Benevolent Belles – An Event to Celebrate the Strong Women in Staffordshire on International Women’s Day
Join us on the evening of the 8th March 2024 at The George Hotel in Lichfield for a brand new event that celebrates all the incredible women in our lives, particularly those that make a difference and have an impact on the charity and voluntary sector. The 8th March is International Women’s Day so it’s […]
Share The Love this Valentine’s Day
Why not share the love this year and show your loved one how much you care with this virtual heart. Just £2 per heart and the more hearts you have, the more chances you have to win. We have teamed up with two local restaurants in Staffordshire to help Share The Love as we head […]
The Nature Hubs Fund
The Nature Hubs Fund: creating and enhancing green spaces
Recent Hubbub polling found that spending time in nature makes three-quarters (78%) of people feel better1. Despite this, a third of people in the UK (36%) spend less than an hour a week in nature. The Nature Hubs Fund is designed to help change this.
Together with Starbucks, Hubbub is offering around 50 groups up to £6,000 of funding to develop green space initiatives and increase access to nature. Groups will be connected with a local Starbucks store, who will support projects in a number of ways. We will support groups to create or enhance green spaces. Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria and relate to any one or more of these four themes:
- Increasing Access
- Bringing People Together
- Upskilling the Community
- Building Climate Resilience
Visit their website to read the application guidance, FAQ\’s and access the application form to apply
National Lottery Grants for Heritage
In late July 2023, the National Lottery Heritage Fund published the first three-year delivery plan for its new 10-year strategy, Heritage 2033 that aims to invest £3.6 billion across the UK.
Key points:
- In the next three years, £870 million will be invested through the National Lottery Grants for Heritage and a further £140 million strategic initiatives.
- In partnership with departments in England and Wales, NLHF will also distribute more than £43 million in government funding in 2023-24 alone.
- The funding plans amount to a total of £1 billion between now and 2026.
- The National Lottery Grants for Heritage application process will be simplified, making it more proportionate to the amount of money being requested.
- Recognition of rising costs. The upper grant limit has been raised to £10 million, and the lower grant threshold will be raised to £10,000 in January 2024.
- In Autumn 2023, announcement expected of the first nine of 20 location across the UK where NLHF will invest through its Place initiative.
- In Winter 2023, details of partnership to deliver urban nature recovery through Nature Cities and Towns initiative expected.
The funding will continue to support a broad range of heritage projects and activities, such as industrial sites, castles and historic places of worship, to the stories and memories of communities, and through to public parks, natural landscapes and native wildlife.
Priority will be given to heritage projects that:
- Promote inclusion and involve a wider range of people (mandatory outcome)
- Boost the local economy
- Encourage skills development and job creation
- Support wellbeing
- Create better places to live, work and visit
- Improve the resilience of organisations working in heritage
Two levels of funding are available:
- Grants from £10,000 to £250,000 (applications have temporarily closed but will reopen in January 2024 with new Heritage 2033 guidance.
- Grants from £250,000 to £10 million (development round applications have temporarily closed but will reopen in January 2024 with new Heritage 2033 guidance; expressions of interest and delivery round applications remain open).
How To Apply
All relevant document relating to priorities, application guidance, help notes and revised outcomes are available from the NLHF website. Applicants should read these documents before starting the application process.
BBC Children in Need – Core Grants
The funding is intended for not-for-profit organisations that work with disadvantaged children and young people, under the age of 18, living in the UK.
This stream offers core funding to organisations whose work aligns with the principles set out in the Children in Need Grantmaking Strategy 2022-2025:
- Sharing power with children and young people.
- Acting flexibly.
- Using its voice to build awareness and empathy around issues.
- Building partnerships to bring communities and investors together.
The core grants stream can support organisations for up to three years.
The maximum grant is £120,000 (or £40,000 over three years), though most grants made are for much less than this.
Priority will be given to applications from smaller, local organisations with an annual turnover of more than £1 million in the most recent, complete financial year.
Applications for more than £15,000 per year will only be considered from organisations registered with the appropriate regulatory body.
Core Costs grants are awarded as restricted funding and must be used to cover the organisation’s essential running expenses.
The funding is to be used for an organisation\’s central day-to-day operations, including:
- Management and administration.
- HR and payroll.
- General office expenses.
- Accountancy and audit.
- Communications and outreach.
- Monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
- Governance, regulatory, and compliance costs.
How To Apply
Applications can be made at any time. There are no deadlines.
Groups requesting £15,000 or less will receive a quicker decision and be able to start sooner.
There is a two-stage application process:
- An initial Expression of Interest form can be found on the Children in Need website.
- Successful applicants will receive a link to the full application form and have 120 days to complete it.
Organisations can only apply for and hold one grant at any time.
Organisations with a current BBC Children in Need grant that is due to end within 12 months can usually reapply. However, the new funding will not be released until the current grant has ended.
Catch up on the Green Conversations
The Staffordshire Green Network is a new network for community and voluntary groups in Staffordshire to support each other in moving towards sustainability. You may be interested in the environment, in food security, energy, creating a healthy place to live, improving active travel opportunities and much more – the Green Network will provide opportunities to […]
BBC Children in Need – Project Grants
The funding is intended for not-for-profit organisations that work with disadvantaged children and young people, under the age of 18, living in the UK.
The Project Costs stream has no application deadline – you can apply at any time
- We will not fund any work that has already taken place, or any costs incurred, before the date we give you a decision.
- The first step in applying for Project Costs is to fill in a short Expression of Interest (EOI) form online
- Use the EOI form to tell us a bit more about your organisation, and the work you want us to fund
- You’ll be able to access the EOI form in your online account when the funding stream is open
- If we would like to support the work outlined in your EOI form, we’ll send you a full application form to complete
- Our National and Regional Plans will help you understand how we prioritise decisions
How To Apply
Applications can be made at any time. There are no deadlines.
Groups requesting £15,000 or less will receive a quicker decision and be able to start sooner.
There is a two-stage application process:
- An initial Expression of Interest form can be found on the Children in Need website.
- Successful applicants will receive a link to the full application form and have 120 days to complete it.
