xPRESS Digest - regeneration funding news

The National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and The Office for the Third Sector (OTS) have launched Funding Central www.fundingcentral.org.uk, a new free website for comprehensive information about national, local and regional government funding, national, local or regional charitable funding, and EU funding.

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© Third Sector National Learning Alliance

19 June 2009

More than 3,000 people are to benefit from £3 million of additional funding for training to help them find work. The extra money, available through the Government’s skills support package - ScotAction - will help to support individuals who have been made redundant or who are facing redundancy. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop announced the European Social Fund money on a visit to the Access Partnership in Edinburgh, which helps unemployed people to upskill and find work.

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© The Scottish Government

19 June 2009

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today launched a £3 million loan fund, which will help support small and medium businesses that are struggling to secure finance during the recession. The fund, part of the Mayor’s Economic Recovery Action Plan, is designed to bridge the funding gap being experienced by many small companies who have viable business plans but are failing to access funds from traditional source such as banks. It is fully focused on helping businesses retain jobs and support job creation in the capital.

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© eGov monitor

12 June 2009

The most deprived communities in England can from today apply for funding to provide world class places for young people to go to as Children and Young People’s Minister, Beverley Hughes, announces a further £31.6m of funding through the myplace programme. Following the success of the first round of myplace projects, the Big Lottery Fund will deliver on behalf of DCSF, a further £31.6m of grants ranging between £1m and £5m each.

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© department for children, schools and families

5 June 2009

Social enterprises which improve the quality of health and social care for local communities can now apply for loans and grants from the Department of Health’s Social Enterprise Investment Fund, Care Services Minister Phil Hope announced today. The Fund has helped 200 social enterprises by investing over £20 million since it was first launched in 2007. There is more than £70 million available for start-up and existing social enterprises over the next three years.

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© eGov monitor

12 June 2009

A recycling project, employment service and credit unions are among the first organisations to receive support from the Scottish Government’s £12 million Third Sector Enterprise Fund. Finance Secretary John Swinney said 12 grants from the fund would help a range of enterprising organisations around Scotland grow and expand their services. Mr Swinney said: In an economic downturn, it is vital that we harness the ability of Scotland’s Third Sector to connect with some of the most vulnerable people in society and create valuable employment opportunities

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© The Scottish Government

12 June 2009

The Office of the Third Sector has announced new grants for volunteer managers in the UK over the next two years. Run by public body Capacitybuilders, the programme will see a total of £3 million allocated to a number of volunteering development organisations with a view to offering appropriate training to those who manage volunteers.

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© Adfero Ltd

11 June 2009

From 1 June to 17 July, third sector organisations with an annual turnover of between £150,000 and £750,000 are invited to apply online for a £1,000 bursary from the Government’s Modernisation Fund Grants Programme which is being delivered by Capacitybuilders. The funding is focused on helping organisations to increase their impact and become more resilient through working more closely with others, and is a key part of the Government’s action plan announced earlier this year for the third sector; ‘Real Help for Communities: Volunteers, Charities and Social Enterprises’.

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© Capacitybuilders

1 June 2009

Are you a community or charitable organisation that is looking to extend your work with a laptop and a year’s free broadband?  f so, you could apply for a BT Community Connections award today. BT Community Connections is an award scheme which enables community and charitable organisations to get online and make use of information and communications technology (ICT). Organisations, working in any field of community benefit, located throughout the UK or ROI can apply for a laptop and a year’s free broadband connection.   There are more than 1,000 award packages available to groups who can demonstrate how an award will benefit their work and the local community.

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© BT

3 June 2009

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) has announced a new £4.4 million fund to support small businesses that want to invest in green technology. Focusing mainly in biomass, the Improving Your Resource Efficiency fund will cover up to 50 per cent of the purchase costs for energy efficient products such as solar panels up to a value of £175,000 and will run until 2012.

