Funding Opportunities

Deadline 14^th May

The Road Safety Trust, an independent charitable trust, works to support projects and research that will make the UK’s roads safer for all road users and reduce the numbers of people killed or injured on UK roads.

The Trust provides funding to public and professional UK organisations, including charities and university departments, for projects that are innovative and will enhance the knowledge and practice of the road safety community. Projects should focus on engineering, infrastructure and technological measures, while recognising the contribution of education and enforcement to these measures.

There are two strands of funding:

• Major themed grants focus on a theme each year. In 2020 the Trust is inviting applications under the specific theme of ‘How can technology be used to reduce road offending and improve road safety?’
• The Small Grants Programme aims to improve road safety at a local level. Projects do not have to be linked to the major theme. Eligible projects are pilots/trials, expanding successful trials across a new area, and/or the evaluation of interventions. Projects should have the potential for being brought to scale – with the ultimate goal of reducing deaths and injuries both locally and across the UK.

The Major Themed Grants Programme is open for applications between 14 February 2020 and 14 May 2020.

The Small Grants Programme will be open for applications between September and December 2020.

For more information go to the Road Safety Trust

Deadline 27^th April

Grants are available for the UK’s most talented young instrumentalists in any genre, aged five to 17 years of age who, because of financial need, may be prevented from fulfilling their creative potential.

Up to £100,000 is awarded each year.

The average award is £500; however, applicants can request up to £2,000.

As well as providing financial assistance AYM aims to support award winners with the following:

• Mentoring
• Workshops with professional musicians.
• The chance to observe professional orchestras and other ensembles in rehearsal.
• Free tickets to concerts and performance opportunities.

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

Deadline 20^th February

Support is available to charities and social enterprises working in the homelessness sector in England to make the transition to new enterprises or to grow existing ones.

Individual packages of financial and business support are available for successful applicants. These could include any or all of the following:

• Grants of up to £30,000 to research or test out new ideas, to launch new enterprises or grow existing ones (grants are likely to be conditional on evidence of growing income streams, using methods such as MatchTrading). (opens in a new tab)
• Joining a peer cohort to share enterprise journeys.
• Training and learning opportunities tailored to needs.
• Direct advice and support.

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

Deadline: 25^th February

The funding is intended for local community projects that will contribute to overcoming the barriers some women face in getting active, whether from a lack of opportunities in their local area to the cost and availability of childcare.

Grants are available to a range of organisations for group activities that support women aged 16 years and older to get active by overcoming barriers.

They want to hear from not-for-profit organisations, voluntary or community clubs, registered charities or community interest companies. They will also review ideas from individuals who’d like funding for a group activity which isn’t for individual gain. Organisations established to make a profit can get involved provided the project doesn’t realise a distributable profit. They’d also be interested to hear from other social enterprises and schools or statutory bodies.

What do they want to fund?

Activities that get women’s heart rate up, whatever form that may take: from Bollywood dance and walking to boxing and yoga. Decisions on which ideas to support will be based on the difference that can be made with the funding rather than the items or services bought with it.

They welcome ideas with a short-term focus as well as those which will provide longer-term support to help women achieve sustainable behaviour change.

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

Deadline 13^th February

Support is available to charities and social enterprises working in the youth sector in England to make the transition to new enterprises or to grow existing ones.

Individual packages of financial and business support are available for successful applicants. These could include any or all of the following:

• Grants of up to £30,000 to research or test out new ideas, to launch new enterprises or grow existing ones (grants are likely to be conditional on evidence of growing income streams, using methods such as MatchTrading).(opens in a new window)
• Joining a peer cohort to share enterprise journeys.
• Training and learning opportunities tailored to needs.
• Direct advice and support.

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

Deadline: 3rd March

Support is available to charities and social enterprises working in the mental health sector in England to make the transition to new enterprises or to grow existing ones.

The Enterprise Development Programme is a five-year, £40 million initiative that is funded by Access – The Foundation for Social Investment and managed by a coalition of partners, including Social Investment Business and the Association of Mental Health Providers.

The programme aims to provide business and financial support to charities and social enterprises in England that are thinking of exploring new enterprise models and require financial or business support to make the transition, with the ultimate aim of taking on social investment in the future. The programme is open to organisations working across a range of sectors, which will vary as the programme runs its course.

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

Grants are available for local groups for projects that address local concerns about crime, safety, security and crime reduction, particularly over the long term, in areas served by Humberside Police.

The Trust aims to improve quality of life by making local communities safer and better places in which to live, work, invest and do business. Through the grants scheme, the Trust hopes to achieve the following:

• Improve quality of life.
• Create a positive image for business and residential communities.
• Make the area a safe place to live, work and invest.
• Protect the vulnerable.
• Promote good citizenship.
• Tackle drug and alcohol misuse.
• Promote sport and good health.
• Improve road safety.
• Protect homes, business and transport.
• Promote a safe and vibrant community.

Local groups from the business, public and voluntary sectors are eligible to apply.

To be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be based and working within the area served by Humberside Police.
• Have, if relevant, clear safeguarding children and vulnerable adult policies in place.
• Be unable to source financing for their project from any other source.

For more information go to the Tribune Trust Fund (opens in a new tab)

From Civil Society

The number of people seeking help from charities following an unexpected change in circumstances has risen over the last four years, according to research from the Association of Charitable Organisations (ACO).

ACO, which represents more than 120 charities that provide financial support in the form of grants, believes that nearly half a million people turned to charities for help in the last financial year.

Around a quarter of ACO members responded to a survey, which found more than 100,000 people applied for financial help in the last financial year. When extrapolated across the ACO’s membership base, it is estimated at least 400,000 people applied for financial help.

In 2015, the charities collectively distributed more than £56m in grants, a figure which rose to more than £60m last year.

The umbrella body found that its members are also seeing an increase in supporting applicants requiring other types of support.

In 2015, 60,584 people received non-financial aid, a figure which increased to 93,308 in 2018.

You can read the rest of the article here (opens in a new tab)