Your guide to Millions of £s worth of Funding!

 

A to Z Directory of Funding

The sportessex A to Z Directory of Funding is an easy-to-use tool to help you find funding opportunities for individuals, clubs, sports projects and activities.  

There is a wide range of grants and sponsorship opportunities available in Essex, from £100 to over £1 million. Please check the Noticeboard and Directory for regular updates and announcements of new funding sources. If you cannot find a funding source which meets your requirements, we advise you to look at www.grantfinder.co.uk

sportessex highly recommends that before completing an application form, you first contact the relevant funding body to discuss your project or proposal, or you can contact sportessex for help and advice.

Awards for All

The National Lottery's Awards for All small grants scheme just got bigger. The maximum award available for local projects is £10,000, with smaller projects eligible for a minimum grant of £300.

Awards for All provides opportunities for communities in Essex to apply for Lottery funding for inspirational local projects and activities. Small scale projects that encourage healthier living, develop local sports, promote arts and culture, support heritage initiatives or boost community activities are invited to submit bids for a share of £60 million that will be rolled out by Awards for All to community projects this year.

Awards for All is a rolling programme and applications can be submitted at any time.

Website: www.awardsforall.org.uk

Application Hotline: 0845 600 2040

sportessex runs a series of workshops to help you or your club through the application process - please contact sportessex for further information

 

Abbey National Community Partnership

Grants are available for projects that promote education, training, employment and job creation, with a priority for disadvantaged or socially excluded groups, as well as projects that support equal opportunities for people with a disability.

Abbey National Community Partnership will award up to £2,500 for local charities, or £250 for community groups not registered as a charity. Applications for larger amounts will be referred to the larger Abbey National Charitable Trust. Successful applicants will be asked to work with local Abbey National branches to attract mutual publicity. Applications for awards are considered monthly.

Trust Helpline: 0870 608 0108 (open 10.00 to 14.00 Monday to Friday)

PO Box 911, Milton Keynes MK9 1AD

Email: communitypartnership@abbey.com

 

The Big Boost                      

The Big Boost is an awards programme which has been created to encourage more young people in England to set up projects at school or in their communities that will make a real difference.  The programme will support more than 12,000 young people over two years and is particularly keen to reach young people from less well-off backgrounds.

The Big Boost awards programme is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and is part of their Young People's Fund - Grants to Individuals Programme, which aims to offer more opportunities to young people and help them improve local communities.

The Big Boost programme is run in partnership with UnLtd, Changemakers, The Scarman Trust and The Prince's Trust.

A Big Boost award is cash plus the support needed to help young people make their ideas a reality. The awards are for individuals or for small informal groups of young people living in England. There are two kinds of awards; one for 11 to 16 year olds and one for 16 to 25 year olds.

11-16 year olds Awards of between £250 and £1,000 for groups of young people, led by a nominated advisor.

16-25 year olds Awards of between £500 and £5,000 for individuals or small groups of young people.

11-16 applications telephone: 0191 226 7330

16-25 applications telephone: 0845 410 2030

Text: 07624 803 312

Email: info@thebigboost.org.uk

Website: www.thebigboost.org.uk    

Big Lottery Fund - Playful Ideas programme

The Playful Ideas programme will support projects that focus on innovation and new ways of providing for children's play. Projects seeking funding from this programme must display a creative and novel approach to addressing an identified need within the field of children's play. The programme is open to voluntary and community groups. The Lottery will make capital and revenue grants of between £10,000 and £250,000 for projects lasting up to 5 years. The programme will pay for all or some of your projects costs. Playful Ideas is a rolling programme.

BIG Advice Line: 0845 4 10 20 30 to obtain a Playful Ideas pack and guidance notes

Website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

 

Big Lottery Fund - Reaching Communities programme

Communities are at the heart of Reaching Communities. This programme will fund projects that actively involve communities and respond to their needs. It will support initiatives that help those most in need including people or groups who are hard to reach.

Reaching Communities will give grants of more than £10,000 and up to £500,000, including a maximum of £50,000 for capital grants. There is a maximum overall project size of £750,000 and £200,000 for the total capital element within a project. Grants may be awarded for up to five years.

Reaching Communities is seeking projects that bring about the following changes:

• People having better chances in life, including being able to get better access to training and development to improve their life skills
• Strong communities, with more active citizens, working together to tackle their problems
• Improved rural and urban environments, which communities are better able to access and enjoy
• Healthier and more active people and communities

You can apply to Reaching Communities if you are a registered charity, a voluntary or community group, a statutory body, a charitable or not-for-profit company or a social enterprise. Reaching Communities is a rolling programme. There is a two-stage application process starting with an Outline Proposal Form.:

BIG Advice Line: 0845 4 10 20 30 to obtain an application pack and guidance notes

Email: opteam@biglotteryfund.org.uk

Website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

 

Braintree District Council Local Committee Grants

This scheme from Braintree District Council is open to any constituted voluntary organisation, Parish or Town Council in the District. Funding levels will depend upon the scheme, however one of the awarding bodies priorities is ensuring that everyone can enjoy a healthy lifestyle. More details are available in the activebraintree area of this website.

