Rex Hall Associates (RHA) FUNDING UPDATE January 2010

This bulletin offers a funding update. It intends to highlight funding opportunities that may be useful in extending learning opportunities to children and young people.

Improvements Made to The Gifted & Talented Programme (England)
The Department for children, schools and families has announced that the country's brightest and most able children are to get more and better support through the Government's Gifted & Talented (G&T) programme. The G&T programme aims to target the most disadvantaged gifted learners aged 14 to 19 to help them develop the knowledge and skills during their school careers to win a place at a competitive university. The key stands of the new programme include:
• a £250 annual scholarship for up to four years to help them develop their particular gift or talent from 2010
• a new online catalogue of learning opportunities provided at local authority, regional and national level where pupils can 'shop' for opportunities that suit their particular gift
• a new network of High Performing Specialist Schools that will focus on G&T as part of their specialism to work alongside local authorities in improving the quality of support for G&T learners across the country.
Since January 2009, 170 schools have been identified and will receive £10,000 pa funding.
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0142

Community Matters
Supermarket chain, Waitrose will award funding of £2,2 million over the next year to nearly 7,000 charities and local good causes. The funding is being made through a new initiative called Community Matters. Through this scheme, Waitrose will allocate £1,000 a month to each of it's 190 branches to distribute amongst three local community projects as chosen by its customers and employees. As part of the scheme, each customer will be given a token at the checkout that they can place into a box representing their preferred good cause - the amount of money each charity receives will be in direct proportion to the number of tokens customers allocate. Each month, staff then get to vote on which three applications will be funded. To be considered for a donation, good causes and charities are asked to get in touch with their local Waitrose branch. Please contact your nearest Waitrose store for details.
http://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/Display.aspx?MasterId=a4e17b78-fb5b-40d2-9499-46154da7dd91&NavigationId=1235


SPORT

UnLtd Sport Relief Awards (UK)
UnLtd are working in partnership with Comic Relief to run UnLtd Sport Relief. Aimed at young people, the Awards provide awards of up to £10,000 to young people who want to use sport or the arts to address a social problem or conflict within their community. As well as cash, UnLtd also provide a support package for successful applicants including one to one support, practical training and the chance to network with other Award Winners. There are three categories of wards:
• Try it which is aimed at 11 – 21 year olds and provides grants of up to £1,000 to try out a new idea.
• Shape it which is aimed at 11 – 21 year olds and provides funding of up to £5,000 to develop an idea.
• Do it which is aimed at 18 – 21 year olds and provides funding of up to £10,000 to grow a project.
Applications can be submitted at any time.
http://unltd.org.uk/template.php?ID=110&PageName=sportrelief

UnLtd Sport Relief Awards(UK)
UnLtd, the charity that supports Social Entrepreneurs, is accepting applications under its Sport Relief Grants Programme. UnLtd Sport Relief Awards are funded by Comic Relief and provide opportunities for young people to bring communities together, to help promote understanding and solve problems through sport, arts and recreational activities. The UK wide funding programme is for 11-21 year olds, who are prepared to go the extra mile and use their passion for sport and arts to bring respect and understanding to their communities by setting up their own projects. There are three funding streams that young people can apply for. These are:
• “Try it” which provides grants of up to £1,000 for young people to try out their idea
• “Shape it” which provides grants of up to £5,000 to develop ideas
• “Do it” which provides grants of up to £10,000 to grow projects.
Applications can be submitted at any time.
http://unltd.org.uk/template.php?ID=110&PageName=sportrelief

ARTS 


Community Voices (England)
The Media Trust, one of the UK’s largest communications charity, is looking to engage and support disadvantaged and isolated communities across England to get their voices heard through digital media. Running until March 2011, Community Voices will provide funding for 26 grassroots groups, alongside one major new initiative and a further 40 small grants of £500 for specific digital projects. There will be:
• Ten grants of £1,500
• Ten grants of £7,000
• Six grants worth £14,000 and £61,000 to fund one major new initiative.
Community Voices will also provide comprehensive tools and resources for communities and community organisations of all sizes to increase engagement through digital media. Applicants could include:
• Projects already using digital media to develop their work with a specific community (perhaps a library with an online access programme looking to work with an identified deprived or isolated community)
• More formal community organisations looking to develop digital media to engender community voice and cohesion (perhaps a carers' trust looking to use digital technology to support isolated informal carers in their homes)
• More informal communities looking to embrace digital media (perhaps a residents' or tenants' association in a deprived community looking to use digital media as a mechanism to bring residents together).
Organisations interested in applying should register their interest via the Media Trust website. The deadline for registering has as yet not been set.
http://www.mediatrust.org/communityvoices

