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A-Z of Funding

Learn how funding works, browse schemes and check out our grant of the week

UK-wide Regeneration Funding

ABBEY CHARITABLE TRUST

  • Funding: £1.8 million in 2006. Typical grants will be from £500 to £4,000, though in areas where Abbey bank has set up an Abbey Community Partnership, grants of up to £20,000 will be available. For details of areas see the website below.
  • Funder: Abbey Charitable Trust.
  • Aim: To improve local communities by supporting disadvantaged people through: education and training; local regeneration projects; financial advice.
  • Who Can Apply? Organisations with charitable status in the UK. Abbey prefers to provide one-off grants that can fund an entire project or an element of it.
  • Deadline: Not fixed; rolling programme.
  • Contact:
    T     0870 608911
    W www.aboutabbey.com
    E communitypartnership@abbey.com

ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE FUND (AHF)

  • Funding: Varies annually around £300,000 mark. Offers options appraisal grants of up to £5,000 per project, funding up to 75 per cent of the cost of an appraisal; refundable project development grants of up to £15,000; and low interest working capital loans of up to £500,000 per project for two years towards the acquisition or capital costs of a listed building. Additional grants are available for building preservation trusts to help pay project organiser (max £10,000) and project administration (max £4,000) costs.
  • Funder: The Architectural Heritage Fund.
  • Aim: To promote the conservation of historic buildings by providing advice, information and financial assistance in the form of grants and low interest loans for projects undertaken by building preservation trusts and other charities.
  • Who Can Apply? Applicants must be registered charities. The AHF cannot help private owners, local authorities or commercial organisations, but is happy to talk to anyone interested in setting up a building preservation trust.
  • Deadline: Quarterly. Next deadlines Any charity wishing to apply for loans and grants in 2008 should note the application 14 August and 23 October.
  • Contact:
    T     020 7925 0199
    W http://www.ahfund.org.uk/
    E ahf@ahfund.org.uk

BLF RESEARCH PROGRAMME UK

  • Funding: The scheme is worth a total of £25 million during the programme's life time, which runs from 2007 to 2009. The minimum grant available, and in most circumstances the maximum grant available, is £500,000. In exceptional circumstances, the programme will consider making grants of up to £1 million. Funding is available for research projects lasting between one and five years.
  • Funder: The Big Lottery Fund.
  • Aim: The scheme aims to fund social research projects undertaken by third sector organisations. The exact nature of subjects for research should be determined by the charitable, community and voluntary organisation themselves. The BLF also expects that beneficiaries and users of the research should be involved in conducting, managing and disseminating it. The programme will not fund evaluations of services. In addition, the programme will also fund medical research.
  • Who Can Apply? Only organisations from the voluntary and community sector are eligible to apply for funding. Organisations in the sector are encouraged to link up with universities and the wider research community to help them in their research, but universities themselves are not eligible.
  • Deadline: 30 March 2009.
  • Contact:
    T 0870 240 2391
    W http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_research_programme?regioncode=-uk&progStatus=open&country=%20UK&status=theProg&chan=funding&title=Research%20programme

CHILD TRUST FUND

  • Funding: Around £240 million a year. Children born since 1 September 2002 will receive a voucher for at least £250, and children in low-income families will receive an additional £250. The Government will make an additional payment of £250 when the child reaches age seven (£500 for children in low-income families).
  • Funder: Inland Revenue.
  • Aim: To ensure people have some money behind them to start their adult life. Children can start to make decisions about how the money is managed when they are 16, and the CTF is supposed to help them to learn how to make the most of money. This experience, bolstered by financial education linked to CTF, is designed to help people understand the value of savings and how to manage their personal finances with a view to the future.
  • Who Can Apply? A child is eligible for the CTF account as long as: he/she was born on or after 1 September 2002; he/she lives in the UK; the parent receives child benefit for their child; and the child is not subject to immigration control.
  • Deadline: Not fixed; rolling programme.  
  • Contact:
    T     0845 302 1470
    E ctf@inlandrevenue.gov.uk