Telephone: 01376 551414

 

Community Cash Awards

Community Cash Awards are grants from the Prince’s Trust. Anyone can apply who is aged 14-16 and is in school, but struggling or aged 16-25, unemployed or working less than 16 hours a week. The project should aim to improve life in a local community in the UK, for example a new basketball court or youth club.Projects must be run and managed by people between the ages of 14 and 25, clearly benefit the local community and be a new or developing project. The level of funding depends on the age of the applicant with up to £1,000 available for 14-16 year olds and up to £5,000 available for those aged 16-25.

Telephone: 0800 842 842

Website: http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/Main%20Site%20v2/14-30%20and%20need%20help/grants%20for%20community%20projects.asp

 

Dickie Bird Foundation

The Dickie Bird Foundation provides grants of between £100 and £5,000 to individuals under 18 who are not able to participate in sporting activities to the best of their ability due to being financially disadvantaged.
Applicants will be asked for details of their monthly family income and to give details on how they intend on spending the money and the application also requires two referees.

Tel: 0113 2503043

Website: www.thedickiebirdfoundation.org

 

Essex Community Foundation

Essex Community Foundation is an independent charitable trust. Since it began in 1996, it has built an endowed fund of over £8 million. It has also awarded over £8 million in grants to more than 2,500 community-based voluntary groups throughout Essex, Southend and Thurrock.

By acting as a broker, Essex Community Foundation can help local voluntary groups secure funding for their work. It awards grants to groups which are charitable in purpose and are working for the benefit of people in Essex, Southend or Thurrock and supports a wide range of projects. The Foundation welcomes applications from both new and established groups.

In general, one application form accesses most funds.  Please see below for a complete list of funds managed by the Foundation and their specific criteria.

Acorn Fund To support social and community activities, encouraging community involvement and self-help and support innovative charitable activity within Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.
 
Bartella Charitable Fund To support charitable activity helping disadvantaged children/young people living in the Chelmsford district.
 
Chiron Fund To support new and existing methods of social and community activities, encourage community involvement and self-help within Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.
 
Colchester Fund To support a wide range of local charitable activities in the Colchester district.
 
Essex & Suffolk Water Community Fund To meet the needs of the community in the districts serviced by Essex & Suffolk Water.
 
Essex County Council Millennium Fund To support young people, carers, the community and the local environment.
 
Essex Crimebeat (part of High Sheriffs' Fund) To support projects identified and implemented by young people to make their communities safer.
 
Fair Share - New Opportunities Fund (Basildon Annuity)To meet the needs of the community in line with priorities identified by the Basildon Local Strategic Partnership, within the remit of health, education and the environment.
 
Fair Share - New Opportunities Fund (Tendring Annuity)To meet the needs of the community in line with priorities identified by the Basildon Local Strategic Partnership, within the remit of health, education and the environment.
 
Fair Share - New Opportunities Fund (Tendring Transforming Your Space)To meet the needs of the community in line with priorities identified by the Basildon Local Strategic Partnership, within the remit of health, education and the environment.
 
The Heath Family Fund To support new and existing methods of social and community activities, encourage community involvement and self-help within Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.
 
The Hew Watt Family Charitable trust To support Charitable activity in Thurrock.
 
High Sheriffs' Fund To support local initiatives devised to make communities safer places to work and live.
 
Jerome Booth Family Fund To support Charitable activity in Essex.
 
Key Fund (European Social Fund) To help specific groups of people who are disadvantaged in the labour market improve their employability.
 
Local Network Fund for Children & Young People LNF is for small voluntary organisations and community groups developing projects and activities for children and young people with limited opportunities or access to services that many young people take for granted.
 
Margaretting Fund To support charitable activities within the Chelmsford District.
 
The Mersea Island Community Fund To support community groups and charities on Mersea Island.
 
Neighbourhood Fund To support local voluntary organisations to develop their capacity to deliver learning opportunities for residents of deprived neighbourhoods.
 
PB Charitable Fund To support new and existing methods of social and community activities, encourage community involvement and self-help within Essex, Southend and Thurrock.
 
Royal London Community Fund To support a wide range of local charitable activities in and around Colchester.
 
Southend Fund To support charitable activities in Southend-on-Sea district.
 
Sport Relief Fund To support organisations providing sport and exercise opportunities for people that are excluded or disadvantaged.
 
William Julien Courtauld Medical Trust Fund To support Organisations who are helping people with medical/health needs in Braintree. 

The Essex Community Foundation will match applications to the most appropriate fund for your project so please do not worry if you do not know which fund you are applying to. 

Telephone: 01245 356 018

Website: www.essexcommunityfoundation.org.uk

 

FANS

FANS stands for Free Access for National Sportspeople and is a scheme designed to provide support to the county’s leading talented sports performers. The scheme provides nationally ranked sports people with free access to participating local authority and private leisure and sports facilities at designated times, for personal training and development. For more information on FANS, or to download an application form, click here.

