Funding & Training - 19 February

Welcome to this week's funding and training focus! We have a great range of funds highlighted this week - including arts and culture funding for a variety of organisations. 

We also want to share an upcoming information session, to be held at our offices in Ferguslie Park on 27th March, where we'll be welcoming the National Lottery to talk through their updated programmes.

Open to all members considering applying to any of the Community Funds this year, come along and learn more about each fund, ask questions, and share your project ideas. 

Book a space here

Funding

• Art and Music 
• Children and Young People 
• Communities
• Digital
• Health
• Local Partnership Funding
• Miscellaneous
• Museums
• Schools
• Sport

Events/Training

• Tobacco and Cannabis Training
• Families Outside Training for Professionals on the Impact of Imprisonment to Families
• Marie Curie -  Connect, Share and Learn

Arts and Music

Grants to Help New, Innovative Visual Arts Projects
The Elephant Trust has announced that the next application deadline is the 20th April 2025. 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
 

Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation
The Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation has announced that the next application deadline for their grants programme is 5pm on 25 March 2025. The programme is open to small UK-registered charities working in music, the performing arts, and Jewish life and learning. The Foundation will also accept applications which seek to defuse tension and promote peaceful coexistence between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel, tackle antisemitism and Islamophobia in the UK, and promote peaceful co-existence and understanding between the UK’s Jewish and Muslim communities. The Foundation aims to support initiatives that significantly impact individuals and/or communities and leave a lasting legacy. Large charities will not be considered. Medical Research Travel grants of up to £1,000 are also available. Find out more
 

Funding for Songwriters and Producers to Develop their Careers
The Performing Rights Society (PRS) for Music Foundation, working with Spotify, has launched a new funding round to develop the careers of songwriters and producers working in popular music genres in the UK. Launched in 2017 as a response to the long-term career needs of those working behind the scenes, the Hitmaker Fund awards up to eighteen grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 each year. Applications can be made by songwriters or producers directly (or by their representatives) with at least five credited works registered with PRS for Music (ie, a reputable cut or songs with national radio plays, streaming plays, or from a reputable writing camp). The deadline for applications is 03 March 2025. Find out more
 

Funding to Support Classical Music Performance & Training
UK charities and not-for-profit organisations can apply for funding to support classical music performance and training especially chamber music, composition and music education. The Radcliffe Trust Music Grants programme generally awards grants in the region of £2,500 to £7,500, and is particularly interested in supporting music for children and adults with special needs, youth orchestras and projects at secondary and higher levels, including academic research. Applications are considered under eight headings: composition and contemporary music; bursaries for courses and summer schools; music therapy/special needs; academic research/projects; youth orchestras; performance projects; educational projects (excluding mainstream primary and secondary schools); and miscellaneous. The next deadline for applications is 31 July 2025. Find out more
 

Initiative to Tackle Anti-Black Racism & Disparities within the Music Industry
Grants of up to £10,000, as well as business support and mentoring is available to 40 Black music creators and industry figures working in any genre or sub-sector across the UK music industry. The funding and support are being provided by the PRS Foundation with the objective of eliminating barriers and promoting a fairer and more equitable music industry. The funding can be used to support music creation, live performances, and distribution, marketing and promotion costs. The deadline for applications is 6pm on 13 March 2025. Find out more
 

CultureXcelerator 2025
Delivered by Social Investment Scotland (SIS) in partnership with Creative Scotland, CultureXcelerator is tailored for leaders of cultural and creative organisations looking to develop financial sustainability, explore income diversification, and strengthen their impact. Participants will receive up to four days of one-to-one mentoring with a SIS Associate to support their growth journey. Applications are open until 07March. Find out more 

Children & Young People

Holiday Activity Schemes for Autistic Children & Young People
UK not-for-profit organisations can apply for grants of up to £15,000 to run holiday activity schemes for autistic children, young people, and their siblings. These grants support play and activity schemes specifically designed for autistic children and young people during the school holidays. They typically cover part of the costs, but can also help fund additional support for autistic children and young people to participate in mainstream (non-autistic-specific) activity schemes. The funding is provided by the Three Guineas Trust, which will accept applications until 28 February 2025. Find out more

Communities

Screwfix Foundation
Grants of up to £5,000 are available to local charities and not-for-profit organisations for projects that will fix, repair, maintain and improve properties and community facilities for those in need in the UK. The funding is being made available through the Screwfix Foundations, and the grants are available for all kinds of projects, from repairing buildings and improving facilities in deprived areas to decorating the homes of people living with sickness and disabilities. Applications are reviewed every quarter. The next closing date for applications is 10 May 2025. Find out more
 

