Funding
hr-bg
titlebar-funding-news

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

Following a review of the Awards for All England programme, changes are to be made to the small grants scheme’s existing format when it comes to an end in March 2009.

Currently Awards for All England is a joint Lottery grants programme supported by Arts Council England, Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund and Sport England.

From 1 April 2009 each of the lottery distributors supporting the scheme will have their own small grants programmes up and running. Applications can still be made under the current arrangements until 31 March 2009.

The change will mean that each distributor can better address the needs of their applicants and the themes they support. Overall, across all the distributors, it is anticipated that new money available for small grants in 2009-10 will be comparable to money that was available to community groups through Awards for All in 2008-2009.

For more information on Sport England Small Grants Funding, please see below.

Website: www.awardsforall.org.uk

Application Hotline: 0845 600 2040

 

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

The Big Lottery Fund supports a wide range or programmes where you can apply for grants of between £300 and £1 million. Current schemes for English appliacts include Parks for People, Awards for All and Reaching Communities. For more advice on current schemes check out the Big Lottery Fund website or call their advisors to see if their could be a fit for your idea with their funding.

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

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

 

Cash 4 Clubs

Cash 4 Clubs is a sports funding scheme which gives clubs the opportunity to apply for grants to improve facilities, purchase new equipment, gain coaching qualifications, and generally invest in the sustainability of their club. In 2008 over £30,000 was given out in grants to 30 community sports clubs across the UK. There are three tiers of grants at £250, £500 and £1,000. Previous grants have been awarded to the Southampton Canoe club which received a grant of £1,000 towards purchasing junior paddles and safety equipment; the Rugby Sea Cadets which received a grant of £1,000 to maintain and replace safety equipment; and Ipswich Basketball which received a grant of £1,000 to initiate a new women's team aimed at the 16+ league.
Applications can be submitted at any time and grants are awarded on a quarterly basis.

Website: http://cash-4-clubs.com/

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

 

East Links: Leading the Field

The new East-links: Leading the Field project offers free sport and active leisure training opportunities in the East of England and is being delivered in Essex through a joint collaboration between sportessex and SEEVIC College.

East Links: Leading the Field provides fully funded training courses for individuals who are employed in, regularly volunteer in or are looking to enter the sport and active leisure sector.

The project is managed by ACER (the Association of Colleges in the Eastern Region), supported by SkillsActive and delivered by County Sports Partnerships, FE Colleges and National Governing Bodies of Sport throughout the eastern region. For more information, click here.

 

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 Achievement Award Scheme the Jack Petchey Foundations flagship programme. It is now run in almost 2,000 schools, colleges and clubs throughout London and Essex, contributing millions of pounds to youth organisations.

The scheme is an excellent reward and recognition initiative which enables schools and clubs to celebrate the achievements of young people and receive additional funding for the organisation.

Participating groups regularly select a young person to receive an Achievement Award, and each winner receives:

* A framed certificate and Jack Petchey Foundation medallion.
* £200 to be spent on a school/club or community project of the recipient’s choice.

The young person chooses how their award money is to be spent within the organisation.

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/

 

Sport England Grants Programme

From 1st April 2009 Sport England will run several grants schemes which are designed to create funds which address specific needs in the drive to increase and sustain participation in sport.These grants are as follows:

Themed Rounds - Themed rounds will be the primary means of distributing National Lottery funding to community sport and will be designed to be flexible, clear and responsive to future needs.Up to £30 million per year, revenue and capital funding, will be avialable from 2009/10. The fund would be designed to support a large number of awards of all sizes over £10,000 and applicants are expected to provide partnership funding. The first themed round was announced in February 2009 in anticipation of applications in April 2009. The round will be open for 2-3 months and there will be 2-3 rounds per year.

Small Grants - The small grants programme will provide funding for community-level activities that help people become involved in sport, keep people in sport or help people improve their performance at their chosen sport. For more information on this fund please click here.

Innovation Fund - The Innovation Fund will provide medium to large awards to organisations that demonstrate they can address specific barriers to growing and sustaining participation in sport. This fund will be targeted at projects which offer potentially higher return for higher risk, as might be expected from an innovative approach. Successful projects will be seen as 'market leading'.The fund will be designed to make a small number of medium to large awards over £10,000. Partner commitment in practical terms will be essential, but partner financial contribution, whilst encouraged will not be required, given the experimental nature of some of the solutions which will be proposed.

Sustainable investment in community facilities - This fund will aim to meet this challenge by supporting innovative projects which promote a sustainable approach to community facilities. This may mean supporting investment in projects that involve partnerships with public, private and commercial organisations - creating a range of facilities that are sustainable both in financial and sports development terms. The fund will focus on projects designed to stimulate the market to create innovative approaches for increasing sports participation with creative ideas for facility provision. Sport England use this fund to support projects that bring together multiple partners, including input from the private, and public sectors and national governing bodies. The fund will be designed to encourage others to invest further capital and revenue funding to ensure sustainability.

website: http://www.sportengland.org/

 

sport:exl

sport:exl is the name of the Essex Foundation for young athletes.
The vision of sport:exl is to award grants and bursaries to aspiring and talented young athletes in the county who need a helping hand to reach their potential. The sport:exl grant making criteria is simple, directing its assistance to those who need it most, from young athletes not yet recognised by the National Governing Body for their sport, to those already at their peak and who may be a future Olympic or Paralympic Champion.
Click here for the full critria and an application form for sport:exl

 

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/

Register yourself now
Register your club now
Register your facility now