Funding Focus - 04 September

This month there are some unique opportunities for more bespoke work, in particular groups working with those in recovery or affected by someone’s drug use can apply to The Corra Foundation for a multiyear grant. There is also a grant from Fight for Sight to support work tackling loneliness and isolation for individuals with sight loss or a visual impairment.  

For groups providing less targeted support to their community please look under the Community header for a variety of opportunities. 

Anyone looking for funding support there is a fantastic offer of support from the Invest in Renfrewshire team, please see below for details on how to access.  

• Arts 
• Children and Young People 
• Churches 
• Climate Action
• Community 
• Digital
• Drug / Addiction Support 
• Heritage 
• Home Safety 
• IT Projects 
• Libraries 
• Music 
• Schools 
• Sight Loss 
• Funding Competition 

Events/Training

• Become a Dementia Friend
• Invest in Renfrewshire External Funding Support Webinar
• Intergenerational training for trainers and practitioners
• FREE climate training opportunity from SCVO

Arts

Grants to Help New, Innovative Visual Arts Projects 
The Elephant Trust has announced that the next application deadline is 20 October 2024. The Trust offers grants to artists and for new, innovative visual arts projects. It aims to enable artists and those presenting their work to undertake and complete projects when confronted with a lack of funds. The Trust supports projects that develop and improve fine arts knowledge, understanding and appreciation. Priority is given to artists, small organisations, and galleries who are making or producing new work or exhibitions. The Trust awards typically grants of up to £2,000, but larger grants of up to £5,000 may be considered. Find out more here 

Children and Young People

Grants for Drop-In Hubs to Help Young People with their Mental Health
The Prudence Trust is making £1.5 million in funding available to support drop-in hubs that offer mental health interventions to young people aged 11-25 across the UK. The funding aims to support young people's early support hubs in maintaining existing services, strengthening relationships with clinical partners, or adding new services. The opportunity is open to UK-registered charities or CICs with an annual income of over £1 million and at least three years of experience delivering a drop-in hub. The Trust anticipates awarding 3 to 4 grants of between £250,000 to £500,000 each for up to 24 months. Eligible costs include salaries, evaluation work, and training. The deadline for first-stage applications is 2pm on 09 September, 2024. Find out more here 
 

Funding to Support Disabled & Disadvantaged Children
Grants of up to £5,000 are available to registered charities to fund equipment and services to support disabled and disadvantaged children under 13 across the UK. The Toy Trust fund helps disadvantaged children and their families to alleviate suffering; support children through awful experiences; encourage achievement through adversity; purchase vital equipment; provide care; bolster existing initiatives; initiate brand new projects; and satisfy basic needs. Groups that have carried out some form of effective fundraising by themselves are particularly encouraged to apply. The next deadline to apply is mid-November 2024 for the December meeting of Trustees. Find out more here 
 

Funding to Enable Disadvantaged Young People to Reach their Potential
Voluntary or community organisations in Scotland can apply for grants of between £20,001 and £100,000 to support children and young people aged 8 to 24 in achieving their full potential. 
The Young Start programme, administered by The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, provides funding for projects that aim to make children and young people confident, healthy, connected, or enterprising. 

The funding will support work that achieves at least one of the following three outcomes: 

• children and young people have better physical, mental and emotional wellbeing 
• children and young people have better connections with the wider community 
• children and young people get access to new skills and training opportunities which will help them to get a new job or start a business 

Find out more here 

Churches

The National Churches Trust’s Medium Grants Programme Opens for Applications
Grants of up to £10,000 are available to listed and unlisted Christian places of worship, of any denomination, across the UK towards project development and investigative work up to RIBA planning stage 1, to support churches preparing for a major project, and in developing their project to the point at which they can approach a major grant funder. Grants will never exceed 50% of the net project costs for this phase. The National Churches Trusts's Medium Grants Programme is also now able to offer grants of up to £10,000 for urgent and essential maintenance and repair projects costing between £20,000 and £80,000. Grants cannot exceed 50% of the net project costs. The deadline for applications is midnight on 17 December 2024. Find out more here  

Climate Action

Scottish Government Nature Restoration Fund
The Scottish Government is seeing applications to its £65 million Nature Restoration Fund. The fund is available to support organisations working to restore wildlife and habitats on land and sea. The Nature Restoration Fund is part of the Scottish Government's commitment to addressing the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. The fund is designed to support projects that will help to reverse the decline of Scotland's natural environment. The Fund has two streams, Helping Nature, for grants of £25,000 to £250,000 and Transforming Nature grants of £250,000 upwards, including development phase funding. All applicants need to submit an Expression of Interest. The next closing date for applications is 28 November 2024. Find out more here 

