A selection of funding opportunities for Transition initiatives
By rob hopkins 19th March 2014
We are very grateful to Christine Jones for sending us this, which is something we hope to do on a more regular basis. Here is a selection of current funding possibilities for Transition initiatives in the UK. If you know of any others that might be of interest, do post them in the comments below. For more general advice for Transition groups on funding, check out our Funding Primer.
Trees for Communities (UK)
The Tree Council, the lead tree campaigning charity working to promote the importance of trees within the changing environment, has announced that its Trees for Communities grant making programme is now open for applications.
Funds are available for community groups within the UK who are able to show that children under the age of 16 will be actively engaged in tree planting projects during National Tree Week 2014 (29th November to 1st December 2014). The Tree Council can fund projects between £100 and £700 and successful applicants will receive up to 75% towards their planting costs. For example,
if your project totals £700, The Tree Council would offer up to £525. The remaining 25% will need to be secured by your school or organisation.
The closing date for applications is the 31st March 2014. More here.
Trees for Schools (UK)
The Tree Council, the lead tree campaigning charity working to promote the importance of trees within the changing environment, has announced that its Trees for Schools grant making programme is now open for applications. Funds are available for schools within the UK who are able to show that children under the age of 16 will be actively engaged in tree planting projects during National Tree Week 2013 (29th November to 1st December 2014).
Schools must be local authority run or registered as a ‘not for profit’ organisation (including a community interest company, a charity organisation or a social enterprise). The Tree Council can fund projects between £100 and £700 and successful applicants will receive up to 75% towards their planting costs. For example, if your project totals £700, The Tree Council would offer up to £525. The remaining 25% will need to be secured by your school or organisation.
The closing date for applications is the 31st March 2014. More here.
Orchard Windfalls Fund 2014 (UK)
The Tree Council has announced that its Orchard Windfalls Fund 2014 is open for applications.
Through the Fund grants of between £100 and £700 are available to schools and community groups for the planting of apple and pear trees with the condition that children aged sixteen or under are involved in the planting or, where the trees are too large to be directly handled by them, related educational activities. This educational aspect might be during the design, planning and planting of the orchard or, in schools, it might be part of curriculum related projects that will be enhanced by the preliminary
activities or the subsequent availability of fruit trees on or near to the school site. To be eligible planting must take place on publicly accessible land, usually in public or charity ownership. In addition the School or Community Group must be able to raise 25% of planting costs.
The closing date for applications is the 31st March 2014. More here.
Big Announces New £30 Million Environment Fund (UK)
The Big Lottery Fund announced a new funding programme, Our Environment Our Future. This UK-wide £30 million investment is set to support projects enabling young people (aged 11-24) to improve their local environment and increase their employability through learning new skills.
The Big Lottery Fund is now seeking a UK-wide strategic partner to coordinate this new funding programme which opens to applications next year. Our Environment Our Future will see the Big Lottery Fund bring together, for the first time, two core areas of its investment – environment and young people. One of the key objectives of the programme will be to support projects that
enable young people across the UK to participate and take the lead in the growing green economy. The £30 million available will fund a number of individual projects (25-35) across the UK to scale-up or replicate.
The deadline is the 16 May 2014 for organisations to apply for the role of UK-wide strategic partner. More here.
The Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust (UK)
Through the Trust grants are available to projects of significance to horticulture (or botany with a strong horticultural content) and education for horticulture. The types of activities that can be funded include:
- Training schemes for gardeners run by appropriate organizations
- The provision of educational programmes in gardens open to the public
- Preparation of exhibits or exhibitions of horticultural interest
- The restoration of historically interesting gardens which are or will be open to the public
- The development of new gardens which will be open to the public; etc. (please note the list is not exhaustive).
The Trust also provides support for several traineeships in horticulture each year (August to July); these are awarded to applying gardens (who each find a suitable trainee).
The next deadline for applications is the 15th August 2014. More here.
Big Announces New “Power to Change” Programme (England)
The Big Lottery Fund has announced a new initiative which will invest up to £150 million to support the development of sustainable community-led enterprises across England. It will be delivered by an independent Trust from autumn 2014. The new initiative is a response to challenges that many communities are experiencing at the local level. The aim is to use the power of social enterprise to help more people respond to local need and opportunity, and change the places in which they live for the better.
Eligible projects must be ‘community-led’, and the lead partner must be a charity, social enterprise, not-for-profit or member (co-operative) organisation. More here.
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Launches New Food Funding Strand (UK)
The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, one of the UK’s largest independent charitable foundations, has announced the launch of its new food strand. Esmée will offer total funding of £5m over a period of three years and is inviting applications from organisations focused on understanding and investigating the critical role that food plays in wellbeing and the interplay between food, sustainability and poverty. The food strand is open to both large-scale strategic or policy-led interventions and organisations working on innovative local projects. The foundation will support work that delivers high quality, innovative local food projects, particularly those that can become financially sustainable and are :
- Replicable. Establishes closer links between NGOs, community groups, producers, retailers and industry in order to create more coherent food sector.
- Improves people’s understanding of the place that food plays in our lives and shows the role that access to good quality food can have on wellbeing.
- Leads to the prioritisation of sustainable food production and consumption in local and national policy, practice and decision-making.
- Increases demand for better quality food from sustainable sources, for example, through changes to public procurement.
The strand is now open for applications and will operate until at least the end of 2015. More here.
New Funding for Rural Communities (UK)
The Plunkett Foundation has been awarded over £450,000 from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to create a new comprehensive support service for rural communities considering setting up or diversifying community-owned services like shops and pubs. The support service will provide a combination of adviser support, training, feasibility grants, and opportunities for networking with other community enterprises. The support is specifically focused at the early stage of a community’s ideas, and will help them progress to the next stage. Eligibility for support will depend on communities aiming to raise at least £10,000 themselves through community shares and support will be given to ensure communities are creating viable and sustainable businesses that engage the whole community.
This new service is now open for applications and Plunkett encourages rural communities who need support for their enterprises to contact them directly for more information via 01993 810730 or by emailing info@plunkett.co.uk. www.plunkett.co.uk
£9.5 Million Fund to Support Neighbourhood Planning (England)
The Localism Act 2011 introduces statutory Neighbourhood Planning in England. It enables communities to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan for their area and is intended to give communities more of a say in the development of their local
area. The Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning programme will support groups developing neighbourhood plans in two ways. These are:
- Direct support – advice and support, tailored to meet the needs of supported neighbourhoods. Grant payments of up to £7,000 per neighbourhood area, to contribute to costs incurred by the group preparing a neighbourhood plan or order.
- Support is available to town and parish councils, neighbourhood forums and emerging neighbourhood forums preparing a Neighbourhood Development Plan.
The first stage of the application process is to complete the eligibility checker to find out if your group is eligible for direct and/or grant support. If you are eligible, you will be emailed a link to your application form within 24 hours. More here.