Funding Opportunities

National Heritage Lottery Fund has launched a £50m emergency fund.  

It aims to address immediate pressures over the next 3-6 months for those most in need as well as provide increased investment in essential digital skills across the sector. On the latter, it will look to provide expertise in critical areas such as digital fundraising, use of social media and communications, and running online events and activities.   

Grants of between £3,000 and £50,000 will be available to organisations that have received funding in the past and are either a current grantee, or still under contract following a previous grant. 

The funder has surveyed more than 1,250 heritage organisations on the effect of the Covid-19 crisis, finding that 82% of respondents reported a high or moderate risk to their organisation’s long-term viability.  

Some 35% said their financial reserves will be depleted within four months, while 46% of organisations can survive for no more than six months.  

More information here  (opens in a new tab)

Sport England has announced a £195 million package to help sport and physical activity through coronavirus. 

This funding will help Sport England partners, clubs and community organisations cope with the short and long-term impact of the pandemic. 

This support includes: 

• A £20 million Community Emergency Fund, which will be opened immediately for clubs and community organisations to bid into. Grants between £300 and £10,000 are available 
• A £5 million pot for existing partners to bid into if they’re facing specific financial difficulty 
• An additional £55 million to support our sector during an ongoing period of restrictions, to fund new and innovative ways to keep people active and, when the period of restrictions is over, to help organisations get back to business and adjust to a different environment 
• A £115 million rollover of current funding into 2021/22 to give long-term certainty to over 100 well established partners who play a vital role in the delivery of sport and physical activity in England. 

You can read more about this, including eligibility criteria and how to apply, here.  (opens in a new tab)

Arts Council England (ACE) has made £160m of emergency funding available to organisations and individuals who will need it during the COVID-19 crisis.

The funding requirements for individuals and organisations currently in receipt of funding have also changed. 

Find out more here (opens in a new tab) 

TPT has launched a £500,000 emergency fund to support sight loss organisations which are providing vital services to blind and partially sighted people during the Covid-19 pandemic.   

TPT has suspended its normal grant funding activities, postponed the launch of its revised grant programme and will use funds previously allocated to its normal grant programme to provide this essential support to partners in the sight loss sector. 

You can find more information here  (opens in a new tab) 

 Deadline 3rd June 

The Standard Life Foundation has launched funding for work directly related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Grants will be made to organisations which tackle financial problems and improve living standards for those on low-to-middle incomes in the UK. It is likely that grants will be made in the range of £5,000 to £50,000, however, there is no set amount that people can apply for.  

More information here  (opens in a new tab) 

The Indigo Trust is making £2.5m available through emergency grants to help charities respond to the coronavirus emergency. The trust responded to an initiative from charity think tank New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), which has published guidance for philanthropists on how to best support charities through to the crisis. 

More information here  (opens in a new tab) 

NET has launched a coronavirus fundraising appeal to raise funds for local charities. The British Red Cross will be managing donations.  

NET will award grants and distribute money raised through a number of charitable organisations, for example local community foundations. It released the first £2.5m to community foundations on 26 March. 

You can find some more information here (opens in a new tab) 

Deadline 31st May 2021

The Forestry Commission today (Monday 30 March) opens round two of the Urban Tree Challenge Fund, which is for community and volunteer groups, town councils and individuals to apply for a share of the £10million pot to increase tree numbers in urban areas through small scale planting projects. 

As Round 2 is partly targeted at community and volunteer groups, we ask you adhere to government guidelines and do not meet in person to discuss your application. Application forms are available online and we suggest they are discussed by your group virtually. We can only accept emailed applications during this time. 

The successful applicants of Round 2 will not be expected to plant their trees until the next tree planting season (winter 2020/21), and it is our hope that COVID-19 will not impact on tree planting activity. However, due to the group nature of this activity, we will reassess this in the future to follow government guidelines. 

You can find more information here (opens in a new tab) 

In this time of national crisis, CAF has launched this rapid response Fund to help smaller charitable organisations affected by the impact of Covid-19. Grants of up to £10,000 will help them to continue to deliver much needed support to our communities across the UK.    

This is intended as a rapid response fund, and they aim to make payments to selected organisations within 14 days of application. 

They anticipate high numbers of applicants and unfortunately it is likely that they will not be able to offer a grant to all eligible applicants. 

Organisations with a charitable purpose and charitable activities, which had income of £1million or less in their last financial year can apply 

For more information go to the Charities Aid Foundation  (opens in a new tab) 

Deadline 1st May   

The Irish Youth Foundation is an independent charity formed in Ireland in 1985.  The Irish Youth Foundation (UK) was established in 1989. 

The Foundation supports projects that work to improve the lives of disadvantaged young people and children aged between 0-30 years in England, Scotland and Wales and 0-25 years in Northern Ireland, with particular emphasis on those of Irish heritage. A wide range of projects are funded, which should address the following areas: 

• Training/counselling. 
• Drug rehabilitation. 
• Advice/advocacy. 
• Youth work. 
• Family support. 
• Homelessness. 
• Educational, cultural and social activities. 
• Cross-community initiatives. 
• Travellers. 
• Disability. 

For more information go to the website  (opens in a new tab)