EUROPEAN REFUGEE FUND

  • Funding: The EC has allocated £1 million to the UK in 2008. There is no minimum grant, but the maximum grant available is £250,000.
  • Funder: The European Commission. The Home Office Border and Immigration Agency runs the scheme on behalf of the EC.
  • Aim: The EC introduced the first phase of the fund in 2000 to help refugee organisations set up projects to provide appropriate reception conditions, encourage social and economic integration, and enable displaced persons to make an informed decision to leave the UK and return home if they wish. The fund is targeted at projects that: help with refugees' integration into the labour market; assist with vocational training and the acquisition of recognised qualifications and diplomas; and focus on sector-specific employment including health or education professionals. In addition, the fund focuses on projects that promote meaningful and constructive contact between refugees and UK citizens.
  • Who Can Apply? Organisations must demonstrate that they are working within the areas outlined above. Proposals must demonstrate that: the applying organisation has the relevant experience and dedicated resources to implement projects and manage the fund; 50 per cent matched funding is secured before ERF funding is released; and the proposed project is cost effective and provides value for money. Projects that work mainly or entirely with migrants from EU member states are ineligible for funding.
  • Deadline: Rolling programme.
  • Contact:
    W     http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/refugee/funding_refugee_en.htm

EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND

  • Funding: Averages £500 million a year in England during the 2000-06 period; in Scotland, £445.3 million; and in Wales, £517 million. No minimum or maximum award size; grants in England have ranged from £5,000 to £11 million.
  • Funder: European Union. For the period 2007-13, the Social Fund will contain around £1.7 billion, which will support Competitiveness Objective spending. The Government has just completed its consultation on how the money will be spent. For more details, see the feature on p4-5 and Regeneration & Renewal, 28 April, p12.
  • Aim: To: help unemployed and inactive people into work; support people who are at a disadvantage in the labour market; promote lifelong learning; develop the skills of employed people; and improve women's participation in the labour market.
  • Who Can Apply? Any legally-constituted organisation can apply, with the exception of sole traders. Individuals cannot apply.
  • Deadline: Not fixed; rolling programme
  • Contact:
    W     http://www.esf.gov.uk/

FAIR SHARE TRUST

  • Funding: The total funding for the lifespan of the funding programme is £50 million. The minimum grant available is £5,000 and the maximum is £250,000, although there is some room for flexibility on both accounts.
  • Funder: The Big Lottery Fund.
  • Aim: The Fair Share Trust was set up to provide sustained funding in fair share areas - areas that have missed out on Big Lottery Fund investment in the past. The Fair Share Trust programme aims to: build capacity by involving local communities in decision-making about lottery funding; build social capital by building links within and between communities to promote trust and participation; and improve the living environment for communities.
  • Deadline: The final closing date for the fund, which has been running since 2003, is 31 December 2013.
  • Contact:
    W http://www.communityfoundations.org.uk/fair_share_public.php

JESSICA

  • Funding: Overall, £9.4 billion has been allocated for the UK for the 2007-2013 period. The amount of funding - a combination of grants and loans - available for each individual project will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
  • Funder: The Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas programme (Jessica) is a joint initiative between the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank. It is part of the European Union's Regional Assistance programme.
  • Aim: Jessica provides financing for urban renewal and development projects, as well as for social housing provision, in European Union member states. It is designed to enable regional development agencies to offer funds to public-private partnerships - and other urban development vehicles - that will be capable of repaying in the long-term. Jessica projects are also expected to attract contributions and expertise from international finance institutions, banks and other private sector organisations.
  • Who Can Apply? Jessica is available to projects that promote sustainable investment, growth and jobs in Europe's urban areas and is provided in the UK through the regional development agencies, which will call for interested parties to make applications for funds.
  • Deadline: Rolling programme.
  • Contact:
    W www.2007-2013.eu