Action Earth 2024 - Autumn and Winter Grants  
Volunteering Matters Action Earth is looking to support environmental projects across Scotland. We have grants (up to £250) to support volunteers carrying out habitat creation and improvements on sites in cities, towns, villages and surrounding areas.  
Grants can be used to purchase plants, tools and materials. Projects can include tree-planting, wildflower meadow creation, wildlife habitat builds, pond work, community gardens & woodlands and improvements to other green spaces. Find out more here 

Community

Grants for Community & Environmental Projects
Not-for-profit organisations can apply for funding to deliver projects that improve communities and the environment. The funding is made available through the SUEZ Communities Fund for projects that improve public amenities, repair religious or historic buildings, or support biodiversity in areas surrounding Suez landfill sites. The maximum grant amount is £50,000 for projects in England and £25,000 in Scotland. Funding typically covers materials, equipment, and contractors for improvement work. The application deadline is the 20th November for applications in both Scotland and England. Find out more here 
 

Grants of up to £10,000 to Support Grassroots Charities
Grants of up to £10,000 are available to support small, grassroots and local charities currently delivering services to the young, vulnerable, elderly, disadvantaged or the general community across the UK. The funding, which is being made available through Foyle Foundation’s Small Grants Scheme, can be used to cover projects, core costs, building projects, or essential equipment to enable ongoing service provision for charities with a turnover of less than £150,000 per annum that can show financial stability and a clear need for their services. The Foyle Foundation will complete its grant-giving programme in 2025, and the closing date for applications is the 31 January 2025. Find out more here 

Digital

Smart and Connected Social Places (SCSP) Innovation Fund 
The fund will provide grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 to support 5G and advanced wireless technology projects across the Glasgow City Region that aim to create innovative solutions that drive digital transformation, provide a space for projects that address key challenges in local communities - particularly in housing and connected care and wellbeing. Projects can also relate to business intelligence and data that underpins these areas. Eligible costs include employee costs including staff salaries, running costs, activity and programme costs, full recovery costs.

Please read:

• 5G Innovation Fund presentation
• Guidance notes for completing the application form
• Example application form.

The fund is open to:

• Company Ltd by Guarantee,
• Community Interest Company (CIC),
• Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO),
• Constituted Charity/Voluntary Sector Organisations (including unincorporated),
• Housing Associations/Friendly, Mutual or Registered Societies,
• Colleges / Universities,
• Individuals, Sole Traders or Ltd Companies that from part of a recognised local enterprise or innovation group (i.e. Accelerators, Incubators, Catapults etc).

Statutory/Public Bodies such as Local Authorities and Arm’s Length External Organisations, Community Councils, NHS and Police Scotland are not eligible to apply.
 
Key dates:
· Applications Open: 2 September 2024
· Application Deadline: 16 September 2024
· Project Start Date: As soon as possible
· Project Completion Deadline: 31st March 2025
 
Where do I apply 5G Funding announcement: Unlock Funding for 5G and Wireless Technology Projects in Glasgow City Region - Glasgow City Region

Drug/Addiction Support

Local Support Fund – Micro Grants (National Drugs Mission Funds) 
The Local Support Fund Micro Grants (LSF Micro) are part of the Scottish Government’s National Drugs Mission Funds, administered by the Corra Foundation. LSF Micro is for grassroots and community-based groups in Scotland, which deliver frontline services to support people who use or used drugs, people in recovery and/or families affected by someone else’s drug use. 

This fund is designed to help these groups by providing grants which will offer some financial security. This is intended to help with planning and delivering support to improve the wellbeing of people who use substances, people in recovery and their families. The fund is open to charities, social enterprises or constituted community/voluntary groups that operate on a not-for-profit basis, with an annual income of up to £50,000. Organisations can apply for between £1,000 and £20,000 per year for up to three years. Corra Foundation encourages applications from organisations supporting Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities and other under-represented groups. 

Please read the Criteria and FAQs document for further guidance on what can be funded. 

This fund opened to new applications on 14th August 2024. Applications should be sent in by the closing date of 1pm on Wednesday 2nd October 2024. 

To apply, contact our grants team for a chat about your project on wellbeingteam@corra.scot or call us on 0131 444 4020. We can then provide the link to our online application form. 

Heritage

Funding to Support Crafts, Heritage & Classical Music Projects
The Radcliffe Trust is offering grants to UK charities and other not-for-profit organisations for projects in traditional crafts, heritage, and classical music. The funding supports training, education, and skill development in these areas through two schemes: the Music Scheme which supports classical music performance and training, particularly for those with special needs, youth orchestras, and projects at secondary and higher levels, and the Heritage & Crafts Scheme which supports craft and conservation projects that offer training, practical work, and strategic benefits. Grants are generally in the region of £2,500 to £7,500. The next application deadline for both schemes is 31 January 2025. Find out more here