Your weekly funding news and deadlines update from GrantTracker.
Funding News
The Community Ownership Fund forms part of the package of UK wide levelling up interventions, helping to support recovery, build opportunity and empower communities to improve their local places. Please note: Ahead of the launch of Round 4, the final round of the Community Ownership Fund, they have sought to make improvements to the Expression of Interest (EOI) form in order to improve applicant experience and to cut the time taken for the applicant to get a result. The new EOI has been simplified to give applicants a result within minutes, meaning that they will be able to see whether their project could be suitable for COF much quicker than before. To enable the move to the new system, EOIs submitted prior to February 2024 will no longer be valid. If you wish to submit a full application to COF in a future application window, you will need to complete a new EOI. Only applicants who submitted an EOI in the new system will be informed when a bidding window is about to open and will receive the link needed to apply to COF. Find out more on the website.
Ulster Scots Agency: Community Festivals Programme
The purpose of the Community Festival Programme is to support the delivery of Ulster-Scots Community Festivals which provide people with opportunities to experience and learn about Ulster-Scots culture, heritage and language. Ulster-Scots Community Festivals have an important role to play in raising awareness of Ulster-Scots within the wider community. The grant enables the Ulster-Scots people to celebrate their cultural identity and at the same time educate and strengthen the Ulster-Scots communities. The programme also supports the inclusion of Ulster-Scots content in other Community Festivals. Grants from £1000 up to a maximum of £20,000. Closes 8 April 2024 (3pm).
Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon (ABC) Borough Council: Capital Grants
The Small Scale Capital Project Fund enables small high quality capital projects that could bring significant benefit to the Borough to be delivered where a relatively small percentage of the overall funding is required. Grant range: Up to £2,500 (max rate 50%). Closes 12 April 2024 (noon). Large Capital Project Fund provides grants in the range of £2,501-£20,000 (max rate 50%). Closes 8 November 2024 (noon).
abrdn Financial Fairness Trust
Their mission is to contribute towards strategic change which improves financial well-being in the UK. They want everyone to have a decent standard of living and have more control over their finances. They fund research, campaigning, and policy work to improve the living standards and personal finances of people struggling to make ends meet. They believe in collaboration, working with their partners to make the UK a more financially fair place for people on low-to-middle incomes. There is no minimum or maximum size of grant and the amount you request should be the amount you need. Their grants range between £10,000 and £200,000, with most between £50,000 to £120,000 in total. Closes 5 June 2024 (1pm).
Childs Charitable Trust Grants
The Childs Charitable Trust is a grant-making trust, supporting Christian UK registered charities and organisations working both in the UK and overseas. They are keen to support projects that demonstrate a Christian approach to their work and fund a wide variety of Evangelistic work both at home and overseas. The Vision of the Trust is to see a world where every person has the potential to hear and respond to the gospel message. The Trust’s Mission, to help achieve the vision, is to strategically fund Christian organisations that actively share the Christian gospel. The Trust does NOT currently accept applications from the following organisations: Churches, New organisations with a turnover under £100,000, or Uniformed Youth organisations.
Upcoming Deadlines
KFC Foundation: Community Grants Programme
The KFC Foundation provides grants to organisations focused on empowering young people in the UK to fulfil their potential and build a positive future by providing spaces that allow young people to feel safe and secure, by providing mentoring and helping to unlock talent and build life skills to improve their chances to gain meaningful employment. Grants of up to £2,500 to support grassroots organisations in the heart of their restaurant’s communities. Deadline 17 March 2024 (23:59).
Grow Wild: Youth Project Funding
Every year, Grow Wild supports young people, communities, individuals and organisations through their grant programmes. This scheme offers funding of £500 for young people aged 14-25 to lead a project that celebrates UK native wildflowers and fungi in exciting and engaging ways. Deadline 19 March 2024 (3pm).
Department of Foreign Affairs’ Reconciliation Fund opening soon
Their funding priorities continue to be rooted in two key overarching thematic pillars – repairing and building. For 2021-2024, the Reconciliation Fund will focus its support on reconciliation and peacebuilding work that seeks to: Repair those issues which lead to division, conflict, and barriers to a deeply reconciled and peaceful society; and/or Build a strong civil society that encompasses all communities, through the continued implementation of the Agreements and promoting a rights-based society, political stability and respect for all. The Reconciliation Fund’s Annual Funding Round (for 12-month funding) closes 20 March 2024 (noon).
Building the Community Pharmacy Partnership (BCPP)
The programme aims to promote and support local constituted community/voluntary organisations to work in partnership with community pharmacists to address local health and social wellbeing needs using a community development approach. Level 1 funding is for a grant up to £2,500 for a project that can last up to six months. Level 2 funding is for a grant of up to £12,000 for a project that can last up to one year. Next deadline is for Level 2 funding on 21 March 2024.
Community Foundation for NI: RTÉ Toy Show Grants
Thanks to the continued generosity of the Irish public, this year the Appeal raised over €3,600,000 which will be distributed through two open grant rounds in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Children and family charities working at local, regional, and national level can apply for a grant under one of the following thematic strands: Addressing Essential Needs, Improving Health and Wellbeing, and Creativity and Play. Grants of up to £10,000 for the Community Grants Round or grants of £25,000 – £50,000 under the Impact Grants Round. Deadline for both rounds is 22 March 2024 (1pm).
Fundraising Support
FREE GrantTracker
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Getting the most out of GrantTracker
We have organised two Getting the most out of GrantTracker sessions on 26 March and 17 April. They have the same content, so you only need to register for one. Click links below to register.
- Getting the most out of GrantTracker March - FREE | NICVA
- Getting the most out of GrantTracker April - FREE | NICVA
Training
Developing a Case for Support - In Person (Free Funded session)
21 March 2024 - 10:00am to 1:00pm
This 3-hour session in NICVA aims to support those responsible for fundraising within voluntary and community and who are unfamiliar with the use of Cases for Support in their work.
Fundraising Hub
Explore the Fundraising Hub for a wide range of articles and resources to support your fundraising journey. A few are below:
This resource outlines some reasons behind funders wanting organisations to address EDI in the applications alongside advice on broaching the topic in writing, getting started on your journey and where you can find further information on this topic.
After listening to their applicants and grant holders, the Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland are delighted to launch Better Together - their Strategy for 2024-2028 and its accompanying suite of funding programmes.
360Giving announce UK Grantmaking, a new hub for grantmaking data and insights set to launch in 2024. Find out more and learn how you can be involved.
Get ahead with GrantTracker and access over 1000 funding schemes in NI's leading database. Just £100 a year for NICVA members and £145 for non-members. Sign up here.