BHF’s Community Defibrillator Funding Programme

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has recently reopened their Community Defibrillator Funding Programme.

This scheme allows local community groups to apply and potentially receive a free defibrillator and cabinet which must then be made accessible for use within the local community.

In areas where health inequalities exist, survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest are reduced, so this scheme may be of significant assistance to these areas. Follow the link below to see if your group is eligible.

BHF expect to close applications by 5pm on Friday 28th February 2025. They may close applications earlier depending on the volume received, so groups are advised to apply early.

Royal Countryside Fund

About Us: The UK-wide Supporting Rural Communities grant programme launches on Friday 10th January 2025. This funding will support transformative, community-led initiatives, unlocking the huge potential for positive change in rural communities. Their aim is to support innovative solutions that will “power up, not prop up” communities, inspiring change and encouraging economic vibrancy.
Criteria: Not for Profit organisations (excluding Town and Parish Councils) can apply for grants to deliver activities along the themes of:
* Keeping young people in the countryside
* Powering up rural communities
* Increasing environmental sustainability
* Building emergency resilience in rural areas.
Grant Size: of up to £25,000 over a period of 24 months.
Deadline for applications: Deadline for expressions of interest is 21st February 2025

Berkshire Community Foundation Vital for Berkshire Fund

About Us: The fund aims to support charities, community groups and projects that work to tackle the most salient and pressing issues within Berkshire’s communities at any given time.
Criteria: We invite applications for grants from charities, community groups and projects that support vital needs in Berkshire, such as (but not limited to):

• physical and mental health
• supporting young and vulnerable people or groups
• combating isolation, tackling poverty and disadvantage
• offering equal opportunities for all
  Grant Size: up to £5,000
  Deadline for applications: 10am on 16th January 2025

Greenham Trust – Peter Baker Grants

Grants are distributed in line with the original intentions of Peter Baker; for charitable purposes within a 20-mile radius of Market Place, Newbury, Berkshire.

Application deadline: 13th January 2025

Leeds Building Society Charitable Foundation

Grants are available for UK registered charities undertaking projects to support those in need of a safe and secure home.

Application deadline: 10th February 2025

Imperial Polythene Community Impact Fund

About Us: Imperial Polythene is proud to announce the launch of the Imperial Community Impact Fund; a new initiative designed to support local community groups and charities committed to making a positive difference.
Criteria: To encourage and empower local organisations working in the fields of environment, sustainability, creativity, and addressing local problems.
Grant Size: Up to £1,000 per project
Deadline for applications: Thursday 20 March 2025

Youth Music Trailblazer Fund

About Us: Youth Music’s Trailblazer Fund aims to support young people who want to change their lives through music but cannot because of who they are, where they are from or what they are going through.
Criteria: Funding is available for projects for children and young people (aged 25 or under) to make music activity more inclusive and foster learning, creation and employment opportunities.The fund provides grants for organisations that want to trial work or test a new way of working, sustain a grassroots programme or disrupt the status quo (or all three). Priority is given to small organisations with limited resources, those supporting children and young people facing barriers, and established groups seeking to innovate.
Grant Size: Two levels of grants are available:
• Grants of £2,000 to £15,000 are available to organisations of less than one year old.
• Grants of £2,000 to £30,000 are available to organisations of more than one year old.
Deadline for applications: 5pm on 11th April 2025

National Archives Engagement Grants

About Us: The Engagement Grants Programme offers grants for organisations to conduct outreach and engagement projects that will connect archives with their communities in places across England and Wales.
Criteria: Public sector bodies, not-for-profit organisations including registered charities and business archives can apply for grants. This year’s theme is ‘Community’. Projects can either reach out to new audiences or connect with old audiences in new ways.
Grant Size: up to £3,000
Deadline for applications: 5pm on 17th January 2025

Idlewild Trust

About Us: We support learning programmes that provide opportunities for professional musicians, dancers, actors, writers, artists and those involved creatively in the arts at an early stage in their career. We also support the conservation of nationally/internationally important works of art and historic objects.
Criteria: The Trust offers grants to registered charities working in the following two areas:
• Arts Grants: Nurturing Early-Stage Professionals – grants support training opportunities for emerging professionals, working creatively and backstage, within the performing and visual arts, post-training, and at an early stage in their career.
• Conservation Grants: Objects and Works of Art – grants support the conservation of cultural heritage of recognised national and international importance in museums, libraries, galleries, historic buildings, or landscapes accessible to the public (also available to museums that are exempt charities).
Grant Size: up to £7,000
Deadline for applications: noon on 14th February 2025

The Kelly Family Charitable Trust

The Kelly Family Charitable Trust is a grant-giving body founded in 2004 by members of the Kelly family.

