Independent Age Grants Fund (UK)
Independent Age, which promotes independent living amongst older people, has launched a £2 million Independent Age Grants Fund to help smaller charities across the UK working with older people hardest hit by the Coronavirus. The funding will be made available over four separate funding rounds. In each round, Independent Age will make £500,000 available. Charities working with older people will be able to apply for grants of up to £15,000.
Funding to Help Charities Deliver Better Services Through Technology
The Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Comic Relief have announced a new digital funding strand to their joint Tech for Good programme. The aim is to help charities and not-for-profit organisations deliver better services for their communities through technology. The £230,000 Explore programme will provide grant funding of £5,000 for individual organisations or £7,500 for collaborative projects. A 12-week support programme will also be provided to explore how digital technology could transform the ways they work. Support will include access to an online curriculum, one-to-one support calls, and virtual community meet-ups. Applications should address one of Comic Relief’s core themes: Children Survive & Thrive; Fighting for Gender Justice; A Safe Place to Be; Global Mental Health Matters.
Deadline: 12pm on the 22nd June 2020.
£1 Million Crowdfunding Support for Sports Clubs And Organisations
Sport England has committed another £1 million to combating the impact of coronavirus by match funding money raised by sports clubs and community activity groups through the fundraising platform Crowdfunder. Through the ‘Active Together’ partnership with Crowdfunder Sport England are matching crowd funds of up to £10,000 raised by clubs and organisations hit by the coronavirus crisis. Clubs and organisations can sign up via the Crowdfunder website. They’ll then need to set their crowdfunding target and put in place incentives and rewards. Once 25% of the crowdfunding is met, Sport England will confirm the match funding – up to £10,000 and can distribute the money within seven days of being raised.
Association of Mental Health Providers – Mental Health Response Fund
The Department of Health and Social Care has made £5 million available to support voluntary and community sector (VCS) mental health providers which are experiencing an increase in demand for their services due to coronavirus. Through the Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund, small and large grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 are available to help increase mental support for people with and at risk of developing mental health problems.
BBC Children in Need Covid-19 Response Grants
In response to the coronavirus, BBC Children in Need are temporarily pausing their current grant programmes to launch two new Covid-19 Response Grants to enable organisations to continue to support disadvantaged children and young people aged 18 years and under.
The funding is open to current grantees and new applicants to help them to respond and adapt to the short, medium and longer-term impact of the coronavirus.
The COVID-19 Response Programmes are as follows:
• From the 18th May 2020 current BBC Children in Need grant-holders will be able to apply for funding of up to £5,000 over a six-month period through the Covid-19 2020 Booster Grants Programme.
• From the 8th June registered not-for-profit organisations will be able to apply to the Covid-19 Large Grants programme for funding of up to £80,000 over an 18-month period.
Funding to Support People of Colour Affected by the Coronavirus
The Resourcing Racial Justice Fund provides funding to individuals and communities working towards racial justice.
In response to the coronavirus, the Fund will provide financial support to organisations, grassroots and community groups, and individuals who are working to tackle the impact of Covid-19 on those who identify as people of colour (POC).
Grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 will be available to organisations that respond to the immediate needs of the more at risk and vulnerable, and for more long-term initiatives to enable organisations to continue their work towards racial justice.
The Fund is currently made up of financial contributions from foundations, philanthropic organisations and crowdfunding.
What will be funded:
• Projects that meet the immediate needs and/or impact of crisis – be it Covid-19 or otherwise – for communities of colour.
• Ideas that present transformational and radical alternatives that will support people of colour creating solutions for change on a systemic level.
• ‘Ecosystem builders’ – visionaries that exist between the mainstream and the margins who are working to mobilise connections and resources for the benefit of their communities. This could include: Lived Experience Leaders –POC leaders; activists; community leaders; innovators; change-makers working on racial justice.
• Those with an international perspective, seeking to amplify and build relationships with communities in the global south in order to achieve global change.
• Projects connected to faith and spirituality are welcomed.
Deadline: 15th June 2020.
Funding for Projects that Combat Abuse and Violation of Human Rights
UK-registered charities that work towards combating abuse and violations of human rights can apply for grants of usually between £10,000 and £20,000 through the A B Charitable Trust. The A B Charitable Trust (ABCT) was set up in 1990 and supports unpopular causes that champion human dignity and to focus on small and medium-sized charities working close to the ground.
Applications are particularly welcomed from charities working to support:
• migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
• criminal justice and penal reform
• human rights, particularly access to justice
The Trust generally makes one-off grants to charities registered and working in the UK with annual incomes of between £150,000 and £1.5m that do not have substantial investments or surpluses. Grants range in size, with most grants awarded being in the range £10,000 to £20,000. ABCT does not normally fund charities with large national or international links.
Deadline: 31st July 2020.
Grants of up to £50,000 Available for Community Projects (UK)
Aviva has announced that it has expanded the Aviva Community Fund application criteria to include projects that allow causes to adapt or continue their vital services, so they can help their beneficiaries and communities during this time of need. Aviva has teamed up with the fundraising platform Crowdfunder to offer funding of up to £50,000 to small charities and community interest groups in the UK with innovative ideas that benefit their community. Every three months from January 2020 onwards, £250,000 will be split equally among Aviva’s UK employees to donate to the projects that matter to them most. Aviva want to support projects that boost the resilience of communities in the face of uncertainty and will be supporting projects in two key areas:
• Community resilience: tackling inequality and improving environments by building inclusive and resilient communities; or
• Financial capability and inclusion: promoting financially inclusive communities, where people can better manage their finances and avoid problem debt
In response to the Covid-19 Aviva are temporarily opening up the Fund to projects that will ensure organisations can adapt or maintain critical services and infrastructure in response to the impacts of COVID-19. Projects must still relate to one of Aviva’s key funding areas.
Once applications have been submitted, applicants will need to create a fundraising page on Crowdfunder that Aviva employees can browse and donate funds to. Applicants can also showcase their projects to raise additional public donations.
Deadline: 28th July 2020.