Issue 112 | December 2007 / January 2008 Funding information for voluntary and community groups in South Yorkshire. Produced by SYFAB www.syfab.org.uk Charity number: 1061118 The Big Green Challenge The Big Green Challenge from NESTA is a £1 million prize fund for developing and implementing new approaches that will lead towards a 60% reduction of CO2 emissions in your communities. This is the latest Innovation Challenge from NESTA, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. The idea is that there are plenty of people out there who have good ideas to tackle climate change, and by encouraging you to work together - turning ideas into action by involving and engaging your community - you can reduce CO2 emissions on a bigger scale, more quickly and with more impact. The competition encourages new approaches and solutions to climate change, which can then be repeated across different communities. To enter the competition, you need to be a formally constituted not-for-profit organisation. Groups and organisations that apply will need to involve and engage your respective communities in developing solutions and in delivering your approaches. The Challenge will run over two years - until October 2009. Applications open in early January 2008 and the first deadline for Stage 1 applications is 29 February 2008. From these applications, up to 100 will be asked to submit detailed plans about their approach for implementing, monitoring and demonstrating the reduction of CO2 emissions (and other associated factors) in their community - NESTA will give advice and support in preparing these. From these, the judges will decide on up to ten finalists, who will progress to the third and final stage. For stage 3, the finalists will have a year to put their approach into practice to demonstrate the reduction in CO2 emissions, from October 2008 to October 2009. NESTA will provide advice and financial support (up to £20,000) to help with this stage. At the end of the year, NESTA will announce the winner, who will receive the majority of the £1 million prize fund, with the remaining prize money distributed to runners-up at the discretion of the judges. There will be information events around the country in December so you can ask questions and find out more - check the website for details. You’ll also be able to meet and be inspired by some of the people and projects that are tackling climate change in your area. NESTA will also be publishing case studies, links, tips and stories about the Big Green Challenge on their blog and in their newsletter - you can sign up to keep in touch. Deadline: 29 February 2008 for stage 1 Contact: Big Green Challenge, NESTA Email: north@biggreenchallenge.org.uk Website: http://www.biggreenchallenge.org.uk news The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is closed to new applications until January 2008. This is whilst they revise their grant making criteria, as we covered in November’s Funding News. The new guidance will be available on the website in early January. Contact: Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Telephone: 020 7297 4700 Email: info@esmeefairbairn.org.uk Website: http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk News from the Big Lottery Fund The Big Lottery Fund are piloting a Helper Agency website. This will enable agencies that provide funding advisors and community development workers to access early information about programmes, leave feedback and track regional success rates. The finalised site will be launched in the New Year. Helper agencies can register to receive access to the site once it launches. Contact: Big Lottery Fund Email: helperagencies@biglotteryfund.org.uk Website: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk There are new guidance notes and outline proposal forms for the Reaching Communities programme. If you are currently working on an outline proposal, make sure it is the current one otherwise it will be rejected. Website: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/ prog_reaching_communities Update on government funding and the future of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) The government’s Comprehensive Spending Review included the announcement of a £2 billion fund for neighbourhood and local renewal in England’s most disadvantaged areas between 2008 and 2011. The money will go to: * New Deal for Communities areas * A new programme for strengthening communities during estate transformation * A working neighbourhoods fund for improving the local economy in disadvantaged areas. Along with the new announcements, the government has announced there will not be a new funding round for the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI); the scheme through which NRF funded local authorities could submit bids for additional funding. These changes could have an impact on the current Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, which may be rolled into the new fund along with LEGI and New Deal for Communities instead. Funding News will keep you posted on developments. Website: http://www.communities.gov.uk The government were supposed to provide further information and plans for their £80 million small grants fund back in May. They still haven’t. The last information about this was a set of working assumptions about the fund: • The £80 million will be spread over four years. • Most of this year will be taken up on developing the programme, so approximately £6 million will be allocated in 2007-08 with a further £25 million (approx) in subsequent