17th September: Launch of Buckinghamshire Funding Search

At 5-30 pm on Monday 16th September Community Impact Bucks will switch over to a new redesigned website. As a result, we will no longer be communicating funding information via regular posts. Our new website will include a funding area within which there are links to a new funding search vehicle called Buckinghamshire Funding Search www.communityimpactbucks.org.uk/pages/funding.html . Here you will also  find links to Grantnet and Funding Central. You will need to register with Buckinghamshire Funding Search but you only need to do this once. You can then seearch for all kinds of grants both national as well as local , you can also sign up to receive regular funding e bulletin updates which will provide a  much better service than the posts we have been generating. Another very useful website for the not for profit sector in Buckinghamshire area is launched on Tuesday 17th September called Xchange Bucks www.xchangebucks.org.uk  please take a look.

Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund Opens for Applications (England)

The Department of Health has announced the launch of the third Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund (HSCVF) national grant scheme 2013-4.  The aim of the programme is to increase investment in volunteering in health, public health and social care.   In particular, the Department is looking to support projects that focus on volunteer involvement in key health, public health and social care areas such as dementia and other long-term conditions, early intervention approaches, building supportive community networks and encouraging healthy eating.  Not for profit organisations or partnerships of not for profit organisations can apply for up to £200,000 per annum for a maximum of 3 years.  Grants will be awarded to projects that develop new, improved and/or streamlined systems in health and social care volunteering rather than projects that can simply supply core services.  In order to apply for funding, organisations need to register with the application portal by noon on the 27th September 2013.  The application process will open on the 1st October and close on the 8th November 2013….

http://www.volunteeringfund.com/news/health-and-social-care-volunteering-fund-national-grant-scheme-2013-4-and-partner-search-portal

 

People’s Postcode Lottery

• Peoples Postcode Lottery Dream Fund Opens for Applications (England, Scotland & Wales)

The People’s Postcode Lottery has announced the launch of its Dream Fund.  Made possible by the on-going support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, the Dream Fund is now in its fourth year and has so far invested over £1 million in innovative schemes in Scotland and the North West of England.  This is the first year the fund has been open to applicants across Great Britain, with the level of support rising from £100,000 to £250,000. The total available is £500,000 over the next two years and registered charities and community organisations can apply for up to £250,000 to deliver a new and innovative projects under the themes of encouraging healthy living, social enterprise and environmental sustainability.    Previous projects funded include a grant of £98,100 to produce a London Underground-style map of the 70 miles of off-street cycle ways and paths that reach right into Edinburgh city centre, with the aim of increasing the number of people walking and cycling for commuting and recreation; and a grant of £65,200 to support a community food growing project.  The deadline for applications is the 20th September 2013….

http://www.postcodetrust.org.uk/dream-fund/

 

 

• MOD Community Covenant Grant Scheme (UK)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has announced the next closing date for applications to its Armed Forces Community Covenant Grant Scheme is the 20th September 2013. Under the scheme grants ranging from £100 to £250,000 are available for projects and activities that bring together the Armed Forces and the wider community where the Forces have a presence. An application for funding can be submitted by any part of the community; this might include volunteer groups, charities, public bodies such as schools, and so on. Examples of projects funded include Tidworth Royals Football Club which received £28,000 to enable the club to provide new equipment as it moves to new grounds and £2,000 to a community involvement programme to reach out to isolated women in Salisbury Plain….

Recently funded projects
• Plans to replace the Scout and Guide headquarters in Bedale, North Yorkshire, with a new building that can be used by community groups with £159,000 of funding
•  Play area for the Little Rascals Crèche in the Vale of Glamorgan received £32,888
• Tidworth Royals Football Club receives £28,000 to enable the club to provide new    equipment as it moves to new grounds
• Calshot Activity Centre received £27,000 to provide highly subsidised places for service children on residential sailing and adventure weeks during school holidays
• A garden office for a community link project in Aldershot received £22,000
• Proposals to run activity days at five armed forces bases in Oxfordshire received £15,000
• Ashcroft Arts Centre received £18,640 towards a film project involving local schools exploring the lives of servicemen and women
• £10,000 given to Royal Wootton Bassett for the town’s civic event to commemorate its new Royal status
• Children in Gloucestershire will benefit from £9,880 to fund places on ‘Go Ape’ children’s assault courses, supported by the 1st Battalion The Rifles
• £7,000 given to the Swan Forces project in Wiltshire to develop services to prevent social exclusion among ex-service personnel and their families
• £6,000 provided to help Gurkhas in Eastleigh to learn English and integrate with the local community
• £1,000 provided to buy equipment in Mere, Wiltshire, to help clear snow from the homes of the elderly and disabled
• £800 will help to fund a scheme in Southampton to promote and support the armed forces among the Asian community in the town

Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE):Rural Community Renewable Energy Fund

We understand that the Rural Community Renewable Energy Fund is set to open to applications from this Friday (28th June).

