Funding your project by Anna Portch

Funding your project a joint project

Funding your project The following are potential sources of project funding to help you to develop your school building, grounds or community for the beneﬁt of people and the environment. All awards have various eligibility criteria being targeted directly at teachers, schools, communities or young people. This list is not exhaustive and funding streams change regularly. Joining environmental or horticultural organisations will often help keep you abreast of changes and new opportunities as they arise.

EC1 New Deal Community Chest www.yourec1.com

Amount: Up to £4,000 Aim: Grants available for projects which beneﬁt the community. Who can apply: Schools, PTAs or constituted groups.

Islington Community Chest www.cripplegate.org/grantgiving/schools.html Amount: Up to £10,000 (Primary schools), £25,000 (Secondary schools), £20,000 (Special schools), over 3 years. Aim: The schools programme aims to raise achievement, enrich the curriculum and improve opportunities for young people and their families. Who can apply: Schools and groups in Islington.

British Ecological Society Grants www.britishecologicalsociety.org/articles/grants Amount: Various grants up to £1,000 Aim: Supports the teaching of ecology to children and by awarding grant to support school ground developments; primary school field work or nature visits; field equipment grant; higher education taster events; professional development courses in fieldwork or teacher attendance at BES meetings. Who can apply: Depends on grant applied for, schools, teachers, individuals.

“It’s Your Community” Awards www.conservationfoundation.co.uk/ActLocalAwards.php Amount: Up to £1,000 Aim: The Conservation Foundation and O2 award scheme aims to help people improve their local environment. “It’s Your Community” will provide awards to support environmental projects 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, etc. Who can apply: Open to local amenity groups, schools, youth clubs, heritage groups, environmental and conservation groups, and individuals who can show that their project will beneﬁt their local environment.

Tree Council www.treecouncil.org.uk Amount: Various. Aim: From time to time the Tree Council makes funding available to undertake small well-planned tree projects particularly during National Tree Week (November/December) though not restricted to this time. Eligible costs include trees, labour for planting and any supports and aids to establishment. Check online for most up to date grants available. Who can apply: Schools and community groups.

The Sutton Trust www.suttontrust.com Amount: Grants have been awarded of £200 - £50,000 Aim: Funds projects that provide educational opportunities for young people from non-privileged backgrounds. All projects considered on an individual basis, but particularly innovative projects and pilot schemes that have the potential to beneﬁt large numbers, and new research. Who can apply: Schools.

Switched on Communities www.eco-schools.org.uk/switched_on/index.htm Amount: Up to £5,000 Aim: Funding from Curry’s to help schools registered with Eco-Schools to progress through the programme. Priority will be given to projects that clearly demonstrate an energy efﬁciency element or identify technology solutions to environmental improvements e.g. low energy white goods, solar panels, recycling equipment, ‘switch off ’ systems. Who can apply: Schools registered with eco-schools (see school initiatives).

Low Carbon Buildings Programme www.lowcarbonbuildingsphase2.org.uk/page.jsp?id=2 Amount: Up to 50% of costs. Aim: To provide grants covering up to 50% of the costs of buying and installing microgeneration technologies, such as solar panels or wind turbines. Who can apply: Schools, householders and community organisations.

Global School Partnerships www.dﬁd.gov.uk/news/ﬁles/pressreleases/boost-school-links.asp Amount: Up to £1,500 - Reciprocal Visit Grants and up to £4,500 over 3 years - Global Curriculum Project Grants + additional £1,500 for secondary schools. Aim: The Department for International Development Global School Partnerships Programme is available to fund partnerships between UK schools and schools across the developing world through teacher exchanges and for projects to build development issues into the curriculum. Two types of grants are available. Reciprocal Visit Grants are available to help send teachers to visit each other’s school and establish and develop a partnership. Global Curriculum Project Grants are available for curriculum development and reciprocal visits for two teachers. For secondary schools and sixth form colleges an additional £1,500 is available for one student to take part in a visit. Who can apply: Schools.

CSV Action Earth www.csv.org.uk/Campaigns Amount: Up to £50 Aim: Runs from January to early June to assist groups in carrying out environmental projects. Who can apply: Groups and schools.

B&Q Better Neighbour Grants scheme www.diy.com Amount: Groups can apply for £50 - £500 worth of materials towards their project. Aim: To provide materials and funding for local community based projects. Who can apply: Groups and schools.

Volvo Eco Adventure Awards www.environmentawards.net/details.asp?cid=286 Amount: Up to £500 Aim: To help groups of young people to fund their environmental projects in school, youth group, Wildlife Watch group or local community. Who can apply: Groups of young people aged 10-16.