Robertson Trust Announces Launch of Community Spaces Fund
The Robertson Trust has announced the launch of its new Community Spaces Fund.  Through the Fund, revenue grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 per year, for up to three years are available to registered charities in Scotland. The primary aim of the Community Spaces Fund is to support local community centres, hubs, or anchor organisations that deliver and/or host a variety of services and activities in rural and urban areas experiencing higher rates of poverty and trauma. The fund is available to registered charities in Scotland with annual incomes between £30,000 and £500,000. Applications can be submitted at any time. Find out more
 

Funding Available to Enhance Public Safety
The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is currently inviting applications for its 'Grant for Good Causes' programme. This initiative awards funds recovered through proceeds of crime confiscation orders to support projects that benefit the UK's private security industry and enhance public safety. Applicants must be a UK registered charity or community interest company to apply for a grant. In the 2023 to 2024 financial year, the SIA awarded £72,000 to seven organisations, with individual grants ranging from £2,000 to £23,000. These grants supported initiatives such as training for unemployed individuals to enter the private security sector, human trafficking awareness programmes, and first aid training for volunteers. The closing date for applications is 11:59 pm on the 21st February 2025. Find out more

Digital

Grants of up to £5,000 Available for Projects that Teach Digital Skills to Young People
School and community organisations in Scotland can apply for grants of up to £5,000 for extracurricular projects aimed at teaching digital skills to underrepresented young people, including girls and minority groups. These projects should be innovative, adaptable, and sustainable and focus on skills such as coding, computational thinking, games design, data science, and cyber security. The goal is to inspire the next generation of digital experts and increase diversity in the sector. The activities should be extracurricular, fun, safe, and encourage partnerships between organisations. The grants are provided by the Digital Xtra Fund and the application deadline is 3pm on the 27 March 2025. Find out more

Health 

Funding to Support Dementia Organisations
Grants of up to £7,500 will soon be available to support small dementia clubs and memory cafes across England, Scotland and Wales. At least 20 grants will be awarded to organisations that provide services to adults over 65 and their carers. Registered charities, community groups, and community interest companies with an annual income of under £250,000 will be eligible to apply. Priority will be given to those working in areas of high deprivation. The funding is provided by the McCarthy Stone Foundation through its Dementia Grants Programme, which is open for applications from 14 February 2025 until 14 March 2025. Find out more

Local Partnership Funding

The fund launched for applications on Monday 10 February and will be open until midnight on Thursday 13 March, with decisions due to be made by the Local Partnerships in April/May.

Local groups can apply for funding through the Renfrewshire Council website. Apply for funding from our Local Partnerships - Renfrewshire Website
 
There are some important changes to this year’s application process including refreshed priorities for each Local Partnership and updated guidance.

 

Miscellaneous

Funding to Tackle Economic Inactivity in Areas of High Ill-Health and Disability
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is seeking to fund an interdisciplinary project that will identify ways of supporting economic activity in places experiencing high rates of ill-health, disability, and informal care in the UK. Through the Creating Opportunities: Rethinking Economic (In)Activity initiative, UKRI aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of how local factors influence economic inactivity and to identify effective support mechanisms to promote sustainable economic engagement. UK-based research organisations can apply for a single award of up to £1.2 million, with UKRI funding 80% of the full economic cost. Proposals that include collaborators from outside academia are encouraged. Applications close at 4pm on 06 May 2025. Find out more
 

Funding to Alleviate Social Deprivation
The Volant Charitable Trust’s Grants programme has re-opened for applications. The fund aims to support Scottish charities and projects that help alleviate social deprivation, particularly among women, children and young people at risk. Registered charities, community interest companies, community organisations and social enterprises can apply for grants of up to £15,000 per year for up to three years to support work that will make a lasting difference for women and children affected by hardship or disadvantage. Funding is administered by Foundation Scotland and can be used for project and core costs. There is a two-stage application process.  The deadline for submitting a stage 1 application is 18 April 2025.  Find out more
 

Grants to Provide Solutions for People in Housing Need
The Lintel Trust, Scotland's Housing Charity, is offering small grants to support community projects addressing housing needs. Grants of £500 or £1,000 are available for initiatives that help people in social housing, focusing on projects that reduce social isolation, promote digital participation, enable older people to live independently, support individuals with disabilities, and assist those transitioning from homelessness to stable housing. Eligible organisations must have a direct connection to housing associations, housing cooperatives, or local authority social housing providers. The next application deadline is 30 July 2025, and interested organisations should visit the Lintel Trust website for more information and application guidelines. Find out more
 

Grants of up to £5,000 Available for Projects that Help the Homeless
Small Homeless charities can apply for grants of up to £5,000 for projects that aim to help homeless people rebuild their lives. To be eligible to apply, applicants must be a registered charity and have an annual turnover of under £500,000, with ‘unrestricted reserves’ of under six months. Typically, organisations awarded funding operate residential or training facilities to assist homeless people. The funding is being made available through Help the Homeless, a grant-giving trust, founded in 1975, to help homeless people off the streets and enable them to live healthy, independent lives. Previously funded projects include the Booth Centre, an advice and activity centre for homeless people in Manchester, which received a grant of £1,500 to transform the centre and a grant of £3,000 to the Amber Foundation to enable the Foundation to buy new bedroom furniture for their residential centre in Devon. The next closing date for applications is 15 March 2025. Find out more

