Funding News

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has today opened the Community Safety Fund - Grant and is welcoming applications from all organisations, whether large of small, statutory or voluntary.

A total of up to £400,000 is available to fund projects which can demonstrate a clear link to the PCC’s key aims in his Police and Crime Plan, particularly the areas listed below. The PCC is looking to fund 6 to 8 opportunities.

Priority 1 – Vulnerability

Key Aim: Better understanding by police and partners of the extent and nature of elder abuse, followed by positive action taken to address the issues uncovered.

Priority 3 – Reducing Re-offending

Key Aim: A review by police and other criminal justice partners on whether processes for identifying and referring individuals in contact with the criminal justice system into substance misuse services are as effective as they could be.

Key Aim: Improved data sharing on gangs, with the aim of reducing exploitation of young people through gang membership and reducing and preventing violent crime, especially knife crime

Key Aim: A modern offender management strategy for Thames Valley addressing gaps in existing schemes and tackling offenders across the crime spectrum who pose the greatest risk or threat of harm.

Priority 4 – Serious Organised Crime & Terrorism

Key Aim: Better engagement and information sharing between police and organisations supporting vulnerable migrants and rough sleepers, with the aim of preventing exploitation by organised criminals

Grant funding awarded should be regarded as one-off funding and sustainability of services beyond the initial funding should be considered by the applicant.

Closing date is Wednesday 30^th May at 18.00

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:

• Promote and improve biodiversity
• Support Oxfordshire’s Low Carbon Agenda through encouraging energy efficiency and the sustainable use of renewable resources in community facilities (includes food production)
• Improve access to green spaces and the countryside

Most grants are up to about £7,000 but some larger projects are supported; please contact us to discuss your project ideas.

Next application deadlines are 4^th June and 3 September 2018.

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:

• Creating new woodland, providing better links and connectivity between woodlands, and enhancing existing woodland and scrub mosaic; other habitats could also be considered if in close proximity to the railway line
• Preference for large projects (e.g. 10ha new woodland planting or 5ha of woodland management) or clusters of smaller projects delivered by partnerships
• A key aim is to improve good quality areas by making them bigger and better connected to other wildlife sites and to improve the quality of existing habitats
• The projects should be as local as possible to the railway line within the following local authority areas; Oxford City, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, West Berkshire, Reading Borough, Wokingham Borough, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Please contact TOE to discuss your project ideas - 01865 407003 or admin@trustforoxfordshire.org.uk or visit their website www.trustforoxfordshire.org.uk 

Your local Oxfordshire County Councillor now has the opportunity to direct money towards making improvements in your local community, and resolving important local issues to help your part of Oxfordshire thrive. 

Each of the areas represented by Oxfordshire’s 63 county councillors will have a community budget of £15,000 to be spent in each of the 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years. It can be spent within the area they represent or in combination with fellow county councillors.

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 .

This scheme will be the Fund’s biggest ever commitment to a small grant scheme supporting community projects, offering a more easily accessible programme with even quicker decision times.

Grants between £300 and £10,000 are available to grassroots groups in the community and voluntary sector, health bodies, schools and parish or town councils. Grants are available to ensure that:

• people have better chances in life
• stronger communities
• improved rural and urban environments
• healthier and more active people

The Reaching Communities programme has two strands.

Reaching Communities is for revenue or small capital project funding

If you are applying for funding of between £100,000 and £500,000 to support larger projects to improve the physical condition of a building, primarily through extension and refurbishment, please see the Reaching Communities buildings page.

Reaching Communities grants are for projects that help people and communities most in need. Grants range from £10,000 to £500,000. We encourage you to look for other funding to cover some project costs and the total project costs must be less than £750,000.

We can fund, salaries, running costs, a contribution towards core costs, equipment as well as funding buildings.

The application process

We want to let you know quickly whether or not we can fund your project. First of all you need to complete an outline proposal form. We will let you know whether your project is one that we might consider funding within 20 working days of receiving the outline proposal form. 

