The Fund encourages private sector enterprise, including social enterprise, to create opportunities for people and places to adjust to reductions in public spending, and enable private sector investors, business, the public sector and communities to come together with an overall.

Who Qualifies?

Bids will be accepted from private bodies and public private partnerships across England on a challenge basis. We envisage bidding partnerships that include a combination of private sector players, SMEs and social enterprises coming together with public partners. In particular it is expected that Local Enterprise Partnerships will both bid to the Fund and play a role in coordinating bids across areas and communities.

While all areas of England are eligible to bid for the RGF some parts of the country where there is currently high employment, low-levels of deprivation and a vibrant private sector may struggle to demonstrate how they meet the objective to rebalance those areas and communities dependent on the public sector.

What sort of projects and programmes qualify?

The Regional Growth Fund will provide a mixture of direct support for private sector investments and support for some basic infrastructure that removes the barriers that trigger private sector led economic growth as part of a wider investment. Bids must be able to demonstrate that the Fund will create long term growth by levering private sector investment and jobs. It will not support speculative developments.

There will be a number of regional events and Expression of interest meetings to support potential bidders with their applications. Dates and how to book are on the regional events page on te website.

There is demonstrably a lot of interest in the Fund and bidders need to present realistic and competitive bids. The amount requested should be the minimum amount necessary to make the project go ahead. Projects that would ordinarily go ahead without support from the Fund will not be considered.  To ask a question about the Regional Growth Fund interested parties should either telephone their local BIS Regional Growth Fund contact point or email the central enquiry point:

North West: (0161) 952 4264.
North East: (0191) 202 3838.
Yorkshire and Humber: (0113) 341 2833.
West Midlands: (0121) 352 5108.
East Midlands: (0115) 971 2516.
East: (01223) 372758.
South West: (01752) 635067.
South East: (01483) 882411.

Application Form: Forms and documentation are available to download from the website below.

Deadline: 12noon on 13th June 2012

Contact: Regional Growth Fund
Department for Business Innovation and Skills, 1 Victoria Street
London, SW1H 0ET       Tel: (020) 7215 5000                                                   E-mail: growthfund@bis.gsi.gov.uk

W: www.bis.gov.uk/policies/regional-economic-development/regional-growth-fund

They can pay for all or some of your project costs, but they encourage you to get some of your funding from other sources if you can. There is no minimum or maximum grant in most of our programmes, but where there are limits, these are clearly stated in the programme guidelines. Their grants on average vary between £25,000 and £40,000 per year, and rarely exceed this upper limit.
They receive many more applications than they are able to fund and they usually only support work which fits their current priorities, so before you apply for funding, please read through all the Essential Information below and on their website carefully.

Mental Health – This programme aims to promote the rights and support the recovery of people who have mental health problems, and to help them feel more included in society. It also aims to reduce the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems.

Domestic and Sexual Abuse – This programme aims to provide support for young people aged 11-25 who have witnessed or directly experienced domestic and sexual abuse. There are two strands to this programme: Crisis Support; Young Voices.

Refugee and Asylum Seeking Women – This programme aims to provide support for refugee and asylum seeking women who have experienced rape, torture and other forms of violence in their home countries and meets one or more of the outcomes listed below. They are especially keen to make sure that women get the help they need in making their claims for asylum, and also get access to emotional and practical services they need to help rebuild their lives. There are two strands to the open programme: Direct support to women; and Training.

Sport for Change – The aim of this programme is to understand more about how sport can play a part in delivering positive change within the lives of individuals and communities, and to meet one or more of the outcomes:

• Increased sense of inclusion and well-being by marginalised and disadvantaged people
• Greater community involvement
• An increased understanding of how sport can help bring about positive changes in the lives of individuals and communities
• Greater knowledge across the community and sports sectors about effective work which uses sport as a tool for social change

They particularly want to fund organisations working to support people from BME communities, older people and women/girls.

Local Communities - The funding for their communities programme is devolved to the Community Foundation Network. Please contact them directly for details of their funding application procedures: www.communityfoundations.org.uk/looking_for_a_grant_/comic_relief

Older People - This programme is built around supporting older people to bring positive change to their communities, enabling them to contribute their time, energy and skills to those individuals who need it most. They know that encouraging participation has direct health benefits and can provide older people with opportunities for social engagement and building networks.