years. • The size of grants offered is likely to be between £500 and £5,000. The programme is likely to be quite open - both for the purpose used and who it goes to, though it is targeted at community groups. No decision has been taken on the geographical spread of the programme - whether to have an open pot for the whole country, weight it to areas of deprivation, or concentrate on particular localities. The Office of the Third Sector will appoint a national partner to manage the overall programme and establish local mechanisms for delivery. If any new information ever appears, Funding News will keep you posted. Website: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector The Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit requirements will be published in January, three months behind the original schedule. The delays have been caused partly by a massive response to the commission’s consultation on draft guidance earlier this year. According to the current timetable, the new public benefit provisions will come into force in March 2008, and charities will begin reporting on public benefit as part of their annual reports from late March 2009. At the beginning of 2008 the Commission will also begin its three-month consultation on guidance for fee-charging charities and charities working in the fields of poverty, education and religion. Under the Charities Act 2006, these charities are no longer assumed to be charitable and must demonstrate they provide public benefit. Website: http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk The Charities Act 2006 has introduced a new form of incorporation designed specifically for registered charities; the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). The structure should reduce the amount of administration for charities who are also companies that have to deal with both the Charity Commission and Companies House. The new structure will be available for charities to start using from spring 2008. Contact: Charity Commission Website: http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/registration/charcio.asp Last month we reported on the first three strategic partners for the Big Lottery Fund Changing Spaces programme, who will be offering funding programmes for work that improves green spaces, supports growing and use of local food and improves access to the natural environment. There is now more information available about two of them: Access to Nature (Natural England) Natural England’s £25 million Access to Nature initiative seeks to give opportunities to people of all backgrounds to learn more about nature and enjoy the outdoors. The Access to Nature programme should open in early 2008 and will award grants of between £50,000 and £500,000, with some match funding required. There are three broad themes: • Community awareness and active participation • Education, learning and volunteering • Welcoming, well managed and wildlife rich places. Grants will be given to organisations and projects that will deliver one or more of Access to Nature’s five main objectives: • A greater number and diversity of people benefiting from the natural environment • More people learning about the natural environment and gaining new skills • More people able to enjoy the natural environment as a result of improvements in access to natural places and more connections between sites • More wildlife rich natural places that are sustainably managed and meet the needs of local communities • An increased sense of community ownership of local natural places, by the creation of strong partnerships between communities, voluntary organisations, local authorities and statutory bodies. Applications will be accepted from not for profit organisations and the public sector. Deadline: Application forms and guidance will be available from early 2008. Contact: Natural England Email: accesstonature@naturalengland.org.uk Website: http://www.naturalengland.org.uk Local Food (Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts) The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts is establishing a £50 million funding programme to support local food projects. The scheme will operate from February 2008 to March 2015. Local Food will distribute grants to a variety of food-related projects to help make locally grown food accessible and affordable to local communities. There will be five main themes: • Enable communities to manage land sustainably for growing food locally • Enable communities to build knowledge and understanding and to celebrate the cultural diversity of food • Stimulate local economic activity and the development of community enterprises concerned with growing, processing and marketing of local food • Create opportunities for learning and the development of skills through voluntary training and job creation • Promote awareness and understanding of the links between food and healthy lifestyles. Grants will be available in three ranges and can cover capital or revenue costs, including building or land costs: • Small Grants of £2,000 to £10,000. No match funding is required. • Main Grants of £10,001 to £300,000. You will need match funding of between 10-20%. • Beacon Grants of £300,001 to £500,000. You will need match funding of 30%. The Small and Main Grants programmes will have no deadlines, with applications accepted as received. The Beacon Grants programme will have only one application round, which will open on 4 February 2008 and close at the end of April 2008. Application forms will not be available until February 