grantseeking

The Community Development Finance Association has launched its strategy which aims to build the Community Finance sector to address the growing gap between demand for finance and credit availability faced by small businesses, social enterprises and individuals.

The ten point plan summary and key excerpts and link to the manifesto 'Just Finance' (pdf, 2.2MB) are at http://www.cdfa.org.uk/about-cdfis/justfinance/.

The latest report from New Philanthropy Capital is 'Job well done: Employment and mental health problems, a guide for funders'. It identifies effective charities and approaches that are helping people who have mental health problems get back to work.

read more

Lloyds Banking Group are running a national competition based around money management skills. It’s aimed at 16 - 24 year olds in:

• Further education
• Work based learning
• Adult community learning.

Groups of learners can apply for £500 to run activities in their communities, they then submit their project to the competition.

Prizes are donations to a charity of your choice. The UK grand final winners will also have access to a Lloyds Banking Group mentor and £100 of Bonus Bonds.

To enter you need form a team and come up with an idea that helps people to improve their money management skills. You also need a sponser to oversee the project. (The sponser doesn’t have to give any financial committment).

Click here to go to the website.

Deadline: 24 February
Website: www.moneyforlifechallenge.org.uk/

Esmee Fairbairn, one of the larger charitable trusts, has produced a short film to help groups understand what they looking for in applications. While  is obviously particular to them, there are some very useful messages there likely to be common to many funders.

View at http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/funding/main-fund.html

The Community Finance Fund is part of Barclays’ strategy to tackle financial exclusion. It aims to improve the capacity of the community finance sector’s personal and business lending operations in the UK.

£250,000 is available to improve access to affordable credit in the UK by providing existing or seedling community finance providers like credit unions with direct short-term grants of up to £50,000 to deliver services over the course of a 12 month period. The Fund will be repeated in 2013/14.

The grant can be used for:

• Marketing
• Infrastructure
• Product development
• Mergers between businesses
• Delivery of financial capability or money advice services

Who can apply?

Credit unions and CDFIs which meet the following criteria:

• You must be a member of Transact (you can register here)
• You must be an operational business or have received final FSA approval to begin operations
• You must be operational in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland

Deadline: 1 April 2012
Contact: Zoe Dixon, Transact
Address: Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street, London E1 6LS
Telephone: 020 7392 2954
Email zoe.dixon@toynbeehall.org.uk
Website: www.transact.org.uk/page.aspx?sitesectionid=247&sitesectiontitle=2012+Community+Finance+Fund

Doncaster Council plans to procure family support services, to compliment the current children’s centre offer. Doncaster has 21 children’s centres across the borough, working within an Integrated Family Support Service.

The aim of the family support project is to increase confidence and independence of families through the following methods:

- Offering reassurance to parent that their childcare problems are not unique
- Home visits to offer support
- Encouraging parents to be stronger and helping them to enjoy family life.
- The ultimate aim of the project is the well-being of the children supported.

Contract Period:  02 April 2012 for 12 months
Bid Deadline: 02 March 2012 at 12:00

Contact: Allan Madeley, DMBC
Telephone: 01302 737664
Email: allan.madeley@doncaster.gov.uk

European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM) has launched the third round of its grant programme which supports projects by NGOs and charities working on migration and integration issues.

EPIM will provide a limited number of grants for a period of one to three years with budgets ranging from €50,000 to €300,000. In addition, it will promote grantees’ networking and capacity-building efforts.

Successful projects will set out to influence EU policies and their national implementation in one of three defined focus areas:

people seeking asylum
undocumented migrants
equality, integration and social inclusion of vulnerable migrants.

Please visit EPIM’s website to find out about eligibility and how to apply.

Deadline: 1 March 2012
Contact: EPIM
Email: contact@epim.info
Website: www.epim.info/contact-us/

New advanced apprenticeships in campaigning, fundraising and volunteer management have been approved by the National Apprenticeships Service for funding by the Skills Funding Agency, Skills Third Sector has announced. This means that third sector employers can now get help towards the training costs of apprenticeships in these professions.

read more

The Community Development Foundation has released an evaluation report on its Grassroots Grants programme, which provided grants of between £250 and £5,000 to small, local community and voluntary groups in England.

read more

This is a new £37 million fund from the Arts Council that will focus on areas where arts involvement is currently low. Over the next 3 years the Creative People and Places Fund will help people from 71 areas of the country which fall into the lowest 20 per cent of arts engagement to experience and participate in the arts.

In South Yorkshire, Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham are eligible.

