GRCC Funding Newsletter – May 2015
Applying for funding can be daunting and it is important when a project is seeking funding
that it has a clear overview of the project and that careful research on potential sources of
funding has been undertaken to ascertain whether the project fits into the funders overall
aims and objectives. The GRCC advice team are able to give support for any project which is
looking to source grant funding and the following grant sources are those that have recently
been launched or who have application deadlines for May/ June 2015.
For small community based projects try:
‘The Golden Bottle Trust and the Bulldog Trust Funding Initiative'. This 'criteria-free' grantmaking scheme aims to provide small to medium sized charitable organisations with the
chance to access funding of between £1,000 and £30,000 without a complicated and time
consuming application process. The funding is to enable charities to take a step forward in
their development and do something they were not able to do before. The number of
applications accepted for each round of funding is limited to 300 to ensure each one
receives sufficient attention, so it is recommended that applications are sent in as close to
the opening of the round as possible. Find out more here
Persimmon Community Champions aims to fund good causes across the UK and plan to give
away up to £750,000 nationally to fund local community initiatives. If your project already
has some funding in place, perhaps through your own fundraising events then you can
apply for up to £1000 as match funding. The match funding is available to local UK groups
and charities, which have already raised vital funds themselves.
The application process involves completing the online form, explaining why your group or
charity deserves a donation. You will need to include in your application how much you’ve
already raised and how much you want the fund to donate. Remember to include the name
and location of the charity initiative. Please click on this link for more details:
http://www.persimmonhomes.com/charity/
Gloucestershire Community Foundation aims to help local groups, organisations and
charities to address disadvantage and deprivation in Gloucestershire. The Foundation runs
its own grant programme, the GCF ‘Main Grants Programme’ and manages other grant
programmes on behalf of organisations such as Comic Relief.
Any group or organisation in Gloucestershire working to benefit local communities, helping
to improve the lives of disadvantaged people in the county can apply. Grants awarded range
from £250 to £10,000 depending on the programme applied to. Grants of over £5,000 are
only made in exceptional circumstances. Main grant programme deadline: Friday 12 June
and Friday 9 October 2015.
The Community Foundation also manages:
‘High Sheriff of Gloucestershire’s’ grant and the deadline for applications for this is
Thursday 21 May 2015 and one further date to be confirmed.
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GCF Freemasons grant programme: Thursday 18 June and Thursday 22 October 2015
Small grants to individuals can also be made through the ‘Surviving Winter’ grant and
applications to this fund can be submitted at any time. Further information:
http://www.gloucestershirecf.org.uk/apply-for-a-grant/ or 01242 851357
For Community Shop projects which are at the early stages of set up:
The Asda Foundation and Social Investment Business (SIB) have launched the First Steps
Enterprise Fund for community enterprises looking to take on their first loan to help them
move forward from the start-up stage. Loan/grant packages of between £20,000 and
£30,000 (10% will be a grant) are available to charities and social enterprises in the North
West of England (Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside) and
South West of England (Gloucestershire, Bristol, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and
Cornwall) to help them grow their services and become more sustainable. The loan needs to
be repaid within four years at 5%. Proposals must be able to explain how their project
addresses the needs of the community and how it will tackle underlying issues to deliver
benefits to the community. Eligible organisations will have been operating for longer than
one year but less than three years. The deadline for applications is 26th June 2015. Find out
more here
For direct support for a project:
Village SOS is a £1.4million Big Lottery funded learning, outreach and engagement
campaign led by ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) to help rural community
projects survive and thrive helping them to become more enterprising. That might be by
keeping services such as shops or playgroups alive for your village or by starting up a new
enterprise that could create income to benefit your local area. With more and more rural
communities doing it for themselves Village SOS can help to re-establish or reinvent services
and reinvigorate your community.
Projects, potential projects and organisations that provide a service to their local rural
community with a population of fewer than 10,000 are eligible for support. The support
comes in a form of a 5 step package which includes an appointment of a support
organisation, sign posting to mentor’s and other like projects for inspiration and learning,
help drawing up action and business plans and if necessary specialist support for technical
issues:
http://villagesos.org.uk/ or call Chris Cowcher the Village SOS Community Manager on
01285 653477
Funding from the EU:
In summer 2015, you can apply to your Local Action Group (LAG) for LEADER funding for
projects that create jobs, help your business to grow, and benefit the rural economy.
LEADER funding is part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). There are
two LEADER programmes which will apply to Gloucestershire, one based in the Forest of
Dean but also covers areas within Tewkesbury Borough, and one which is based in the
Cotswolds but also covers areas in the Stroud District. You will need to see the maps that
both programmes cover to ascertain whether your project is based within the area eligibility.