2008. Deadline: Apply at any time for Small and Main grants. The Beacon Grant closes at the end of April 2008. Contact: Royal Society for Wildlife Trusts Email: localfood@rswt.org Website: http://www.rswt.org/localfood At the time Funding News went to press, there was no new information about the third programme - Groundwork’s Community Spaces programme. See November’s Funding News for the basic details, or the Community Spaces website. Funding News will keep you posted. Deadline: Applications open in Spring 2008 Contact: Community Spaces, Groundwork UK Website: http://www.community-spaces.org.uk Comic Relief funds a range of social welfare projects including Disadvantaged Communities, Older People, Young People, Mental Health, Domestic Violence and Refugees and Asylum Seekers. For large grants over £5,000 the next deadline is 29 February 2008. For grants under £5,000 there is no deadline. Deadline: 29 February 2008 for large grants Contact: Comic Relief Telephone: 020 7820 5555 Email: red@comicrelief.org.uk Website: http://www.comicrelief.com/apply-for-a-grant The Department for International Development has recently agreed to provide information on its funding programmes on the Government Funding website. Website: http://www.governmentfunding.org.uk ‘Meeting the Standards’ is a guide from the Governance Hub to help trustees attain the competences set out in the Trustee and Management Committee National Occupational Standards. It is available to download from the Governance Hub website. Website: http://www.governancehub.org.uk/Meeting_the_Standards.html VolunteerGenie is a new web site to help charities use the media to recruit more volunteers, produced by Voluntary Action Media Unit. Website: http://www.volunteergenie.org.uk The Voluntary Sector Workforce Almanac and Voluntary Sector Skills Survey 2007 have been published. Both are available to download from the UK Workforce Hub website. Website: http://www.ukworkforcehub.org.uk The Wellcome Trust and Department of Health are each contributing £50 million over five years to create a new Health Innovation Challenge Fund. The Fund will support the development of innovative technologies, devices and clinical procedures of relevance to the NHS. It will open from April 2008. Funding News will keep you posted. Contact: Department of Health Website: http://www.governmentfunding.org.uk The European Union’s Second Programme of Community Action in the Field of Health 2008-13 will come into effect on 1 January 2008. The Programme sets the framework for funding of European projects and other actions related to health. This annual work plan will set out funding priorities, and then calls for proposals will be published. As this is a European programme, your work should cover more than one European country. Website: http://ec.europa.eu Case Studies This month, Juliette Bland from Thurnscoe Amateur Dramatic Society told us how, by surveying their users, they were able to build a better case for support, and then attract funding from Awards for All. Tell us about your group Thurnscoe Amateur Dramatic Society (TADS) set up in 1924. We manage Thurnscoe Little Theatre and offer the community the opportunity to experience a range of theatre skills at all levels of the production process. Our group has come a long way in the last 80 years; we’ve had to deal with having no premises, storm damage, a fire, rotten flooring and empty seats during mid-week plays. Thankfully it’s a different story now; we put on four performances a year, which are always packed out and we are looking forward to complete some landscaping, building improvements and get some signage for the theatre in the near future. What did you need the funding for? We needed a new heating system for the theatre. We weren’t able to use the building when it was cold and struggled to perform twice weekly rehearsals and other basic operations for 3 to 4 months of the year. During this time we weren’t able to rent out the building and meant we were missing out on the earned income we need to cover the running costs of the theatre. Who did you apply to? In our 80 years existence, we had never applied for any funding to support our work. Up to now we’ve just survived on revenue from ticket sales and subscriptions from members and patrons. So we got all our group members to share existing ideas and then realised that we didn’t know enough about the subject, so we arranged an appointment with the SYFAB Development worker and from there, one of us went on SYFAB’s Funding and Fundraising course. Through this course, we highlighted Awards for All as a potential funder. The maximum grant of £10,000 was sufficient for our project’s funding needs and it met a couple of key criteria like encouraging creativity, access to the arts and increasing participation. How did you build a case for support? The cold theatre was giving us a few problems - new members who came to the theatre in winter were been put off by the cold and never heard of again! So we needed to offer a warm facility, not only to the theatre going public, but also to group members and volunteers. This would ensure the comfort of everyone, especially during the winter months and for Christmas shows. Also it meant we could meet basic Health and Safety requirements. Creativity in theatre best arises from the opportunity for personal development in a safe and comfortable working theatre environment. We offer the opportunity to enhance social skills and to build an individuals confidence and we actively encourage individual ideas and forms of