Please note that as they received a huge response to the first grant cycle of their Older People’s Programme, they have narrowed the criteria for applicants. Only those that have an exact fit with the programme aims and outcomes will be considered.

Please consult their website for full guidance and application forms.

This will be the last funding cycle under their current grants strategy. The new strategy will launch in spring 2013 with grant making resuming in summer 2013.

Please contact them if you have any queries about the application process.

Application Form: Online Application Process opens 10 April 2012

Deadline: 8 June 2012 for Older People and Sport for Change, 29 June 2012 for other programmes

Contact: UK Grants Team, Comic Relief, 5th Floor, 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP Tel: 020 7820 5555 Fax: 020 7820 5500 Minicom: 020 7820 5579 Email: ukgrants@comicrelief.com

W:  http://www.comicrelief.com/apply-for-a-grant/apply-for-a-uk-grant

aims for the programme:

They have developed the Artists’ international development fund to help them achieve their aims within goal 1 of our 10-year framework Achieving great art for everyone: talent and artistic excellence are thriving and celebrated. They want artists to be open to international perspectives and to expand their horizons. You can find out more about this in the Arts Council Plan 2011-15.

The British Council and the Arts Council want the programme to produce:

• a cadre of artists and creative practitioners in the UK (and also globally) who have experienced the benefits of international working between the UK and other countries and are advocates for it among their peers
• an increase in the amount of international collaboration among artists between the UK and other countries across the arts and creative industries
• artistic development for artists

Artists are able to apply for small grants (minimum of £1,000 up to £5,000). You can only apply to the Artists’ international development programme once in any financial year.

If you are interested in applying for the fund, visit the eligibility and how to apply pages.

Application Form: via an online application process on the website. Guidelines can be downloaded form the website also.

Deadline:   Round One: Thursday 31 May 2012, Round Two: Friday 5 October 2012., Round Three: Friday 1 February 2013

Contact: 0845 300 6200 or enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk.

W: www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-for-funding/strategic-funding/grant-programmes/artists-international-development-fund/

• Best Market Solutions: which will invest in the best innovative ideas to drive enterprise and remove skills barriers to growth, including through the introduction of new voluntary professional standards and voluntary training levies.
• National Skills Academies: expanding the successful network of National Skills Academies, which already exist in 16 sectors such as environmental technology, railway engineering and retail.
• Joint Investment Programme: bringing together employer and public investment in specific training projects which improve business productivity and growth, or address skills gaps and shortages.

GIF will invest in a range of projects to raise skills levels and support growth. The Government is not being prescriptive on the value of applications; however, the selection criteria include looking at the scale and impact of proposals and how well proposed solutions meet priority needs identified by bidders in their sectoral analysis of what can unlock growth potential. For that reason, applications with a very small value will not generally be accepted.

GIF is open for business all year round.  Applicants are free to submit their applications to GIF at any time.   The GIF Board will meet regularly during the year to make its short listing and investment decisions.  However, please note that GIF can only deal with one application from each organisation at any one time.

Application Form: Complete the eligibility checker on the website to access the application form.

Deadlines: In 2012 the GIF Board will meet to consider applications on the following dates:

August 2012 (closing date for Outline Proposal 10am 31st May 2012)

Late November 2012 (closing date for Outline Proposal applications to be confirmed)

Outline Proposal applications must be submitted by the closing date in brackets in order to be considered.  Any applications received after this time will be reviewed at the next board meeting. Once an application is approved, applicants will be told the date for submission of full proposal applications. The eligibility checker and detailed guidance on the application process is available from the website.

Contact: GIF.questions@ukces.org.uk

W: www.ukces.org.uk/gif

ABCT supports charities that defend human rights, such as freedom from torture and arbitrary imprisonment, and promote respect for individuals whatever their circumstances.

The Trust is particularly interested in charities that work with vulnerable, marginalised and excluded people in society, with a focus on:

• refugees and victims of torture
• prisoners
• older people
• people with mental health problems

Medium sized grants available. If you do not work in these particular fields, but meet our wider criteria, you may be able to apply for a small grant of up to £5,000.

Application Form: Apply on-line via website

Deadline: July 2012 Trustee Meeting the deadline is 25 May 2012.