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© englandsnorthwest.com

2 June 2009

A £2million fund has been launched today, providing grants of between £100,000 and £500,000 to new projects that can demonstrate significant carbon savings - accelerating the Northwest region’s transition to a low carbon economy. The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) is inviting expressions of interest in The Carbon Challenge Fund, which is targeting organisations and businesses that show an innovative and replicable approach to energy efficiency, renewable energy, low carbon transport and construction. The NWDA has made up to £2 million available to the fund, which is a key part of the Northwest Climate Change Action Plan. The Action Plan is the document that sets out the Northwest’s mission to become the leading region on climate change by 2020, and is being delivered by the group of organisations that make up Northwest Climate Change Partnership

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© Northwest Regional Development Agency

22 May 2009

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced a new £10.2 million Strategic Funding Programme, providing three-year project-based funding of up to £450,000 for community and voluntary sector organisations and social enterprises. A first priority area will fund organizations providing guidance, advice and advocacy services in areas including education, health and employment, as well building capacity where there are gaps in local provision, for example for women who have experienced violence. A second priority area will support increased co-operation between groups — including ethnic or religious communities — in areas where there are known tensions.

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© rise

20 May 2009

The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), promotes the conservation and regeneration of historic buildings in the UK. Funding is available to voluntary organisations to regenerate historic buildings to create community into education facilities, workspace and homes. To be eligible to apply for funding through the AHF, organisations need to be a registered charity and the building(s) must be listed, scheduled as an ancient monument or in a Conservation Area (if in a Conservation Area, it must be of acknowledged historic or architectural importance).

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© Highlands and Islands Arts

20 May 2009

Communities taking control of their food can save money and eat well in spite of the Recession and global price increases. That’s the message from Making Local Food Work, a Big Lottery funded programme that aims to change the way a million people buy their food. By coming together and linking directly with local producers, community members can benefit from economies of scale, the freshest produce and knowing exactly where their food comes from and how it was produced.

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© Plunkett Foundation

20 May 2009

The Nationwide Foundation has launched a £3.2m grants programme for charities dealing with financial exclusion, housing issues and homelessness. The fund will be split between a small grants programme and an investor programme. The investor programme will offer three-year grants of up to £300,000 to charities with annual incomes of up to £10m. One-off grants of up to £5,000 for charities with incomes below £500,000 will be offered through the small grants programme. Charities offering financial and housing support to victims of domestic abuse and to elderly people will be the fund’s main beneficiaries.

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© ruralnet|uk

14 May 2009

Denham calls for a ‘summer of learning’ in keynote speech during Adult Learners’ Week
Organisations can bid for a share of £20 million in Government cash from today to open up and promote informal learning for adults and young people across the country. In a speech to NIACE’s Annual Policy Conference, Skills Secretary John Denham kicked off the bidding process, publishing a prospectus designed to show how a wide range of groups and partnerships of all sizes can win funding. The deadline for bids is July 12 this year but an “early bird” funding pot of £1 million is available for ideas submitted by June 12.

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© eGov monitor

13 May 2009

A further two funding rounds for Rural Priorities will take place in 2009 - one in August and one in November - it has been announced today. The deadline for completed applications to be assessed in August is June 22 and for November it will be September 21. Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead also stated that £10 million will be made available for capital investment through the August funding round to aid Scotland’s economic recovery.

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© The Scottish Government

7 May 2009

Scotland’s towns feeling the pinch in the economic downturn can now bid for their share of the £60 million Town Centre Regeneration Fund. Applications for the scheme which aims to revitalise the country’s hard pressed high streets are now open. The fund will complement efforts already underway to support town and city centres across Scotland which are feeling the effects of the economic downturn. A wide range of bodies including local authorities, Community Planning Partnerships, business Improvement Districts, Town Centre Managers, local Chambers of Commerce, businesses and third sector groups are eligible to apply.

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© eGov monitor

1 May 2009

Arts Council England is set to invest £40 million in art organisations and artists over the next two years, it has announced. Sustain is a new, open-application fund that will aid arts groups hit by the economic downturn with a view to ensuring long-term sustainability. The funding will come from the Arts Council’s lottery income and will range from between £75,000 and £3 million. Available grants will also increase by £4 million to £56 million in the next two years, also supported by lottery money.

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© Adfero Ltd

7 May 2009

The Government is today launching a £5.5 million programme to bring older and younger generations together in their communities. The pot of money will fund 12 intergenerational projects across the country where young and older people can engage with each other on equal terms, break down barriers and challenge negative stereotypes.

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© Department for Children, Schools and Families

20 April 2009