This page has details of a variety of different sources of funding which may assist your council. Please be aware each funding source will have different qualifying criteria, time scales and application methodology. Check carefully before you apply.
Funding available from the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment
TOE’s Local Environment Fund supports projects which halt the decline in nature and connect people with green spaces and the countryside on their doorstep. These projects, led by Parish Councils, were awarded grants last month
If your Council, or a community group in your parish, is planning a project, email admin@trustforoxfordshire.org.uk to arrange a chat about the grants available for not-for-profit organisations (including parish and town councils), and check that your idea meets our funding criteria.
Are you planting trees for the Queen’s Green Canopy?
In addition, this year TOE is working with the Lord Lieutenant for Oxfordshire and her colleagues to support the Queen’s Green Canopy campaign, created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee. Grants are available through the Local Environment Fund to plant trees and to establish native, species-rich woodland habitats across the county including new hedges, community orchards or woodland so please get in touch if your parish is looking for funding.
Grants are awarded quarterly and the next deadline is 27 July 2022. Detailed guidance and the application form can be downloaded from www.trustforoxfordshire.org.uk/main-fund
The Janet & Bryan Moore Charitable Trust has been established to support projects which unite local communities within the counties of Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire.
The Trust is very keen to receive applications. The maximum grant is £20,000.
All grants award by the Trust must be used to cover costs that are directly connected to carrying out the charitable activities that the Trustees have agreed to fund (Funded Activities).
Grants can be used either to cover costs that are directly connected to carrying out the charitable activities that the Trustees have agreed to fund or to fund expenditure on the following:
(a) Salary costs;
(b) Capital expenditure, provided the Applicant is able to demonstrate that the expenditure is essential to the charitable activities that the Trustees have agreed to fund and that any assets acquired using grant money will be used for similar purposes after then end of the proposed activities;
(c) Contributions to the cost of overheads, provided that the Applicant is able to demonstrate that such overhead costs are essential for, and directly linked to, the charitable activities that the Trustees have agreed to fund; and
(d) Other types of expenditure.
If the Applicant is a non-charitable organisation the proposal must also:
(a) provide evidence that the organisation has a bank account with at least two unrelated signatories; and
(b) demonstrate that all of the activities in the proposal will qualify as being charitable for the public benefit if they are undertaken by an organisation that is registered as a Trust in England and Wales.
More information and an application form on their website here -
One the biggest challenges faced by charities, parish councils and community groups is how to find out which organisations are giving grants, donations and match funding to causes and projects and then managing the multiple application processes. The Good Exchange are a Not-for-Profit, Charity-Funded, On-Line grant matching platform.
The grant application process used by most charitable foundations, trusts and government bodies is inefficient, time-consuming and often-paper-based, involving multiple registrations with multiple organisations. Many small charities or parish councils with part-time or voluntary staff lose out to large charities’ professional fundraising teams.
There is one simple online application form and appeals/applications are matched to grants that match the criteria. It gives access to multiple grant givers and appears to minimize admin time.
Definitely worth looking at their website https://thegoodexchange.com/
As Oxfordshire’s independent environmental funder, TOE invites applications from ambitious, creative projects which deliver real improvements for Oxfordshire’s environment and benefit local communities.
TOE Main Grant Scheme:
Applications are invited from projects which:
Most grants are up to about £7,000 but some larger projects are supported; please contact us to discuss your project ideas.
The TOE grant panel meets four times a year to consider funding applications, but staff are always available to advise potential applicants.
Achieving No Net Loss of Biodiversity on the Greater West Programme
TOE and Network Rail are offering an exciting funding opportunity for biodiversity in Oxfordshire and Berkshire. We are inviting project applications in the range of £10,000 to £100,000.
Funding focus:
Please contact TOE to discuss your project ideas - 01865 407003 or admin@trustforoxfordshire.org.uk or visit their website www.trustforoxfordshire.org.uk
Visit the Awards for All website to get details about the programme and to get an application form, or call 0845 4 10 20 30
Area - England
Suitable for - Voluntary or community organisations
Funding size - £300 to £10,000
Application deadline - Ongoing
National Lottery Awards for All offers funding from £300 to £10,000 to support what matters to people and communities.
