We are urging organisations across Essex to apply for our new Community Winter Warmth and Welcome Spaces Fund.
Launched today, the £100,000 fund offers grants of up to £1,000 so organisations can create new spaces or activities, or extend their existing services.
The fund is open to charities, clubs or associations, community interest companies and town and parish councils.
Grants can be used for things like equipment to run new activities, venue or catering costs, operational costs including utilities, and staff or volunteer expenditure.
Cllr Louise McKinlay, ECC Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community, Equality, Partnerships and Performance, said: “We know people across the country are struggling at the moment and helping tackle the cost of living crisis is a key priority for Essex County Council.
“Our new Community Winter Warmth and Welcome Spaces Fund will provide funding to organisations, so they can better support those in need in their communities.
“This might be by opening up somewhere warm for people to go this winter or offering activities for them to enjoy inside a safe and welcoming space.
“We hope this fund will provide support for those most in need, but also bring communities closer together and help people feel connected with others in their area. I would urge groups across Essex to apply.”
The fund will be administered by the Essex Association of Local Councils (EALC) on our behalf.
As you find yourself recovering from COVID, you may still have symptoms that affect your body and mind.
These symptoms should get better over time and some may last longer than others, but there are things you can do to help.
Your COVID Recovery is here to support you and help you to understand what has happened and what you might expect as part of your recovery.
Information for family, friends and carers
Supporting your family member, relative or friend following their COVID illness can be challenging.
You may be providing emotional and physical help in addition to all your other responsibilities.
This can be a very stressful time for you both and we hope the information within the website will give you reassurance and support during their recovery.
If you are interested in offering a warm space for your local community this winter, The Essex Map is offering you a space to list your organisational information as part of this initiative. Please register for your free listing on the Essex Map homepage. When developing your listing ensure you select the warm spaces category and warm spaces tag which makes it easier for users of the Essex Map to find your listing.
There is further information on how to set up a warm space, funding available to apply for and helpful resources on The Essex Map’s Warm Spaces page.
If you need additional support with uploading your listing on to The Essex Map please email Jade on [email protected]
You are invited to our Youth voices listening conference, workshops & information fair on 22nd October at Anglia Ruskin university.
Official invitation to the Youth Voice Conference on October 2022, with the purpose of listening to young people around issues of safety.
The youth Voice conference is being organised in partnership with Essex Boys and Girls Clubs (EBGC), Essex Council For Voluntary Youth Services (ECVYS), Essex Police, The Violence and Vulnerability Unit (VVU) and Essex Young Assembly. There will also be a range of local partners, organisations and charities attending the day.
FREE lunch, and refreshments…. Plus a free goodie bag if you are lucky enough to qualify as a young person!
When: Saturday 22nd October 2022 Where: Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford Time: 10am – 2pm
This conference is aimed at young people aged 13 and over who live in Essex (including Southend and Thurrock) and want the opportunity to have their voices heard. The conference will focus on keeping young people safe in Essex and in their communities. There will be workshops, an information fair, speakers, the Essex Police Youth Strategy Launch and the chance to have your questions answered in a panel by decision makers!
(Please note that although we would love as many policy makers, commissioners and budget holders there as possible to listen to what young people are saying; spaces are limited and first priority will be given to young people if we are oversubscribed).
Topics that will be covered are:
– Mental health and wellbeing
– Staying safe in public
-LGBTQ+ and hate crime awareness
– VVU listening report findings
– Essex Police Youth Stagey Launch
– What to do in an emergency
– Where do you feel safe in your community
If you are planning on bringing a group of young people and need help with transport please get in contact.
Information Fair; opportunity to display-
During the conference young people will have the opportunity to visit information stands about local services, charities, organisation, opportunities and support around staying safe or around youth activities and safe spaces. If you would like a stand (or for us to display your information if you are unable to attend), then please email Rebecca at [email protected]
If you or any young people have any questions please get in contact
The London Marathon Charitable Trust (LMCT) has provided a grant of £1 million to inspire activity in Essex.
The grant looks to expand the Find Your Active small grants programme, scale up Essex Pedal Power, and increase active travel opportunities in our schools and communities.
The RideLondon-Essex cycling event, which took place in May 2022 in conjunction with Essex County Council, has led to a new funding partnership between Active Essex and LMCT to invest £1 million to inspire more people to be active across the county.
Find Your Active
As part of Active Essex’s successful Find Your Active campaign, LMCT is powering a programme to support Essex-wide projects that help residents lead active and healthy lives. Organisations, groups and instructors will be able to apply for funds of up to £3,000 to help residents find the activity that’s right for them, via the Active Essex.
In light of the growing cost-of-living crisis, funding is being offered to clubs and groups who can help get residents to be active in these challenging times and welcome organisations to inform us of the support they need.
In order to capture the county’s love for cycling, The Active Essex Foundation will also be offering support to inclusive cycling initiatives along the RideLondon route, as well as skate jam opportunities for young people. Through events and cycling workshops, the Foundation will strengthen communities, enhancing local assets and providing opportunities for young people who are at risk, to try new activities and lead healthier, happier, more positive lives.