 

Football Foundation

The Football Foundation provides financial help for football at all levels and is dedicated to revitalising the grass-roots of the game.

Grants are available for FA affiliated under 16-teams and can be used for the purchase of kit. The maximum award is £400.

Funding will also be targeted at community and education initiatives, including study support centres, community coaching schemes and social inclusion projects with grants ranging from £100 to £1m.

Telephone: 0207 534 4210

E-mail: enquiries@footballfoundation.org.uk

Website: www.footballfoundation.org.uk

 

The Foundation for Sports and the Arts

The Foundation for Sports and the Arts (FSA) provides support for sports and arts related projects and grants of up to £40,000 can be awarded to a wide range of projects.  The Foundation’s aim is to enhance the quality of life for the communities to encourage and fund sports and arts at every level with promoting participation and enjoyment being viewed as more important than sporting excellence. Funding is available for capital and revenue projects although capital projects are prioritised and both community groups and organisations can apply for grants.

Website:  http://www.thefsa.net/

 

Jack Petchey Foundation

The Jack Petchey Foundation can award grants to organisations in Epping Forest, Harlow, Uttlesford, Brentwood and Thurrock and is rolling out to cover schools and clubs across the rest of Essex between now and March 2008. The Foundation gives grants to programmes and projects that benefit young people aged 11 - 25, the value of these is normally between £500 and £50,000.

The Jack Petchey Foundation are eager to help young people take advantage of opportunities and play a full part in society including projects that help develop self-esteem through involving young people in sport.

Tel: 0208 252 8000

Email: mail@jackpetcheyfoundation.org.uk

Website: www.jackpetcheyfoundation.org.uk

 

Kellogg's Active Living Fund

The fund will give grants of up to £1,000 to fund projects and activities that directly lead to people taking part in sustained physical activity. Applications are accepted from charities, voluntary and community organisations, with schools being able to apply for help with extra-curricular activities.

Priority is given to innovative new ideas to get in-active people active and the priority for beneficiaries is for children and adults to take part together, so a mums and kids exercise class might be likely to get funding or a walking project for families.

Email:darren@communityfoundation.co.uk

Website: http://www.kelloggs.co.uk/company/corporateresponsibility/activelivingfund/

 

sportessex Training Bursary

sportessex recognises the development of the workforce as one of it’s six key actions (as identified in the Strategy for Sport).  The aim of this Bursary is to support those in sport who are dedicated to progressing their skills or for those who would like to start work in this area.  The Bursary recognises the level of commitment, both in terms of time and finance that this area of work requires. For more information on the sportessex training bursary, or to download an application form, click here.

 

Sportsmatch

If you can raise at least £1,000 in sponsorship for your sports project, then Sportsmatch may be able to match that amount. Sportsmatch have priority funding groups of Women and Girls, Black and Minority Ethnic Groups and Disability Groups, however all applications are considered and with £46 million pounds worth of funding being given to sports groups since 1992 its well worth looking to see if your project could be eligible.

Telephone: 0207 233 7747

Website: www.sportsmatch.co.uk

 

The Trusthouse Charitable Foundation

The Trusthouse Charitable Foundation currently distributes over £2m per year for projects across the UK. The funding is available through the Small Grant Scheme, which provides grants of up to £10,000 and the Large Grant Scheme which offers grants of between £10,000 and £30,000. The Trustees look favourably upon projects concerned with areas of deprivation and suggested projects include sports rehabilitation schemes and the provision of sporting equipment or facilities. It is not necessary to be a registered charity in order to apply however applications will only be considered from not-for-profit organisations.

Website: http://www.trusthousecharitablefoundation.org.uk/home.html

 

UKVillages Community Kitty

Grants are available from £50 to £300 to support small community based projects. Applications can only be made by groups which are registered on their website, however this service is free. Closing dates for applications are the 10th of April and October and applications are judged on their relevance and uniqueness.

Website:  http://www.communitykitty.co.uk

 

UnLtd Sport Relief Awards

UnLtd Sport Relief Awards provide opportunities for young people to bring communities together, to help them promote understanding and solve conflict through sport and being active.

This UK wide funding programme is for 11-21 year olds, who are prepared to go the extra mile and use their passion for sport to bring respect and understanding to their communities by setting up their own projects and funding of £250-£5,000 is available.

Telephone: 0845 3670770

Website: http://unltd.org.uk/template.php?ID=110&PageName=sportrelief

 

vcashpoint

 

Working in partnership with the HSBC bank, vcashpoint is a £1 million initiative that provides grants of up to £2,500 to young people to set up their own volunteering projects within their community. The type of activities that could be supported includes sports events for disadvantaged people, or organising a festival to bring different cultures or communities together. vcashpoint will fund new projects or ideas which aim to expand or develop projects which have been carried out once in the past, involving new young volunteers. All projects must create at least three new volunteering opportunities for 16-25 year olds and be youth-led. vcashpoint must be the only source of funding for the project.

Website: http://www.vinspired.com/vbuzz/campaigns/171/