FUNDING
How REN can support groups
Sources of funding
Lottery funding available
Local funding sources
Other sources of fundraising support
Using an outcomes approach to monitoring
How REN Can Support Local Groups*
Richmond Environment Network is required to attract additional external funding for its area of work, i.e. not just for ourselves but also for the local environmental groups that we support. To achieve this, we provide signposts to funding sources (details below) and support groups in making funding applications. In addition to the information here, we also send out e-mail updates "Information for Local Groups from REN ...date ". If you would like to receive these updates, please use the Contact Us form and tick the relevant box. You will also need to ensure that your e-mail account will receive these e-mail into your Inbox and not into your junk box. This can be done by adding the e-mail address info[at]richenvironmentnet.org.uk to your safe list or contacts (call us if you need help with this).
We can also give you access to subscription website to search for funding, please contact the office for more information.
* REN can only support groups/organisations/projects/schools that are based in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, due to our funding come from local sources.
Sources - Local Funders and Grant Givers
There are a large number of local grant givers who fund a variety of activities. We are lucky enough in the borough to have several large funders, as well as the council able to offer match funding through its Initiatives Fund. The application window for the Initiatives Fund is from April to August, so get in quick. Details can be viewed here and the application form down loaded here.
We have produced a list of Local Funders' Details (Excel document) for you to download.
BTCV London also have a list of funders suitable for local environmental groups, further information can be found on there website here and the latest newsletter downloadable here.
Funderfinder is a very useful source of fundraising information. Their funding tool can be downloaded from http://www.funderfinder.org.uk on the top right side link Apply Yourselves.
Trust Funding is a searchable database of funders covering all manor of funding. There service is a subscription one but REN currently can help local groups if you contact us.
Lottery Funding
Access to Nature (part of BIG Lottery) will fund projects in urban, rural and coastal communities that will encourage more people to enjoy nature and the environment. It is particularly focused on helping people who currently have little or no contact with the natural environment to get back in touch with the natural world.
Awards For All is part of the Lottery funding. It has a particularly high applicant success rate and the upper limit has now been raised to £10,000 so it is well worth looking at for your group.
The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has a number of funding programmes that are of interest to environmental and civic amenity groups listed below. BIG Lottery funding tends to bigger amount available and sometimes unsuitable for small local groups or charities.
- Community Buildings BIG Lottery has also just annouced new funding for community buildings, putting "Lottery good cause money into buildings across England to strengthen the key role they play in local communities." The programme aims to achieve these outcomes:
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- broadening access to, and more use of, existing services
- creating a greater number and wider range of new services
- improving opportunities for the community to access a wide range of learning
- improving the skills, knowledge and capacity to respond to community needs
- increasing participation by the community in decision-making processes that affect the community
- improving community relationships and networks
- improving financial viability of community premises (premises that use less energy, pollute less, create less waste and have a reduced contribution to climate change)
- A summary can be downloaded here and BIG's Community Buildings grant web page can be viewed here.
- Young Peoples Fund (Big Lottery Fund): £5,000 to £150,000.
- Breathing Places Lottery Funding
£4 million pounds of Breathing Places Lottery grants is up for grabs from October 2006. This time round, applications will be open to schools, town and parish councils as well as community groups for both new and existing places. Libraries are not eligible to apply in their own right but are keen to be involved in partnership bids to transform spaces outside or near their buildings.
If you applied for the first round of Breathing Places grants and were turned down due to the amount of capital you were applying for, think about re-applying as there will be no restriction on capital amount in this phase. Grants range from £300 to £10,000. You can find out more from the Big Lottery Fund website – biglotteryfund.org.uk or by calling the BLF helpline on 0845 367 0610. Wesite info will follow when it becomes available.
National Funders and Grant Givers
Action Earth 2007 is an Environment Agency campaign to support and encourage local environmental projects that provide opportunities for volunteers to learn new skills. As part of the campaign, small grants are available from national volunteering charity CSV Environment (Community Service Volunteers) to help groups purchase tools and materials, together with promotional support.
The Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy highlight the vital role which renewable energy and energy efficiency, used at the local level, can play in an industrialised country, notably in meeting climate change targets, providing greater energy security, and encouraging investment in new sustainable businesses. There will be three first prizes of £30,000 each, and three second prizes of £10,000 each, in the following areas:
- Heat generation
- Electricity generation
- Energy efficiency
Breathing Places (administered by BIG Lottery) this fund is now closed (December 2006).
The Chestnut Fund, an independent charity, is specifically intended to support environmental groups who have no money at all when they are first set up, whose principal purpose is conservation volunteering and who need support to enable them to undertake practical work. Download the Chesnut Fund Application Form (Word document) here.
O2 in partnership with the Conservation Foundation have launched "It’s Your Community", a new award scheme to help people make a difference in their local environments. Awards of up to £1000 will be available to local groups and individuals for the hire of tools or equipment, and to purchase plants, paint, signs, materials etc. All types of environmental projects will be considered such, as turning derelict land into an amenity park or wildlife area, tree planting, creating a wildlife pond, renovating neglected river and canal footpaths, providing water butts and recycling facilities in village halls. More info is available here and you can see answers to some common questions here.
