Welcome to our funding roundup!
We hope this page provides you with details and inspiration to submit applications to support your valuable work across Inverclyde. Please make sure that you follow us on Facebook to keep up to date on deadline information and funds with short lead in time.
If you are working on an application and need some support, please contact us at funding@cvsinverclyde.org.uk to find out about our editing and enhancement service, or sign up for one of our funding events on our website.
Upcoming Funding Events
Member Event: Funding Surgery with the National Lottery Community Fund Scotland
We’re excited to be joined by Joao Goncalves, Inverclyde’s funding officer for The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland. Learn about the Lottery’s programmes and get advice with your application! Join us in January and February 2024.
Spotlight On
Inverclyde Community Grants Fund
Overview: Inverclyde Council has recently simplified its funding stream model, bringing everything under the Community Grants Fund banner. Any sporting, community or voluntary organisation operating within Inverclyde may request financial support. The application process starts with a 16-page online form.
Eligibility: Applicants must be able to demonstrate that a grant would benefit their local community, in line with Inverclyde Council’s five local priorities. These include working people, empowered people, healthy people and places, supportive places and thriving places. Applicants don’t need to be registered charities but must be part of a limited company or organisation with a governing body or management committee.
Eligible Costs: Grants must be directed towards one or more of three key categories: project costs, facilities/core costs, and fee waivers for Inverclyde Council or Inverclyde Leisure premises.
Grant Levels: Individual grants of up to £10,000 are available, covering one or more of the three categories mentioned above.
Application Deadline: Monday 18 of December 2023.
Application forms are available to download from the Inverclyde Council Community Grants Fund page: https://www.inverclyde.gov.uk/community-life-and-leisure/community-grant/community-grants-fund
Last Chance to Apply
Inverclyde’s Warm Hand of Friendship 2023/24 – Applications submitted by Friday 8 December 2023 will be assessed before the Christmas period
Funded and administered by Inverclyde Council, the aim of the fund is to ensure spaces, resources, advice and support are available throughout the area, and that we respond to those in need with kindness, compassion and respect. Charities and voluntary groups who meet the criteria are invited to apply. From January 2024, applications will be reviewed on a weekly rolling basis until all the funding is awarded. Please submit at your earliest convenience as the grants will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
FCC Scottish Action Fund – 6th December 2023
Twice a year, the FCC Communities Foundation opens funding applications to Scottish non-profit organisations. With a focus on recycling, they offer grants of between £2,000 and £40,000 to projects which are eligible under the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund. Examples include recycling schemes, land remediation, biodiversity projects, maintaining public parks or historic buildings.
Foundation Scotland – Volant Charitable Trust Small Grants Programme – 11th December
The Volant Charitable Trust offers grants of up to £5,000 for Scottish charities and organisations focusing on addressing poverty and deprivation. The fund may be used for counselling, support services, mental health projects, food provision and the promoting of healthy eating. Applicants must have an income cap of £250,000, and a focus on young people is preferred.
The Woodward Charitable Trust – 15th December 2023
Grants are allocated twice a year towards core costs incurred by smaller charities. Applicants must support either children and young people, disadvantaged families or prisoners/ex-offenders, in areas ranging from food poverty or domestic violence projects to education/employment opportunities. Funding priority is given to projects which promote community cohesion or skills development.
Music For All – 18th December 2023
Music For All offer funding for community groups or projects across six areas: working with under-5s, groups facing financial hardship, choral groups, groups using electric guitars or ukeleles to develop music education in deprived areas, and groups working with disadvantaged communities who need bundles of 25 headphones. Applicants may be private individuals if they can provide references.
Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation – 31st December 2023
YBS trustees meet four times a year to allocate funds to charities focusing on alleviating poverty or improving health. Their Small Change Big Difference Fund requires nomination from a YBS member or colleague, with donations of up to £2,500 available to UK-registered charities. Animal charities are excluded; applicants should support disadvantaged groups like children, the homeless or elderly.