If you are invited to apply, we will send you a full application form. You will have 4 months to complete this. Once we receive your completed form we will let you know our decision within 17 weeks.

Read the Reaching Communties guidance notes for revenue and small capital grants to make sure your project stands a good chance of success.

If you have questions about how to apply or plan your project, contact the Big Advice line on 0845 410 2030 or email: enquiries@biglotteryfund.org.uk.. Or go to the website.

The Reaching Communities programme has two strands.

Reaching Communities is for revenue or small capital project funding

If you are applying for funding of between £100,000 and £500,000 to support larger projects to improve the physical condition of a building, primarily through extension and refurbishment, please see the Reaching Communities buildings page.

Reaching Communities grants are for projects that help people and communities most in need. Grants range from £10,000 to £500,000. We encourage you to look for other funding to cover some project costs and the total project costs must be less than £750,000.

We can fund, salaries, running costs, a contribution towards core costs, equipment as well as funding buildings.

The application process

We want to let you know quickly whether or not we can fund your project. First of all you need to complete an outline proposal form. We will let you know whether your project is one that we might consider funding within 20 working days of receiving the outline proposal form. 

If you are invited to apply, we will send you a full application form. You will have 4 months to complete this. Once we receive your completed form we will let you know our decision within 17 weeks.

Read the Reaching Communties guidance notes for revenue and small capital grants to make sure your project stands a good chance of success.

If you have questions about how to apply or plan your project, contact the Big Advice line on 0845 410 2030 or email: enquiries@biglotteryfund.org.uk.. Or go to the website.

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/

South Oxfordshire DC offers a variety of grants - capital, revenue and individual councillor. Please look at their website for details of closing dates and criteria

http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/services-and-advice/community-advice-and-support/grants-and-community-loans

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.

This fund is available to not-for-profit groups wanting to explore, share and celebrate their community’s heritage. Activities supported can include events, exhibitions, festivals and celebrations, or producing local history publications, conservation of individual heritage items, volunteer training and support.

Whether you want to rescue a historic building, breathe new life into a collection or record people’s stories, Heritage Grants can help with awards over £100,000.

Everything you need to know is here on the Heritage Lottery Fund website

We're here to support community and environmental improvement projects through the Landfill Communities Fund and Scottish Landfill Communities Fund.

SUEZ Communities Trust provides funds to not-for-profit organisations to undertake work that is eligible under the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF).

Applications are considered for three areas of work which qualify for funding through the LCF. These include: Public Amenities (Object D), Historic Buildings, Structures or Sites (Object E) and Biodiversity (Object DA).

We support projects that make physical improvements at sites located in any of 100 funding zones around qualifying sites owned by our donor, SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK.

Go to the SUEZ website for more information and application criteria

The Sport England Small Grants Programme uses Lottery funding to make awards of between £300 and £10,000 to not-for-profit organisations to help more people play sport.

The step by step guide is here

http://www.sportengland.org/funding/small-grants/

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:

• Conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the Chilterns AONB – e.g. wildlife, landscape, or historical projects - and /or
  Increase the understanding and enjoyment of the area’s special qualities – e.g. information, events, access improvements, sustainable tourism projects – and /or
  Promote the economic and social well-being of local communities within the AONB – .e.g. local food and drink, outdoor play, health walks.

What are this year's specific priorities?

• PLEASE NOTE THAT PRIORITIES FOR SPECIAL GRANT FUNDS - 2017/2018 - ARE STILL BEING FINALISED. GRANTS WILL NOT BE OFFERED AT THE PRESENT TIME THOUGH YOU ARE STILL WELCOME TO CONTACT Chilterns AONB AND DISCUSS YOUR PROJECT IDEAS.

For more information, case studies and an application form go to the Chilterns AONB website here

Grants are available from now until March 2020

Are you a farmer, forester, small or micro rural business or community? Do you have an idea that will create jobs and boost our local economy?