Funding will be given to programmes that encourage long term collaborations between local communities and arts organisations, museums, libraries and local authorities.

The programme is open to consortia which can be from the arts or non-arts sectors as long as they meet the aims and objectives of the work are eligible organisations. Click here to see a list of the types of organisation that are eligible.

Each consortium must include representation from the local community and artists and/or arts organisations.

Museums and libraries can be included if they are providing arts based activities and opportunities.

Full details of the application procedure and downloadable guidance notes are available here.

In the first instance, any interested consortia need to register their intention to apply with their regional office by 23 March 2012. You don’t need to submit a proposal at this stage.

Deadline: 13 April 2012
Contact: Arts Council
Telephone: 0845 300 6200 (enquiries team)
Email: An email enquiry form is available on the website
Website: www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-for-funding/strategic-funding/commissioned-grants/creative-people-and-places-fund/

The Steven Gerrard Foundation (SGF) is a new foundation that supports disadvantaged children. UK Registered charities can apply for grants of up to £10,000 per year, for a maximum of three years.

The main focus for SGF is for projects that have a long-term impact on disadvantaged children. Projects must support disadvantaged children addressing the following themes:

• Education and health

• Children with disabilities

• Street children (which includes children for whom the street is a central reference point including those at risk of going onto the streets, working on the streets and/or living on the streets)

• Children going through family breakdown.

Grant giving is also guided by the foundations principles, which are:

• Enabling all children to reach their full potential

• Meeting children’s immediate and long term needs – as outlined by children themselves

• Placing children’s safety and well-being at the heart of what we do

• Sharing learning to enable projects to develop and grow and developing our learning as a Foundation so that we can better help disadvantaged children

• Supporting projects that deliver quality over quantity.

SGF define a child as anyone under the age of 18 years old. Occasionally SGF will consider projects that also but not exclusively support young people (up to 25 years old).

SGF is not a sports charity however some grants may be allocated to projects that help disadvantaged children through sport.

Examples of possible projects from the SGF website are as follows:

• A physiotherapy project for children with disabilities to help them become more mobile

• A drama project that helps children with mental health issues to grow in confidence

• A mentoring project for children affected by family breakdown to support them in making key life choices.

Existing and new projects will be considered. Applications must demonstrate how the project will be sustainable once the funding has ended.

SGF will support projects across the UK however occasionally international projects will be supported. Projects in Liverpool are of particular interest.

Applications forms can be download online for the SGF website here.

For more information visit the SGF website here.

Deadline: 5:00pm, 9 March 2012
Contact: Steven Gerrard Foundation
Telephone: 01704 320 045 (Monday to Wednesday 9am - 5pm)
Email: grants@stevengerrardfoundation.org
Website: www.stevengerrardfoundation.org/grants.htm

As part of our commitment to providing specialist funding support across South Yorkshire, SYFAB have set up a programme of free funding surgeries in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield. These are sessions open to any community or voluntary group. You can book a time to talk to a worker face to face about your projects. In the session we can talk generally about how to find funding, or advise on how to plan and present a project, identify suitable funders, or prepare applications.

We are also putting together a programme of free training events across the county, and details for these will be published shortly.

The surgeries are as follows:

Doncaster: 20 February, 19 March, 23 April, 28 May, 25 June
(at Doncaster CVS)
Rotherham: 28 February, 20 March, 17 April, 15 May, 26 June
(at Voluntary Action Rotherham)
Sheffield: 28 March, 25 April, 22 May, 12 June
(at Voluntary Action Sheffield)
Barnsley: 23 April, 21 May, 18 June
(at Voluntary Action  Barnsley)

You need to contact us to book a place.

Contact: SYFAB
Telephone: 0114 249 4343
Email: enquiries@syfab.org.uk
Website: www.syfab.org.uk

Charity Bank and the Charity Technology Trust (CTT) have an anonymous online survey to gather information about how the economic crisis is affecting charities, social enterprises and community organisations.

If you complete the survey you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 M&S voucher.

You can visit the survey here.

Website: http://ctt-news.org/O-AOL-55IOLBJ79-9E0H0-OP03-1/s2.aspx

Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council (DMBC) are inviting providers of adult learning disability services to find out about the upcoming tender for supported living services in Doncaster.

Venue: To be confirmed
29 February 2012, 12:00pm - 4:30pm

You must book a place, and place are limited; therefore it is advised to book early.

For further information and/or to book a place at the event please contact Janet Siddons and be prepared to provide the following details:

• Name

• Organisation

• Postal address

• Contact telephone number

• Number of places required.