Funds with Deadlines
Gannochy Trust – 5th January 2024
Gannochy Trust – 5th January 2024 Organisations in Inverclyde can apply for project costs under the small or main grants programme offering grants of up to £30k or 30% of eligible costs. Activity must focus on young people aged between 11 and 21 years and support them in one or more of the following: increased leadership and mentoring, better employment options or accredited non formal learning through volunteering or activity within the community. Applications meeting this deadline will be considered at the next Trustee meeting in March 2024.
Thomas Wall Trust – 8th January 2024
The Thomas Wall Trust offers grants to projects or activities that improve personal skills in areas like self-confidence and employment prospects. Grants of up to £5,000 will be distributed next March to charities of at least three years’ standing, with repeat funding for up to three years. Applicants must be able to match-fund projects, be self-sustainable and have turnover below £500,000.
The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust – Veterans Career Development Fund – 8th January 2024
Grants of up to £70,000 are available through the Veterans Career Development Fund, for two-year projects enabling veterans and their families to enter long-term employment. This may be achieved via training and/or qualifications. Applicants must be either a charity, CIC or university, while the involvement of an experienced provider of accredited industry-specific qualifications is vital.
Steele Charitable Trust – 11th January 2024
Trustees meet quarterly to consider applications from charities with an income of £50,000+ for work that falls within the following categories: Arts and Heritage, Education, Environment, Health and Social or Economic Disadvantage. Applicants should note that the Health and Social or Economic Disadvantage categories have very specific areas of focus. Grants range from £10,000 to £25,000 and applications submitted by 11th January will receive a response in April 2024.
Impact Funding Partners – 26th January 2024
The Democracy Matters Community Engagement Fund 2023/24 is self-explanatory in its aim of expanding inclusive local democracy. Grants of up to £300 are offered in addition to expenses, enabling marginalised individuals and communities to host events or meetings. Applicants don’t need to be charities, but they must have annual income below £250,000.
The National Centre for Resilience – Community Council Fund – 31st January 2024
The National Centre for Resilience is offering grants of up to £500 to community councils across Scotland. Successful projects need to identify community-specific natural hazards and threats, with mitigation or recovery strategies provided in each application. Hazards might include heavy snow, landslides, high winds or other disruptive natural events.
MacRobert Trust – 31st January (Cromar) and 12th February (Alastrean) 2024
The MacRobert Trust operates two awards with a monetary value of up to £10,000, with varying deadlines. Applicants must be a UK-registered charity, and smaller independent charities tend to be prioritised. Funds are allocated in response to one of three themes: Armed Forces & Good Citizenship, Education & Professional Excellence, Local Community & Other MacRobert Interests.
The Paristamen Charity – 1st February 2024
Operating nationwide but concentrating on Scottish charities, Paristamen offers three grant-making programmes. Of these, the Responsive Grants scheme is its main funding vehicle, awarding between £500 and £1,000 to at least a dozen charities each year. Unrestricted grants can be used for any purpose other than capital appeals; applicants must have income between £25,000 and £500,000.
Delamere Dairy Foundation – 29th February 2024
Delamere Dairy runs a foundation which accepts grant applications and financial support requests from charities and other organisations serving the local community. Applications for funding of between £250 and £5,000 may be submitted once per calendar year, providing they meet one of five Foundation objectives including education, financial hardship relief or environmental protection.
Programmes with Rolling Deadlines
Scottish Government – Local Support Fund Micro Grants (LSF Micro)
LSF Micro seeks to offer financial security for grassroots and community-based groups delivering frontline services to support people who or have used drugs, people in recovery and/or families affected by someone else’s drug use. Applications are invited to constituted groups and organisations with an annual income of up to £50,000 that can apply for between £1k-£20k per year for up to three years.
Scottish Government – Local Support Fund (LSF)
LSF is part of the Scottish Government’s National Drugs Mission Funds. Applications are invited from existing grant holders that deliver frontline services with an annual income of up to £500,000. Grant aim to aid their stability or to increase capacity to provide further reach into the community. Grants of up to £50,000 per year, for up to three years are available until funds are exhausted.
The National Lottery Community fund covers a range of funding streams supporting a wide range of activities for people with a diverse range of needs. For projects of between £300 and £20,000 requiring funding for up to two years please visit Funding programmes | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk). Or, if you project requires funding of £20,000+ for up to three years please visit Funding programmes | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk).