expression. So as part of this, we surveyed our users to get their views about the theatre. We surveyed 60 people per night for 6 nights at the end of June. One of the things we asked was if more people would attend the theatre if it were warmer in the winter. The results confirmed that the cold environment put people off. Something that also came out very strongly from this was that Thurnscoe LittleTheatre is ’One of the few remaining facilities in Thurnscoe’. It also exposed, that for many of our audience, attending our shows is the only time that they go to the theatre. We used all this information to strengthen our funding application to Awards for All. How did you work together as a group? We worked as a group to decide who to apply to and what information was needed. One of the issues we came across was that a lot information about the history of the theatre was locked in people’s heads. To solve this we began an archive to record the memories of past and present members. It is easy for the newer members like myself to misunderstand how far the group has come. Our President is 82 years old and we have other long standing local members so we wanted to provide new members with as much information as possible to assist them in maintaining the group for the future. At present we are recording people’s memories through typing them up in Word format. We also have a small collection of photographs that are framed. In the future we may apply for some funding to record these memories in a more creative way. Did you come up against any issues whilst fundraising? It was harder than I thought because as a volunteer group no one person is responsible for funding – no one is paid to do it! It makes it easier that everyone is committed not least because we enjoy getting together twice a week. In the past we have done things as we need to and everyone is very flexible. I think everyone has a fear of forms; each question could be making or breaking a funding application. We had to overcome this fear and just try to be accurate and to the point. Some of us shoulder a lot of the organising, but that’s often for practical reasons like we live nearer the theatre, but we are going to try and delegate more of this work in the future. Now we have been successful with Awards for All everyone has started to realise that funding is important so we might start planning on a yearly basis. At the end of the day though, we are all volunteers and we do as much as we want to because we find being involved in the group a lot of fun. Do you have any tips for other groups? Assess your situation; applying for funding gives a group the opportunity to think about what you are doing and where you want to go Be realistic; don’t worry if tasks are moved to people within the group with more time and abilities Be prepared; work out costing early in the process and decide what you need to know, from whom, etc Manage your group; make sure you know who keeps vital information about your group and record this so you can re-visit it for applications Be demanding; for example, of companies who come out to give quotes for work, and make sure you know all the costs at the outset Be ready to make changes; you need to make sure you can respond to changes so it isn’t too time consuming for example, when a funder needs extra information from you. Amanda Bennett, from SYFAB’s Information Service tells us why this application was successful. ‘Thurnscoe Amateur Dramatic Society needed funding for a heating system. At first that’s not something that is immediately appealing to a potential funder. There aren’t really any funders who will specifically say they want to fund ‘heating’ but there are many who want to fund things like: increased participation in the arts, community development and cultural facilities for deprived communities. This example shows that funders want to hear about how the work you are doing meets their funding criteria. What TADS did was to talk about their existing problems of how uncomfortably cold the theatre was in the winter months, which not only put off potential volunteers but also meant they couldn’t rent out the theatre. So ultimately the group was missing out on potential income and its long-term sustainability was at risk. They combined this with information about Health and Safety as well as hard facts and figures from their user survey and were able to strongly justify why a new heating system would solve their problems. By talking about how the heating would allow TADS to open the theatre as a real performing arts venue throughout the whole year enabling them to be self-sustainable, they really proved to Awards for All that this project was value for money.’ Future case studies The Funding News editorial team are always on the lookout for interesting case studies to feature in Funding News. We need examples that other groups can learn from and show useful fundraising tips - these don’t always need to be ‘success’ stories! If you are interested in your group being featured in Funding News, please get in touch. Contact: Funding News team Telephone: 0114 276 5460 Email: info@syfab.org.uk As usual, the Funding News Team are taking a break over Christmas and will be back with the next edition in February 2008. money Community and Social Research The Big Lottery Fund Research Programme opened for applications in October 2007. Momenta will deliver this demand-led programme on behalf of Big. It will provide up to £25 million in the UK over 2007-2009 to fund voluntary and community organisations to