The Community Action Fund exists to support grassroots campaigning and community organising in the UK.
It will provide one-off grants between £2,500 and £20,000.
These grants are available to grassroots organisations that are building the power of their community and campaigning for long-term change.
All successful applicants will be offered support beyond funding. This will include the Civic Power Fund Governance Hub and optional, bespoke cohort and capacity building opportunities.
The deadline is 26th February 2023.
IS THE COMMUNITY ACTION FUND RIGHT FOR YOU?
The Community Action Fund is open to UK-based organisations that are:
Rooted in and accountable to their community.
Hoping to achieve long-term change on issues affecting the lives of their community.
Addressing injustice by building the power of their community. For example, through community organising, campaigning, or democratic engagement.
Lacking the resources to take their vision to the next level.
Seeking to build a larger us and resisting the politics of division
The Community Action Fund prioritises organisations led by people with lived experience of the injustice they are trying to overcome.
HOW TO APPLY?
We do not want to waste your time.
Before submitting an application, you must first answer a short questionnaire to confirm your organisation is in scope.
The questionnaire includes a checklist of yes or no questions. It also includes four questions where you can share a few bullet points or a short video to tell us a bit more about your work.
To be eligible for funding you must complete the questionnaire by 26th February 2023.
The Randal Charitable Foundation welcomes applications from charities,
voluntary and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), which share similar goals and objectives to us.
Before enquiring about applying for grant funding please make sure you read about the different areas of work, which the Foundation supports in the Our Work section.
Our Application Process
The Trustees are keen to support causes in which the key aim is to directly save lives and therefore ask all applicants to give clear forecasted numbers for this within their application.
Once we have received an enquiry and approved for it to progress to the next stage, the Foundation will invite the charity/ organisation to complete a Foundation application form.
The key information which we require, includes:
The main objectives and focus areas of the organisation
The public benefit provided by the organisation
The amount (£) of Grant Funding requested and a breakdown of the project/cause cost
If the Grant Funding will be used for general purpose or support towards a specific cause and if so, the details of this project
If General Funding, a detailed breakdown of how the funds will be utilised
If the Grant Funding is for a specific cause, a detailed breakdown of costs for the project
If they require a one-off grant or multi-year funding.
The timescale of the grant period and the sustainability of the cause.
We ask all applicants to attach a copy of their Safeguarding Policy to accompany their application and confirm that there are no Safeguarding concerns within the organisation.
We also ask all applicants to include a copy of the latest Trustees’ Report, Safeguarding Policy, latest Financial Statements and Full Budget, as well as Charity Details from the Charity Commission Website
Please note that the Trustees do not enter into correspondence in respect of decisions made on applications for funding.
Local groups and organisations with great ideas to make their communities even better places to live are invited to apply for funding to turn their ideas into reality.
Active Communities is a funding programme for community groups and not-for-profit organisations, with an income of less than £350,000 a year or an average of £350,000 over two years.
We are currently open in Health Lottery East in parts of:
Norfolk: Great Yarmouth, Norwich, Kings Lynn, North Norfolk and West Norfolk
Suffolk: Babergh, Ipswich.
Funding applications will close on Wednesday 1 February at 1pm.
Active Communities is for projects seeking investment of between £5,000 and £40,000 for projects lasting up to two years.
We’re looking for small and local projects, genuinely designed and run by local people. By small, we mean just a small group of people on an estate, in a few streets or villages.
We’re also looking for great ideas from communities of interest. By this we mean a group of people who have things in common and wish to come together to address something that is important to them. These ideas could be based in one neighbourhood, or cover a wider area but they must live close enough to each other to meet up regularly.
We are particularly interested to hear how your project will respond to the cost of living crisis and rising mental health needs. The Trust may prioritise projects that include cost of living considerations and/or support mental health.
The programme is open in different areas at different times of the year. Please note that to make sure our funds are distributed equitably, sometimes we will restrict the neighbourhoods that are eligible to apply.
We run a two stage application process that begins with an online form. There’s step by step guidance to help you along the way but if you need any support, please call us on 020 4548 0939 or email us. Find out more
To view our opening timetable for 2023 click here.
Timed to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, the government has committed to supporting over 100 rural community buildings with capital improvements. This follows in the footsteps of investments made in village halls as part of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee (1897) and King George V‘s Silver Jubilee (1935).
There are over 10,000 village halls to be found in most rural communities across England, providing residents with what is quite often the only place to meet and socialise locally. They host a wide range of activities from exercises classes, playgroups to weddings and many accommodate vital services such as post offices, doctors’ surgeries and shops.
Responding to the news, Action with Communities in Rural England’s (ACRE) Chair, David Emerson CBE, said: “We are delighted to know that through this capital funding programme, the Government is renewing its support for village halls in this jubilee year. At the heart of rural communities for over a century, these unique volunteer-run halls do so much to support the well-being of local residents, as well as helping to sustain the many livelihoods which depend on use of these important buildings. This is an announcement that is especially appropriate in the week that 1000s of halls across the country are hosting local celebrations of the royal jubilee.”
Member organisations affiliated to ACRE have a long history of supporting the volunteers who manage these buildings. They employ specialist advisers based in every county who are on hand to help make sure halls have effective governance procedures in place, comply with red tape and are welcoming spaces that everyone can enjoy. ACRE also administered the previous Village Halls Improvement Grant Scheme which ran between 2018 and 2021 worth £2.8 million sponsored by Defra.
