Funding update

Here are some details of new and existing grant schemes that you may want to consider:

All Our Stories – Heritage Lottery Fund

• The Heritage Lottery Fund has created the All Our Stories grant programme to support the BBC series “The Great British Story – A People’s History” to encourage the promotion of local heritage.
• Grants are available to support activities which explore, share and celebrate heritage in the local area, including investigating archives, visiting historic sites and exploring people’s memories.
• Information learnt from research into historic sites, learning about local customs and traditions and investigating archives should be shared with other people in the community via the production of informative material (display boards, an exhibition, guides, smart phone apps, DVDs, websites, leaflets, books or school packs) or by holding a community event.
• Grants of between £3,000 and £10,000 are available.
• The scheme is open to voluntary and community organisations, including heritage organisations and charities.
• The deadline for applications is 31 July 2012.
• www.hlf.org.uk/HowToApply/programmes/Pages/Allourstories.aspx or telephone 020-75916042

• This scheme is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and has been set up to support firms in sectors including food, tourism, forestry and farming.
• The grants will enable entrepreneurs in rural areas to take life-changing opportunities to grow their businesses, increasing their competitiveness, productivity and environmental efficiency as well as their profits.
• Individual businesses could receive grants of between £25,000 to £1 million for up to 40% of the cost of the project.
• The deadline for the receipt of applications under the programme’s first round is 30 April 2012.
• Rural entrepreneurs and existing rural businesses in England, including farm and micro, small and medium sized businesses in sectors such as food, tourism, forestry and farming are all eligible to apply.
• http://rdpenetwork.defra.gov.uk/funding-sources/rural-economy-grant or telephone 08459-33

• This fund is due to open in April 2012 and is aimed at arts and heritage organisations with little or no fundraising experience.
• Grants of between £15,000 and £25,000 will be awarded to organisations for the purpose of building fund-raising capacity and capability so that they can attract new donors, strengthen their financial resilience and enhance their artistic output or engagements with the public.
• Types of activity could include; freeing up the leadership of an organisation to fundraise, improving the organisation's appeal and image to attract new funders, collaborating with other arts and heritage organisations to attract new funders or applying fundraising tools and techniques used by other types of organisations to attract funding.
• For further information visit their website
  

Ford Britain Trust

• This fund support projects focussing on education, the environment, young people, youth activities, the disabled and projects that provide clear benefits to the local communities close to the Ford UK locations.
• The small grant scheme provides grants of up to £250 (4 rounds per year)
• The large grant scheme provides grants of between £250 and £3,000 (2 rounds per year)
• The eligible area around the Southampton Ford plant includes both Lyndhurst and Romsey.
• For further information visit the website on www.ford.co.uk/AboutFord/CorporateSocialResponsibility/FordBritainTrust
  

Energyshare Fund

• The Energyshare Fund aims to give communities the opportunity to save energy and get involved in sourcing, using and generating their own renewable energy.
  
• There are two levels of grants available – 3 grants of £2,500 (no match funding required) and 5 grants of £5,000 (the first to raise £5,000 from alternative sources).
  
• Communities may also receive help from experts in the field including planners, suppliers and independent renewable advisers.
  
• The scheme will fund projects which have the objective of saving or generating energy locally, are supported by the local community, will benefit the community and have a tangible and lasting impact.
  
• Funding is available to organisations which are community-led including schools, registered charities and registered community groups.
  
• The project should be completed within 12 months of the fund being allocated.
  
• The second round is open to applications now with a deadline of 10 May 2012.
• www.energyshare.com/community-fund/
  

• This is a rolling programme which supports the development of grassroots sport.
• The scheme makes awards to organisations running projects aimed at increasing participation in sports at community level by matching eligible sponsorship pound for pound, up to a maximum of £100,000.
• The scheme is open to formally constituted not-for-profit organisations and statutory bodies.
• Grants of between £1,000 and £100,000 are available.
• http://funding.sportengland.org or telephone 0845-8508508.

• Big Society Capital is a new independent financial institution. Its initial funding comes from unused cash in bank accounts that have been dormant for more than 15 years.
• Big Society Capital offers investments in Social Investment Intermediaries (SIFIs) that provide appropriate and affordable finance and support to social sector organisations that are working to tackle social problems in the UK. Big Society will not be providing funding or finance directly to frontline social sector organisations, but will work through intermediaries.
• Loan investments will be between £500,000 and £15 million.
• Investments are available for the following; capitalisation and balance sheet growth, risk and working capital, sustainability and operational growth, market mechanisms and infrastructure and advice, skills and information.
• For more information visit http://www.bigsocietycapital.com/

• This fund is administered by the Museums Association and has been developed from the Esmee Fairbairn Museum and Heritage Collections strand and the MA’s Effective Collections Programme.
• The Applicants can apply for grants of between £20,000 and £100,000 for collections activities including research, loans and conservation. The work should improve the understanding of collections, the appreciation of potential collections and the use of collections.
• The Fund is open to all museums and galleries in the UK. Applicants are normally expected to be Accredited (or working towards this).
• The first 2012 deadline is 31 May 2012.
• www.museumassociation.org/collections/18022011-esmee-fairbairn-collections-fund or telephone 020-74266933