We’re interested in funding charities whose activities involve all or most family members, where possible, in initiatives that seek to tackle problems facing one or more of its members. We’ve funded charities working in fields including early intervention, mediation, prison services and services for families affected by sexual abuse, physical abuse and domestic violence, among others.

We generally offer grants worth up to £5,000 – though trustees will consider requests for higher amounts. We’re happy to fund charities’ core costs and we encourage applications from relatively new charities to help them become established.

The trustees take a close interest in the progress of the charities they support, and projects shortlisted for grants will be contacted by the trust’s grants administrator Stuart Armstrong, or a trustee. The Trust only make grants to organisations whose activities take place within the UK.

Deadline: Grants are awarded twice a year. Applications must be submitted by 1st March and 1st September. The trustees will ask for more details from those charities that pass the initial screening and may visit them.

Barchester’s Charitable Trust

Barchester’s Charitable Foundation is a registered charity that helps older people and adults with a disability across England, Scotland, Wales and Jersey. Our focus is about 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.

Our aim is to enrich lives and encourage an active lifestyle through arts, music, sports and culture for older people or adults living with a disability or mental health problems.

We are particularly keen to provide grants that enable groups and individuals to mix and join in social activities and reduce their danger of isolation and loneliness.

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.

Deadline: Rolling

Arnold Clark Community Fund: Cost of Living

What is the Cost-of-Living Support?
With the rising cost of living, more people than ever before are facing severe challenges and financial hardship. Our Cost-of-Living Support fund is available to organisations whose work directly supports those most affected by the cost-of-living crisis, such as foodbanks, accommodation or poverty relief, and any other organisation which falls into our eligibility criteria.

Applications for the Arnold Clark Community Fund Cost-of-Living Support are only eligible if the organisation falls in one of the following categories: foodbank, accommodation, poverty relief and where people/communities in the UK are the primary and immediate focus of investment. Applications are also only eligible if they’re made by an organisation that are based/operates solely in the UK and are located within 50 miles of an Arnold Clark branch.

Most organisations are eligible to apply, and we particularly welcome applications from smaller voluntary and community organisations who are working with those most affected and vulnerable to the increased cost of living. Please ensure you read and understand the below eligibility criteria before submitting an application.

We welcome applications from:

UK-registered charities
Local community groups
Social enterprises
Community interest companies
Groups of organisations that are community or voluntary-led.
Charitable incorporated organisations
Cost of Living Support | Arnold Clark Community Fund

Deadline: Rolling

The Wolfson Foundation

We have a wide range of funding programmes and activities. Our fundamental aim is to improve the civic health of society, mainly through education and research. More specifically, we support excellence in the fields of education, science & medicine, health & disability, and heritage, humanities & the arts.

Grants of between £15,000 and £150,000 are available to UK performing arts organisations for new build projects, refurbishment and major and specialist equipment to improve performance and training facilities.

Who Can Apply:

Charities working with disability * Charities working in mental health
Charities working with older people * Historic buildings & landscapes
Hospices & palliative care organisations * Places of worship
Libraries & archives * Museums & galleries
Performing arts organisations * Public engagement with science organisations funding
Secondary schools & sixth form colleges * Special needs schools & colleges
Universities & research institutions

Funding for places
About 85% of our funding is for capital infrastructure – buildings (new build or refurbishments) and equipment. These awards support excellence across education, science & medicine, heritage, humanities & the arts and health & disability.

Funding for people
A smaller proportion of our funding (about 15%) is for people, through scholarships or fellowships. We do not accept unsolicited applications under these programmes. We generally work with partner organisations who identify individuals for support.
Deadline: Rolling

Warburtons Families Matter Community Grants Programme

Small grants are available for local projects, activities and organisations that have charitable aims and that will be of real direct benefit to families.

Application deadline: 3rd February 2024

The Moto Foundation

Grants are available for community organisations and schools operating within a 15-mile radius of a Moto site for projects and activities that deliver benefits to local communities.

Application deadline: N/A

With thanks to Volunteer Centre West Berkshire, Wokingham & Bracknell InVOLve and Slough CVS for the information contained within this article.

SNG Thriving Communities Fund

Deadline 20 December 2024

SNG (Sovereign Network Group) is a leading housing association, committed to improving customers’ wellbeing and developing thriving and resilient communities. Their Thriving Communities fund is aimed at supporting not-for-profit groups and organisations to deliver cohesive, sustainable, and resilient communities which people are proud to be a part of.

Grants will be awarded for initiatives and projects that actively support affiliated communities.

Who is eligible to apply?
To apply for this fund, applicants must be a local not-for-profit group, community organisation, or a registered charity who will be able to demonstrate how they will engage with and benefit SNG customers.