Contact: The A B Charitable Trust, Monmouth House, 87-93 Westbourne Grove, London W2 4UL Tel: 020 7313 8070 Fax: 020 7313 9607 Email: mail@abcharitabletrust.org.uk

W: www.abcharitabletrust.org.uk

The Henry Moore Foundation awards grants in six categories: New Projects; Collections; Research and Development; Fellowships for artists; Conferences, lectures and publications; Post-doctoral research fellowships.

The Foundation’s grants programme is focussed on specific objectives. It is
the Trustees’ policy to support all aspects of the arts in which Henry Moore
himself was engaged, e.g. sculpture, drawing and print-making.

The Foundation supports organisations, institutions, museums and galleries in the United Kingdom.

For further application criteria and how to apply please visit:-

http://www.henry-moore.org/grants/applying-for-a-grant1/make-an-application

The grants committee meet quarterly and the deadlines for 2012 are:-

4 April 2012 (24 February 2012)

3 July 2012 (23 May 2012)

16 October 2012 (7 September 2012)

23 January 2013 (28 November 2012)
Applications should be received BEFORE the deadline date (which is noted in brackets above).

The Wessex Trust was established shortly before the wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones, and was funded with proceeds from media coverage of their wedding. Since its inception the charity has undertaken a fundraising project to continue its work in the longer term. The Trust is particularly keen to fund smaller charities, especially those with limited financial resources.

For information and application guidelines, click here.

The Trust’s website says: Concertina makes grants to charitable bodies which provide musical entertainment and related activities for the elderly. This not only brightens up their lives, but also provides a therapeutic benefit to their health and well-being. Simon Baynes, founder of the Concertina Charitable Trust (pictured above right), says, “I have always thought that we owe a debt of gratitude to the generation which has handed down this great nation to us. Yet so many of the elderly lead sadly impoverished lives. Through Concertina we can say thank you by bringing a little joy back into some of their lives.”

Their next deadline is the 30th April, and grants are usually in the region of £500.

You can find out more about Concertina here.

The fund is made up of contributions from the four ‘Merlin’ banks – RBS, Barclays, Lloyds, and HSBC – and money drawn from dormant bank accounts. Its starting capital of £600 million will be used to invest in charities and social enterprises for a wide variety of socially beneficial projects. Organisations can apply for money on a repayment basis. This marks a significant move away from grants as it means organisations will have to generate a return on the investment they have been given. Big Society Capital claim that this will keep social enterprise finance circulating through the economy, rather than being gradually run down, as would happen with a traditional grant fund. Investments will initially range from a minimum of £500,000 to £15 million.

Organisations wishing to tap into the finance options offered by Big Society Capital will not be able to apply directly to BSC. Instead they will have to submit expressions of interest via a Social Investment Finance Intermediary. These are organisations that facilitate and structure the terms of the investment; there are a number of different types, depending on the needs of your organisation. You can find a directory of SIFIs here.

Big Society Capital specifices a number of areas in which they are particularly interested in making an investment. These are: ageing; children and families; community development; criminal justice; disability; education; employment; financial inclusion; healthy living; housing / shelter; market infrastructure; and mental health.

For more information on Big Society Capital, visit their website here.

Ford are committed to supporting the communities they work and live in. That’s why they created the Ford Britain Trust in April 1975 to help fund the education and advancement of our neighbours.

They pay special attention to projects focusing on education, environment, children, the disabled, youth activities and projects that provide clear benefits to the local communities close to our UK locations. The Ford Britain Trust particularly encourages applications from Ford employees, but is open to all, provided that the qualifying organisations meet our selection criteria.

There are two types of grants to apply for:

• Small grants for amounts up to £250, available four times each year.
• Large grants for amounts over £250 and usually up to a maximum of £3,000. Large grants are considered by the Trustees twice a year.

The approaching deadlines for :-

Small grants is 1st March 2012 and
Large grants is 4th May 2012

If you have any questions about making your application, please contact them Email: fbtrust@ford.com Tel:  01277 252551

Ford Britain Trust, Room 1/445, c/o Ford Motor Company Limited, Eagle Way, Brentwood, Essex CM13 3BW

Website: http://www.ford.co.uk/AboutFord/CorporateSocialResponsibility/FordBritainTrust