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The focus of the LAG programme is for capital funding for projects which help create
employment and which are innovative in approach or area.
A LAG is made up of people from the local community and the local public and private
sector and it is the LAGs role to decide which projects they will fund in their area. This
depends on their priorities but all projects must support one or more of the 6 LEADER
priorities. These are to - support micro and small businesses and farm diversification; boost
rural tourism; increase farm productivity; increase forestry productivity; provide rural
services and provide cultural and heritage activities
If you are interested in applying for funding then you should in the first instance contact the
relevant LAG programme manager
Cotswold AONB - Martin Lane martin.lane@cotswoldsaonb.org.uk or 01451 862000 or
Forest of Dean LAG - Neil Batt - Neil.Batt@fdean.gov.uk or 01594 812608
Then download and complete an ‘Expression of Interest’ Form and return it to the relevant
LAG programme. If successful you will then be invited to submit a formal bid. Please visit
the following for further information
http://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/getting-involved/cotswolds-leader/ and
http://forestofdeanlocalactiongroup.co.uk/
Sports Activities try:
‘Sportivate’ - Active Gloucestershire has funding available for organisations that can deliver
sessions to 11-25 year olds which provide an opportunity to participate in a new sport or
physical activity. Your organisation can use Sportivate funding to …pay for coaches;
purchase equipment; pay for venues and market your organisation, train a coach and to
offer incentives to participants to continue participating in the sport. Projects have to be
delivered between1st April 2015 - 31st March 2016.
Sportivate will fund 6-8 sessions after which there must be an opportunity for participants to
continue with regular activity. They are particularly keen to fund: Projects that are delivered
to males aged 19-25 year olds; Projects that are delivered to females aged 16-25 year olds;
Projects that have a strong focus on the exit route or the deliverer is the exit route; Projects
that target 'consistently inactive' or 'irregularly active' young people. Please refer to
the Sport England Youth Insight Pack for definitions.
All Sportivate projects have to link to a local club / activity provider or continue as a project.
This is to ensure that the participants have the opportunity to continue in the activity
beyond the initial sessions. To support this transition, Sportivate funding can provide
support towards membership fees and incentives.
Applicants need to complete a year five Application Form and ensure that you have read the
Sport England Youth Insight Pack.
Contact in the first instance - Martyn Reeves - martynreeves@activegloucestershire.org 01242 243362
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Childrens Activities
‘Children’s Activity Fund’ - A new grant scheme from Gloucestershire County Council aims
to increase the range of activities and opportunities available to children in the county.
The grant scheme is open to community groups and not for profit organisations; sports
clubs; scout groups; parish and town councils; schools and playgroups.
The aim of the fund is to enhance the wellbeing of children and young people aged five to
18 years old (N.B. The suggested focus of the fund will be for activities for the younger age
group five to 12, because there are other Gloucestershire County Council funded district
based positive activity programmes specifically for young people age 11 – 18) who are
living, studying and playing in Gloucestershire; increasing leisure time and activity
opportunities in their local communities. There is £5,000 of funding available in each of the
53 county council electoral divisions in Gloucestershire.
Note: All applications must be submitted by your relevant councillor. Your local county
councillor will act as the sponsor for any applications in your local area. Before you submit
your application discuss your proposal with them. They will then tell you whether they will
support your application or not. You can find out who your county councillor is by using this
link: http://glostext.gloucestershire.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1
The maximum budget for each area is £5,000 per annum. Grants will be available in this
financial year: 1 April 2015 - 31 March 2016. If you have missed this opportunity or were
unsuccessful in this year's application, another chance to apply will start from the next
financial year 2016/17. See the guidelines and criteria document for more information.
http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/childrensactivityfund
For further information on the Children's Activity Fund please speak to your local county
councillor or email cypactivityfund@gloucestershire.gov.uk
The GRCC Advice team can support projects from start to fruition and with funding
applications. We can also help identify similar projects to put you in touch with to help with
learning and project shaping. We have a wealth of knowledge of funding sources and do
please contact us if you should be looking for funding.
Barbara Pond – bpond@grcc.org.uk – Stroud and Tewkesbury
Kate Baugh – kateb@grcc.org.uk – Forest of Dean area
Helen Richards – helenr@grcc.org.uk – South Cotswolds
Marilyn Cox – marilync@grcc.org.uk – North Cotswolds
GRCC is grateful to the following organisations which enable us to provide funding support
to community groups.
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