Grassroots Grants
Programme (England)
With the launch of the £130
million Grassroots Grants Programme, the Government has called on local,
regional and national businesses to help make a crucial and lasting difference
by supporting community activities across the country. The programme, funded by
the Office of The Third Sector in the Cabinet Office and administered by the
Community Development Foundation, offers grants of between £250 and £5,000 to
support activities that lie right at the heart of our local communities.
Businesses are invited to get involved through investing in the scheme's
innovative endowment match challenge - the first of its kind in England.
Within the £130million programme, the Government has set aside a £50million pot
from which it will match endowment investments from businesses. This offers
businesses the chance to make a lasting contribution directly to supporting and
sustaining the communities in which they work. The endowment element - which is
also open to individual donors and investors - aims to ensure that that
grassroots grants remain available for many years to come. It is estimated that
with match funding and sound investment this £50million will be worth
£150million when it starts paying out in 2011. In addition, as Gift Aid can be
claimed on donations to a charitable cause, a £1,000 match-funded contribution
from a business would be worth £2,560 to the fund.
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/news/news_releases/080904_grassroots.aspx
Funding for Third Sector
Infrastructure Organisations (England)
The National Association for
Voluntary and Community Action has six grants of £2,000 available to enable
local and sub-regional infrastructure organisations to raise awareness of Every
Child Matters and the children’s workforce development agenda. The scheme is
open to third sector local and sub-regional infrastructure bodies that support
organisations working with children and young people. The grants can be used to
develop and run training or awareness-raising events on children’s workforce
development issues and to develop and promote training or awareness-raising
materials on children’s workforce development issues. The grants cannot be used
to fund general organisational development support for children and young
people’s organisations, or services provided directly to children and young
people. The closing date for applications is Friday the 26th September 2008.
http://www.navca.org.uk/stratwork/children/cwdc/grants/
Off-grid Electricity
Generation in Developing Countries (UK)
The Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and The Department for International
Development (DFID) are looking to support research consortia in decentralised
off grid electricity generation that will promote links between UK
universities and developing country universities and facilitate the transfer of
technologies that will help alleviate developing country poverty. They are
seeking consortia proposals that will address fundamental scientific,
engineering, social and policy research issues in this area, that transfer
knowledge between participating countries and builds research capacity both in
the UK and in the other collaborating nations. The budget allocated for this
call is £3million, with additional substantial support being made available
from DFID. The deadline for applications is 13 November 2008.
http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/CallsForProposals/DecentralisedOff-GridElectricityGeneration.htm
Applied Research
Funding Grants Opens for Applications (UK)
Carbon Trust has announced that
their Applied Research funding grant will re-open for applications on the 13
October 2008. Under the Applied Research grant, funding of up to £250,000 is
available to businesses and research institutions to support the development
and commercialisation of technology with the potential to reduce UK
carbon dioxide emissions. During previous funding rounds, the Carbon Trust has
supported projects with the potential to encourage and support the progress of
low carbon technologies towards large scale deployment. The Trust are looking
to support projects that can demonstrate:
·
Genuine innovation and the potential to
contribute to substantial reductions in UK greenhouse gas emissions;
·
That the work is a well planned and builds on
previous work in the area;
·
That the results of the work will allow a clear
step forward on the path towards commercialisation;
·
That it represents good value for money;
·
That it provides demonstrative benefit to the UK.
The closing date will be the 4
December 2008.
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/technology/appliedresearch/
Entries Invited for the
Schools Etc Awards (UK)
The national learning charity
ContinYou, is inviting schools and children's centres, youth groups and
community groups, as well as clusters of schools and/or children's centres to
enter the Schools ETC Awards. This year schools, etc, can enter the awards and
win a first prize of £2,000 and a runner’s up prize of £1,000. Each year the
award has a different theme. This year the theme is “Enjoy and Achieve”: putting
the smile back into learning. Schools and other eligible organisations, are
invited to submit entries that show:
·
How their activities and programmes have
inspired children and young people to learn;
·
How their activity has encouraged families and
communities to get involved, to learn together.
Previous examples of activities
that have caught the imagination of the Schools ETC team include: The dads and
lads group at Kelleholm Primary, Dumfries,
who, after a visit to a local castle constructed their own model trebuchets.
