Your weekly funding news and deadlines update from GrantTracker.
Funding News
Power NI: Brighter Communities Fund
Power NI's Brighter Communities programme energises innovative and emerging community groups, teams and projects with £1000 of funding awarded each month. Applications are welcomed from small or large communities, sporting, charity and all age groups who can propose a tangible project, activity or item which can be realised or executed once the funds have been received and within an 8-week timescale.
Community Development & Health Network: Elevate
Elevate is a Programme of support for the community, voluntary and public sectors. Successful groups receive a grant of up to £5000 to enable them to use a community development approach to deliver a project aimed at reducing health inequalities in their locality or for the target group they support. This year, they will consider all applications, and particularly welcome applications from groups who are in local areas with previously low uptake (Lisburn and Castlereagh, Antrim and Newtownabbey, Lisanelly Omagh and Crossmaglen areas) and groups who support people from LGBTQIA+, BAME, and other under-represented groups. They are hosting online information sessions on Monday 24th July at 7:00pm and Tuesday 1st August at 11:00 am: To register or find out more please click here.
The Arts Award Access Fund provides small grants between £100 and £1500 to registered Arts Award centres in the UK who are working with young people who face barriers to access and inclusion, and who will use the grant to support them to pilot, embed or develop their Arts Award work with these groups. Reopens 4 September 2023. Closes 6 October 2023.
STEM subjects - grants for public engagement activities:
This grant supports the organisation, production and delivery of outreach activities, aimed at school children and/or the general public. Up to £1,000 available per application which can be used for travel to outreach projects, production of materials/videos/diagrams or a full public engagement event. You can also use the grant to collaborate with others on a larger project. Deadline 20 September 2023 (23:59).
Chemistry Week is an annual celebration of the chemical sciences. For 2023, Chemistry Week will be taking place 5 – 11 November but they invite you to celebrate the chemical sciences throughout the whole month of November within the theme of “Chemistry making the world a better place” with grants of up to £500. Upcoming deadlines in August, September and October.
The Honourable The Irish Society
Offers two sources of funding:
- County Londonderry - The Honourable The Irish Society’s traditional programme open to community groups/clubs/associations or individuals across County Londonderry, awarding grants up to £1,000 from its own funds and on behalf of The Drapers’ Company.
- Northern Ireland - In association with The Clothworkers’ Foundation offering a number of grants between £1,000 and £2,000 to smaller charitable organisations elsewhere in Northern Ireland (outside County Londonderry) with an operating income below £250,000 per annum.
Future deadlines are the 1st of September, January, March and May.
Lego Foundation: UK Community Play Fund
The aim of the UK Community Play Fund, sponsored by LEGO Foundation, is to support existing groups and individuals (once they form a team) in the UK to start new projects that improve community wellbeing, ultimately improving the quality of life for community members. In total £80,000 is available. Examples of eligible groups include schools, universities, colleges, daycares, churches or other faith-based organizations, hospitals and hospital rehabilitation centres, mental health facilities, community gardens, neighbourhood groups, senior centres, and community centres. Successful applicants receive funding and a range of support. Funding amounts vary from £500 to £5,000 depending on the project idea you choose to start. Visit the website, select your project idea, register to get your project page and use your project page to complete the 30 Day Challenge to receive funding. Deadline – the program ceases once the funding pot is fully distributed.
Upcoming Deadlines
Fermanagh and Omagh Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) Community Engagement Programme
The PCSP invites organisations to submit a proposal for funding to deliver activity in the 2023-2024 financial year. The PCSP small grants programme supports organisations to address community safety issues e.g., anti-social behaviour, fear of crime, internet safety AND/OR build confidence in policing. Grants available in the range of £750 - £5,000. Deadline 27 July 2023 (5pm).
The Dunhill Medical Trust is a UK-based charitable trust which invests in innovation in the care of older people and research into the causes and treatments of disease, disability and frailty relating to ageing. Current open calls include the Capability Development Programme involving a cohort of eight community organisations whol follow a three-year programme of shared learning, encompassing strategy, sustainability, impact and research readiness, literacy, and engagement. Deadline 28 July 2023 (5pm).
A B Charitable Trust (ABCT): Open Grants Programme
Grants are awarded to small to medium sized registered charities working in the UK. The Trust is particularly interested in charities that work with marginalised and excluded people in society, with a focus on migrants and refugees, criminal justice and penal reform, and human rights, particularly access to justice. Open programme grants are usually between £10,000 to £20,000 and are awarded annually. Next deadline 28 July 2023.
Hope for Youth NI provide grants of up to £5000 across NI for projects providing opportunities for young people aged 11-18 to come together from different cultural, ethnic or religious communities to work together on a creative, practical or outdoors project. Deadline annually 31 July.
Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation
The Charitable Foundation supports registered charities based in the UK where there is clear benefit to the recipients. Donations of up to £3,000 will be considered, that enable specific tangible items or activities to be purchased rather than donating to general funds. Focus is to benefit children (aged under 16), through their education and or welfare, to provide youth schemes and projects supporting those in their late teens/early 20s in socially deprived areas, and to support the elderly by reducing isolation and effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Next deadline 1 August 2023.
Fundraising Training
NEW - Free Online Introductory Fundraising Workshops for NICVA Members
Throughout Autumn 2023, we will host a series of FREE workshops for NICVA members introducing a different fundraising topic or aspect of fundraising.
These sessions are an opportunity to find out about an area of fundraising that's new to you, top up your existing knowledge, or be a snapshot into an element of fundraising you'd like to explore. Each workshop is led by NICVA’s Fundraising Advice Officer.
Upcoming Topics
Fundraising Hub
Resources
NICVA's Fundraising Advice provided a wide range of FREE training sessions as part of our response to the Cost of Living Crisis throughout May and June. You can read more about these events in our resources below:
- Developing a Fundraising Strategy - summary and presentation
- Building Support from Donors and Volunteer Fundraisers - summary and presentation
- Developing Corporate Partnerships - event summary
- The Pilgrim Trust and their Young Women’s Mental Health programme – event summary and presentation
- Introduction to Social Enterprises - event summary
Guest Blogs
NICVA Fundraising Advice has a range of articles from contributors supporting fundraising alongside a range of topics. See a few below:
Celia Currie, Stakeholder and Policy Manager for Northern Ireland, reflects on the importance of volunteers in fundraising and why it's important for charities to understand what type of fundraising is being carried out.
Guest Blog: The Chartered Institute of Fundraising in Northern Ireland | NICVA
Paul Montgomery, Chair of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Northern Ireland gives an overview of the work they do and how you can get involved. Plus, Paul invites you to celebrate and recognise the incredible work of local fundraisers in the Northern Ireland Fundraising Awards 2023.
Mark Creaney, from The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF), talks about how the largest community funder across the UK is supporting communities who are seeking to minimise their impact on the environment.
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