Funding News – 10 June 2024
Your weekly roundup of funding news and deadlines from GrantTracker.
Funding News
Funding News: Key announcements
A few major funding announcements have been made recently, here NICVA’s Fundraising Advice Officer, Jocelyn Horton, rounds up some of the key news.
Pets Foundation funding programmes
Their mission is to create a better world for pets and the people who love them. They offer 3 programmes: Rescue Centres, Pets Assisting People, and Preventing Pet Relinquishment. Rescue Centres can apply for £250 upwards; their biggest rescue grant last year was £189,000 towards an onsite veterinary facility. The other two programmes provide one-off grants or up to three years of funding, to a maximum of £80,000 per year
The Public Health Agency (PHA): Making Life Better through Short-term Funding
Community and voluntary groups are being encouraged to apply for a short-term funding programme that focuses on improving mental health and emotional wellbeing. Funding of up to £1000 for non-constituted groups and between £1001 to a maximum of £5,000 for constituted groups. Deadline 21 July 2024 (3pm).
Arts Council NI: National Lottery Organisations Digital Evolution Awards
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has opened a funding programme which aims to provide arts organisations from Northern Ireland with skills in the use of new, emerging, immersive digital technology to create digital art. The National Lottery Organisations Digital Evolution Awards, worth £80,000, funded by The National Lottery and Future Screens NI, offers arts organisations the opportunity to apply for grants of up to £10,000. Deadline 16 August 2024 (noon).
Belfast City Council: Artist Studios and Maker Spaces Organisational Grants 2024-2025
The Artist Studios and Maker Spaces Organisational Grants are part of their commitment to cultural recovery and their ongoing A City Imagining cultural investment programme for Belfast. These awards are aimed at those organisations which have struggled to secure funding from Belfast City Council through existing programmes and need some assistance to help stabilise and develop. You can apply for up to £10,000 to use towards specified developmental needs in a 12-month period. Organisations that accommodate 25 active artists can apply for a grant up to £20,000. Deadline 4 July 2024 (noon).
Community Development & Health Network Northern Ireland’s open programmes
- Elevate is a Programme of support for the community, voluntary and public sectors. It provides opportunities for the development of skills, knowledge and expertise in community development as a way to tackle health inequalities. Successful applicants receive mentor and network support and a grant of up to £5,000. Deadline 22 July 2024 (4pm).
- Building the Community Pharmacy Partnership (BCPP) programme aims to promote and support local communities to work in partnership with community pharmacists to address local health and social wellbeing needs using a community development approach. Applicants can apply for Level 1 funding is for a grant up to £2,500 for a project that can last up to six months or Level 2 funding is for a grant of up to £12,000 for a project that can last up to one year. Round 47 Level 1 deadline 26 September 2024; Level 2 deadline 7 November 2024.
Ufi: VocTech Challenge Grant Fund opens 11 June
The VocTech Challenge Impact Network + Grant Fund represents a new approach to Ufi grant funding. Successful grant fund applicants will each receive between £200k and £250k to refine and deploy their ideas. This is an open grant call, so they are open to applications from all types of organisations, in line with their normal guidance. Successful grant fund applicants will each receive between £200k and £250k to refine and deploy their ideas. They will also join a network of organisations working alongside each other as part of an active, expert-led programme designed to create connections, share knowledge, test assumptions and accelerate adoption and deployment.
Upcoming Deadlines
The Hospital Saturday Fund is a registered charity whose aims are to provide assistance for registered health charities, hospices, medical organisations and individuals with a medical condition or disability. They can provide grants for medical projects, care, research or support of medical training within the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. For individuals, they can provide help with the purchase of specialised equipment or forms of treatment. Deadlines for Standard and Large grants throughout the year; next Large Grants deadline 12 June 2024.
PEACE PLUS 2021-27: Building Positive Relations
The Building Positive Relations Investment Area is targeted at organisations that will promote positive relations through projects which transcend local boundaries, with cross border dimensions where possible. Projects should have the potential to achieve significant peace and reconciliation across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland. This €35 million PEACEPLUS investment Area 1.3 Building Positive Relations invites applications for projects that will promote positive relations characterised by respect, celebrate cultural diversity, and encourage people to live, learn and socialise together. Deadline 13 June 2024 (5pm).
Hubbub and Starbucks: Eat it Up Fund
The Eat It Up Grant Fund 2024 will support fuel innovations that reduce edible food waste, ensuring food serves its purpose – to be eaten. They are offering six transformative grants of up to £60,000 each to organisations with ground-breaking ideas to cut down on food waste. Expression of Interest deadline 14 June 2024 (5pm).
Matthew Good Foundation: Grants for Good Fund
Grants for Good invites local charities, voluntary groups or social enterprises that have an average annual income of less than £50,000 to apply to them for funding. The applications cycle runs quarterly, meaning every three months, they will share £15,000 between five shortlisted projects. Following a vote, the short-listed projects receives a grant of £5,000 for first place, second place £3,500, third place £2,500 and fourth and fifth place will both receive £2,000. Application deadline 15 June 2024.
Benefact Group: Movement for Good Awards – Special Draw: Youth
The Movement for Good Awards is an annual programme of giving. Their £5,000 special draws have differing themes. The next theme is Youth. You can nominate your favourite cause between 17 to 21 June 2024.
Fundraising Support
Events
Save the Date - Swiftaid
Ahead of supporting the #TicktheBox campaign to raise awareness of the importance of Gift Aid to organisations, we will hosting a webinar with Swiftaid on 18 September 2024. Find out more about Swiftaid here.
Fundraising Hub
Explore the Fundraising Hub for a wide range of articles and resources to support your fundraising journey. A few are below:
The Royal Countryside Fund Announces New Funding Strategy 2024-2028
The Royal Countryside Fund, founded by His Majesty King Charles III in 2010 when The Prince of Wales, has launched a new strategy intending to raise £15m over the next four years. The strategy includes a £3m investment in rural community-led projects through a new grants programme opening this autumn.
Passive income and Micro donations
If you're looking to raise income for your organisation with little effort and make the most of very small donations, we've rounded up some of the options available to you.
Supporting the Planet and Your Organisation
Earth Day is celebrated annually on 22 April. But did you know you can encourage donors to support your work while taking environmental action? There are a few options out there to generate additional income for your work or save you the expense by encouraging your supporters and donors to take action on your behalf.
Equality, diversity, and inclusion in your grant applications
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.
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.