LANDSCAPE PARTNERSHIP

  • Funding: There is a total of £9 million available in 2008/09. The minimum available grant is £250,000 and the maximum is £2 million. If a grant of less than £1 million is awarded, applicants must provide at least ten per cent of the scheme's costs from other sources. If a grant of £1 million or more is awarded, 25 per cent of the scheme's costs must be found from elsewhere. Application deadlines are 1 April and 1 October each year.
  • Funder: Heritage Lottery Fund
  • Aim: The Landscape Partnership Fund pays for projects that ensure long-term social, economic and environmental benefits for rural areas. To be eligible, projects must: conserve or restore the built and natural features that create the historic character of the landscape; conserve and celebrate the cultural activities of the landscape area; encourage more people to become involved in their landscape heritage; and improve understanding of local craft and other skills by providing training opportunities.
  • Who Can Apply? The programme requires applications to be submitted by partnerships, normally made up of members of the community, or local, regional or national organisations with a special interest in the project area. Partnerships should either be established as a not-for-profit organisation with a formal constitution or set of rules, or a number of separate organisations linked together as partners through a written agreement.
  • Deadline: 1 April and 1 October each year
  • Contact:
    T 020 7591 6000
    E enquire@hlf.org.uk
    W http://www.hlf.org.uk/English/HowToApply/OurGrantGivingProgrammes/LandscapePartnerships/

LOW CARBON BUILDINGS PROGRAMME

  • Funding: £10.5 million is available 2006-09 for Stream 1 (Community), with grants of up to £50,000 covering up to 50 per cent of scheme costs. £18 million is available 2006-09 for Stream 2 (Large Projects), with grants up to £100,000 for projects that upgrade existing housing, and up to £1 million for major refurbishment and new build projects. A further £50 million was announced in the March 2006 Budget statement, but has yet to be allocated.
  • Funder: Department of Trade and Industry.
  • Aim: To demonstrate techniques to reduce carbon emissions from buildings and, on larger scale projects, to highlight the business case for developing low carbon buildings.
  • Who Can Apply? Stream 1: individual property owners and non-profit community groups. Subject buildings must be permanent structures and have a basic level of energy efficiency. Stream 2: businesses, developers, energy services companies and the public sector.
  • Deadline: Not fixed; rolling programme
  • Contact:
    T     0800 915 7722
    W www.lowcarbonbuildings.com

NEW APPROACHES TO LEARNING

  • Funding: Approximately £1.5 million is available for the programme each year. The foundation makes about 15 to 20 grants a year. Large grants are likely to be between £15,000 to £250,000, with small grants of £5 to £15,000 available to meet the initial groundwork costs of testing the case for a larger proposal.
  • Funder: The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
  • Aim: The scheme aims to support research into new approaches to teaching and learning that address current and future challenges in state schools for children and young people. The foundation is particularly interested in developing effective practice of national significance including: early interventions that are likely to enhance the language, literacy, numeracy and social skills of disadvantaged children; systems to improve learning support for vulnerable young people; and projects that strengthen the role of schools in the community.
  • Who Can Apply? The scheme will fund projects that involve collaboration between influential education practitioners, policy-makers and stakeholders in the voluntary, public and private sectors. Applicants should either propose new approaches to addressing complex educational issues or show how a grant would enable them to scale up work that deserves a national platform. All applications must include convincing plans, and all funded projects must be willing to be independently evaluated.
  • Deadline: Rolling programme
  • Contact:
    T 0207 297 4700
    E hilary.hodgson@esmeefairbairn.org.uk
    W http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/funding/new-learning.html

PARKS FOR PEOPLE

  • Funding: Expected to make grants totalling around £25 million in 2006-07. Grant sizes range between £250,000 and £5 million. Grants of up to £50,000 are available for project planning. In England, this is a three-year joint initiative between the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund.
  • Funder: It is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund alone in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
  • Aim: To help with the restoration and regeneration of public parks and gardens, including squares, walks and promenades, valued by communities as part of their heritage.
  • Who Can Apply? Most applications through this programme are expected to be led by local authorities. The Big Lottery Fund also welcomes applications from other not-for-profit organisations that own public parks. For this grant programme, the term "public park" means an existing designed urban or rural green space, the main purpose of which is for informal recreation and enjoyment.
  • Deadline: Two per year, on 31 March and 30 September
  • Contact:
    T     020 7591 6042/43/44
    E enquire@hlf.org.uk
    W www.hlf.org.uk

