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
Swinfen Broun Charitable Trust
Small grants for organisations working in the City of Lichfield.
The aims of the Trust Fund as taken from the Trust Deed are as follows:
- Provide or maintain or assist in the provision or maintenance of public halls, meeting places, playing fields, sports facilities for the public at large in the interests of social welfare, with the object of improving their condition of life, places for housing the arts, libraries, museums or other educational institutions to which the public have access.
- Provide or maintain or assist in the provision or maintenance of public gardens or public open spaces.
- Provide or maintain or assist in the provision or maintenance of equipment or items for use in or with any of the objects mentioned in the above.
Funding is for capital project costs.
Applications are accepted throughout the year and are considered at a meeting of the Trustees held quarterly.
An application form can be found on the Swinfen Broun Charitable Trust website. It is preferred that the \’Word\’ version is downloaded with the completed form sent via email as an attachment to the Trust\’s Clerk. A copy of the organisation\’s last audited accounts should be submitted along with the completed application form.
Home Instead Charities
The funding is intended to support local community events that enhance and enrich the lives of people over the age of 55 to combat loneliness and sometimes isolation ensuring they stay fit, active, healthy and connected and contributing to their local communities.
There are two levels of funding:
- Grants of up to £500 for small grass roots organisations.
- Grants of up to £1,500 for small local registered charities. Larger grants can be considered for exceptional projects.
The funder will only fully fund a grant request where the applicant holds no more than three months operating costs in reserve. For organisations that have more than this, up to 50% of the project costs will be funded.
Applications are accepted from small community groups and charities in the UK.
Priority will be given to applications that have a connection to, and are championed by, a local Home Instead office.
To be eligible, applicants must:
- Have a bank account in the same name of the group they are applying for funding under.
- Have a policy of being open and inclusive of all, irrespective of race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.
- Show that their group members are over 55 years old or the project for which they seek funding benefits people aged over 55 years.
Registered charities must be able to attach a copy of their governing documents and their last set of accounts as part of their application.
Applications will be considered from groups, associations and charities that do not service the over 50s directly but the project they require funding for does, ie, a local school wishes to hold a special afternoon tea for its local care home residents.
Grants are for wellbeing activities and projects that benefit people aged over 55 years and reduce social isolation and/or loneliness.
Funding can be used for:
- Regular weekly or monthly events and activities such as weekly cinema club, weekly knit and natter or Thursday lunch club.
- One off activities such as a day trip or a Christmas lunch.
- Activities such as yoga or a guest speaker for your group such as a local historian.
How To Apply
From January 2024, there will be four application windows per year: January, April, July and October.
Applications received outside of these windows will not be processed.
Applications received in:
- January will be processed and awarded in February
- April will be processed and awarded in May
- July will be processed and awarded in August
- October will be processed and awarded in November.
Applicants should complete the online form on the Home Instead Charities website. Small registered charities must attach their governing document and last set of accounts to their application.
Pink Ribbon Foundation
The Foundation\’s mission is to fund projects and provide financial support to UK charities which relieve the needs of people who are suffering from, or who have been affected by breast cancer or who work to advance the understanding of breast cancer, its early detection and treatment.
Grants of up to £6,000 are available for projects delivered within 12 to 18 months.
Groups are advised to apply for the level of funding the project or project specifics require, rather than the maximum level of funding available. Applications for just the sum of £6,000 will be considered as \’poor\’.
Applications for above £6,000 may be considered at the discretion of the Foundation.
Registered charities working in the field of breast cancer in the UK may apply.
Social enterprises and Community Interest Companies can apply as long as they are legally constituted and their proposed project is clearly for public benefit.
Partnership bids will be accepted.
The Foundation will consider applications from general cancer charities if any grant made will be used to benefit at least 50% of patients that suffer from Breast Cancer or for research into, or the dissemination of information about, breast cancer.
How To Apply
The deadline for applications for the 2024 grant round is 31 May 2024 with notification of decision by mid to late July 2024.
Applicants are encouraged to submit their application well before the deadline ‘to make registration and evaluation easier’.
The application form, frequently asked questions and information on monitoring, evaluation and reporting can be found on the Foundation’s website.
Grant applications must be made in hard copy and include a set of accounts.
Groups may only submit one application per year.
Contact the Pink Ribbon Foundation for further information.
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.
