Funding News
CVS Fife - 23-27 Randolph Street, Buckhaven KY8 1AT (Map)
T: 01592 567001 - F: 01592 567009 - E: cvsfife@cvsfife.org
Big Lottery Fund: Investing in Ideas
The new Big Lottery Fund scheme, Investing in Ideas, is now open for applications. £4.6 million is available to develop ideas that could become fully-fledged projects. Grant amounts will range from £500 to £5,000 (with the intention of raising this top limit to £10,000 in time), and the type of activity Investing in Ideas will support will include:
- market research
- feasibility studies
- business planning
- training for your committee
- exchange visits in the UK to see how other projects work
- community consultation
- professional advice
- technical reports and scheme design studies
Ideas must fit within one of the four investment areas identified by the Big Lottery as priorities (see article on the Big Lottery Fund below), but it is a fund aimed at testing out and strengthening project ideas, rather than supporting the projects themselves.
Further details: See the website: www.biglottery.org.uk or telephone 0870 240 2391.
Big Lottery Fund : Launch of Investment Manifesto
The Big Lottery Fund has launched its long-awaited Investment Manifesto, detailing its plans for distributing its £257 million share of lottery money to community projects over the next three years. The shift in language which sees the BLF using terms such as investing rather than funding signals a change in approach, as the aim is to work more closely with communities to make real improvements to the lives of people in need.
Investment Grants will be made under the following headings:
- Investing in Ideas
- Growing Community Assets
- Life Transitions
- Supporting 21st Century Life
The Investing in Ideas Fund will be the first to open for business, by the end of January/early February 2006. This £4.6 million fund will help organisations to develop their ideas through research, feasibility studies, getting professional advice and training for those involved if required. Growing Community Assets, which is designed to allow the purchase of land or buildings in both rural and urban areas, develops the principles of the Scottish Land Fund, which was previously operated by NOF. It will open for business in the late spring of 2006, along with the Life Transitions programme, designed to support people through testing periods of change, and Supporting 21st Century Life, which will look for ways of bringing people together to cope with the challenges of modern life.
The BLF will also be launching a Building Dynamic Communities programme which will support the development of voluntary and community sector activity, possibly through supporting intermediary bodies, and promote the involvement of communities in civic life.
At CVS Fife's Annual Meeting on December 7th, Dharmendra Kanani, the Big Lottery Fund's Director in Scotland, reiterated his commitment that 60 - 70% of the BLF's funding will go to the voluntary/community sector. In addition, he promised that there would be greater flexibility in terms of length of funding (there won't be rigid adherence to the three year funding cycle), and the BLF will adopt the principle of full cost recovery.
More information can be found on the Big Lottery website: www.biglottery.org.uk
Sport Relief
Sport Relief was set up by Comic Relief and BBC Sport. It recognises that the power and passion of sport is a valuable tool in tackling poverty and disadvantage, both in the UK and in some of the world's poorest countries. Sport Relief grants will be used only to support projects which address one of the following three criteria. When applying you MUST identify which of the three criteria your project relates to and explain how:
- Increasing access to sport and exercise for people who face social exclusion or isolation. For example:
- A group of women from a minority ethnic background getting involved in keep fit or other sports activities.
- A group of disabled people wanting to undertake sport or a club wanting to increase sporting opportunities for disabled people.
- Exercise classes for older people.
- Helping people who are experiencing difficulties in their lives to regain their confidence and self-esteem. For example:
- People with mental health problems wanting to help rebuild their lives through sport
- Positive sport experiences for children with behavioural problems
- Refugees or asylum seekers using sport to help cope with traumatic experiences
- Encouraging people to take part in sporting activities that bring communities together. For example:
- Intergenerational work e.g. granddads and grandsons football match
- Projects working with young people involved in conflict around their territory
Sport Relief cannot support:
- individuals
- statutory organisations (such as schools)
- trips abroad
- mini buses
- building costs or access adaptations to buildings
- projects with total costs greater than £10,000
- Non-essential clothing'. This includes team strips or other items whose primary purpose is to identify a team.
Project bids can be sumitted to the Small Grants programme (for amounts up to £1,000) or to the Main Grants programme (for amounts of between £1,000 and £5,000). There is no deadline for bids.
Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland
The Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland has announced its priorities and principles for its Standard Grant Scheme for the period from January 2006 to December 2008. The Foundation continues only to support Registered charities that "focus on improving quality of life and improving equality of opportunity for people in Scotland. This applies particularly to those who are disavdantaged or marginalised." The Standard Grant Scheme priorities are as follows:
- Addressing poverty
- Reducing Isolation
- Promoting Family Welfare
- Increasing Life Skills
- Promoting Citizenship and Social Responsibility
- Empowering under-represented or socially excluded groups
- Promoting Independence
- De-stimatising or Challenging Prejudice
Charities applying for the Standard Grant Scheme also need to demonstrate good governance within their organisation by complying with a number of principles, including:
- Operating with Openness and Clear Accountability
- Caring for the Safety of Vulnerable Groups via Effective Vetting Procedures including Disclosure Scotland checks
- Consulting and Involving Users
More details are available on the Foundation's website.
Further details: www.fundingthefuture.org.uk
Charities Aid Foundation
Consultancy Fund
This fund aims to support small to medium-sized charitable organisations to make the most of their resources by providing low cost, high quality consultancy and capacity-building support. This Fund has been set up for charitable organisations that do not have a chosen consultant and may need extra guidance and support to achieve the best possible results from their consultancy. Consultancies are supported on a cost basis, and priority is given to initiatives that aim to strengthen your organisation's structure. Consultancies that increase the sustainability of your organisation are supported.
Who can apply?
Applications will be considered from any organisation in the UK which is set up for exclusively charitable purposes with an annual income of up to £1,500,000. Priority for 100% funding will be given to organisations with an income of up to £50,000.
How to apply?
Applications to CAF's Grant Programme are only accepted on CAF's application form. Complete an application form outlining the issues you wish to be addressed with the consultant. This does not need to be a detailed consultancy plan. It is the issues you would like to address through a consultancy that are of interest, and how you would like to work with a consultant to tackle them. The next deadline is 13th February. For an application form, telephone 01732 520 334 or download from the CAF website: www.cafonline.org
Fife Special Housing Association
Fife Special is a charitable housing association established in 1997. They manage, maintain and build social housing throughout Fife. The Association has set aside a sum of money from its surplus to fund charitable activities/donations in support of good causes within the local community. They also accept donations to the fund from organisations, charities or individuals.
The Charitable Donations Committee considers all applications normally from voluntary groups working for the benefit of the community. They ensure that all grants further the objectives of the Association and decide on the amount to be granted (usually smaller grants are favoured).
Fife Special's Charitable Donations Committee normally meets 4 times a year, ususally in February, May, August and November. To date it has granted donations in excess of £30,000 to over 60 good causes. For an application form contact:
Fife Special Housing Association Ltd
7 Pitreavie Court
Pitreavie Business Park
Dunfermline KY11 8UU
Tel: 01383 606162
Tesco Charity Trust: Community Awards
The Tesco Charity Trust Community Awards ensure that the majority of the Trust´s grants are targeted towards local communities where we have stores. Community Awards benefit local organisations whose core work supports children´s education and welfare, children and adults with disabilities, and elderly people. We aim to give around £360,000 each year through the Community Awards scheme. Awards are one-off donations and range between £1,500 and £5,000.
How to Apply
The first step is to write to the Tesco Charity Trust with brief details of your project. This will ensure that your request is recorded on the current year´s database and included in the distribution of application forms.
- If your request fits criteria the Trust will write to let you know when it will be sending an application form to you.
- If your request does not fit criteria the Trust will write to you and explain why.
You can write to the Tesco Charity Trust at any time. The address is provided below. The closing dates for writing to the Trust will depend on the round for which you are applying:
- Children´s welfare and education (including special needs schools) - 31 January each year
- Elderly and disabilities - 30 June each year
Letters received after the closing date will be held on file for the next year´s round. For more information, see the website: www.tesco.com/everylittlehelps
Or you can write to:
Tesco Charity Trust
Tesco Stores Ltd
Delamare Road
Cheshunt EN8 9SL
Awards for All
Awards for All, the lottery funding programme which gives awards of between £500 and £5,000 to community groups for a range of activites, has made a change to its guidelines. Previously organisations applying to Awards for All for funding to support an Arts or Sports project were only eligible if they had an income less than £20,000 per year. This limit has now been removed. Awards for All supports a range of activity, including:
- helping community groups set up new services or develop existing services
- buying new sports or musical equipment to include more people in a club or group
- producing a community newsletter or running a community event which brings people together
- organising trips to sports or artistic events your group can learn from
- small improvements to premises used by your group
- Ltraining for volunteers
These are just a selection of the activities which Awards for All funding can support. More examples are given on the website. It usually takes around two months for an application to be assessed.
For more details: www.awardsforall.org.uk