The Wallasey Little Sparks Fund 2015 invites groups of young people aged 18 and under to bid for cash to fund community projects in Wallasey Constituency. £2,000 has been made available for the Little Sparks Fund. The maximum bid amount is £500 and applications must be supported by a sponsor. Bids must tackle one or more of the areas of focus identified by the Committee: Helping people to be healthier (Reducing health inequalities); Helping young people to achieve more (Raising aspirations of young people); Helping bring communities together (Promoting community cohesion). Application is via the website. The closing date is 12 noon on Wednesday 1st April 2015. www.wirral.gov.uk/my-services/council-and-democracy/neighbourhoods/wallasey/wallasey-little-sparks-fund
The Birkenhead Your Wirral Fund is currently open for applications which contribute to the Feeding Birkenhead Campaign. The criteria require this funding to be used for new projects, excluding existing schemes. Priorities include the continuation of free schools meals in the holidays, breakfast and after schools clubs and for these programmes to begin in the 2015 Easter Holiday Period. The deadline for applications is 5.00pm on 25th February. Each organisation can bid for funding up to a maximum of £2,500. To apply and for further information please visit the council website. www.wirral.gov.uk/my-services/council-and-democracy/neighbourhoods/your-wirral#1
The Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation (PPCF) is a grant giving trust aiming to contribute to the development of a just society based on a commitment to nonviolence and environmental sustainability. We support projects that seek to influence values and attitudes, promote equity and social justice, and develop radical alternatives to current economic and social structures. These may be single issue groups working to achieve a particular change, or organisations with a broader remit. We give particular consideration to small pioneering headquarters organisations. We usually give grants of between £5,000 and £15,000 per year, for up to three years, to organisations with an annual income of between £10,000 and £300,000 approximately. Our next deadline for applications is 15th February 2015. PPCF Guidelines and other documents that you will need are available via the website. www.polden-puckham.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=35
The Arts Council’s Research Grants Programme, aims to provide opportunities for the arts sector to engage in collaborative research to explore in depth the impact that arts and culture can have on the cultural, social, educational and economic landscape. Successful applicants will promote greater collaboration and co-operation between the arts and cultural sector and research partners. Applications must be a joint collaboration between an arts and/or cultural organisation and a research partner. The arts and/or cultural organisation must be the lead applicant. Organisations can apply for funding for projects that last for up to three years. Grants are available from £50,000 to £100,000 per year. Applications must be submitted by 5pm on Thursday 12th March and decisions on 27th May 2015. Application and guidance is via the website. www.artscouncil.org.uk/news/arts-council-news/new-research-grants-programme-now-open-application
O2 Think Big 2015 find young people with great ideas and help them get going by giving them the training and funding to make their ideas work. They support realistic and achievable projects that can be done for £300, up to £2500. The project must either positively impact or tackle a problem within the applicant’s community or wider society. To apply for Think Big and Think Bigger, applicants must be between 13 and 25 years old. Any friends or supporters working with them on the project can be of any age. Once O2 have spoken to the applicant and their supporter, the project will go to a monthly decision panel. Dates are available via the website. More information and application is via the website. www.o2thinkbig.co.uk
The Tree Council’s Tree Futures grant scheme offers help for tree planting through two programmes: the Trees for Schools and the Community Trees funds. Any school or community group within the United Kingdom that is planning a project which actively involves children under the age of 16 is encouraged to draw on the fund to plant trees and make a greener future. In addition, The Tree Council are offering funds for the planting of orchards by schools and community groups through their Orchard Windfalls Fund. The Tree Council are able to fund projects between £100 and £700 and successful applicants will receive up to 75% towards their planting costs. The remaining 25% will need to be secured by your school or organisation. The deadline for applications for all these funds is the 31st of March 2015. Application Form and accompanying guidelines are available via the website. www.treecouncil.org.uk/Grants
The BHP Billiton Environmental Fund funds projects based around enhancing or conserving the local environment. The fund has the following priorities: Nature conservation; ‘Greening’ urban areas; Tackling pollution; Aiding recycling. Priority will be given to those groups working in disadvantaged areas of the community that show local community involvement. Grants of up to £3000 are available and the total budget is approximately £11k. Voluntary or community groups from Merseyside (including Halton) with a constitution or set of rules in the group’s name are welcome to apply. The closing date is Monday 9th March 2015. Further information and application is available via the website. www.cfmerseyside.org.uk/index.php?p=209
Due North are inviting agencies wishing to apply for funding for provision of victims services in 2015-16 to apply now via the Bluelight’ Emergency Services eTendering website. If any such agencies have any questions regarding the commissioning of services, they are invited to contact Helen Selby, Director of Commissioning, on 0151 777 5155. More information is available via the website. www.bluelight.gov.uk/
Merseyside Funding Information Portal, an online resource that will give you all you need to know about funding your charitable or community work, whether you are an individual, community group, voluntary organisation, registered charity or social enterprise. In addition, information and support in tendering and procurement related opportunities for voluntary bodies are now offered through this portal. www.mfip.org.uk/
Funding alerts from Funding Central www.fundingcentral.org.uk
Are you getting the most out of your weekly funding alerts? Check your profile and see if there’s any information you might be missing out on. Your weekly email can contain new and updated funding alerts of regional, national and European opportunities as well as reminders of approaching deadlines, notifications about potential partners, news and events. Can’t wait for the weekly newsletter? Don’t forget you can run a search on the website at any time and adjust and save your settings for next time.