PEOPLE'S MILLIONS 2008

  • Funding: People's Millions is a UK-wide competition, hosted by ITV, which allocates funds to community projects following a public vote. This year, £5.5 million has been set aside for the competition. People's Millions will fund 90 projects of up to £50,000 in 2008, £30,000 less than in 2007. Four awards will be made in each of the 18 ITV regional news areas, with an additional award in each region to the unsuccessful project that received the most support from the public. The deadline for completed applications for this year's competition is 15 May.
  • Funder: Big Lottery Fund.
  • Aim: The scheme aims to fund a wide range of community-based projects, both rural and urban, that aim to: make the local environment cleaner, safer or greener; improve the design, appearance and accessibility of local amenities; or provide opportunities or facilities for enjoying the local environment or local amenities.
  • Who Can Apply? All voluntary and community groups including housing associations, local authorities, schools, statutory health bodies and social enterprises are eligible to apply. This year, People's Millions will only accept one application from each local council. However, each school in a local education authority can submit a separate entry to the competition.
  • Deadline: May 15 2008
  • Contact:
    For an application pack T 0845 101112
    For enquiries W http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/

STRENGENING THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR GRANTS

  • Funding: £900,000 available in 2008, in 15-25 grants worth between £20,000 and £100,000.
  • Funder: The Baring Foundation
  • Aim: To support voluntary organisations to increase their independence from government by improving core strategies and skills to achieve lasting improvements.
  • Who Can Apply? UK-based registered charities or properly constituted not-for-profit organisations working to tackle disadvantage and discrimination. Local and regional organisations should have an annual income in the last financial year of between £250,000 and £7 million, and national organisations should have an annual income in the last financial year of between £1 million and £7 million. This year the programme will focus on strengthening the independence of advice and advocacy organisations in the cities of Bristol, Coventry, Manchester or Sheffield or in the counties of Kent or Lincolnshire.
  • Deadline: The deadline for submitting applications is 30 June 2008.
  • Contact:
    T     020 7767 1348
    E baring.foundation@uk.ing.com
    W www.baringfoundation.org.uk

THE COALFIELDS REGENERATION TRUST

  • Funding: Over £60 million between 2008 and 2011. Two grants schemes award between £500 and £300,000 in England, and £500 and £100,000 in Scotland and Wales. 
  • Funder: Former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in England, Communities Scotland and the Welsh Assembly Government.
  • Aim: To promote and achieve social and economic regeneration in the coalfield communities of England, Scotland and Wales.
  • Who Can Apply? Groups, organisations and agencies in England, Scotland and Wales which can show that their project or activity benefits a coalfield community. The trust will not normally support an established business.
  • Deadline: Not fixed; rolling programme.
  • Contact:
    T     01709 760272
    E info@coalfields-regen.org.uk
    W www.coalfields-regen.org.uk 

THE SMALL FIRMS LOAN GUARANTEE

  • Funding: A government guarantee covering 75 per cent of the value of loans of up to £250,000. Lending administered by individual banks; total funding figure not available.
  • Funder: Loans administered by banks, but guaranteed by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
  • Aim: To give security to firms requiring funds but lacking collateral for loans.
  • Who Can Apply? Small- to medium-sized firms with a turnover of below £5 million that have been trading for less than five years. Certain sectors are excluded or subject to restrictions, including finance, medicine and forestry. For a full list of restrictions and participating banks, visit the Business Link website.
  • Deadline: Not fixed; rolling programme.
  • Contact:
    Contact Business Link
    W www.businesslink.gov.uk

TOWNSCAPE HERITAGE INITIATIVE

  • Funding: Grants of between £500,000 and £2,000,000 are available.
  • Funder: Heritage Lottery Fund.
  • Aim: To support projects aimed at the renewal of the historic environment in towns and cities. Priority is given to areas of deprivation.
  • Who Can Apply? Priority is given to not-for-profit organisations. Applicants may be: single organisations; partnership organisations that have their own written constitutions; or less formally structured partnerships, in which one member applies and is responsible for managing the scheme on behalf of everyone involved.
  • Deadline: 30 November 2008.
  • Contact: T 020 7591 6042/43/44
    E enquire@hlf.org.uk  
    W www.hlf.org.uk