Youth Music Grant Making Programme (England & Wales)
Through its “Open Programme”, grants of between £5,000 and £30,000 are available to support projects that provide structured, regular and progressive music-making activities for children and young people in support of Youth Music’s goals of working with Early Years, Children and Young People in Challenging Circumstances, Encouraging Talent and Workforce Development. Youth Music will fund any non profit-making organisation more than one year old, that is committed to music-making activities for children and young people up to 18 (or up to 25 if they have special educational needs, disabilities or are in detention). For example community music organisations; organisations that represent young people's music-making; education authorities' music services or music trusts; schools working in partnership; professional arts organisation; singing groups; and youth groups.
http://www.youthmusic.org.uk/looking_for_music_funding/Open_programme.html 




Borough Film Fund (London)
Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Film London have announced that more boroughs than ever have chosen to join the successful fund, which was first launched in 2006. 23 boroughs are now involved in London Borough Film Fund Challenge, a short film-making scheme which this year introduces a new strand: Film London in 90 Seconds. Working in partnership with the capital’s local authorities the LBFFC aims to discover grassroots talent, stimulate local film-making and develop new skills. Open to all local residents of the participating boroughs, the film funds offer £500 - £4,000 towards the production of a short film. The scheme is run and funded by the participating boroughs, with Film London providing financial support as well as dedicated advice and resources. Each participating borough has its own application deadline. For more information on the application deadlines please click on the link below.
http://www.filmlondon.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1073




VARIOUS
J Paul Getty Junior Charitable Trust Re-opens for Applications (England)
Following a review and revision of its funding guidelines, the J Paul Getty Junior Charitable Trust has re-opened for grant applications. Under the new guidelines the Trust will make grants of up to £250,000 in the areas of social welfare as well as the arts and heritage. In particular, the trust is seeking to support projects:
• In the areas of reducing re-offending
• Improving the prospects of young people, refugees and asylum seekers
• Integrating different social and ethnic groups
• Tackling substance misuse and homelessness; preserving heritage
• Sustaining the arts.
The Trust will usually only support registered charities in England, although applications may sometimes be considered from other parts of the United Kingdom if the project is likely to be of nationwide significance. Occasionally, the Trust will fund organisations of comparable charitable status, such as Industrial Provident Societies or Community Interest Companies, but only where there is a very strong connection with one or more of the Trust’s current funding priorities.
Applications can be made at any time.
http://www.jpgettytrust.org.uk/index.html

Community Cash Awards (UK)
Young people are being given the chance to claim a share of £1 million to help tackle the dangers of drugs, crime and play a positive role in their community. The Royal Bank of Scotland Community Cash Awards will see £1 million of grants being distributed by youth charity “The Prince’s Trust” to young people who want to run community projects in some of Britain’s poorest areas. The Awards, worth £250 to £5,000, are available to disadvantaged 14 to 25-year-olds who want to transform their area and learn practical skills. Projects could range from improving local youth facilities to sex education workshops in schools. Projects must:
• be run and managed by people between the ages of 14 and 25;
• clearly benefit the local community; benefit the people running the project;
• and be a new or developing project.
Previous projects supported include:
• An amateur boxing project to give young people greater confidence
• A media project to promote community cohesion and greater understanding between the local community and asylum seekers.
Applications can be made at any time.
http://www.princestrust.org.uk/need_help/grants/community_cash_awards.aspx 

 