Inverclyde Community Fund – The Inverclyde Windfarm Fund
Grants of up to £1,000 for community groups and voluntary organisations to deliver community-based projects which MUST contribute to one of the following: Environmental; Renewable Energy; Energy Efficiency; Sustainable Development; Charitable; Educational; Community; Sport and Recreation; General community amenity schemes.
Creative Scotland – Open Fund for Organisations
The Open Fund seeks to invest in creative projects, productions, or a period of research and development. Grants of between £1k and £100k are available for activity lasting 18 months. Applicants must consider their project in the context of the following criteria – Quality and Ambition, Engagement, Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion, Environmental Sustainability, Fair Work and International.
BBC Children in Need (CIN) Grants Programme
CIN grant programme now comprises two separate funding streams: core costs funding and project grants. Each stream offers up to three years funding for organisations working with children and young people aged 18 years and under, who address their challenges, and build their skills and resilience. Grants of no more than £40,000 per annum, or £120,000 over three years are available.
The Robertson Trust
Grant applications are assessed a rolling basis for charities with an income of up to £2million that address poverty and/or trauma in their communities. There are different fundings streams depending on organisational turnover and applications must fall into one of the following themes: financial security, emotional wellbeing and relationships, educational pathways or work pathways.
Cycling Scotland – Cycling Friendly Employer
An initial deadline has already passed for Cycling Scotland’s employer funding scheme, but grants will be awarded until funds are exhausted. Employers must demonstrate a commitment to promoting cycling among their workforce, to be eligible for up to £25,000 towards facilities such as showers and bike racks. Any company can apply if they wish to overcome employee barriers to cycling.
Foundation Scotland – Investing in Enterprise Fund – no deadline
Foundation Scotland runs an open-ended enterprise fund which offers blended grants and loans to charities, social enterprises and community organisations. Funding ranges from £10,000 to £250,000; up to a quarter of this is given as a grant, with the rest provided as a loan repayable over ten years. Funds may be spent on assets, capital or business growth. Religious proposals are not considered.
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation – no deadline
Trusthouse’s aim is to address disadvantage across the UK, by giving grants to SMEs with a track record of addressing deprivation. Grants of between £2,000 and £10,000 are available for a one-year period, for projects with a focus on community support. Funds may be used on core costs, salaries or key projects. Target areas must perform poorly in Indices of Multiple Deprivation data.
Aviva Community Fund – no deadline
The Aviva Community Fund aims to build stronger and more resilient local communities, and every application by a charity, CIC or community group is judged on improving either climate action or personal financial wellbeing. Match funding is offered for each donation, with a cap of up to £50,000. Money may be spent on operational costs as well as capital expenditure or project overheads.
Anton Jurgens Charitable Trust – no deadline
UK-based charities are eligible to apply for up to £10,000 in financial support from a charity named after one of the Unilever founders. His Trust has been supporting socially disadvantaged groups and disabled individuals since 1969, accepting applications from registered charities whose annual income is below £500,000. CICs are excluded, as are arts, cultural and religious-based charities.
Non-Grant Funding Opportunities
The Big Give – Green Match Fund
Specialist funding campaign platform Big Give has just opened applications for Green Match Funding, potentially doubling the money a charity can make through fundraising campaigns. The newly launched Green Match Fund is aimed exclusively at charities working on environmental issues. There are two funding models on offer:
1:1 funding works by drawing on existing match funders, based on a public donations target (anywhere up to £10,000) nominated by the applicant. If the charity achieves this target through the Big Give website, the latter will try to raise comparable funds to double the total sum. Additional public fundraising over and above the original target won’t be matched but can still be accepted.
The Pledge model works differently. Charities have to identify their own funding opportunities (pledges) from businesses, trustees or donors, to complement public donations. Once those pledges have been fully allocated, Big Give will try to match further public donations with extra funding from its own champions.
According to figures published in mid-November, Big Give has so far raised £4.3 million in 2023, benefiting 178 environmental charities. Applicants must be UK-registered charities with annual income of at least £25,000, focused on environmental issues as part of their core mission.
The deadline for Green Match Fund applications is the is the 16th of January 2024. Applications can be started on the Big Give Green Match Fund webpage.