Funding News – 29 July 2024
Your weekly roundup of funding news and deadlines from GrantTracker.
Funding News
National Lottery Heritage Fund launch strategic initiative funding for Heritage 2033
As part of its Heritage 2033 strategy, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has launched three strategic initiatives offering targeted funding to address long-standing heritage issues across the UK. These initiatives are:
- The Heritage Places initiative - will support projects that improve or transform nine identified heritage locations through collaborative projects with local partners and organisations. Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon is the chosen area for Northern Ireland. Submit a Project Enquiry (for applications up to £250,000) for additional advice. For applications over £250,000 you must submit an Expression of Interest before applying.
- The Landscape Connections initiative - will invest in around 20 long-term projects to boost nature recovery and connect more people to Protected Landscapes and other world-class landscapes. Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are the focus for Northern Ireland. You can apply for a grant up to £10m or a smaller grant to undertake preparatory work.
- The Nature Cities and Towns initiative - will support cities and towns, in partnership with others, to deliver urban nature recovery through thriving historic parks and green spaces. This initiative is expected to launch in the second half of 2024.
Inclusive Communities: The Phoenix Biodiversity Community Fund
Environmental Responsibility is one of the core pillars of their Responsible Business Strategy. In 2024, they're utilising the Green Community Fund to support community groups and organisations across their licence area with funding to help them deliver activity that helps to improve our environment and tackle the climate crisis in some way, no matter how big or small. Applications requesting funding up to the value of £500 will be considered.
Colmcille is a partnership between Foras na Gaeilge in Ireland and Bòrd na Gàidhlig in Scotland. This scheme aims to promote relations between the language communities of Scottish and Irish Gaeilge and to strengthen Scottish and Irish Gaelic through these relations. Colmcille has three schemes funded: Small Grants Scheme for carrying out research and planning joint initiatives, Project Scheme to fund projects (Colmcille's main grant scheme), and a Bursary Scheme to help people learn Scottish Gaelic. They provide Small Grants of € 2,000/£1,750 to develop an initiative with a partner in Scotland or relating to Scottish Gaelic. Once the partnership and the project plan have been agreed under the Small Grants Scheme, an application can be made for the Colmcille Project Scheme, Colmcille's main grant scheme, which provides a higher level of support, if required.
Veterans' Foundation Grants Programmes
The Veterans’ Foundation provides grants to eligible organisations that provide assistance to serving and former members of the armed forces community, operational qualified seafarers and their immediate families. They provide four funding programmes. Small Grants valued between £500 to £5,000 is opening July/August 2024. Standard Grants valued between £5,001 to £30,000 and Salary Grants valued up to £25,000 per year for up to three years are both currently open with five upcoming deadlines until 21 July 2025. Major Grants valued at £100,000 to £200,000 over three years is currently closed - check website for reopening date.
Paul Hamlyn Foundation: Ideas and Pioneers Fund
They want to support those with a new idea for social change. They will fund individuals, and also groups of up to three people working together (you don’t need to be a registered organisation) and small organisations, of any legal structure, that have no more than the equivalent of five full-time staff. They provide grants of up to £20,000, and a programme of support, to help you develop your skills and explore an idea for social change that has the potential to transform the way things are currently done. The fund specifically focuses on early-stage ideas when it’s harder to get funding and support to develop these ideas further. Deadline 16 September 2024.
James Brown & Sons Community Fund
James Brown & Sons has been committed to serving the people of greater Belfast since 1904.They established the James Brown & Sons Community Fund to help fund good causes provided by local charities and not-for profit organisations working for the benefit of people who live within two miles of an area in which James Brown & Sons operate. Organisations can request the total cost of the project or a contribution towards the project up to a maximum of £2000 for projects aligned to Health, Education, Employment opportunities, and Poverty/Social Deprivation. Ideally, projects should run for a duration of six months or longer, but they will consider shorter projects where the organisation can demonstrate there will be ongoing community benefit after the project concludes. Next deadline 10 September 2024 (noon).
Upcoming Deadlines
Social Enterprise NI: Social Enterprise Awards
The awards, organised by Social Enterprise Northern Ireland, celebrate the amazing work and impact of social enterprises across the region. They are a real opportunity to showcase the very best of the sector, highlighting the active role that social enterprises play in building places, supporting communities, and making a positive impact on our environment and wellbeing. Enter by 31 July 2024 (midnight).
Supporting Christian charities concerned with social inclusion, particularly through ministries of healing and the arts. e Trustees look favourably on organisations whose Boards demonstrate equal opportunities. Capital building works are unlikely to be funded. The maximum grant provided is £12,000. Deadline 31 July 2024.
The Marc Fitch Fund is an educational charity which makes small grants towards the costs of publishing scholarly work in the fields of British and Irish national, regional and local history, archaeology, antiquarian studies, historical geography, the history of art and architecture, heraldry, genealogy and surname studies, archival research, artefact conservation and the broad fields of the heritage, conservation and the historic environment. Next deadline 1 August 2024.
Belfast City Council: Discretionary Payments
This support is open to Belfast-based organisations with governing documents that meet the objectives of the Belfast Agenda, the city’s community plan, but are not eligible for any of their other council funding programmes. The Agenda’s immediate priorities are: Creating jobs and investment, Making life better for all our residents, Creating a competitive and sustainable city, and Connecting people to opportunities. A cap of £20,000 is in place for each application/applicant. You can apply at any time. Submit applications by 4pm on 2 August 2024.
World Cancer Day 2025: Close the Cancer Care Gap
Everyone deserves access to cancer care, but they know that many people who seek cancer care hit barriers at every turn. Income, education, geographical location and discrimination based on ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability and lifestyle are just a few of the factors that can negatively affect care. This is the equality gap – and it’s costing lives. Macmillan’s Cancer Experience Panel in Northern Ireland have launched their application process for World Cancer Day 2025. Any organisation or group can apply for up to £3,000 to provide a showcase highlighting the impact of inequality in cancer care and/or to demonstrate what they are doing to close the cancer care gap and the outcomes for people living with cancer at their World Cancer Day 2025 event. Deadline 5 August 2024.
Fundraising Support
Events
Autumn 2024 Fundraising Clinics for NICVA Members
Registration for these sessions is now closed.
Fundraising Hub
Explore the Fundraising Hub for a wide range of articles and resources to support your fundraising journey. A few are below:
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.
Every year charities in the UK lose out on £564 million as in Gift Aid goes unclaimed.
Find out how you can make Gift Aid work better for you.
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.