You can apply if your organisation is a:
voluntary or community organisation
registered charity
constituted group or club
not-for-profit company or community interest company
social enterprise
school
statutory body (including town, parish and community council)
A good application should do at least one of these three things:
It’s important to us that you involve your community in the design, development and delivery of the activities you’re planning. We feel your project will be more successful if you involve your community.
Flexible funding over £10,000 for up to five years to organisations in England who want to take action on the issues that matter to people and communities.
More information from here
The Cotswolds Conservation Board has a variety of grants available for different purposes. Look at their website to understand the criteria and timescales:
http://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/grants-and-projects/grant-funding/
OCVA have general advice and guidance on potential sources of funding on their website. Their website provides pointers to specialised sources of funding by category and other useful tips and hints to help you make a successful grant application.
Sharing Heritage is Heritage Lottery Fund’s smallest grant programme. Grants range from £3,000 to £10,000 and is suitable for groups who have never applied to us before, as well as more experienced organisations.
Everything you need to know is here on the Heritage Lottery Fund website
More information on the Suez website here
To be eligible for SUEZ Communities Trust funding your project must be located within one of the active funding zones. A funding zone is the area surrounding a qualifying site owned by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK. To find out if your project site is eligible there is a postcode checker on their website.
Applications are considered for these areas of work which qualify for funding through the LCF:
Public Amenities
(LCF Object D)
To provide, maintain or improve an amenity that is used primarily for leisure and recreation. The amenity must be open to all sections of the community for at least 104 days a year.
Biodiversity
(LCF Object DA)
The conservation of biodiversity through the provision, conservation, restoration or enhancement of a natural habitat or the maintenance or recovery of a species in its natural habitat.
Historic Buildings, Structures or Sites
(LCF Object E)
The maintenance, repair or restoration of a building, other structure or a site of archaeological interest which is a place of religious worship, or a site of historic or architectural or archaeological interest and is open to the public. Places of religious worship must be Grade I listed.
Some will be young, fit and talented but most will not. We need a sport sector that welcomes everyone, meets their needs, treats them as individuals and values them as customers.
The Small Grants programme (£300 - £10,000) aims to support this by offering funding to projects involving adults and young people aged 14 or over which meet one or more of the aims of our ‘Towards an Active Nation’ strategy:
More information here
The Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) is a £10 million programme which supports rural communities in England to develop renewable energy projects, which provide economic and social benefits to the community.
Funding available
RCEF provides support to rural communities in 2 stages:
stage 1: grants of up to £40,000 for a feasibility study for a renewable energy project
stage 2: grants of up to £100,000 for business development and planning of feasible schemes
How to apply
RCEF is being run by 5 regional Local Energy Hubs. If you would like to register your interest for the scheme, or would like further information, please contact the relevant hub for your area.
The hubs are split by Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) regions. For Oxfordshire:
For more information go here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rural-community-energy-fund
The Covenant Fund has £10 million each year to support the Armed Forces Covenant by funding projects which address specific priorities.
There are a variety of different programmes which they support. Find out which programmes are still current and which are accepting applications here -
https://covenantfund.org.uk/programmes/
OCF provides a variety of grant programmes that help community groups and charities in Oxfordshire improve people’s lives.
They operate three main grant programmes, as well as running programmes on behalf of other funders. To decide which programme is most suitable for your group, you should consider the scale and ambition of the work you are applying for money for, and whether your work fits with OCF’s priorities, as identified in their research report Oxfordshire Uncovered.
For more information and details of how to apply check the OCF website.
Biffa Award currently provides funding for projects between £10,000 - £75,000.
The Main Grant scheme Recreation and Community Building project theme requires an active Biffa operation to be within 5 miles of the project site OR an active Biffa Landfill site within 10 miles. In addition your project must be within 10 miles of any registered landfill site. However, if you’re applying under the Main Grants Rebuilding Biodiversity theme, the radius of the Biffa operation is extended to within 15 miles.
More information here on the Biffa Award website.
The Biffa Award Board meets three times annually. At each meeting the Board considers applications from these project themes:
with each theme being considered twice annually.
Once your application is received, it will be seen at the next appropriate Board meeting relevant to your theme.