Help a London Child (Capital Radio) www.capitalfm.co.uk/Article.asp?id=7024 Amount: Up to £3,000 Aim: Funding for projects which aim to give opportunities to the capital’s children and young people who experience poverty and disadvantage; have/are experiencing abuse, neglect, homelessness, violence or crime; or who have an illness or disability. Who can apply: After school clubs, clubs and projects focused on young people aged 11 to 18.

Scarman Trust Grants Programme www.thescarmantrust.org/london/index.htm Tel: 020 7713 9306 for details of these Scarman Trust programmes aimed at helping individuals improve their community:

Community Champions Fund Amount: Up to £2,000 Aim: Individuals can apply for funding to help them run a grassroots project. Previous winners have used the money to run neighbourhood newsletters; after-school clubs; puppet-making workshops; recycling projects; parents and toddlers group, etc. The closing date for applications is on the 16th of every month Who can apply: Individuals.

Big Boost Amount: £250 - £5,000 Aim: The Big Boost programme gives awards to young people to help them get projects off the ground that will beneﬁt their community. Applications to the Big Boost programme can be made at any time. Who can apply: Young people aged 18-25.

Help Yourselves! www.helpyourselves.org.uk/index.jsp Amount: Up to £1,000 Aim: Save the Children and British Gas – Help yourselves! awards. The awards aim to get young people involved in dynamic and lasting community projects. Can fund projects and activities that help children and young people who are excluded and isolated as well as those living in noted areas of deprivation. Who can apply: Groups.

The Prince’s Trust Group Awards www.princes-trust.org.uk Amount: £250 - £5,000 Aim: Grants are awarded to young people aged 14 to 25 who are involved in projects to beneﬁt the local community. The deﬁnition of community is broad, stretching from a school to a prison, or an ethnic community to a geographical one. The Prince’s Trust also gives development awards of between £50 and £500 for educational underachievers in the same age group who want to pursue opportunities in education, training or employment. Who can apply: Young people aged 14 to 25.

The BIG Lottery Fund - Making a BIG Difference to Schools www.biglotteryfund.org.uk The BIG Lottery Fund is keen to support schools in their broader social aims such as strengthening community cohesion, fostering youth engagement and securing pride in the local environment. Schools can apply directly or as part of a partnership with other eligible organisations for the following grants:

Reaching Communities Amount: Grants of £10,001 - £500,000 Aim: No restrictions have been set on the types of activities this grant will fund as long as it is driven by a clear need in the community and leads to improvements to the communities and lives of people most in need. Who can apply: Schools and groups.

Awards for All Amount: Grants of £300 - £10,000 Aim: Joint programme between the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Arts Council of England and the Big Lottery Fund. Funding available to fund projects that enable people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities, as well as projects that promote education, the environment and health. Who can apply: Schools and groups.

Playful Ideas Amount: Grants of £10,000 - £250,000 Aim: To support projects that focus on innovation and new ways of providing for children’s play. Projects seeking funding from this programme must display a creative and novel approach to addressing an identiﬁed need within the ﬁeld of children’s play. Who can apply: Schools can work in partnership with voluntary and community organisations, social enterprises and councils on this programme.

Family Learning Amount: Grants of £10,000 - £500,000 Aim: Funding for projects which help parents to understand more about how their children learn. Who can apply: Schools can apply as part of a partnership with voluntary and community organisations or social enterprises.

Young Roots - Heritage Lottery Fund www.hlf.org.uk Amount: £5,000 - £25,000. Aim: The scheme aims to involve 13-20 year-olds (up to 25 for those with special needs) in ﬁnding out about their heritage, developing skills, building conﬁdence and promoting community involvement. Who can apply: Organisations that work with people aged 13 to 20 (or 13 to 25 for young people with special needs).

Woolworths - Playground Partnerships www.playgroundpartnerships.org Amount: Awards of £1,000, £2,000, £5,000 or £10,000 Aim: The scheme provides grants for UK primary and special schools to help them improve the quality of their playgrounds and in turn enhance children’s play opportunities. Who can apply: Schools.

Grants for School Travel Plans www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sd/managers/travel/STAtoolkit/stp Amount: £3,750 + £5 per pupil for primary and first schools and £5,000 + £5 per pupil for middle and secondary schools Aim: Government grants for schools to implement School Travel Plans. Funding consists of a Capital Grant paid in instalments and could be used for cycle shelters and lockers, shower facilities or covered waiting areas for pupils and parents. Schools interested in developing School Travel Plans or in applying for funding should in the first instance contact their School Travel Plan Officer on Tel: 020 7527 2513 or 020 7527 3903. Who can apply: Schools.