Schools will be encouraged to apply for the Essex School Active Travel Grant funding, to help promote healthier active travel methods for both pupils and families. Schools will be able to utilise the funding to start or expand their School Active Travel Plan and help overcome any existing barriers currently preventing communities to travel actively to school.
Building upon established active travel initiatives in Essex, the £1 million funding will also help to expand Essex Pedal Power; a community-based cycling initiative that has been piloted in Clacton and Jaywick Sands, where eligible residents can apply for a free bike, with the aim of making cycling more accessible for everyone. New Essex Pedal Power programmes are being planned for Colchester, Basildon and Harwich.
Catherine Anderson, Executive Director at The London Marathon Charitable Trust, said:
It’s great to have Essex as a new core funding area for us, thanks to the partnership between RideLondon and Essex County Council, and to have the opportunity to inspire activity in communities right across the county.
We’re proud to be working with Active Essex and The Active Essex Foundation to fund initiatives that will promote health and wellbeing – supporting more people to find an activity that’s right for them and building activity into their daily lives. We can’t wait to see the impact our partnership will have over the next year in helping communities across the county to be more active.
Sustainable active travel
Cllr Lee Scott, Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport added:
It’s great to see how the inaugural event of RideLondon coming to Essex is now having a tremendous benefit on Essex residents. It is my hope that this funding will have an impact on activity levels across the county and help provide further opportunities in creating sustainable active travel.
Active Essex and LMCT
Active Essex is the Active Partnership for the county and hosted by Essex County Council.
LMCT is the parent charity of London Marathon Events (LME), the organisers of RideLondon. All surplus from events organised by LME is gifted to LMCT, who in turn provide grants to projects that inspire activity.
Please note: we will continue accepting holiday grant applications for trips taking place before the end of 2022. Grants will be awarded until available funding has been allocated.
The purpose of the Holiday Grants programme is to provide access to recreational trips or holidays for groups of children who experience disadvantage or who have disabilities. In particular we are interested in contributing to trips that would not take place without our funding.
Please note we have removed some of the temporary changes we made last year to the types of trips we will fund, please read the funding guidelines carefully to make sure your trip is eligible.
Grant size:
£500 – £2,500
Length:
One-off short grants
Decision timescale:
6 weeks
Deadlines:
Submission dates vary depending when trips or holidays take place
Location of work:
UK only, with priority to the 20% most deprived areas
Funding covers:
Short holidays and recreational trips
Organisation type:
Schools, small charities and not-for-profit organisations
We award grants to those charities that are able to demonstrate quantifiable outcomes to beneficiaries. Typically, grants of up to £5,000 are regularly made and occasional larger sums are given to charities where high impact can be achieved. Similarly, smaller charities often benefit from smaller grants of £250 upwards.
You should meet the following criteria:
You are a small- to mid-size UK registered charity
Your application is not for salaries, building construction, general running costs, transport, financial deficits or overseas projects
Your application is not on behalf of a church, museum or an individual
You have not received a previous grant from The Foundation within the last 2 years (or submitted an application which was unsuccessful within the last 12 months)
When to apply
The Trustees meet four times per year to review grant applications. These should be received in good time before each meeting and at least 6 weeks before the meeting date. The forthcoming meetings are as follows:
02 November 2022
25 January 2023
26 April 2023
26 July 2023
Tips to aid successful applications
The Foundation receives over 1000 applications per year of which around 250 are successful. As a guide, you should:
complete the application concisely
include a breakdown of costs showing how the grant would be spent
clearly state the anticipated outcome or impact, together with who and how many people would benefit
ensure your contact details are accurate, specifically email and contact telephone numbers
include a copy of your most recent Statement of Financial Activities showing income, expenditure and a Balance Sheet
include a copy of the charity’s recent bank statement showing the bank account number and sort code
How to apply
Download the application form below, complete and post with any supporting documentation (including audited accounts) to:
If you would like to be part of the Warm Spaces initiative and have expressed interest to having a warm space for your local community during the winter, then please check out our page on the Essex Map.
The Essex Alliance and Essex Map are working with the county and warm spaces to provide the community with information on where they can find warm space in their area.
If you’re an organisation who would like to add your listing in relation to the warm space’s initiative you can do this be reviewing the information on our warm spaces page.
Or if you’re working with a client who would like information about warm spaces in their area please search the key word ‘warm spaces’ or search the category which is under halls & venues.
For further support and assistance on how to ‘add a listing’ to the Essex Map please email [email protected]
The Curve is a series of free, 90-minute workshops for third sector organisations. These online workshops aim to build knowledge around best digital practices, raise awareness of digital tools and ultimately help increase impact with digital. Workshops are open to anyone working or volunteering with a third sector organisation in the UK.
If you have any questions relating to The Curve, please contact Jenn at [email protected]
Training includes; fundraising, Mailchimp, Canva, Design and Accessibility.