This update is provided by our national body Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE).

ACRE will fully review its advice to Village Halls at the beginning of week commencing 13th December. In the meantime, this brief update seeks to keep pace with the initial changes that have followed Government’s announcement of a move to Plan B.

Government announced the tightening of selected Regulations, on the 8th December. The first of these to come into law relates to face coverings. These changes were introduced to Parliament on 9th December and became law on 10th December.

Face coverings
Community Centres (Village Halls) are now explicitly included in the list of places where face coverings must be worn unless the individual has an exemption. The responsibility is the individual’s not the building owner or organiser of an activity.

Signage
Although poorly drafted in respect of Community Centres (Village Halls) a requirement to put up signs telling people they must wear face coverings is a requirement of the regulations. As worded this could be read as applying to the organiser of an activity, however it would be safest to take this this to mean the people or persons responsible for the building. In the case of Village Halls this will either be the Trustees or the Manager.

Singing
The Regulations permit the removal of face masks for singing in the following situations: as part of a choir, service, performance or rehearsal for a performance.

Nest steps in Plan B
The overall intention of Plan B for village and community halls is explained in the following extract from the government general public announcement. As previously, references to theatres, cinemas etc can be regarded as referring to plays, pantos and films.

“From Friday 10 December, face coverings will become compulsory in most public indoor venues, such as cinemas, theatres and places of worship. There will be exemptions in venues where it is not practical to wear one, such as when you are eating, drinking or exercising. For that reason, face masks will not be required in hospitality settings.

From Monday 13 December, those who can will be advised to work from home.

From Wednesday 15 December, and subject to parliamentary approval, the NHS Covid Pass on the NHS App will become mandatory for entry into nightclubs and settings where large crowds gather”

The last paragraph should not affect halls as it applies to unseated indoor events with 500 or more attendees, unseated outdoor events with 4,000 or more attendees and any event with 10,000 or more attendees.

Some notes from Kate Meads;

To check you are complying I would recommend you revise your Risk Assessment and ask hirers to do the same.

In most situations a face covering should be worn

When face coverings can be removed;

• If someone is exempt or a child under 12
• If the activity is an exemption e.g. exercise class, eating or drinking
• For emergency First Aid – CPR/breathing difficulties

Where the activity exempts people from wearing a face covering, people should expect to wear one to enter/leave the premises and in communal areas where the activity is not undertaken e.g. corridors and toilet areas.

Arts Council England Project Grants – Volunteering Futures

Grants are available to community and cultural organisations creating better voluteering opportunities for young people and others who experience social disadvantage across England. Further details here.

National Lottery Community Fund – Platinum Jubilee Fund

Grants are available for local not-for-profit organisations across the UK to deliver community projects which support new opportunities and build better relationships across generations and with the natural world, in commemoration of Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Further details here.

Ocado Foundation Grants Programme
Deadline: 31 December 2021
The Ocado Foundation is the charitable arm of Ocado Group, working for good in the community. We focus our efforts in three core areas, skills for the future, natural resources and responsible sourcing. Details here.

National Allotment Gardens Trust
Deadline: 1 January 2022
Grants are available for registered allotment associations and committees for the improvement and development of facilities on registered and permitted sites.

Asda Foundation – Investing in Spaces and Places Grant
Deadline: 9 January 2022
Grants are available to grassroots organisations in the UK for the improvement of spaces for local communities, leading to a positive difference for those living in the area.

The BlueSpark Foundation
Deadline: N/A
Grants to schools, community groups, clubs, societies and not-for-project organisations which support the education and development of children and young people. The majority of grants awarded will be up to £2,000 but a handful of grants up to £5,000 may be considered.

Shanly Foundation COVID
Deadline: N/A
Registered charities, sports and social clubs and community organisations that help individuals and benefit the local community, including support for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, the homeless, those with mental health issues and people with physical disabilities, injury or life limiting illness in Bucks, Herts, Surrey and Berks. 