The fund will be split into six distinct regions across the South of England (Reading being covered in one of the six regions) and will be limited to one project per organisation. Eligibility criteria is listed in the guidance notes (below).

What are the funder priorities?
Funding will prioritise groups whose work will directly benefit the funder’s customers.

Priority will be given to applications that clearly demonstrate their objectives, the outcomes that their project will achieve and the difference that will be made by their project as a whole. Applications will also be assessed on how they aim to engage with, and benefit SNG customers and communities within the designated areas.

How much can organizations apply for?
Grants from £1,000 up to £5,000 are available.

Peter Harrison Foundation

We have two grant programmes that are open to applications:
• Active Lives
• Positive Futures
For each programme there are two levels of funding available
• Small grants: up to £5,000
• Major grants: £5,001 – £30,000
Types of funding: We accept applications for capital, project or core costs
Levels of funding: There are 2 levels of grants – Small grants: up to £5,000 – Major grants: £5,001 – £30,000
Location:

• Active Lives funds work all over the UK.
• Positive Futures only funds work in the South East of England

The next application deadline is 1st January 2025

Community Radio Fund

About Us: The Community Radio Fund is allocated by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and managed by Ofcom.
Criteria: Grants for Ofcom-licensed community radio stations broadcasting on AM, FM, or by a Community Digital Sound Programme (C-DSP) license on a digital radio multiplex, to help with the essential core work involved in running a radio station. Applicant stations must be on the air as of the date of their application for their application to be considered. Payment can only be made to stations that have launched.
Grant Size: The total amount available in the 2024-25 financial year is £400,000 across two funding rounds. There is no set level of funding. However, in the previous funding round, grants ranged from around £4,000 to £33,000.
Deadline for applications: 8th December 2024

Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Arts Fund

About Us: We want to support organisations who are working at the intersection of art and social change.
Criteria: For not-for-profit organisations who work at the intersection of art and social change. The Fund supports organisations to do the following:
• Build capacity and resources for culture within historically underfunded communities
• Explore the role that artists can play in addressing issues of social justice
• Create the infrastructure for a more equitable cultural sector.
Not-for-profit cultural organisations with a turnover of at least £60,000 per year can apply. The grants can cover up to 50% of an organisation’s annual turnover over three years, based on their last audited accounts. Priority will be given to applications which are actively anti-racist and intersectional in their approach.
Grant Size: The Foundation provides grants of between £90,000 and £300,000 for activity lasting up to three years.
Deadline for applications: 31st January 2025

Ulverscroft Foundation

Applications close on Sunday 15th December.
We support projects that help visually impaired people. Applications for funding can be considered from any non-profit source, a charity, CIC or social group, from the UK or overseas. Applications for academic and clinical research, or from public libraries run by local authorities, will also be considered. We can support, for example, transport for reading groups, reminiscence projects, the acquisition of specialist equipment, etc. Applications can be made by downloading, completing and posting or emailing us an application form. Please note that within any group there may be an element of visual impairment, but grants can only be considered if the visual impairment element is significant. Find out more information.

Bentley Motors

Applications close on Friday 20th December.
Bentley Motors, community investment and corporate citizenship are key elements of our sustainability approach. Grants are available to support small, local charitable organisations working with vulnerable, disadvantaged or underrepresented communities in locations within a 20-mile radius of the specified UK Bentley.
The programme’s areas of focus are improving accessibility, empowering confidence, increasing quality of life, and/or creating better futures. Applicants’ organisations must have an income under £ 1 million per year. More info.

Crowthorne Community Grants

Applications close on Friday 13th December.
Each year Crowthorne Parish Council considers requests for grants to assist organisations involved in delivering valued services to the Crowthorne community. Application are only considered if they are accompanied by a copy of your latest set of annual accounts showing the organisation’s income, expenditure, level of balances and reserves policy. If the organisation does not prepare annual accounts, copies of the bank statements covering the previous six months must be attached. Organisations which are successful be presented with their cheques at the Annual Parish Meeting held in March and April 2025.

Turners Court Youth Trust

Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
Grants are available for registered charities and small community groups whose work is focused on the needs of vulnerable and disaffected children and young people up to the age of 23 years in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. Projects will be assessed as to the positive difference they will make in regards to difficult early life experiences, safety & wellbeing, protection from harm & neglect, overcoming education & employment barriers, developing independent life & work skills, and/or crime prevention.

Cumber Family Charitable Trust

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
One-off grants are available for projects in developing countries, UK national needs and projects local to Berkshire and Oxfordshire with a preference for those with active involvement in agriculture or rural development, or working in the areas of welfare, education, medicine, disadvantaged children, agriculture and/or conservation.

