Thank you to Berkshire’s VCS’s for the information contained in this article including Wokingham & Bracknell InVOLve, Slough CVS & West Berkshire Volunteer Centre.

Social Enterprise Support Fund
This fund provides essential financial support to help social enterprises in England to rebuild and grow their income from trading, following the impact of Covid-19.
It is established in partnership by The National Lottery Community Fund and five social enterprise support agencies. You can apply for grants from £10,000 to £100,000. Most grants will be between £10,000 and £50,000. The portal will be open for applications until Thursday 24th March. You can read the application guidance and FAQs for full details, or if you have a specific query, email help@SESupportFund.org.uk.

Youth Fund For Thriving Minds
The purpose of this funding is to improve mental health support and provision for young people and youth workers. We want to ensure grantee organisations have the resources needed to properly engage with the Thriving Minds programme to implement and instigate learnings to improve their mental health provision. Eligible organisations must be UK based not-for-profit organisations with an annual income under £500,000 whose primary purpose is to benefit young people aged 8-25. Next deadline is Sunday 20th March. Click here to apply.

Asda Foundation

Grants of £500 – £1,500 available to community groups for activities which can contribute towards transforming their community and improving the lives of people in their community. There are four themes:

• Building Resilient Communities
• Active Lives
• Seasonal Celebrations & Festivals
• Leading Healthier Lives

Project activities must start or take place before 5 June 2022. Deadline for applications is 15 April 2022. Further details here.

Urban Tree Challenge Fund

Grants of £10,000 – £30,000 are available for planting trees in urban areas to help support people’s health and wellbeing, as well as wider environmental benefits.

Applications are accepted from community and volunteer groups, town councils and individuals wishing to plant trees in urban areas of England. Applicants must have full management control over the land or signed consent from those with such control.

Deadline for applications is 31 May 2022 Read more

Food for the Planet Small Grants

Grants are available to not-for-profit groups and local authorities for projects which create meaningful change to local food systems and promote climate justice in the UK. 
Application deadline: 15 April 2022 For further details please click here.

Rewilding Britain – Rewilding Innovation Fund
Deadline: 31 March 2022
Grants are available to boost locally led land and marine nature recovery projects across Britain.rough housing, inclusive mobility and building better communities. Further information here. https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/support-rewilding/the-rewilding-network/rewilding-innovation-fund

National Lottery Heritage Fund – Dynamic Collections
Deadline: 31 March 2022
Grants are available to museums, libraries and community organisations for projects which involve a wider range of people in heritage and promote public engagement with collections.

LEGO Foundation – Build a World of Play Challenge
Deadline: 7 April 2022
Grants are available to not-for-profit organisations, businesses and research institutes for innovative projects which focus on young children’s wellbeing while addressing social issues worldwide

Historic England – Everyday Heritage Grants: Celebrating Working Class Heritage
Deadline: 23 May 2022
Grants are available to community and heritage organisations in England for projects which improve understanding and awareness of overlooked historic places and celebrate working class histories.

Sovereign Thriving Communities (with Crowdfunding)
Deadline: N/A
Grants are available for not-for-profit organisations and community groups who can raise their initial funding through a crowdfunding campaign to support projects that benefit Sovereign communities and residents.

Barclays Community Football Fund
Deadline: N/A
Grants are available to community groups in the UK to a make playing football more accessible at the grassroots level, and in particular encourage girls and young people from lower socio-economic and under-represented groups, including culturally diverse communities, young people with disabilities, and young people from the LGBTQ+ community to take part.

Sport England – Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Activity Fund
Deadline: N/A
Grants are available to local not-for-profit groups across England in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee for projects which bring communities together and provide opportunities for people who may be less physically active.

KFC Foundation Community Grants Programme
Deadline: N/A
Grants are available to support grassroots organisations providing safe social spaces, mentoring, work, or social skills for young people aged 11 to 25 years old in the UK.

Morrisons Foundation
Deadline: N/A
Grants are available to registered charities for new projects which directly improve the lives of local people or communities, especially those that are vulnerable or disadvantaged, in England, Scotland or Wales.

England Woodland Creation Partnerships (WCP) Grants
Deadline: N/A
Grants, incentives and other support are available for woodland creation by farmers, landowners/managers and community groups, as part of the England Woodland Creation Partnerships.

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.

Trusthouse Charitable Foundation
Deadline: N/A
Grants are available to smaller charitable and not-for-profit organisations in the UK to fund community and family support projects in areas of extreme urban deprivation or deprived rural areas. 

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

People’s Postcode Trust

Someone’s knocking on the door….The People’s Postcode Lottery supports smaller charities and good causes (preferably under £500,000 income)  to make a difference to their community for the benefit of people and the planet.

The Trust will fund projects under themes including:

• Improving mental wellbeing
• Supporting marginalised groups and promoting equality
• Improving biodiversity & green spaces
• Enabling participation in physical activity
• Increasing community access to outdoor space.

Rounds will open at 9am on the 1st of each month but they close very quickly. Don’t wait to get your applications submitted. Usual limit is £2,500, though CICs and Community

Helen and Gemma are running training on “Energy and water bills – essential advice and awareness for practitioners supporting those on low-incomes”

Online training via Zoom Tuesday March 22nd 2022 10.30am – 12pm

Helen delivers CCB’s Family Fuel and Water Poverty Project and is a subject matter expert.

This session will provide training, advice, and useful information to practitioners that work with low-income and vulnerable individuals, including families, those with long-term health conditions, and the elderly.

Bracknell Forest Council is funding this training.

Learners will know and understand the definition of fuel poverty, and how to advise and support the clients they work with to save money on their bills through a variety of ways.

This includes:

· Discounts available to those on low incomes – Warm Home Discount, Thames Water Discounts

· Funding for insulation and boiler improvements for low-income households

· Reducing costs by reducing energy usage

· The Priority Services Register for those with health conditions/vulnerability

· Dealing with debt, and trust funds for grants for debt

· Comparing costs and switching to get the best deal

· Useful sources of information

Those attending this training at the beginning of March stated “The trainer was excellent, and the course content was entirely useful for us”

“The training increased my awareness of the availability of so many energy discounts and grants, and gave good tips about personal choices (on energy usage at home).”

You need to register in advance to join this training session:

Booking link:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvcuGgrTwpGd1TV3JIpaeHl4LLpXDDur00

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The commercial nature of the roll-out of digital connectivity has resulted in an urban bias. Government intervention has been necessary to reduce this bias and invest in rural broadband services, but we still face the issue of the most rural areas waiting for the longest for services to be provided. Some rural areas face the risk of never getting access to a service equivalent to that provided in other places.

At a focus group held by CCB in 2021 on the topic of digital inclusion, we identified three significant barriers affecting people in rural areas, and those on low incomes in particular:

• The availability of affordable internet connections
• The opportunity to develop skills and confidence to use online services safely
• Access to affordable and appropriate devices

CCB is committed to supporting rural communities to address these barriers and believes that every rural community should have at least one place where local people can access high-quality internet connectivity free of charge.

We are keen to hear from people living in rural communities who share our commitment to tackling digital exclusion, particularly those involved with village halls that could become venues where advice, support, and training can be provided to local people. We are also keen to hear from other organisations that share our commitment to addressing this issue or who already deliver services that help people develop digital skills and get online safely. Please contact Tim Parry on 0118 961 2000 or by email at tim.parry@ccberks.org.uk