Newly Opened: Communities Fund – Social Enterprise Support Fund

You can apply for grants from £10,000 to £100,000. Most grants will be between £10,000 and £50,000.

The funding can be used for:

Helping you get your social enterprise back on track

• This might be the costs of getting trading back up and running, supporting outreach and marketing, supporting your costs while your business gets back to full strength, developing new markets and services etc.

Helping you work with communities that are recovering

• This might be work related to supporting communities that have been hard hit by COVID-19, for example, supporting people to get back to work, helping marginalised children catch up with education, supporting families who have been bereaved, providing services for people affected by long COVID etc.

For example, the grant may:

• fund the costs of a community outreach worker to support people to return to your community centre
• help you pilot the provision of additional educational support for children and young people who need help to catch up, with a view to this eventually being commissioned by schools
• be funding for a community supermarket to enable you to continue to provide affordable food for your local community
• help you build local partnerships to provide skills training and employment for communities particularly hit by COVID-19

Your social enterprise must have been incorporated for at least 12 months (i.e. registered with Companies House, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the Charity Commission).

Your social enterprise must be incorporated. It may be a charitable company, a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), a Community Interest Company (CIC) or a Community Benefit Society (CBS/Registered Society).Essential financial support for social enterprises recovering from COVID-19 | SESF (socialenterprisesupportfund.org.uk)

Newly Opened: Alec Dickinson Trust 

The Alec Dickson Trust supports young people in the UK who want to use volunteering or community service to do brilliant things in their communities.

We think that young people are amazing and that they have the potential to make the world a better place through volunteering. So, we provide grants of up to £500 to individuals or groups of young people aged 30 or under, to help them put their ideas into action and run projects that benefit the lives of others – particularly the most marginalised and disadvantaged.

When we assess projects, we’re looking for:

• Volunteering

We support projects that support and encourage youth volunteering. We particularly like to fund projects that involve lots of volunteers, and/or encourage these young people to stay engaged as volunteers in the long term.

• Need

We support young people who run projects that have a positive impact on disadvantaged communities and individuals. We’re looking for projects that identify a specific need, and propose to carry out activities that will clearly help to address this need. We’re particularly interested in projects that will have a deep and meaningful effect on those it reaches, as well as projects that are as long-lasting and sustainable as possible.

• Innovation

Ultimately we’re looking for youth volunteering projects that help to improve communities, but if the project is new and exciting then even better! We particularly like to fund volunteer initiatives that are innovative and try to do things a bit differently, such as using social media creatively or using existing resources in new ways.Alec Dickson Trust

Next Deadline: 9pm Monday 13th December

All Churches

When considering applications for Capital and Project costs, the Trust considers how well the aims of the project align with our areas of funding focus. These are:

• The repair, restoration, protection and improvement of church buildings, cathedrals and other places of Christian worship, especially where those changes support wider community use.
• Equipping Christian charities and churches to help the most vulnerable and tackle social issues, including homelessness, poverty, climate change and cultural cohesion
• Projects that support Christian leaders, locally and nationally, spiritually and numerically, and share the Christian faith
• Equipping Christian charities and churches to engage in innovative ways of working and in new and enhanced areas of activity that will best meet the existing and emerging challenges facing communities
• Transformative Projects that enable a step change in the capacity, reach and impact of Christian organisations, with a particular focus on innovation, partnership and sharing learnings and best practice to enable the widest possible impact and benefit
• Building development projects that seek to enhance the mission and ministry of the Methodist Church in the UK and Ireland
• Equipping Christian charities and churches to engage more young people more regularly and build lasting relationships that provide opportunities for individual, family, church and community flourishing
• Working with selected partners to preserve the UK and Ireland’s rich history through funding to build and protect sustainable heritage skills (note that the heritage grants programme is not open to applications).

