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Funding News
Heritage Development Trusts – Expressions of Interest invited
The Heritage Development Trusts capacity building programme is a strategic partnership between the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, providing resources to charities and social enterprises to make a positive and lasting impact on heritage in their areas. Supporting a diverse range of organisations, at different stages of development and with a good geographical spread across the UK, the programme will provide funding and capacity building support to between 10 and 13 Heritage Development Trusts. Support includes Revenue funding of between £55,000 and £70,000 per year, for three years, from January 2024, help from consultants, eligibility to access Project Viability Grants (up to £15k) and Project Development Grants (up to £75k) and mentoring. Expression of interest deadline 26 June 2023 (9am). Find out more by signing up to one of their online information sessions.
National Churches Trust: Large Grants
This programme offers their largest grants of up to £50,000 towards the cost of major urgent structural repair projects costed at more than £80,000 including VAT. They will also consider projects that introduce kitchens and accessible toilets to enable increased community use, costed at more than £30,000 including VAT. Grants will never exceed 50% of the project cost. Deadline 1 July 2023 (midnight).
Sea-Changers: Grants Programme
Sea-Changers gives one-off grants (i.e. not continual funding) to UK-based charities and ‘not-for-profit’ organisations including schools who are carrying out marine conservation related activities. They welcome applications from a wide variety of groups and entities. Main grants offer between £500 and £2,500 in two rounds each year. Small grants can be applied to at any time and provide up to £500.
UK Social Enterprise Awards 2023 now open
The UK Social Enterprise Awards are the country’s biggest celebration of social enterprises recognising the best in the sector. They are a chance to showcase the incredible contributions made by businesses that have been making a real difference in tackling social and environmental problems both in the UK and around the world. There are 15 categories in total, capturing the breadth, diversity and impact of the social enterprise community. Nominations close 7 July 2023.
The MSE Charity, funded by Money Saving Expert, gives grants to UK registered charities, community interest companies, credit unions, not-for-profits, companies limited by guarantee, and social enterprises. Dedicated to increasing personal financial capability, they expect applications to be planned well and within a budget up to £7,500. Full cost recovery is accepted. Organisations should have an income under £500,000 and have less than six months free reserves. They have four programmes: Raising the Next Generation, Life Changing Transitions, Living with Long Term Challenges, and Building and Developing Resilience. Their next grant round, Life Changing Transitions opens on Monday 4th September 2023.
The King’s Award for Voluntary Service 2024
Following the Accession of King Charles III, The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service will now become The King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS). The awards celebrate the outstanding work of local volunteer groups across the UK. Equivalent to an MBE, KAVS is the highest Award given to local voluntary groups in the UK, and they are awarded for life. Nominations for the 2024 Awards will be accepted from 1st June 2023 until 15 September 2023.
Upcoming Deadlines
Benefact Group: Movement for Good Awards
The Movement for Good Awards is an annual programme of giving making a tangible difference to the lives of the people and communities by supporting charities, not-for-profit organisations, and community interest projects who are nominated to the scheme. The giving programme has five phases of funding –Larger grants of £10,000 (register your interest here); several Special draws offering 10 awards of £5000; and Three draws taking place 1 June, 7 September and 1 December awarding £1000. For regular Draws, the closing date and time for submitting a Nomination Form is 23:59 the day before each draw. Next deadline 31 May 2023 (23:59).
Social Farms & Gardens: Grants for Children's Summer Activities
SF&G are delighted that in 2023 they will once again be partnering with the Hilden Charitable Fund to award Children’s Summer Activity Grants to their members, helping to get children learning and playing in nature this summer. You can apply for up to £1,500 to deliver activities for children and young people aged 5 – 18 years old. Not a member yet? It's free. Find out more and join here. Deadline 6 June 2023 (noon).
The Irish Youth Foundation (UK) is inviting community and voluntary groups in Northern Ireland working with children and young people who are marginalised or at risk to apply for grants of up to £10,000, however grants awarded are usually in the region of £5,000. These grants will be once only awards and they should be expended within a twelve-month period. Projects should have a non-formal educational purpose and contribute to good relations in Northern Ireland. Grants can be used to extend an existing activity, to employ additional staff, to purchase equipment, to undertake an evaluation, to publish a report, to improve organisational capacity or to try something new and different. Deadline 16 June 2023.
Ards & North Down Borough Council: Christmas Festival Fund
The purpose of the fund is to enable communities to run local festivals to celebrate the festive period and the switching on of Christmas lights. The fund is restricted to the towns and village detailed in their guidance, where the Council provides Christmas trees and lights, but does not organise and run Christmas festivals for the community. The maximum amount available is £1000 for villages and £3000 for towns, per group per application. Deadline 19 June 2023 (4pm).
Fundraising Training
Cost of Living Fundraising Series for May and June – FREE
NICVA's Fundraising Advice is delighted to be able to offer a wide range of FREE training sessions as part of our response to the Cost of Living Crisis throughout May and June. With a wide range of topics and a variety of trainers, you can sign up to any or all of the sessions and enhance your fundraising knowledge. One person per organisations (additional people will be added to the reserves list).
- Introduction to Social Enterprises - COL Fundraising Series Online – 31 May, 12pm-1:30pm ONLINE with Stephen McGarry from Work West
- Meet the Funder: Benefact Trust - 1 June 10am-12pm ONLINE with Andrew Bass, Grants Officer, Benefact Trust
- Developing a Case for Support - 8 June 10am-1pm In-person at NICVA with Jocelyn Horton, Fundraising Advice Officer, NICVA
- A Practical Guide to Completing Funding Applications - 14 June 1pm-4pm ONLINE with Jocelyn Horton, Fundraising Advice Officer, NICVA
To read more about past training events visit:
On 9th May 2023, Glenn Oakes, Caboodle Fundraising, facilitated two training sessions as part of the Cost of Fundraising series, supported by the Department for Communities. Below is a summary of these two events including a PDF of the slide presentation from each.
- Developing a Fundraising Strategy - summary and presentation | NICVA
- Building Support from Donors and Volunteer Fundraisers - summary and presentation | NICVA
Fundraising Clinics – June 2023
These popular, free fundraising advice clinics provide members with an hour-long chance to discuss and address specific fundraising needs and can be delivered online, over the telephone or face-to-face.
You can discuss whatever fundraising issues are most pressing for you and your organisation such as deciding the best way to manage your fundraising, strengthen your appeal to funders and donors, identify potential funders, diversifying your income streams, or even sound out ideas.
In June, there will be three slots available in total on the following dates – 20th, 21st, 27th or 28th June 2023. Find out more and secure your slot here.
These Clinics are part of our response to the Cost of Living Crisis, supported by the Department for Communities.
Fundraising Hub
NICVA Fundraising Advice has a range of articles from contributors supporting fundraising alongside a range of topics. See a few below:
Guest Blogs
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.
Digital Fundraising
NICVA hosted the #Digitalfundraising series in December 2021, consisting of 6 webinars. This article provides the webinar recordings and resources as well as other resources linked to the topic of digital fundraising. Many of the tips, concerns, and advice are still relevant, so if you are looking to gain insights into developing your digital fundraising from Cancer Focus NI, Concern Worldwide, the Fundraising Regulator, Chartered Institute of Fundraising, ProfileTree, Supported Giving and more visit the link below.
#DigitalFundraising series 2021 resources and webinar recordings | NICVA
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