There are a number of funding sources available to help raise the rest of the funds for your project. Some may be available just in your local area and some to anyone in the country.

Make sure you check that you and your project are eligible before you apply. For example, some funds are only available to charities. Remember in most cases you won’t be successful if your project has already started.

LOCAL FUNDS

A good place to start your funding search is by checking with your local council. They may know of funding opportunities, and may even publish a regular newsletter about them. In some cases, councils have their own grant funds for local projects.

In some parts of the county, Ward Councillors have access to a discretionary fund. They may be able to give you a small grant from this.

If your project is health related or is aimed at improving community life, such as preventing anti-social behaviour, then you could try speaking to your local GP or police who may have funds available for intervention programmes.

Community Foundations

A community foundation is a vehicle for charitable giving. They work with individuals, families and companies to manage grants that target issues or focus on particular geographical areas. There are 46 community foundations in the UK. They are responsible for the local management of national programmes, such as Comic Relief, but they also look after local grant funds.

They also offer training and other resources. Find your Foundation at

http://ukcommunityfoundations.org

Police Commissioners

The network of Commissioners have the responsibility of distributing the proceeds of crime to local activities. If your project is working with young offenders, those at risk of offending or diverting young people from anti-social behaviour, you may be able to secure funding from this source.

Each Commissioner deals with this in a different way. You can find out out about your local Commissioner here:

https://www.gov.uk/police-and-crime-commissioners

Search engines

There are a number of search engines available that allow you to look online to see if there are grants available for your project. Some may charge a fee. One was managed by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). It was called Funding Central and although it has recently closed, there are a number of extra resources still available on the page:

Welcome | My Funding Central

You can then tailor your search for your project, keep information on grant funds and ask questions about schemes if you need more information.

National funds

These are funds that are given with the same criteria across the country. Applications may have to be made to one central place or to a local agency, such as a Community Foundation.

They include:

Sport England Movement Fund – up to £15,000 for a sports activity based programme. No deadlines, applications take about 12 weeks. On line application process at: Funding guidance | Sport England

Awards for All – managed by the Big Lottery Fund. Grants up to £20,000 for community based programmes, so aimed at health, non-sports activity or similar projects. Useful documents and advice, as well as an online application process at: Home | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)

Football Foundation – their only revenue programme is Grow the Game – aimed at increasing the number of teams playing regularly and volunteer coaches. Grants of £5,000 over two years for the creation of two new teams. Currently closed to applications, you can find more information here: http://www.footballfoundation.org.uk/funding-schemes/grow-the-game/

Comic relief / Sports Relief – have national and local grant programmes across several themes, and all grants are managed by Community Foundations. Further information can be found here: https://www.comicrelief.com/ and https://www.comicrelief.com/sportrelief

People’s Postcode Trust – offer small grants up to £25,000 if you are a charity (£2,500) if you are a community group. They fund a variety of themes, including youth projects but will also cover capital projects. They have geographic specific rounds, so check before you apply: http://www.postcodetrust.org.uk/

Foundations and Trusts

Once you start looking for funds, you will find that there are a large number of trusts and foundations who distribute money for their good causes. Some are large, others small. Some have specific aims and others will fund a range of projects. Some will only fund charities, such as the Santander Foundation and the Lloyds Bank Foundation. Others – like the ASDA Foundation – you have to be nominated by an employee.