Deadline: 12th December 2024

Due to the overwhelming interest in the Warm and Welcoming Spaces grant DVA are now close to fully allocating the available funds. If you wish to apply, please submit your application as soon as possible, and no later than Thursday, 12 December 2024. They encourage you to act promptly to avoid missing this opportunity.

Derbyshire County Council has provided funds to Derbyshire Voluntary Action for a Warm and Welcoming Spaces Grant. A Derbyshire Warm and Welcoming Space is a free and warm, space for people across Derbyshire who are struggling to heat their homes this winter. Grants will be made available to Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations and community-led groups in Derbyshire for the creation or improvement of Warm and Welcoming Spaces for local communities. These grants will be for a minimum of £1000 and maximum of £3000 and this could be spent on a variety of project costs including:

• Additional energy costs
• Furniture and improvement to facilities
• Additional staffing costs to cover extended hours
• Additional cleaning costs to ensure compliance with health protection guidance
• Activities and refreshments
• Additional activity costs.

The amount of funding you can apply for will depend on several factors, including: the capacity of your venue, the number of people you expect to attend, the number of hours you can make this space available and the length of time you can offer your Warm Space.

The Fore offers unrestricted funding to small charities across the UK that are making a big impact and who want to significantly grow, strengthen, become more efficient or resilient. The national funding programme is open to any sector and region within the UK with particular interest in grassroots organisations working with underserved communities.

Unrestricted grants of up to £30,000 spread over one to three years are available. In addition, non-financial support such as access to a network of skilled, pro-bono volunteers, online training workshops and seminars are available to successful charities for life.

The unrestricted funding can be used for any purpose, including core costs and capital funding as long as the grants will help strengthen the organisation internally and help it to take the next step forwards in its growth or sustainability.

Applications will be considered from registered charities (including those constituted as charitable trusts, charitable unincorporated associations, charitable incorporated organisations and charitable companies limited by guarantee), Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs), Community Interest Companies (CICs) limited by guarantee, or Community Benefit Societies and social enterprises that are charitable companies limited by guarantee or CICs limited by guarantee.

To apply for funding, organisations must first register some basic contact details at the start of the funding round. Once their place on the funding round has been confirmed by email, they have three to four weeks to submit an application. Only organisations that have registered with the Fore and are allocated a place may submit an application for the specific funding round.

The Spring 2025 round will open at 12pm (midday) on 4 December 2024 and close at 12pm (midday) on 11 December 2024.

The new Supporting Rural Communities grant programme will open to applications from across the UK on 10 January 2025.

The Royal Countryside Fund has announced that this ‘new differentiated funding will support transformative, community-led initiatives across the UK, unlocking the huge potential for positive change in rural communities’. The aim is to support innovative solutions that will ‘power up, not prop up’ communities, inspiring change and encouraging economic vibrancy.

Not-for-profit community organisations with an income of less than £500,000 a year can apply for grants of up to £25,000 over a period of 24 months to deliver activities along the themes of:

• Keeping young people in the countryside
• Powering up rural communities
• Increasing environmental sustainability
• Building emergency resilience in rural areas.

Support will be focused on isolated rural areas where the activity is required due to a lack of alternative services. Projects must be community led and show that they actively listen to, understand and respond to the needs of their local community. 

The funding is for communities to create tangible change. This could be a project that generates a new income stream for the local community, or the delivery of training to develop skills opportunities for young people. It could also be activities to increase community awareness and engagement in the local environment, or an initiative to bring the community together to plan for the impacts of climate change.

A webinar for prospective applicants will be held on 17 December 2024 (18:00). Registration is required and can be done on Zoom.

Grants are available to help with VAT on the construction, repair and maintenance of public memorial structures in the UK for work which took place on or after 16 March 2005.

The funding is intended to cover the costs of VAT already paid. The maximum grant available is the full rate of VAT (20% of project costs).

Applications will be accepted from registered charities and faith groups excepted from registering as a charity to help with the cost of works like repairing and cleaning public memorials or installing a new memorial. 

The memorial can commemorate a person/people, an animal/s or event/s.

The funding can only be provided for works that have already taken place. It cannot be used for future works. Part-funding is available for ongoing work for parts of the work which have been completed.

Deadline: 7th January 2024

Veolia Environmental Trust is offering grants to constituted, not-for-profit organisations, local authorities, and environmental bodies enrolled with ENTRUST to support projects that make improvements to community facilities and the natural environment in communities located near qualifying Veolia sites across England.

The following grants are available:

• Community Grants between £10,000 and £75,000 for capital improvement/construction projects at a single site, such as community buildings and spaces, outdoor spaces, play and recreational spaces, or installing fixed items such as kitchen cupboards and work surfaces.
• Habitat and Biodiversity Grants between £10,000 and £75,000 for projects resulting in structural improvements for a single habitat that will conserve, restore, and enhance threatened habitats and protect/increase biodiversity.
• Environmental Improvement Grants start at £75,000 for ambitious and imaginative projects that will make a local, regional, national, and global impact on the environment by protecting and expanding threatened habitats and increasing biodiversity.

Limited funding is available each round and grants are awarded to the projects that most closely match the Trust’s funding priorities:

• Protect and enhance biodiversity and natural habitats.
• Inspire the creation of a sustainable carbon-neutral space.
• Promote community action and well-being.
• Are inclusive and accessible to everyone and anyone to use.