Hilton in The Community Foundation (UK)
Organisations that work with young people have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to £50,000 per year through the Hilton Foundation. During 2006, the Foundation made grants totalling over £1.3m to numerous organisations including registered charities and schools for activities and projects that meet one of the Foundation’s three chosen areas of focus:
• Young People – Education
• Young People – Health
• Disaster Relief and International Fund.
Previously supported projects by the Foundation have included:
• The Palmer Junior School, which received a grant of £2,740 to help send 11 young people on a school field trip, who could otherwise not afford it.
• The Red Gates School, which received a grant of £750 for specialist equipment at the school.
http://www.hilton-foundation.org.uk/home.htm 




South East

South East Region ESF Community Grants (South East)
Action in Rural Sussex has announced that the 3rd round of the European Social Fund (ESF) Community Grants scheme is now open to applications. Grants of between £1,000 and 12,000 are available to community and voluntary groups with employment projects that focus on hardest to reach communities and unemployed/economically inactive individuals who have difficulty in accessing mainstream provision and / or ESF.
The programme will support a range of activities that may include; initial help with basic skills; taster work experience including voluntary work; training advice and guidance; job search assistance; confidence building and personal development; and support to individuals to overcome barriers to learning and/or employment.
The next application deadline is at noon on 3rd February 2010.
http://ruralsussex.org.uk/blog/?p=333 




Call for Proposals - City Cycling Fund (South West)
The Quartet Community Foundation has announced that it is seeking applications from voluntary and community groups through the City Cycling Fund. The total value of the fund is £120,000 and the fund will run until the end of March 2011. The money is being provided by Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council and managed by the Quartet Community Foundation which provides grants of up to £10,000 to promote cycling as a means of transport. The area covered by the fund is the urban area of Greater Bristol covering all of Bristol City and the areas to the north and east within South Gloucestershire. Funding is available:
• To run introduction to cycling workshops within local communities
• To run events or activities that get more people cycling, perhaps on specially arranged outings
• Provision of safe cycling events
• Cycle maintenance activities
• The purchase of shared or group cycling equipment
• Safe storage of group equipment
• Communication regarding cycling related events; etc.
Although there was an initial deadline for applications of the 20th June 2009, applications can now be made at any time.
http://www.quartetcf.org.uk/showcontent.asp?CollectionID=@0000000718&ParentID=@0000000107 





Yorkshire and Humber 



Funding to Tackle Unemployment (Yorkshire & Humberside)
Grants of £2,000 to £12,000 are available to voluntary and community organisations in Yorkshire and the Humber to provide learning opportunities that help unemployed people aged 18 and over to move into further training or employment. In particular, Community Grants are targeted at; people with disabilities and health conditions; lone parents; people aged 50 and over and people from ethnic minorities.
The type of activities that can be funded include; initial help with basic skills; taster work experience (including voluntary work); training, advice and guidance; job search assistance; confidence building and personal development; and debt counselling. Funds are also available to build the ability of small organisations to bid for and secure mainstream funding.
The next application deadline is the 8th January 2010.
http://www.wylc.org.uk/communitygrants.html






WEST MIDLANDS

Active Life Fund for Older People (West Midlands)
Voluntary and community organisations or groups located in Wolverhampton, that provide facilities, activities or services for the over 50's and want to develop new services and activities or extend existing ones, are being invited to apply for a grant of up to £300. Grants can be used for:
• equipment
• the cost of establishing new groups
• speakers or tutors
• start up costs for luncheon clubs
• room hire
• cost of transport to and from activities/social groups.
For further information please call Kim Payne on 01902 556690.
http://www.w-n-c.org/node/280


NORTH EAST

Funding for Out of School Learning Opportunities (North East)
The Community Foundation for Tyne & Wear and Northumberland are inviting applications from voluntary and community groups which provide out of school learning opportunities for children and young people, particularly girls, to take an interest in the sciences. Grants from £250 to £1,500 are available and any group wishing to apply must be formally constituted, have a child protection policy and be able to supply a recent set of accounts. The Gateshead Housing Company Community Fund are also inviting applications from community and voluntary groups that bring people together in Gateshead. Grants of up to £10,000 as well as in kind support is available.
http://www.communityfoundation.org.uk/news/news_article.php?offset=0&id=183

If you would like to explore any of these opportunities more fully and/or need some guidance then please contact Nancy Cleary on nancy@rexhallassociates.com