carry out social and medical research. The Research programme aims to influence local and national policy and practice by funding VCS organisations to produce and disseminate evidence-based knowledge. Grants of between £10,000 and £500,000 are available for research projects lasting up to five years. In addition, development grants of up to £10,000 are available to help applicants work up their research proposal. Organisations are encouraged to link up with universities and the wider research community but universities themselves may not apply for funding. You should meet three or more of the following five outcomes: • Improved understanding of issues relating to the Big Lottery Fund’s UK themes and country outcomes • Improved Third Sector participation and knowledge in developing, doing and using research • Improved dissemination of Third Sector led research • Increased participation of beneficiaries and users in a range of research roles • Improved partnerships between the Third Sector and the research community. Your beneficiaries and users must be involved in setting the agenda, conducting, managing and disseminating the research. Help for organisations that want to do research will be available from Third Sector First, a collaboration of specialists in research and social policy. Contact: Big Lottery Fund Telephone: 0845 071 1068 Email: researchprogramme@aeat.co.uk Website: http://www.bigresearchprogramme.org.uk Environmental Initiatives The Breathing Places programme is a small grants programme developed by the Big Lottery Fund in partnership with the BBC. Phase 3 of the programme is now open for applications; it aims to: • Increase the number and range of people making use of, and helping to develop and maintain, breathing places, and • Make a lasting improvement to the natural environment of new and existing breathing places. The programme aims to bring about the following outcomes: • The natural environment of the breathing place is developed to encourage plant life and animals • People in the local community make more and better use of the breathing place • People in the local community are more engaged in developing and maintaining the breathing place. A breathing place is a green space that benefits wildlife and the local community. It may be local woodland, roadsides, parks, local nature reserves or wildlife areas, ponds, green corridors and wildflower meadows. Voluntary and community groups, schools, statutory health bodies, parish councils and town councils are able to apply. You can find more information about the Breathing Places campaign on the BBC website, including details of some of the projects funded through phase 1 and 2 of the programme, at www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces. Deadline: 18 January 2008 Contact: Breathing Places, Big Lottery Fund Telephone: 0845 367 0610 Website: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_breathingplaces Community Initiatives Improving Reach has been launched by Capacitybuilders. This £18 million fund aims to strengthen the support services available to frontline organisations, while at the same time build capacity in small third sector providers that specialise in delivering services for excluded communities. The maximum grant from the fund will be £150,00o per year over three years. The Improving Reach programme for 2008-11 aims to achieve the following outcomes: • Smaller organisations have more skills and resources to provide support services to third-sector frontline organisations which work with excluded communities. These smaller organisations are able to continue their work after the funding has run out. • More frontline organisations working in and with excluded communities can get high-quality support services which are appropriate for them. Funds will be prioritised in areas where a significant gap in existing services has been identified and include organisations in black and minority ethnic communities, refugee and migrant communities, faith communities and isolated rural communities. Deadline: 28 January 2008 Contact: Capacity Builders Email: info@capacitybuilders.org.uk Website: http://www.capacitybuilders.org.uk Barnsley Building Society runs the Pride in Your Community Award. This award is aimed at individuals and groups in the Yorkshire area who are working to improve their community and environment, and the lives of the people living within them. The awards are between £250 and £500. Small, local registered charities may be considered but large national charities are excluded. For application packs, contact your local branch, or the head office. Deadline: In Spring and Autumn each year Contact: Samantha Cameron-Caruthers, Barnsley Building Society Telephone: 01226 733 999 Website: http://www.barnsleybs.co.uk/aboutus.htm#PrideInYourCommunity The B&Q You Can Do It Awards will be launched in January 2008. Voluntary and community groups can enter a competition to win £5,000 worth of products to use in their premises or community project. Applications forms can be obtained by phone or online. Deadline: Opens in January and closes at the end of March Contact: You Can Do It, B&Q Telephone: 0845 300 1001 Website: http://www.diy.com (click on ‘about us’, then ‘social responsibility’) Voluntary Sector Initiatives A second round of the Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Grant in Aid Funding Programme has been announced, and, as so often is the case with central government funds, the timescales are very short. The programme offers grants to voluntary sector