Museums

Grants of up to £20,000 Available to Support Museums Collections Care and Conservation
Grants of up to £20,000 are available to small and medium-sized museums to support core museum activities like collections care and conservation. The Association of Independent Museums (AIM) has launched the Museum Fundamentals grant programme for 2025, with a total funding pot of £300,000. Eligible applicants must be AIM members, including UK-registered charities and public bodies with annual visitor numbers under 50,000. The deadline for submitting an Expression of Interest is 08 August 2025 with museums encouraged to contact Grants Officer Fiona Woolley to discuss project eligibility. Supported by the Julia Rausing Foundation and Pilgrim Trust, this programme aims to help museums enhance their ability to research, interpret, and display their collections effectively. Find out more
 

Grants of up to £100,000 Available to Make Museum Collections More Inclusive
The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has relaunched its Collections Fund as the Communities and Collections Fund, maintaining its core mission of supporting inclusive museum initiatives with community partners. The new fund offers core grants for single museums to strategically develop their collections and partnership project grants for museums and community organisations working equitably with collections to achieve shared aims for inclusion. Grants of up to £100,000 are available for projects lasting up to three years, with around 12 grants awarded annually across two rounds. The next deadline for submissions of interest is 16 July 2025. Find out more

Sports

Grants to Support Canoeing and Inland Waterway Conservation
Not-for-profit organisations, charities, clubs, and other interest groups based in the UK can apply for a grant to help them to increase participation in canoeing. The grants can be used to promote new or improved access points for canoe trails on to moving water, estuaries, canals and reservoirs. This can include new and improved launch and landing platforms, steps or ramps; improvements to pathways and accessible routes to the water’s edge and signage and information that promotes positive behaviour. Examples of projects supported include a grant for Canoe Trail Improvement at Lazonby and Bamford on the upper Derbyshire Derwent delivered in partnership with the Parish Council. The funding is being made available through the Canoe Foundation and the closing date for applications is the 28 February 2025. Find out more
 

Grants Available for Disabled Individuals and Groups to Play Tennis
Disabled individuals as well as disability groups, tennis clubs, schools, and associations across the UK that work with disabled people can apply for grants from the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust to support participation in tennis. Individuals may receive up to £600, while groups, clubs, or projects can obtain up to £1,600. The grants can be used for coaching with LTA-licensed coaches, court hire, tennis wheelchairs, and equipment like rackets. Applicants seeking sports wheelchairs may need to provide a personal contribution. The Trust holds four funding meetings annually; the next application deadline is 13 April 2025. Find out more

Training

Tobacco & Cannabis Training -Cannabis is the most widely used drug in the world. This course aims to provide practitioners working with young people a deeper understanding of cannabis, giving you and your staff team the knowledge, tools and confidence to open up a conversation around cannabis use with your service users. LANDED is a young persons' charity based in Scotland. One of their services is to provide staff training opportunities to build the knowledge, understanding and confidence of staff members who work directly with young people. The 1^st date will take place on Thursday 27 February 10am – 4pm in Johnstone, Renfrewshire. Venue to be confirmed. If you are interested in attending this session please email HealthImprovement.Renfrewshire@ggc.scot.nhs.uk with your Name, Job Title, Organisation and contact details.

Families Outside - Training for Professionals on the impact of imprisonment on families

Understanding the issues for families affected by imprisonment
Wednesday 12 March, 9:30am – 12:30pm
https://buytickets.at/familiesoutside/1536929
 
Supporting children and young people who have a family member in prison
Wednesday 19 March, 9:30am – 12:30pm
https://buytickets.at/familiesoutside/1536934
 
Prison and prison visiting
Wednesday 26 March, 9:30am – 12:30pm
https://buytickets.at/familiesoutside/1536986

Connect, Share Learn

Tuesday 4th March 2025 10am – 11am   
In this session we will be joined by representatives from Blackadders Law, Sturrock Comb & Davidson Funeral Directors and The Royal Bank of Scotland as well as our own Claire Lehone from Marie Curie Information and Support team for a panel discussion on Sadmin. "Sadmin is the term given to administrative tasks related to death, dying and/ or bereavement, which can feel upsetting to manage." We would also ask that you email some of your questions in advance to helen.macgregor@mariecurie.org.uk, so that we get the most out of the hour. This is an opportunity to ask the experts and learn about what to consider in relation to admin at end of life in this safe, relaxed space. To book onto this free event use this link:  https://www.trybooking.com/uk/EMME