Does your project fit into one or more of our four themes?
• Growing, selling, eating more local food.
• Vibrant villages.
• Reviving the River Thames and associated waterways.
• Unlocking the potential of woodlands.

We want to hear from you if your project will create jobs, increase productivity / efficiency or develop new markets. Or if your idea will increase visitor spend in the area or provide an essential rural service.

For more information, check our webpages: www.oxfordshireleader.org.uk
Or speak to Fran Walker - Oxfordshire.Leader@southandvale.gov.uk - 07717 271909

This £10 million fund is now administered by the Ministry of Defense rather than Oxfordshire County Council. The following four priorities have been set for the financial year 2016-17. Priorities 2, 3 and 4 will be reviewed in two years’ time:

• Veterans’ Gateway
• Families in Stress
• Improving local covenant delivery (for local authorities)
• Community integration / delivery of local services

 For each of the priorities there are different application deadlines, probably the most pertinent priority for town and parish councils is 4. Community integration. Small grants up to £20,000 and large grants up to £500,000 are potentially available. Go to the Ministry of Defense website for more information :https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covenant-fund-guidance-on-how-to-apply

OCF award grants to local organisations with a charitable purpose that they believe will benefit Oxfordshire.

Their grants help a huge variety of community groups throughout Oxfordshire, with beneficiaries ranging from children with disabilities to people coping with homelessness, and vulnerable adults struggling with mental health, amongst many others.

One application for a grant from Oxfordshire Community Foundation provides groups with access to the whole range of different funds that we manage. Whichever fund the grant is to be made from, OCF will always consider the following:

• ORGANISATION OF THE GROUP
  OCF will only award grants to constituted groups that have been established for at least 12 months. The group should be able to demonstrate it has the capability to run the project.
• PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
  There should be a genuine need for the project, and its purpose must be clear. OCF prefer their grants to fund projects that will leave a permanent legacy and will continue after the grant is spent. It must be clear that the community in Oxfordshire will benefit from the project.
• FINANCIAL DETAILS
  OCF always want to ensure that the project is value for money. It should aim to deliver a value to the community that exceeds the project cost. A group’s finances are very important as these may determine from which fund grants are available. All groups must have a bank account in their own name.

OCF check on the progress and success of projects they fund, and it is very important to them that evaluation of the project is completed.

For more information and details of how to apply check the OCF website.

The Community Business Bright Ideas Fund aims to give your community group the support and tools to start setting up your community business. It will also give your group the early stage finance that you need need to carry out consultation with local people and feasibility studies to develop a community business idea the community wants and needs.

What is a community business?
A community business is set up and led by local people to look after what matters to them. Any profits flow back into the business to deliver positive local impact.

What the Bright Ideas Fund offers

• Online induction and ongoing support, either online, by phone or where possible through visits
• Community Business development plans, to help successful groups shape and develop strategies and plans for their community business
• Mentoring and visits, to inspire applicants and give them the opportunity to learn from peers
• Regional networking and events, to learn from social finance experts, successful community business leaders, funders and technical specialists.

Bright Ideas Fund re-opens on 26th June

The Bright Ideas Fund supports new community business ideas through the start up and planning stages with tailored business support, to the implementation stage with grants of up to £15,000. 

Your community group will be able to apply for support and tools to set up a community business.

Before you apply, please ensure you read the Guidance Notes thoroughly, and check that you meet all of the eligibility criteria.

Not sure if you have a community business idea? Find out more here.

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 two of the three project themes, with each theme being considered twice annually, as follows:

October 2017 - Community Buildings and Rebuilding Biodiversity
FULL APPLICATION DEADLINE 16/8/17

February 2018 - Rebuilding Biodiversity and Recreation
FULL APPLICATION DEADLINE 12/12/17

Once your application is received, it will be seen at the next appropriate Board meeting relevant to your theme.