Other interesting news…
Saville AV are running a competition to provide a complete cinema package to a group of volunteers based in the UK that have a venue, such as a village hall or town hall, and aim to start up a community cinema. Wow them with a description of your first film screening and how your local community cinema would make a difference to your neighbourhood and the winning entry will win a complete cinema package including a 4000 Lumen Projector, Projection Screen, Full HD Smart Blu-ray player, Amplifier, Speakers with stands, and a Magic Movie Mobile as well as help to get up and running from the BFI Neighbourhood Cinema team. The competition closes on 9th February 2015. For more information, including how to enter, please visit the website. http://neighbourhoodcinema.org.uk/saville-audio-visual-community-cinema-competition
The Charities Commission recommend that all charities practice Risk Management and report the risks they face in their Annual Report. In that regard, there will be a FREE Risk Management workshop aimed at Trustees and Managers of charities on 11th February at Christ Church Community Centre, Kings Road, Higher Bebington, Ch63 8LX. This free event, provided by Baffled Fish Risk Management, will give Charity Trustees and Managers a greater understanding of their responsibilities towards Risk Management and how Risk Management techniques can be used to make sure their charity’s objectives are met. Come along for an informative talk, refreshments and the opportunity to network. To book please visit: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/risk-management-in-charities-why-bother-tickets-15350997246
What makes a strong charity brand? In a recent article for the Guardian Voluntary Sector network, Briony Gunstone, associate director at YouGov, detailed 5 principles: 1.Know your audience. Ensure that your brand resonates with the right people; 2.Build relationships with local supporters. Talk to local communities about your mission and what you hope to achieve; 3.Be ready for viral fundraising opportunities. If you can get behind a viral campaign quickly, and do it well, it can lead to unexpected windfalls; 4.Think like a brand. Approach marketing efforts like any other business would; 5.Enjoy your time in the spotlight. If your campaign is centred on a certain day or event, take ownership and get everything you can from it. The full article can be read on The Guardian website. www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2015/jan/21/five-ways-to-strengthen-your-charitys-brand
Wirral Council are hosting two provider events as part of the Carers Health and Wellbeing Service that commences April 2015. The first event will be for Domiciliary Providers on Thursday 12th February, 11.00am-12.00pm, at Wallasey Town Hall. The second event is for Residential Short Break Beds (Respite) and is on the same day, 9.30am – 10.30. For more information, including how to confirm your attendance, please visit the website. www.the-chest.org.uk/procontract/supplier.nsf/frm_opportunity?OpenForm&contract_id=CONTRACT-9T6P-UA6PM0
StudyZone – NCVO’s online training platform – gets you and your team trained at your desks. No more travel and accommodation costs to pay, just practical, bite-sized learning aimed to help you do your job better. They work with top experts to create courses covering any voluntary sector management area from fundraising to governance, digital communications to HR. As an NCVO member, you also get 30% off as well. For more information visit the website. http://knowhownonprofit.org/studyzone
Silent auction specialists iBid Events have helped raise over £20 million in 12 months at 650 charity events. A large portion of this success is iBid’s Single Page App (SPA) which makes the company’s technology available on a self-service basis. Smaller charities and even individuals can use iBid Lite to add an interactive auction to their fundraising events, at a considerably lower price than it would cost them to pay iBid to set up and run the event themselves. According to the company, iBid Lite is a “mobile version of the full iBid product”. As such, it provides the user with a back-end event management system (EMS), so that it can present the auction content in the style of its own brand, set up multiple events, update lot items, and receive live reports throughout the auction on the amount being raised. In fact, charities do not even have to run a physical event to use iBid Lite: they can use it simply to run an online auction. www.fundraising.co.uk/2015/01/28/ibid-events-bring-auction-technology-small-charities/?mc_cid=9c0e9b0699&mc_eid=1084f21dc1
The Institute of Fundraising have added a new Frequently Asked Fundraising Questions section to their website. It seeks to answer the questions you may have about fundraising, such as whether you have to be registered with anyone to be able to fundraise, how fundraising is regulated, how long you can hold donors information for and even whether you need a licence to collect money on the street or not. www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/guidance/frequently-asked-fundraising-questions/
For more information on funding or to be added to the circulation list please contact Zel Rodgers – Funding Development Officer. Email [email protected] or call 0151 353 9700 ext 205