Allchurches Trust | How to apply for a grant
  Next Deadline: Rolling

One Stop Community Partnership

Grants of £1,000 plus support for community groups or organisations operating within two miles of a One Stop shop and which are;

• Tackling food poverty
• Supporting the vulnerable
• Supporting the elderly
• Supporting low-income families
• Running youth sports teams

Each shop is able to create a partnership with one group only – use their Store Locator to check the distance from your local store and whether funding is currently available there. Read more

Community Tree Planting Programme
Funding is available to protect, promote and plant trees in local communities in the UK. Deadline for applications is 16th December.
Click here to apply.

Ocado Foundation Grants Programme
The Ocado Foundation is the charitable arm of Ocado Group, working for good in the community. We focus our efforts in three core areas, skills for the future,
natural resources and responsible sourcing. Deadline for applications is 31st December. Click here for details.

Newly Reopened: Aldi Christmas and New Year Food Surplus Scheme

As part of Aldi’s pledge to donate 10 million meals this year to families across the UK facing hunger, the supermarket has committed to donate more meals than ever to good causes over the festive period.

Through its partnership with Neighbourly, all of Aldi’s 930 UK stores can already donate surplus food seven days a week, all year round. With all Aldi stores set to close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, the retailer also wants to ensure that any products approaching the end of their shelf life reach families who might otherwise miss out this Christmas.

Charities, food banks and community groups who could benefit from the scheme are encouraged to get in touch and register now for a festive food donation.

Existing charity partnerships will be prioritised for these festive collections, but where there’s availability, additional organisations are being invited to apply to be paired with a local Aldi store to collect fresh and chilled food products – including fruit, vegetables, fresh meat, fish and bread – ahead of stores closing on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Organisations do not need to be a registered charity to apply but must:

• Have a level two hygiene certificate gained in the last two years
• Be able to transport and store chilled food products after collecting them on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve at 5pm
• Those interested in working with Aldi this Christmas should contact Neighbourly at aldichristmas@neighbourly.com before 5 December.

Food Donations – ALDI UK

Opening Soon: Arts Council Platinum Jubilee Fund

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is a special moment in our collective history; one that gives us a chance to look back at what has been achieved over the last 70 years  and also look forward to what is possible in the future.

The focus of this fund is to empower community organisations to work collaboratively with artists and cultural organisations in a way they might not have before, to produce creative events that are driven by them and highlight their ideas and creativity. 

Although our funding usually falls under several artform disciplines, we don’t want to be too prescriptive over what kinds of creative responses we expect to see for the Let’s Create Jubilee Fund.  Instead, we want to encourage community organisations to think about what creative activity would mean the most to their local communities and why.

Creative events to celebrate the Queens Platinum Jubilee to take place in June 2022. Organisations can apply for between £750 – £10,000.
 

Let’s Create Jubilee Fund | Arts Council England
 
Next Deadline: 

Application portal opens – January  

Application deadline – 28 February  

Decisions received – 1 April   Projects take place – June 2022

The Beaverbrook Foundation

One of the areas that the Foundation has increasingly concentrated on has been supporting small charitable projects; recognising that it is often more difficult to raise a few thousand to refurbish a church hall than it is to raise millions for a major public building. Our experience shows that it is often the small donations to the small charities that make a big difference.

The Beaverbrook Foundation makes charitable donations based on the following criteria:

• Donations can be made for capital expenditure, i.e. to acquire or upgrade physical assets such as buildings, fixtures and fittings, machinery, furniture and other equipment; for revenue/running costs; and for special projects.
• The trustees will not normally consider grants to cover expenditure that has already been incurred or committed.
• The Trustees promote the concept of match funding, and may make a payment conditional upon the applicant obtaining the remaining funding from other sources.
• The Trustees are able to make grants to all faith organisations, and are not willing to discriminate against any charity due to its focus on race, nationality, sexual orientation or age.
• Grants are made, at the discretion of the Trustees, for charitable purposes including those that would have reflected the interests of the first Lord Beaverbrook.
• We only accept applications for donations from registered charities.

Grants – Beaverbrook Foundation

We thank our Berkshire CVS’s for sharing this funding information with ut – Slough CVS, West Berkshire Volunteer Centre, Wokingham & Bracknell Involve and Reading Voluntary Action.