organisations for work that helps ensure that hard to reach and vulnerable people get the right benefit entitlements and tax credits, and pay the correct amount of tax. Grants can be given for up to three years, and will generally offer: • Up to £20,000 for locally based or smaller organisations • Up to £80,000 for more significant projects working on a wider geographic scale • Up to £250,000 for major projects working on a national scale. Deadline: 24 December for first stage applications. A further application round is due to be launched in October 2008. Contact: Hazel Kilpatrick, HMRC Telephone: 0191 224 7416. Email: hazel.kilpatrick@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk Website: http://www.governmentfunding.org.uk The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) is inviting applications for the Everybody Counts Awards, which offer cash prizes to chartered accountants for the charity or community project with which they do voluntary work. Winners in each category are selected on the basis of the time, level of involvement and commitment, and the difference their work has made. Deadline: 28 March 2008 Contact: Jade Peters, ICAEW Telephone: 020 7920 8692 Email: jade.peters@icaew.com Website: http://www.icaew.co.uk/everybodycounts Youth Initiatives Harvest Trust provides free seaside holidays for groups of disadvantaged children. Holidays are for groups of twelve children between the ages of 8 and 12, and are based at the Trust’s holiday centre in West Wales. All of the week long holidays take place between April and September. Community groups and childcare providers are eligible to apply. Harvest Trust provides all accommodation, transport and admissions free of charge. Your organisation needs to supply the food and provide three adult workers to accompany the children. Application forms are available now. Deadline: 31 January 2008 Contact: Harvest Trust Telephone: 01559 371 190 Email: office@harvesttrust.com Website: http://www.hartrust.vispa.com The CHANGEit awards scheme has been launched by Common Purpose in partnership with Deutsche Bank. It is a scheme for young people aged 11-18 who want to make a difference and speak about the issues they care about. Awards of £750 and £250 are on offer to individuals or groups of young people. There are two categories of award: • Innovation Awards for young people who want to make positive change happen, but need the funding and know- how to get started. The young people might be engaged in activity within the community, school or a youth organisation. • Performance Awards are for young people who have already produced change in their community, school or youth organisation. Nominations can be made by, or on behalf of, any young person within the UK aged 11-18. Young people who are already supporting organisations or causes are welcome to apply but some innovation must be demonstrated. Deadline: 15 December 2007 Contact: CHANGEit Coordinator Telephone: 020 7608 8148 Email: changeit@commonpurpose.org Website: http://www.commonpurpose.org.uk/home/resources/changeit.aspx Environmental Initiatives Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have set up a funding support scheme for organisations providing recycling services to businesses. Grants of up to £67,000 will pay for up to 50% of your total project costs. Organisations from the private, public or voluntary sector are all eligible to apply. There is a finite amount of funding for 2007-08, so you should apply as soon as possible. Deadline: Apply at any time until 31 March 2008 Contact: Jospehine Abbott or Natasha Allen, WRAP Telephone: 01295 819 916 or 01295 819 692 Email: sme@wrap.org.uk Website: http://www.wrap.org.uk/businesses/sme_recycling_programme/sme_funding_support.html Healthcare Initiatives Jeans for Genes supports individuals and families affected by genetic disorders and advances medical research into such disorders. It has now opened a round of funding for charities with grants of £500 to £25,000. It is likely that around £150,000 will be available overall. Deadline: 4 January 2008 Contact: Elana Levinson or Hannah O’Riordan, Jeans for Genes Appeal Telephone: 020 7163 6901 Email: questions@jeansforgenes.com Website: http://www.jeansforgenes.com/grantapplication The Health and Social Care Awards highlight and celebrate innovation and excellence in the provision of frontline health and social care. Teams from across the NHS, social services, and the voluntary sector are eligible to apply to the competition, which offers prestige rather than prize money. Deadline: 8 February 2008 Contact: NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement Telephone: 0870 000 1100 Website: http://www.institute.nhs.uk/HSCA/yorksandhumber district news BARNSLEY Together for Regeneration Advice surgery for church-based community projects Venue: Barnsley Central Library, Shambles St, Barnsley S70 2JF 9.30 onwards, 13 December 2007 There are 5 x 1 hour slots available. You need to book a place Contact: Madeleine Gadsby, TfR Telephone: 01709 309 119 Email: madeleine.gadsby@tfr.org.uk DONCASTER Doncaster CVS have a new website with information on all the services they offer, including a directory of Voluntary and Community Sector Groups in Doncaster which has now been made available for browsing and searching online. Website: http://www.doncastercvs.org.uk A grant/loan scheme has been launched by North Doncaster Development Trust (NDDT) for businesses affected by the recent floods. £250,000 has being made available through Doncaster