This Week's Funding News wc 3rd August

COVID-19 FUNDS CLOSING SOON

5.5 million for 2nd round of grants distributed by Homeless Link.  £4.8 million is provided by The National Lottery Community Fund and £680,000 from Comic Relief, which raises money to support people living incredibly tough lives, and will primarily be allocated to charities based in Scotland, Wales and NI  Will provide emergency financial assistance to local homelessness organisations, preventing closure, service cuts or staff redundancies threatened by increased operational costs and a loss of fundraised income due to Coronavirus. It will also support organisations that have needed to expand or adapt their services in light of COVID-19 to support people experiencing homelessness safely and effectively.

Two sizes of grants are available to improve the health and wellbeing of local communities living through COVID-19.  The smaller grant scheme is for up to £1000 for both constituted and non-constituted community groups.  The larger grant scheme offers grants of £1001 to £5000 just for constituted groups.

NEW COVID-19 FUNDS

This fund reopens to applications today (3rd August) for a further 3 weeks to allow charities that may not have had time to gather the required information and approvals in time to apply.  Criteria remain unchanged – still providing financial support to charities who have lost income due to the impact of COVID-19 and are not able to cover unavoidable costs until 30th September 2020. 

Local charities can apply for up to £75,000, although the majority of groups applied for less than half of that and the average request was for £21,000.  Over a third of applications to date have been for less than £10,000 so this fund is for local charities of all sizes facing different levels of financial hardship.  Having free reserves also doesn’t exclude a local charity from applying for this fund.  For more information click here. And see who has already been funded Here

The Volant Trust accepts applications from charities in the UK and internationally that demonstrate a strong focus on alleviating social deprivation and helping vulnerable groups who have been particularly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Applications for medical equipment and the production or distribution of PPE will also be considered.  Grant levels are at the discretion of the trustees, with no minimum or maximum amounts publicly set.  (NB The Volant Trust's usual open grant programmes centre on Scotland, but this fund is UK-wide)

In its 5th Year, The Begin Together Awards are recognising the towns and urban places across the island of Ireland demonstrating exceptional leadership during these challenging times.  There are over 21 financial recognition awards available from a total prize fund of €210,000/ or sterling equivalent.  2020 also sees the introduction of ‘special  initiative’ awards – a local town promotion initiative, a local community enterprise initiative and a local  business and community response initiative – reflecting the challenge that communities and businesses currently face from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Open to individuals or organisations presenting an innovative concept, product or service that will have a positive social impact on a community. This can include projects or ideas developed during the coronavirus outbreak with potential for long-term impact, with the Prize’s criteria updated to reflect this.  There are two categories: The William Sutton Prize for Social Innovation and The William Sutton Prize for Placemaking and Affordable Housing Design.  Both offer a prize fund of up to £20,000.

Now offering £65 million for two new rounds of grants: £30 million through Community Partnership Grants and £35 million through Recovery Grants.  The charity, whose membership comprises more than 230 NHS charities across the UK, has allocated the funds to all member charities and is inviting them to apply for funding from its Covid-19 Appeal from 1 September.  Community Partnership Grants recognise the profound impact of the pandemic on all communities outside NHS settings such as hospices, community healthcare and social care, and grants will fund projects through public or voluntary sector organisations. Recovery Grants will help tackle the longer term effects of Covid-19 and support hospitals in preparation for any second wave.

A £4m support package for the arts, creative industries and cultural sector.  It will build on the initial emergency package launched on 27 April that was heavily oversubscribed and it will give priority to those who have lost opportunities to use their skills.   The fund for individuals will open from 31 July until 17 August and awards will range from £1,000 to £5,000. The organisational strand will reopen for new applications from small and medium sized organisations in August and the maximum award available is £25,000. Priority will be given to those who have been unable to access other forms of financial support from Government or other sources. 

The Transition Fund is the next phase of RAFT, The Fore’s response to COVID-19, which began with their RAFT Immediate Response Fund (now closed).   In Autumn 2020, a 2nd round of funding will open offering unrestricted grants of up to £15,000 to help small charities and social enterprises plan for the longer term and gain a stronger footing in a post-coronavirus world.

Specifically aimed at supporting Black-led social enterprises and charities to survive and even thrive in the COVID period.   Provides grants between £1K and £3K to UK based organisations led by people that identify as Black or Mixed with Black and with beneficiaries who primarily identify as Black or Mixed with Black. 

MORE FUNDING RESOURCES

·You can see ALL COVID-19 funding schemes including the latest on Government, local Council and trust and foundation funding, on NICVA's constantly updated COVID-19 Fundraising Hub

·To see over 800 other funding schemes in a one-stop format, subscribe to NI's Leading database, GrantTracker, for just £100 a year for NICVA members and £145 for non-members here.