The fund aims to support community renewable energy projects in rural areas. Funds of up to £150,000 are available through two funding stages: an initial feasibility grant; and a loan for development costs (paid back only if the scheme goes ahead). We’ve written some guidance on the fund, and we’re happy to talk with any groups who are interested in applying and would like further support. For details see: http://www.cse.org.uk/news/view/1740

You can email renewables@wrap.org.uk to register for updates or for specific queries about eligibility.

PlanLoCaL events – final reminder

We’re hitting the road in July with four free workshops showcasing the new PlanLoCaL toolkit on Energy Efficiency and the Green Deal for community groups and organisations who support them. We’re coming to Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and London.

Places are filling up quickly, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to see the new toolkit in action! DECC will be speaking at three out of the four events, and there will be guest speakers from organisations including Nesta, the Carbon Co-op, Birmingham Social Enterprise Network, Marches Energy Agency, Co-operatives UK, Energise Barnett, Green Deal Advice Midlands and Bristol Green Doors.

For details, travel bursaries, and to book your place: http://www.cse.org.uk/news/view/1734

New Service Makes Switching Accounts Easier for Charities

Beginning in September, small charities will be able to switch their bank and building society accounts in a simpler and more reliable manner thanks to a new service.

Led by the Payments Council, a new, free-to-use Current Account Switch Service will make switching from one bank or building society to another simpler, reliable and hassle-free. Banks and building societies covering all of the competitive current account market will offer the new service.

Small charities with an annual income of less than £1 million, as well as small trusts with a net asset value of less than £1 million will be eligible to use the new service.

For charities, a key benefit of the new service is that the new bank will arrange for all exiting payments (those coming in, such as donations, as well as those going out, such as bill payments or wages) to be automatically transferred to the new account. This includes all regular donations made via standing order or Direct Debit.

A new central redirection service will ensure that any payments accidentally sent to the old account after the switch date will be redirected automatically to the new account for a period of 13 months. So, a charity will still receive a donation that anyone accidentally makes to their old account (perhaps because they still have the old account details). If the payment was made electronically (via a faster payment, direct debit or standing order), the donor will have the charity’s new details automatically updated by their bank. This will ensure that any subsequent donation goes straight to the charity’s new account rather than to the old one.

To increase simplicity further, the switching process will be managed in full by the new bank or building society, and there will be no need to talk to the old one. The old account will remain open, and can be used by the charity up until the switch date, at which point the old account is closed and the new account becomes active.

The switch time has also been decreased to just seven working days, rather than the average 18 to 30 days that it currently takes, and the switch takes place on a date that suits the customer. Charities using the new service will be able to choose the day they wish the switch to take place, allowing them the necessary time to obtain any required signatories.

Finally, switching current account will be backed by a guarantee. This guarantee will ensure customers receive a clear and consistent level of service, highlighting the benefits and confirming that the customer will be refunded any charges and interest in the event of a failure of the service.

The Payments Council is the body responsible for ensuring that payment services work for all those that use them in the UK. It is responsible for delivering the new Current Account Switch Service and has committed approximately £750 million of investment to deliver and raise awareness of the service.

Further details can be found on the Payments Council website (opens new window).

Free Trees for UK’s Community and Youth Groups

Allotment groups, resident associations, parish councils, youth groups and other not-for-profit groups can apply now for free trees to plant in November.

Twice a year, the Woodland Trust gives away free trees to community groups, youth groups and schools in an effort to create more woodlands throughout the UK. According to the Trust, the UK has just 11.8% of tree cover, one of the lowest in Europe, and the Trust wants to change that by creating a UK rich in native woods and trees. This can be done relatively quickly because a saplings planted today will take 12 years to flourish into young woods.

This autumn the Trust will be giving away 4,000 free tree packs. Groups can apply for packs of 30 trees worth £30, 105 trees worth £105, or 420 trees worth £420. The packs come in a choice of themes – small copse, small hedge, wildlife, year-round colour, wild harvest, wetland and wood fuel – and are designed to help groups choose the right species mix for their local area.

Any not-for-profit group may apply as long as the trees will be planted on one publicly accessible site with permission from the legal landowner, with support from the community where the trees are to be planted and community involvement in the project.

The deadline for applications is 13 September 2013, though this is subject to change. Groups are encouraged to apply as early as possible and to check the Trust’s website for a possible early closing date.

Full details can be found on the Woodland Trust website (opens new window).

In separate news, the Woodland Trust has received £2.9 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a UK-wide project which could see the restoration of 52,000 hectares of damaged ancient woodland, one of the country’s rarest and most precious habitats and home to 2,561 rare or threatened species of wildlife.

Starting in 2014, the five year project could see the restoration of an area of woodland one third the size of London across 10 priority areas from the Glens of Scotland down to Exmoor. The Trust plans to work with over 1,000 landowners, offering information, advice and training to help them restore conifer woods to their natural broadleaved state.