Council’s Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) to help flood affected companies to develop and grow. Discretionary grants and loans are being targeted at small and medium sized enterprises with innovative projects that will help businesses to progress and move forward. Contact: NDDT Telephone: 01302 874 587 Website: http://tinyurl.com/3co8y9 Conisbrough and Denaby Development Trust (CDDT) is one of the Doncaster CVS sub-contractors delivering Business Planning support in West and South Doncaster and Community Accountancy support in West Doncaster. As part of this contract, the Trust are delivering a free workshop - ‘Introducing Funding and Finance for Voluntary and Community Groups’. This workshop is based on a Finance Hub workbook. It explores sustainability and what groups need to do to achieve it. The one-day course will be run once a month on the following dates: 4 December 2007, 17 January, 14 February, 13 March, 17 April, 15 May, 19 June, 17 July 2008. All courses run from 10.00 to 4.30. Venue: The Terrace, Conisbrough The training is open to all voluntary and community groups based in West and South Doncaster. The workshop is free and lunch will be provided. Any groups that would like to have the training delivered at your own premises or at a venue that is more convenient, this can also be organised by contacting CDDT. Contact: Mike Page, CDDT Telephone: 01709 866 466 Website: http://www.cddt.co.uk ROTHERHAM Community Learning offers two grant streams to enable a wide range of learning opportunities to be offered to Rotherham residents: • First Step Learning is primarily for learners who do not yet have a full level 2 qualification. It is intended to make a positive contribution to achieving a level 2 qualification over time and includes information, advice and guidance. • Personal and Community Development Learning (PCDL) is intended to ensure each local area offers a wide range of learning for adults for culture, leisure, community and personal fulfilment purposes, with a better choice of opportunities to encourage adults back into learning. The current funding cycle runs from January to July 2008. Deadline: Apply at any time Contact: Rebecca Morgan, Community Learning, Rotherham MBC Telephone: 01709 823 696 Email: rebecca.morgan@rotherham.gov.uk Website: http://www.rotherham.gov.uk SHEFFIELD Funding Forums are changing! We will now hold 4 Forums a year, and 2 mini funding fairs. They will now normally be on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, not the 4th. We will also announce the topics and dates further in advance. We hope this will increase your access to funding information and help you to plan which events to attend. The schedule for 2008-09 is: March 2008 - A mini funding fair with workshops or funding surgeries May 2008 - A regular Forum July 2008 - A regular Forum September 2008 - A mini funding fair with workshops or funding surgeries November 2008 - A regular Forum January 2009 - A regular Forum March 2009 - A mini funding fair with workshops or funding surgeries Further details on the dates and topics will be published in February’s Funding News and on the SYFAB website. Contact: Sara Williams, SYFAB Telephone: 0114 249 4343 Email: sara@syfab.org.uk Website: http://www.syfab.org.uk IT PROJECT An update from Danny on the new guide and new set of tutorials available from the Get Connected to Funding SYFAB IT Project: SYFAB Guide to Funding Information Services – this written guide directs you to the most useful funding information services available on the internet. These are websites you can search to find funders for your activities. The guide reviews the sites and gives you information on what you can expect to get from them. Contact Danny to join the IT Project email list to receive your copy. Tutorials - How to find and research funding information online. These tutorials cover: • Internet research techniques - how to improve your search engine skills, how to keep track of and share useful information, and how to assess the quality of the information you find. • Finding Funders - a run through of the SYFAB services available and how to access them, and a guide to Funding Information Services that you can access for free. • Researching Individual Funders - how to organise and prioritise your research to save you time. The tutorials will be run as an email and online course starting in January. People who sign up for the course can work through the materials in short sections each week with additional support and tips from SYFAB along the way. To register your place on the course, please contact Danny before 3 January 2008. The basic tutorials and the guide are available and free to access now on the new SYFAB Get Connected to Funding blog at http://syfab.wordpress.com. You can work through them at your own pace. These are just the basic tutorials – the email and online course will offer additional materials and more resources than you get on the blog. Also on the blog is a short tutorial on how to use and get the best out of SIFT which new subscribers are welcome to work through. SIFT is our free software toolkit for finding funding online. It is free to voluntary and community organisations in South Yorkshire. Please contact Danny to receive a copy. Deadline: Sign up for the course before 3 January 2008 Contact: Danny Antrobus, SYFAB Telephone: 0114 249 4343 Email: danny@syfab.org.uk Website: http://www.syfab.org.uk/itproject.php Blog: http://syfab.wordpress.com FUNDING DIARY 12 December - Baring Foundation for arts organisations deadline 