Meet the Funders – Melton

Our customers, and the communities we live and work in, are at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we decided to support local charities and community groups with over £20million in the ten years from 2020. If you’re helping to make a real and tangible difference in our communities, we want to know!

Our Fund aims to support the wellbeing of communities in the Severn Trent region. We want to fund new projects that link to three key elements of community wellbeing – People, Place and Environment –  and we’re really interested in projects that cover all three.

And of course, being a water company, naturally we’d love to see applications for projects that have a connection to water too (although this isn’t essential). Some examples might include improving access to and caring for rivers, installing grey water recycling, or creating sustainable drainage (SuDS) and water efficient green spaces.

Grants available from £2,000 to £200,000 – find out more here.

The Movement Fund
The Movement Fund provides crowdfunding pledges, grants and support to help projects that get more people active. If you’re eligible and your project aligns with our goals, you could receive up to £15,000 to cover a wide range of costs and items that’ll help deliver positive change in your community.

Find out more here

The fund is open and ongoing, with no date for closure.

If you’re unsure if the Movement Fund suits your project or need more information, please get in touch. Call us on 0345 8508 508 or email funding@sportengland.org

Application deadline: Ongoing

Awards for All

Social connections and community activities are at the heart of creating healthier, happier lives and a flourishing society. That’s why we support amazing community-led projects. We offer funding from £300 to £20,000. And can support your project for up to two years.
You can apply for funding to deliver a new or existing activity or to support your organisation to change and adapt to new and future challenges.

Find out more here

Reaching Communities England

Offers a larger amount of funding (over £20,001) for projects that last up to five years. We’re looking for projects that work with their community – whether that’s a community living in the same area, or people with similar interests or life experiences.

Find out more here

We fund a broad range of projects that connect people and communities to the UK’s heritage.

From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more – heritage can be anything from the past that you value and want to pass on to future generations.

Find out more here

The Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation currently works with over 70 individual donors and organisations to support local voluntary and community organisations. The Community Foundation specialises in small, local community grants. Welcoming applications from charities, community interest companies, constituted community groups, co-operatives, mutual aid societies and companies limited by guarantee.

Apply for a Grant – Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation

Find out more

The Community Action Programme (CAP) is a joined-up initiative which is aimed at supporting communities across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. It takes on an umbrella approach to help empower local people and smaller organisations to take action and build safer, stronger communities.

There are 4 main workstreams that fall under the umbrella approach of the Community Action Programme. These include:

• Public crime prevention advice which aims to help keep individuals stay safe.
• A crime prevention toolkit – this will be an effective guide with crime prevention advice and initiatives that have been tried and tested, it will explain what is working and what may not be best practice. This is to help empower local groups and parish councils to recognise a problem and find a solution that is appropriate to them.
• Co-produced initiatives such as People Zones and Shush and Shara
• The Community Action Fund (CAF) is a key part of the programme, offering funding and support to help local groups turn their ideas into real, positive change.

The Community Action Fund is designed to provide targeted support to community and constituted groups through a series of themed grant rounds running throughout the year. Each round focuses exclusively on prevention initiatives that address one of our six prevention delivery strategies and will support community-led projects that aim to reduce harm and improve safety. Community groups, charities, voluntary organisations, grassroot organisations, constituted groups, schools and parish councils  can apply for grants up to £10,000 to support their initiatives. Applicants can also apply for more than one grant round.

• Rural Crime
• Road Safety
• Violence and Vulnerability
• Business Crime
• Neighbourhood Crime
• Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)

The first three rounds will open on the following dates:

• Rural Crime – 1st September – 17th October
• Road Safety 17th November – 12th January
• Violence and Vulnerability – 1st December – 31st March

Community Action Fund

The Ethical Property Foundation is a non-profit organisation providing expert, independent, and ethical property advice to charities and community groups across the UK. We help organisations navigate property issues, ensuring they can focus on their mission without worrying about property challenges. Our advice empowers voluntary sector organisations to rent, buy, let, or manage property effectively.

Our aim is to equip charities and community groups with the knowledge, confidence, and resilience needed to manage their properties sustainably for long-term success.

Through the free easyfundraising platform, thousands of online retailers including Sainsbury’s, eBay, Tesco, M&S, Asda, Argos, Just Eat, Morrisons, Trainline and booking.com will all donate money to your organisation when your community of supporters shop with them.

Whenever an online shopper buys something online, the retailer will send your organisation either a flat monetary amount or a percentage of what the online shopper spends, without it costing the shopper anything extra.  89% of people in the UK have bought something online in the past year so this is a simple way for your supporter network to raise money for you just by doing their shopping.

All types of organisations can receive this unrestricted funding – your organisation just needs to be registered with funding website easyfundraising.

Find out more here

Our Sector Support team offers free, confidential advice and support on all aspects of setting up and running your organisation.

We provide high quality training to broaden your skills and knowledge you need to manage your charity, social enterprise or community group.

We can help you, with preparing reading and writing funding and tender applications.

Visit us online at:valonline.org.uk/sector-support/

VAL – Volunteering

Volunteers are an integral part of the success of local voluntary and community sector organisations.

If you would like to find out how to involve the volunteers your organisation needs to thrive, our volunteering team is here to support you.

Our volunteering team can: post volunteering opportunities on your behalf so you can find the volunteers you need and help you develop relevant volunteering policies & advise on all aspects of  managing volunteers.

https://volunteer.valonline.org.uk