Woodward Charitable Trust

Applications close on Friday 13th December.
We only makes grants for core costs rather than specific projects as we recognise that smaller charities can find these funds harder to access. We hope that this will have a more direct impact on the organisations that we choose to fund.
We also only fund organisations which support children / young people up to 25 years of age, disadvantaged families, and/or prisoners /
ex-offenders. Typically grants are below £1,000, but sometimes fund up to £3,000. 

Benefact Group: Movement for Good

We’re giving away £120,000 in December – 12 Days of Giving is our festive final phase of Movement for Good 2024. In December, we’ll be giving 120 charities £1,000 each over 12 days.

The first draw takes place on December 5th and the last on December 20th with 10 charities drawn every week day. It only takes 30 seconds to nominate your charity.

Movement for Good – Nominate a charity for an award.
Deadline: Nominations are open until 23:59 on December 19th 2024.

Moto Foundation

The Moto Foundation makes a positive difference to the communities around our network of Motorway Service Areas – one of the ways we do this is through community grants.

Any application that is submitted must have the endorsement of a Moto colleague; that is someone directly employed by Moto Hospitality Ltd. The online form will prompt you to add the name and contact details of the Moto colleague endorsing your application, so please have these to hand.

Please take some time to read through the following criteria before completing the application process. Following the completion of your application you will receive an email from the Moto Foundation office to acknowledge your application and advise you whether your application will be progressed through to the approval process.

Please be advised that the application to approval process can take up to 8 weeks to complete. In order to assist as many organisations as possible the average grant given through the funding process is £1,000. Depending on the strength of an application and demonstration of commitment by both the Moto site and Partner, larger grants may be agreed.

Tesco Stronger Starts

The scheme is open to all schools, registered charities and not-for-profit organisations, with priority given to projects that provide food and support to young people. Examples of eligible applications with a focus on food security, children and young people could be:

A school providing pupils with food for breakfast clubs or snacks throughout the day.
A school wanting to buy equipment for outdoor or indoor activities.
A school wanting to develop a food growing area.
A school supporting an after school club.
A voluntary organisation working with families to run a food bank.
An organisation addressing holiday hunger.
A healthy eating project that supports families to cook healthy meals on a budget.
A Brownie or Scout group needing funding for new play equipment or activities.
If you are a Tesco colleague or customer, you can also nominate a cause that you’d like to see supported. Tesco colleagues in each store will help select those needing a little help in your local area and when our customers are given a blue token, in any of our Tesco stores at the checkout, they can vote for their favourite charity to receive a grant. Community charity Groundwork manages this website and administers the funding across the UK. Groundwork is working with Greenspace Scotland to support successful projects in Scotland.

Energy Resilience Fund – Loan/Grant Scheme

About Us: Charities and social enterprises that are looking to install energy-saving measures or generation technology to buildings/land (including new builds), and/or to purchase energy efficient or environmentally friendly vehicles or equipment can apply now for a blended funding package of loan and grant to improve their energy resilience.
Criteria: Eligible organisations must:
Be an incorporated voluntary, community or social enterprise organisation.
Be based in England and serving communities primarily within England.
Be constituted for social benefit and improving people’s lives or the environments they live in.
Have a minimum of two years’ operating activity.
Have a minimum turnover of £100,000 in their last set of end of year accounts.
Have fewer than 250 employees and either an annual turnover not exceeding £40 million or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding £35 million.
Be unable to access mainstream bank lending for this purpose.
Have freehold ownership or a suitable written lease agreement with a minimum of 12 years remaining on it if they are applying to install energy saving/generating measures to buildings/land.
Have the support of their senior decision makers for taking on loan finance.
Grant Size: Funding of £25,000 to £250,000 is available via a blend of grants (40%) and loans (60%). The loan repayment term is one to ten years.
Deadline for applications: Rolling programme

Berkshire Community Foundation – Vital for Berkshire

Our Vital for Berkshire fund is open for applications.
The fund aims to support charities, community groups and projects that work to tackle the most salient and pressing issues within Berkshire’s communities at any given time.
We invite applications for grants of up to £5,000 from charities, community groups and projects that support vital needs in Berkshire, such as (but not limited to):
⭐physical and mental health
⭐supporting young and vulnerable people or groups
⭐combating isolation, tackling poverty and disadvantage
⭐offering equal opportunities for all
and more.
Apply for Vital for Berkshire by visiting https://bit.ly/vitalforberkshirefund
Funds close at 10am on Thursday 16th January 2025.

Thank you to Volunteer Centre West Berkshire, Wokingham & Brackell InVOLve and Slough CVS for the information contained in this article.