21 December - E.ON Source Fund deadline 31 December - BIG Lottery Fund Playful Ideas deadline In the new year January 2008 Applications open for Healthy Hearts Grants programme Applications open for B&Q You Can Do It Awards Applications open for Environment Agency Action Earth awards Changemakers USA ‘Sport for a Better World’ deadline 8 January - Connecting Communities Plus Community Grants deadline 15 January - Groundswell Small Grant Award Scheme for homelessness projects deadline 30 January - Tesco Charity Trust - Children’s education and welfare including special needs schools deadline 1 February - Waterways Trust Small Grants Scheme deadline 15 February - Wellcome Trust Arts Awards and People Awards small to medium-sized projects deadline 7 March - Co-operative Foundation deadline 31 March - Small Sparks grants for people with learning disabilities deadline 31 March - Big Lottery Fund Parks for People deadline April (various dates) European Union MEDIA 2007 programmes deadlines 10 April - UKVillages Community Kitty deadline 25 April - Performing Right Society Foundation Awards for New Works, Awards to Promoters Spring 2008 Look out for BIG Lottery BASIS Round Two Most grant schemes in the Funding Diary have been included in Funding News at some point in the past, or will be covered in future issues. You can use the searchable archive on the SYFAB website to find the scheme you are looking for. Website: http://www.syfab.org.uk TRAINING SYFAB are delivering a series of free training courses in partnership with Voluntary Action Sheffield (VAS) and Community Education Resource (CEDR). They are funded by the Academy for Community Leadership (AfCL). Lottery Form Filling Courses A practical three session course to help you develop your applications to the Big Lottery Fund Reaching Communities Programme. Venue: Sheffield (venue to be confirmed) 9.30 - 12.30, Wednesday 9, 16 and 23 January Venue: Doncaster CVS 9.30 - 12.30, Tuesday 5, 12 and 19 February You need to book a place. Contact: Diane Harding, Training Co-ordinator, SYFAB Telephone: 0114 249 4343 Email: diane@syfab.org.uk Writing Better Funding Applications Improving your skills and knowledge in developing funding applications. Venue: Unity Centre, Rotherham 9.30 - 3.30, Monday 14 January (lunch included) You need to book a place. Contact: Christine France, CEDR Telephone: 01709 722 834 Email: cfrance@rotherham.ac.uk Funding and Fundraising for Community and Voluntary Groups SYFAB’s 8 session Open College Network accredited course helps you to develop your fundraising skills. The sessions cover: • Introduction to fundraising • Planning and preparation for fundraising • Sources of funding • Applying for funding • Financial planning for fundraising • Evaluation and monitoring • Portfolio building and support Venue: Treeton Resource Centre, Rotherham Thursday mornings from 17 January to 13 March (including mid-course break) For more information and to book a place Contact: Christine France or Samantha Walker, CEDR Telephone: 01709 722 834 Email: cfrance@rotherham.ac.uk or swalker@rotherham.ac.uk contact details Funding News is written and published by South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau. It is free to local voluntary and community groups in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield. We try to make sure that information is correct, but cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions. We always include contact details and it is important that you get full information from funders before making any funding applications. You can read the last 10 issues of Funding News on the SYFAB website, along with our weekly Funding News Extra bulletins: http://www.syfab.org.uk South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau contacts: Information Service Amanda Bennett, Sarah Pilkington and Nila Wills Telephone: 0114 276 5460 email: info@syfab.org.uk Training Co-ordinator Diane Harding Telephone: 0114 249 4343 email: diane@syfab.org.uk IT Project Danny Antrobus Telephone: 0114 249 4343 email: danny@syfab.org.uk Funding Development Workers Barnsley - Contact Sheffield office Telephone: 0114 249 4343 email: enquiries@syfab.org.uk Rotherham - Ian Paisley Telephone: 01709 514 258 email: ian@syfab.org.uk Sheffield - Sara Williams Telephone: 0114 249 4343 email: sara@syfab.org.uk Worsbrough - Tracy Charlesworth Telephone: 01226 249 904 email: tracy@syfab.org.uk Brightside/Shiregreen - Christine Ventour Telephone: 0114 203 7583 email: christine@syfab.org.uk SYFAB main contact details: The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield S1 2BX Telephone: 0114 249 4343 email: enquiries@syfab.org.uk To receive Funding News by post, or change your contact details: Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham groups contact: Sheila Bhandal, SYFAB Telephone: 0114 249 4343 email: sheila@syfab.org.uk Sheffield groups contact: Andrea Allsopp, Sheffield Information Services Telephone: 0114 273 5038 email: andrea.allsopp@sheffield.gov.uk To receive Funding News by email: Contact Sheila Bhandal at SYFAB as above. If you have news, views or ideas for Funding News, contact: Danny Antrobus Telephone: 0114 249 4343 email: danny@syfab.org.uk Funding News is funded by: Sheffield City Council, Barnsley MB Council, Rotherham MB Council, Doncaster South Yorkshire Investment Plan Funding News is produced in partnership by: South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau and Sheffield City Council © Copyright SYFAB 2007. You need our permission to reproduce these materials.