Deadline for bookings: 10 February 2012
Contact: Janet Siddons, Contracts Officer, Learning Disabilities
Telephone: 01302 735 536
Email: janet.siddons@doncaster.gov.uk

The Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) have announced Small Charity Week 2012 will be happening from 11 - 15 June 2012.

The week aims to raise the profile of small charities. The week will run as it did last year, Monday is I Love Small Charities Day, Tuesday is the Big Advice Day, Wednesday is Policy Day, Thursday is Fundraising Day and Friday is Celebration Day.

There are various ways that charities can get involved, from fundraising, to attending FSI events or auctioning items on ebay to raise money for their charity.

For more information visit the FSI website here.

Contact: FSI
Telephone: 020 7009 3543
Email: info@thefsi.org
Website: www.thefsi.org/2012/01/small-charity-week-major-announcement

The Communities Minister, Andrew Stunell, is inviting community and voluntary organisations to apply for a share of £100 million, which has been set aside to revitalise communities by bringing the empty homes in their areas back into use.

The scheme is assisted by the New Homes Bonus, which rewards councils for making use of empty homes. Tribal Education Ltd will be administering the Empty Homes Community Grants Programme on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

Successful applications will:

• Bring empty home back into use as affordable housing
• Deliver value for money
• Have the support of the local authority
• Have an expected completion date before 31 March 2015.

An application form can be downloaded from the Grants Admin website here.
Additional guidance is available on the Department’s website here.

Deadline: 17 April 2012

Contact: Grants Programme Administrator, Tribal Education Ltd
Telephone: 0845 603 1869
Email: info@grantsadmin.co.uk
Website: http://www.grantsadmin.co.uk/empty_homes/

Sheffield City Council, working with ParkThatBike, have introduced a new scheme to provide free bike stands to small organisations, businesses and community groups. The stands are free, but the organisations will need to pay for the stands to be installed.

There are 100 stands available across Sheffield, and these will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. Organisations can apply by completing an online application form here.

Deadline: None, but get applications in as soon as possible.

Contact: Peter Andrews, ParkThatBike
Telephone: 01594 564 344
Website: www.parkthatbike.com/freeStands.cfm

The Community First Panels for the follwing wards in North East Sheffield, Burngreave, Firth Park, Shiregreen and Brightside or Southey, are launching grants of up to £2,500 for community groups and projects.

Downloadable documents with information about the funding, an application form and guidance are available from the North East Community Assembly website here.

Priorities are agreed by each of the Ward panels, so check out those for your ward. They will be based around the Assembly’s Community Plan:

• Improved public spaces

• Community support and people getting on together

• More things for children and young people to do

• Getting people out of poverty and into work

• Reducing health inequalities.

The decisions of which groups will be recommended for funding will be made by Community First Panels made up of members of the local community, but these have not yet been formalised. The forms are available now for groups to pull the required information together ready for submission, and the Assembly will advise where to send completed forms when the panels have been registered.

First deadline: 27 February 2012
Contact: North East Community Assembly
Telephone: 0114 203 7562
Email: communityassemblynortheast@sheffield.gov.uk
Website: http://northeastassembly.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/community-first-funding-your-chance-to-apply-for-funding-for-your-community-group-or-a-project-to-make-your-area-a-better-place-to-live/

This is the fifth round of a European scheme that will fund the development of ICT-based solutions which help older people to continue managing their daily activities in their home. It will also fund ICT-based solutions which support informal carers of older people.

The Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme will be launched at the end of February 2012.

There will be an information event on 13 March 2012 in Brussels which all potential applicants are advised to attend. Those wishing to go should register their interest by sending an e-mail to Jacqueline Teller before 24 February 2012.

Deadline: end of May 2012
Contact: Jacqueline Teller
Email: Jacqueline.teller@aal-europe.eu
Website: www.aal-europe.eu/news-and-events/pre-announcement-of-the-5th-call-for-proposals-of-the-aal-jp

Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR) is running 2 workshops in February and March for people interested in getting involved with the running of a community organisation.

The workshops are free and will last a couple of hours, they will be held in the evening at The Spectrum. Contact Julie Adamson for details about dates and times. You need to book a place.

Venue: The Spectrum, Coke Hill, Rotherham S60 2HX.

Contact: Julie Adamson, VAR
Telephone: 01709 834 465
Email: julie.adamson@varotherham.org.uk
Website: www.varotherham.org.uk/volunteer-centre-news-volunteering/4210-new-workshop-to-promote-trustees-and-management-committee-members-starts-soon