They held a competition to see which of their mini siege engines could launch a
brussels sprout the furthest. This activity was one element of an ongoing
programme aimed at getting fathers involved in their children’s education, and
linked in with support for the fathers through training, volunteering and
employability opportunities. Entries to the Award may be for a one-off event
(for example: a family literacy day), a programme that takes place over a
limited period of time (for example: a summer play scheme) or an ongoing
activity (for example: an after-school club). The closing date for entries is
the 21st October 2008.
http://www.continyou.org.uk/subscribe/schools_etc_and_etc_online/awards_2008
The Ibrahim Foundation
(UK)
The Ibrahim Foundation was
established in 2007 by Azeem Ibrahim in memory of his father Muhammad Ibrahim.
The Foundation is a private grant making body and is not a registered charity
or a limited liability company. The Foundation offers grants to organisations
which aim to improve the quality of life for people and communities in the UK.
The Ibrahim Foundation like to consider work which others may find hard to
fund. They offer grants of between £500 and £10,000 and in some cases up to
£50,000. They do not have areas of focus in grant making, but they are
particularly interested in the following areas:
·
Community building;
·
The environment;
·
Strengthening not for profit organisations;
·
Supporting families.
Applications can be made at any
time and grants are awarded twice a year.
http://www.ibrahimfoundation.com/home.html
Help the Hospices -
Professional Development Grants (UK)
Help the Hospices, the national
charity for the hospice movement, has announced that it is seeking applications
through its Professional Development Grants scheme to help support the cost of
individuals' continuing professional development. The Professional Development
Grants help to support the cost of individuals' continuing professional
development in independent voluntary hospices and are available towards
attending accredited courses (at certificate, diploma and degree level),
conferences, and study days across a wide range of disciplines. Funding for
staff in NHS units, other hospices or in nursing homes is also available but
exclusively for training in palliative care. A maximum of 50% of the fees (up
to £750 pa) may be awarded to individuals whose applications must be endorsed
by their employer. Applications can be submitted at any time but must arrive at
Help the Hospices at least one month before the start of the course.
http://www.helpthehospices.org.uk/grants/dsp_pdg.asp
Funding Available to
Establish Local Innovation and Growth Teams (South East)
SEEDA, the Regional Development
Agency for the South East of England, is inviting applications from
sub-regional partnerships to apply for grant funding to establish local
Innovation and Growth Teams. These teams will create communities of innovation
and growth, delivering specialist services to businesses that have potential
for significant growth and ultimately generate substantial local and regional
economic benefits that improve the global competitiveness of the South East.
SEEDA is inviting partners to collaborate at a sub-regional level, working
across administrative boundaries to develop a platform for supporting high growth
businesses at a local level but within a regional framework. Proposals for
grant funding put forward can be of the value of £500,000 to £1 million per
annum over a three year period. Sub-regional partnerships can consist of:
·
Local authorities;
·
Research establishments;
·
Universities or higher education institutions;
·
Further education establishments;
·
Economic partnerships;
·
Business Link.
·
At least one local business leader and a
specialist local providers of services that complement and add value to the
SEEDA funded activities.
The deadline for applications is 5 pm on the
2nd October 2008.
http://www.seeda.co.uk/Innovation/index.html
Boost to Funding for
Local Business (East Midlands)
The Government and East Midlands
Development Agency (emda) have announced, that in response to the current
economic challenges, a further £1 million, over the next 12 months, will be
made available to supplement its Business Transformation Grant (BTG). The BGT,
which is available through Business Link, makes grants towards investments in
plant and equipment to support resource efficiency. Further examples of
financial support available to help businesses through these challenging times
include:
·
£3.5m of Selective Finance for Investment (SFIE)
grant funding available to companies this financial year;
·
Between £3,000 and £20,000 available to small
businesses that are unable to obtain bank finance through the EnterpriseLoans
East Midlands programme;
·
£4.1m of Grant for Research and Development
(GRD) programme funding available to companies during 2008-09.