Speaking of the difference that capital grant funding has made to village halls previously, Deborah Clarke, the charity’s Village Halls Manager said, “Investment in a community’s hall renews commitment and enthusiasm. The grants awarded enabled hall committees to upgrade their buildings making them more energy efficient by renewing roofs, windows and heating systems alongside extensions to provide more space for community activity. We are looking forward to learning about this new fund in due course”.
Full details of the application process and the eligibility criteria for village halls wishing to apply for the fund are yet to be released by the government. In the meantime, ACRE is recommending halls complete a short form to register their interest and be kept informed about developments.
ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) is a national charity speaking up for and supporting rural communities. It is the national body of the ACRE Network, England’s largest rural grouping of county-based local development charities which together reach over 35,000 community groups annually, and lever in over £34 million each year in support of rural communities.
Local groups and organisations with great ideas to make their communities even better places to live are invited to apply for funding to turn their ideas into reality.
Active Communities is a funding programme for community groups and not-for-profit organisations, with an income of less than £350,000 a year or an average of £350,000 over two years.
We are currently open in Health Lottery East in parts of:
Norfolk: Great Yarmouth, Norwich, Kings Lynn, North Norfolk and West Norfolk
Suffolk: Babergh, Ipswich.
Funding applications will close on Wednesday 1 February at 1pm.
Active Communities is for projects seeking investment of between £5,000 and £40,000 for projects lasting up to two years.
We’re looking for small and local projects, genuinely designed and run by local people. By small, we mean just a small group of people on an estate, in a few streets or villages.
We’re also looking for great ideas from communities of interest. By this we mean a group of people who have things in common and wish to come together to address something that is important to them. These ideas could be based in one neighbourhood, or cover a wider area but they must live close enough to each other to meet up regularly.
We are particularly interested to hear how your project will respond to the cost of living crisis and rising mental health needs. The Trust may prioritise projects that include cost of living considerations and/or support mental health.
The programme is open in different areas at different times of the year. Please note that to make sure our funds are distributed equitably, sometimes we will restrict the neighbourhoods that are eligible to apply.
We run a two stage application process that begins with an online form. There’s step by step guidance to help you along the way but if you need any support, please call us on 020 4548 0939 or email us. Find out more
To view our opening timetable for 2023 click here.
Essex County Council has developed a voluntary sector support survey this survey will ask about the voluntary sector infrastructure support offer in Essex.
Voluntary Sector Infrastructure Offer is the ‘support that enables community groups and voluntary organisations to build greater resilience, self-sustaining capacity and capability to deliver activities and services. Strategic representation, liaison and partnership working across sectors.’
In Essex the organisations that deliver this support are normally called CVS and are core funded by the Essex County Council (ECC).
ECC are reviewing this support offer to make sure that it is effective and delivering what you need in order to succeed, this survey is part of a period of engagement with the voluntary community sector, the CVS and other stakeholders, for example districts and health partners.
This will take you approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.
The fund will run until the end of June this year and will prioritise funding projects that can make the biggest difference to people that need it most.
Our Small Grants Programme can now give 50% larger awards to help communities get active after the maximum grant amount was increased to £15,000 for 2023.
The Small Grants Programme was put on hold for a year in 2022 as we launched the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Activity Fund, which was designed to bring communities together through activity.
Now, Small Grants has returned and the award limit has been upped from £10,000 to £15,000 in order to provide sport and physical activities for people who may be less physically active.
Our maximum award is now 50% more.
We believe that communities that work together and share resources provide a stronger and more sustainable impact.
So, the programme will also prioritise projects that focus on environmental sustainability, can demonstrate how they connect with their communities, provide the biggest possible impact to those who need it most and are working with people living in areas of disadvantage.
Applications can be made for awards of between £300 and £15,000, with multiple applications permitted but organisations can only have awards totalling £15,000 or less in any 12-month period.
Only not-for-profit organisations are eligible for the programme and applications should explain the need for the project as well as how end users have been involved in its development.
In addition to this, submissions should consider how the project adds value to services currently available in their community, and show how the organisation will collaborate with other groups to maximise the project’s impact.
The closing date for applications to the programme is 30 June.
We want to write a new strategy that sets out what we will do to support people with learning disabilities, sensory impairment and physical disabilities over the next four years to help them to live the best life they can. This new strategy will cover:
adults over the age of 18
people with a learning disability
people with a sensory impairment. This means sight and/ or hearing loss
people with a physical disability including brain injury
At the moment it doesn’t include disabilities such as mental health and autism alone as we have separate strategies in these areas.
We want the strategy to tell us:
How things are being done now
How people feel about things now
What we need to do in the future to make things better
Why your views matter
We want to know what you think to help us to make sure we get things right for people with disabilities.
In this consultation we ask whether or not you agree that the proposed commitments are the right ones, and if there is anything else you would like to see included.
All feedback received will be reviewed and used to inform the final version of the Disability Strategy.
If you require this consultation in a large print hard copy or would like to answer the questions by telephone instead of online, please contact Disabilitystrategy@essex.gov.uk.
Essex County Council has teamed up with the University of Essex to lead a research project about women’s safety at night.
The online survey takes around 5-10 minutes to complete and responses will be used to inform future work of Essex County Council’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG).
The survey is open until Sunday 15th January, residents can take part here.
We know people are worried about rising costs and may be struggling. This document outlines a range of services, resources and additional information to help the county during this difficult time.