individuals.
Many grants will be under £2,000, most will be under £5,000 and only in a few cases will grants exceed £10,000. http://bluesparkfoundation.org.uk/

Masonic Charitable Foundation

The Foundation makes grants to registered charities which help people to live happy, fulfilling lives and to participate actively in society. Issues they support are:

  • financial hardship
  • health and disability
  • education and employability
  • social exclusion and disadvantage

Small Grants

Between £500 – £5,000 can be awarded to smaller charities with an annual income that does not exceed approximately £500,000. Small Grants can be used for core expenditure such as general running or overhead costs of the charity.Large Grants. Over £5,000 can include funding salary costs, specific project costs and refurbishment costs. These are available only to charities with an income above £500,000. The next deadline for applications is 2nd February 2018.
https://mcf.org.uk/community/

Segro Thames Valley Community Fund

The SEGRO Thames Valley Community Fund is part of a three year partnership between SEGRO and Berkshire Community Foundation (BCF) to help tackle barriers to work and education and help local people into employment.

The SEGRO Thames Valley Community Fund will tackle barriers to work and support those suffering from disadvantage who require help to get into, or return to, the workplace through skills training,apprenticeships and educational activity to boost their chances of employment. The funding will focus on supporting, but not be exclusive to, young people and those suffering from mental health difficulties, physical disabilities, language barriers or a criminal background.

This Fund will award at least five grants of up to £5,000 and local groups from the Slough, Reading or Bracknell areas are eligible to apply.
http://www.berkshirecf.org/grants/segro-thames-valley-community-fund/

Grow Wild
Grow Wild is awarding funding of £2,000 or £4,000 to groups and projects that:

  • Stand out from the crowd – think something creative, or even better something that hasn’t been done before!
  • Focus on UK native wildflowers, plants and/or fungi, highlighting the importance of these species for the environment, and for quality of life.
  • Will engage one or more of these groups:
    • Young people aged 12-18
    • Students and young people aged 18-25
    • People living in urban areas
    • People experiencing hardship and reduced access to services
    • Adults that are less engaged with their community and environmental activities
  •  Will encourage large scale community involvement, ideally in the hundreds!
  • Will deliver the project in a space or location that is accessible to the general public i.e. is not in a restricted or controlled area

https://www.growwilduk.com/content/community-project-funding-2018

Information courtesy of Slough CVS

Get Berkshire Active Awards – get nominating!

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 The 6th annual Get Berkshire Active Awards will take place on Friday 23 February 2018. The awards will recognise the people that have excelled in a sport or physical activity setting throughout the last year. The Get Berkshire Active Awards are a celebration of the people and organisations that promote, volunteer, work, support and take part in all types of sport and physical activity within Berkshire.

If you know a person, organisation or school who deserves recognition for their dedication to sport and/or physical activity, make sure to nominate them.

The 12 award categories this year are:

  • Sports Personality of the Year
  • Junior Sports Personality of the Year
  • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Workplace of the Year
  • Health Project of the Year
  • Volunteer of the Year
  • Coach of the Year
  • Community Club of the Year
  • Youth Engagement Project of the Year
  • Active Primary School
  • Active Secondary School
  • Team Performance of the Year

Click here to see the award criteria and click here to nominate. Nominations close 10pm Friday 1st December 2017

Stay Well This Winter

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Stay Well This WinterThe Community Council for Berkshire is supporting the 2017/18 Stay Well This Winter campaign.

The Stay Well This Winter campaign is a joint initiative from NHS England and Public Health England, to help people with long-term health conditions and those over 65 prepare for winter and ward off common winter illnesses.

Winter can be seriously bad for the health of these people, increasing the risk of blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. There are a number of things you can do to prepare against the cold weather:

  • At the first sign of a cough or cold, get immediate advice from your pharmacist before it gets more serious
  • Speak to your pharmacist about medicines you should have in stock over winter
  • Pick up prescription medications before the Christmas holidays start as many GPs and pharmacies will close over the holidays
  • It is important to keep warm in winter, so heat your home to at least 18°C (65°F), if you can, you might prefer your living room to be slightly warmer
  • Make sure you get your flu jab
  • If you need help over the holiday period when your GP surgery or pharmacy is closed, call NHS 111 or visit nhs.uk

The Stay Well This Winter campaign can help you and your family prepare for winter. For more information including leaflets in alternative formats visit nhs.uk/staywell

Community Business Bright Ideas Fund Opens for Final Round

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This is the third and final round of the £1.85 million fund which provides business support and grants to not-for-profit organisations that want to set up their own community business in England.

New guidance notes have been published for the final round, and groups should refer to them before they start the application process.

There is one significant change to the eligibility criteria. The community organisation applying must not have been constituted for more than five years at the time of making an application. This is to ensure that only new groups are being considered.

This is also reflected in the level of funding available. Previously grants of up to £20,000 were available for established stage projects, but as this round is focused on new groups, the funding now consists of:

Ideas stage – grants of between £1,000 and £10,000.
Pre-venture stage – grants of between £1,000 and £15,000.
It is anticipated that 15 to 20 projects will be funded. They will join the 70 community businesses that have already received funding over the course of the two-year fund. These include a community transport scheme to link isolated rural villages and give elderly people more independence; an indoor skate park for a forgotten coastal community with few activities for young people and poor health; and a community food club tackling food poverty through pop ups.

The deadline for applications is 1 December 2017.

Further information can be found on the Locality – My Community website.

Source: j4bcommunity.co.uk