TOWNSCAPE HERITAGE INITIATIVE

  • Funding: The total allocation for 2008/09 is £10 million. The minimum available grant is £500,000 and the maximum is £2 million.
  • Funder: The programme is a UK-wide initiative funded by good causes distributor the Heritage Lottery Fund.
  • Aim: The initiative funds projects that help communities to regenerate conservation areas with particular social and economic need. It encourages partnerships to carry out repairs and other works to historic properties in those areas, and improve the quality of life for all those who live, work or visit there. The Heritage Lottery Fund expects that funded projects: preserve and enhance the character and appearance of conservation areas that are affected by high levels of deprivation and are in need of regeneration; bring historic buildings back into appropriate and sustainable use; and safeguard the character of conservation areas.
  • Who Can Apply? The programme gives highest priority to applications from not-for-profit organisations. Applicants can be a single organisation, such as a council or building preservation trust; a partnership organisation, such as an urban regeneration company; or a less formally structured partnership. A wide range of people, including local communities, should be involved in developing projects. The area in which the project will operate must have special architectural and historical character and must be a designated conservation area.
  • Deadline: The deadline for 2008 applications is 30 November. Decisions will be made on these applications in April 2009.
  • Contact:
    W www.hlf.org.uk

UNLTD

  • Funding: Drawn from a legacy of £100 million left by the Millennium Commission. Level 1 grants available from £500 to £5,000. Level 2 grants range from £5,000 to £20,000.
  • Funder: National Lottery funding through the Millennium Commission.
  • Aim: To provide funding and complete packages of support for social enterprises designed to benefit the local community.
  • Who Can Apply? Level 1 is aimed at individuals or informal groups who want to start a project in their spare time. Level 2 is for up and running projects.
  • Deadline: Not fixed; rolling programme.
  • Contact:
    T     020 7391 9220;
    W http://www.unltd.org.uk/template.php?ID=1

YOUNG ADULTS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

  • Funding: While there is no lower or upper limit to the grants, nearly all are between £10,000 and £15,000. The programme is ongoing and applications can be made at any time.
  • Funder: Barrow Cadbury Trust
  • Aim: The fund aims to help young people make a successful transition to adulthood and improve their life chances by reducing their contact with the criminal justice system. The programme replaces the Barrow Cadbury Trust's Offending and Early Intervention Grant Programme. The trust is keen to support groups working with young people on mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse and education and employment opportunities. It especially welcomes applications from groups working with black and minority ethnic young people due to the growing link between growing up in poverty and routes into crime.
  • Who Can Apply? Grants are usually made to registered charities although, in exceptional cases, bodies that are not registered or are involved in political campaigning that may not qualify for charity status can be considered. Groups the trust works with usually have been registered as charities and companies limited by guarantee, develop risky and untested approaches, adopt a partnership-based approach to solving problems, target work of national significance and support marginalised people - in particular, women, ethnic minorities, refugees, asylum-seekers, disabled people and people on low incomes.
  • Deadline: Not fixed: Rolling Programmes
  • Contact:
    T     020 7391 9220
    W www.bctrust.org.uk

YOUNG ROOTS

  • Funding: The total amount of funding allocated to the programme is about £3 million a year. Grants of £3,000 to £25,000 are available.
  • Funder: Heritage Lottery Fund
  • Aim: Young Roots was set up to fund projects that raise awareness among young people of the UK's varied heritage. All funded projects must: provide new opportunities for 13- to 25-year-olds to learn about their own heritage and that of others; allow young people to lead and take part in creative and engaging activities; develop partnerships between youth organisations and heritage organisations; and create opportunities to celebrate young people's achievements in the project and share their learning with the wider community. In addition, all funded projects must either provide opportunities for young people to volunteer in the heritage sector, or create opportunities for young people to gain skills in identifying, recording, interpreting or caring for heritage.
  • Who Can Apply? All organisations that work with young people in the UK are eligible, provided that they can demonstrate that young people themselves have played a key role in developing the idea for the project that requires funding, and that they will continue to be involved in the project's management. All applicants must involve heritage in their proposed project. Projects that last longer than 18 months or cost more than £50,000 are ineligible for funding.
  • Deadline: 30 June 2008
  • Contact:
    W     http://www.hlf.org.uk/English/HowToApply/OurGrantGivingProgrammes/YoungRoots/
    T     020 7591 6000
    E enquire@hlf.org.uk