http://www.emda.org.uk/news/newsreturn.asp?fileno=3417
Cumbria Community Foundation
Announces Four New Funding Schemes (North
West)
The Cumbria Community Foundation has announced a new
£500,000 funding pot for community groups and local charities. The funding
which is available through four different schemes are;
·
“Grassroots Grants” which will provide grants of up to £5,000
to small local volunteer led groups;
·
“0-19 (Nought to Nineteen)” funded by Cumbria County Council
which will provide grants of up to £7,000 over three years for groups working
with children and young people;
·
“Community Grants” which will provide grants to help groups
supporting unemployed people into work;
·
“Foundation Grants” which will provide grants of up to £5,000
to new and small charities in Cumbria
helping people facing disadvantage.
http://www.cumbriafoundation.org/index.htm
Community Chest -
Voluntary Action Fund's New Grants Programme (Scotland)
The Voluntary Action Fund has
announced that in September 2008, it will launch its “Community Chest” Grants
Programme. This is a new grants programme aimed at small community groups
across Scotland.
Through this new grants programme, the Voluntary Action Fund is particularly
keen to fund community groups from Glackmannanshire, Iverclyde and South
Ayrshire. The Community Chest will provide grants of up to £1,000 to help small
community groups with an income of under £25,000 fund their activities. The aim
of the Community Chest is to help build the capacity of groups in Scotland
to deliver their activities. Groups in receipt of a grant will also have the
opportunity to attend a number of free workshops covering topics such as
charity law, making successful funding applications and managing money.
Applications can be made at any time.
http://www.voluntaryactionfund.org.uk/grant-schemes/Comm
Other
Funding News
Futurebuilders England Surgeries (England)
Futurebuilders England, which offers support to
third sector organisations to deliver public services through a mixture of
loans, grants and professional support, has announced that it will be holding a
series of pre-application workshops for any organisation that is considering
applying for funding. During the workshops Futurebuilders will offer an
information session, time to ask questions and the opportunity to discuss
individual proposals with a member of their team. The surgeries will be
delivered on the following dates:
·
Nottingham on
the 8 September;
·
London
on 12 September;
·
Sheffield on 17
September;
·
Wolverhampton
on 18 September;
·
Liverpool 23
September;
·
Newcastle
on 26 September.
For more information about these
events, please contact Marianne Patterson or Sharon O'Brien, tel 0191 269 2870
or email info@futurebuilders-england.org.uk.
http://www.futurebuilders-england.org.uk/content/Events/FuturebuildersSurgery.aspx
Insight Out Programme
2008 (East Midlands and West Midlands)
The UK Film Council have announced
that Insight Out 2008 are seeking to support filmmakers, animators and
screenwriters who want to learn more about the distribution process, self
promotion & marketing their product to the right audiences. Insight Out is
managed by Birmingham City University's
Screen Media Lab facility in partnership with EM Media, the Regional Screen
Agency for the East Midlands. All workshops
will take place in Nottingham. Applicants must
have at least 18 months experience in the moving image industry, be a UK resident or hold a valid work visa and be a
resident in East or West Midlands. Insight Out
will offer advice, professional guidance and networking opportunities. Insight
Out will also offer travel bursary of up to £150 and the chance to pitch for a
share of £15,000 to get films ready for distribution. Insight Out begins on the
26th September 2008 with a three-day intensive workshop. Five further workshops
will take place between October 2008 & February 2009. For programme details
you can contact rebecca.birch@bcu.ac.uk or call 0121 204 9887.
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/14628
British Council
Language Immersion Course for Students and Teachers of Japanese (England)
The British Council has funding
from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) for a range of
programmes to support the teaching of Japanese and projects with Japanese
schools. The specific aims of the programme are to:
·
Establish sustainable links that will impact on
the development of those schools and colleges;
·
Contribute to the professional development of
their staff;
·
Enrich the curriculum and support language
awareness and learning.
This year the British Council's
Japanese immersion course will take place from the 16th to the 27th February
2009 in Osaka,
hosted by Osaka YMCA and will consist of language lessons as well as a range of
cultural activities. This two-week course gives students and teachers of
Japanese a chance to use their language skills in an authentic environment, and
gain an insight into Japanese culture. Schools in England are eligible to apply and
the deadline for applications is the 24th October 2008.
http://www.britishcouncil.org/schoolpartnerships-japan.htm#langaugeassistants