Association of Charitable Trusts - a comprehensive list of grant giving charities
B & Q Better Neighbour Grant Scheme - £500 for local neighbourhood projects.
BAA Environment Awards - up to £1,000 for local environmental projects in the Heathrow area (South-West London).
Behaviour Change Local Fund (WRAP) - for community projects to influence and change behaviour on domestic waste and encourage minimisation, re-use and recycling. Deadline is Friday 20th October 2006.
Biffaward - grants upto £5,000 for a community project or a community amenity.
Bridge House Trust/City Bridges Trust (London) - grants for London based initiatives benefiting communities and the public.
Community Champions Fund (Scarman Trust, London) - £2,000 for local community focussed event, workshop, exhibition, information day or other initiative to benefit the community. Next deadline 16th September, and 16th of each month thereafter.
CEMEX - We are a grant-giving fund established in 2004 to support environmental and community projects close to CEMEX’s operations. Annually we support around ten projects each worth around £15,000 in England, Wales and Scotland through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme
Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund (Govt. Office for South-East) - to develop community cohesion between faith communities. Upto £30,000. Deadline Wednesday 1st November 2006.
Futurebuilders - grants for community & voluntary sector groups to deliver services to local community.
Millenium Awards Trust (UnLtd – The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs) - £2,000 - £15,000 to support community projects.
Minority Ethnic Fund (Charities Aid Foundation) - £4,000
Royal Bank of Scotland & Natwest
If you are a community or youth group, local organisation, school or charity based in the UK or Eire, and you are seeking our support for your good cause or event, we would encourage you to get our employees involved. They are best placed to identify the needs of the communities in which they live and work and if you can persuade them to support your activity - as fundraisers, as volunteers or as payroll givers, RBS group will back their commitment with cash.
Woodward Charitable Trust
The Trustees favour small-scale, locally based initiatives. Funding is primarily for one-off projects, but the Trustees are willing to consider funding for core costs. The Trustees operate a reactive and flexible grant-making strategy and are currently giving priority to the areas listed on their website. All applicants are encouraged to discuss their application with the administrator.
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Funding for Young Peoples/Children's Projects BIG BOOST (Scarman Trust, London) - up to £5,000, If you’re aged 11 to 25, and you have an idea that will benefit your community, the Big Boost programme could help. GreenPrints is an England-wide volunteering programme which offers funding and practical support for greenspace improvement projects carried out by young people aged 16-25 Help Yourselves (British Gas & Save the Children) - £1,000 for a children or youth initiative (including environmental). Low Carbon Buildings Programme - phase 2 Grants for the installation of microgeneration technologies are available to public sector buildings (including schools, hospitals, housing associations and local authorities) and charitable bodies. Pounds4youngpeople Switched on Communities Vcashpoint Walking Bus Schemes Wates Foundation - emphasis on the physical, mental and spiritual welfare of the young and disadvantaged aged 8 to 25. Racial equality is stressed throughout. Grants are concentrated on projects in the Greater London area with a preference for South London. Funds of £5,000 to £60,000. Applications invited anytime (see website for details). Youth Opportunity Fund & Youth Capital Fund (Department of Education & Skills) - £15,000 and above. You can get further information from your local voluntary service council (its named pounds4youngpeople in this borough). Many bodies like the Co-operative Group, Metropolitan Police, Environment Agency and private commercial organisations (e.g. B & Q, IKEA, Sainsbury) in your area, also offer additional top-up funds. Teachernet is also a excellent source for funding information |
Further sources of information, downloads and fundraising support
Environmentawards.net source of environmental awrds.
Grantnet is a database of funding opportunities that you can search for free (although you have to register).
Greenspace has a funding database on it's website, which is searchable.
The borough of Kingston produced an Environment and Community Funding Guide in 2002, and much of the information is still relevant. The document is available electronically (as a PDF) here.
Take a look at these lists of environmental funders (Word document) and trust funds relevant to flora and fauna conservation (Word document), provided by Jane Selman, formally of RCVS's Organisational Development Team.
A list of community environmental funders produced by BTCV & London 21
RCVS's Organisational Development Team Funding Newsletters:
- September 2006 (from Croyden Voluntary Action)
- August 2006
- July 2006
- April 2006
- February 2006
Richmond CVS offers expert advice on fundraising and provides free access to the FunderFinder online database (with free training in how to use the database). The Organisational Development Team has also kindly produced a list of charitable trusts who fund environmental projects in addition to the monthly funding newsletters. These can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.
Outcomes
Finally, when explaining what a difference your project/organisation does and its outcomes, we have found this guide helpful. Its by the Lottery, so should proove useful when apply for funding from them. It can be found here.
The Organisational Development team at RCVS have also produced some good guides on using outcome focuses on funding bids, these can be found here.
