Funding Update - October 2008

HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND

Too late to apply, but interesting to note that HLF advertised over the summer for up to 11 people to join its Expert Panel, to advise the Trustee Board and its committees on various areas in line with its new Strategic Plan. Of possible interest to would-be grant applicants are some of the skill-sets HLF were looking for in those wanting to join the Panel, including interpretation, community participation, audience development, volunteering, environmental and financial sustainability.

BIG LOTTERY FUND – COMMUNITY SPACES

The main Community Spaces programme was flagged up in the March 2008 Funding Update, and the small/medium grants scheme was rolled out shortly after. In September, Groundwork UK which manages the programme announced that Large Grants and Flagship Grants would also be available.

In a single bidding round in each England region, four Large Grants (between £50,000 and £100,000) and one Flagship Grant (£100,000 to £450,000) are up for grabs, with application deadlines of 9th January 2009 (Large) and 30th January (Flagship). You do not need any matched funding for the Large Grants – if you do have some, it cannot be more than 50% of the total project cost. The Flagship Grant requires at least £50,000 of matched funding. Projects must be within 2 miles of a residential area and achieve a number of outcomes including better local environments, an increase in access to quality local space, and increasing involvement of people in a practical environmental project. Canal side improvements have been explicitly cited as a possible project type. All projects must be completed by the end of 2012.

The Small (£10,000 to £25,000) and Medium (£25,000 to £50,000) Grants programmes are already up and running and around 1000 grants are expected to be made under these schemes, again with deadlines on when projects need to be completed by. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and tend to be turned round within about 12 weeks.

Full application details on all four strands of the Community Spaces programme are available at  www.community-spaces.org.uk/apply

GRASSROOTS GRANTS
We originally trailed this in the September 2007 Funding Update when it was called Community Organisations Fund, but in mid-August Grassroots Grants was formally rolled out across the regions. This £80m programme spanning 2008-2011 and run centrally by the Community Development Foundation is being distributed through local authority area ‘local funders’, predominantly local Community Foundations, but in some areas the local CVS and Voluntary Action. It is aimed at voluntary/community sector groups with a turnover of less than £20k per annum, so some of the larger waterway-related groups may want to get into partnership with a suitably ‘small’ local partner, in order to take advantage. A full list of funders and how to apply is available from the CDF website  www.cdf.org.uk

LANDFILL COMMUNITIES FUND
From 1st July, there was a 10% increase in the percentage of qualifying contributions for LCF projects that is diverted to the regulator, ENTRUST, in order to meet its expenses. Previously levied at 2%, ENTRUST now takes 2.28% of each qualifying contribution. The increase is largely to fund improvements to services and to its IT systems, and enrolled Environmental Bodies (EBs) are likely to have seen some payback from this investment in recent months.

Through the second half of 2008, ENTRUST have being running training days for EBs – Exeter on 19th November and London on 3rd December remain - and there is a new guidance manual downloadable from the website (www.entrust.org.uk). ENTRUST are currently consulting on the level and type of administration costs incurred on LCF projects, in order that they can consider firming up the rules on what would be admissible. The consultation document is also available from the website and is open for feedback until 7th November.

Finally, ENTRUST would like to include a number of case studies on the literature it puts out to would-be applicants, and is inviting past applicants to submit a brief résumé of their project, its aims and outcomes of the project, together (where possible) with a photo and a quote. Again, more details on the website.

WREN
Waste Recycling Group’s subsidiary WREN has launched a new Small Grants Scheme under the auspices of the Landfill Communities Fund, aimed at projects under £50,000 that can make a real difference to a community. Grants of between £2,000 and £15,000 are available, but the project must be with 10 miles of a WRG landfill site, and the project must fall within a list of specific categories, one of which is towpaths ! If your project type doesn’t fall under the Small Grants listing, you will probably still be able to apply under the less restrictive Main Grants Scheme. Full details are on the WREN website (www.wren.org.uk/how-to-apply/small-grants)

MENTAL HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The mental health charity MIND has been granted £7.5m under Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme. The ‘Ecominds’ project is looking to fund around 125 different projects

“to help people with direct experience of mental distress become involved in environmental projects that improve mental and physical health and local communities”.

Projects must have a total cost below £250,000 and be capable of delivery within five years. More details on www.mind.org.uk/ecominds

HOW2FUNDRAISE.ORG
Another day, another website designed to help you fundraise. This one – www.how2fundraise.org

does at least have the credentials of being the brainchild of the Institute of Fundraisers, with funding for the project coming from Vodafone UK Foundation and the Office of the Third Sector. Intended to “offer ideas and answers, to inspire and support volunteer fundraisers”

the website was launched in June by Minister Phil Hope. It really will rely on users to ‘populate’ the site, and at the moment it still has the feel of a multi-roomed library with very few books in it, but give it time and it will hopefully be a useful tool.

GRANT-MAKING TRUSTS

The Directory of Social Change has recently issued the sixth (2008/09) editions of its four guides to local grant-making trusts. Covering the North of England, South of England, the Midlands and Greater London, the guides are available at £34.95 each from DSC (www.dsc.org.uk) or the ubiquitous Amazon.

As with motor cars, as soon as new models come out, there is a ready market in second-hand versions – expect your local library to be awash with the fifth editions any time soon, and they will be almost as useful as the new ones at a fraction of the price.

Andy Screen