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.
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
How to apply for a grant from the Councillor Priority Fund
In February 2018, the County Council agreed to set aside £945,000 in 2018/19 and 2019/20 for a Councillor Priority Fund.
This is part of their commitment to supporting local communities across Oxfordshire, building on last year’s Communities Fund and the successes and lessons learnt of administering that fund.
The Councillor Priority Fund will run across two financial years, and will be at the discretion of individual councillors to award.
Please ensure you have read the guidance notes (pdf format, 331Kb) and can meet the criteria before submitting to your local councillor.
Details are on the website at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/councillorpriorityfund and an early chat with your county councillor is strongly recommended.
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)
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
Applications are considered for these areas of work which qualify for funding through the LCF:
Community funding
The Trust’s funding programmes are designed to improve a broad range of publicly accessible amenities which benefit a wide cross section of the community. Whether improving a local play area or a nationally significant historic building, each project has the potential to transform the community in which it is based.
Biodiversity funding
The Landfill Communities Fund and Scottish Landfill Communities Fund has been instrumental in helping to restore and look after the UK’s wildlife.
SUEZ Communities Trust’s biodiversity funding is focused on supporting priority species and habitats present on the Scottish Biodiversity List or List of Priority Species in England and Wales (Sections 41 & 42 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006).
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 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 £15 million programme, jointly funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (DBEIS). It supports rural communities in England to develop renewable energy projects which provide economic and social benefits to the community.
The fund provides up to approximately £150,000 of funding for feasibility and pre-planning development work to help projects become investment ready
To find out more about the fund and eligibility criteria please click here.
Special projects:
Many people, businesses, communities and local groups have great ideas for projects to care for the chilterns Area of Outstanding natural beauty and make it a better place to live, work and visit. The Chilterns conservation Board can help turn those ideas into reality through grants available from its easy to access Special Projects Scheme.
What kind of projects can be supported?
Projects that make a difference to the Chilterns and for those who live, work in and visit the AONB. Projects must clearly meet the following priorities:
What are this year's specific priorities?
For more information, case studies and an application form go to the Chilterns AONB website here
The Covenant Fund has £10 million each year to support the Armed Forces Covenant by funding projects which address specific priorities.
The current funding priorities are:
From May 2019:
For more information on how to apply go here:
OCF provides a variety of grant programmes that help community groups and charities in Oxfordshire improve people’s lives.
We operate three main grant programmes, as well as running programmes on behalf of other funders, as shown below. 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 our 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.
