Funding

Lottery funding bodies

One of the main funding bodies in the UK is the lottery. Lottery grants are broken down into a number of strands.  A general overview of lottery funding is available on the National Lottery Good Causes website or by phoning the Lottery Funding line on 0845 275 0000

Awards for All: Awards for All is a Lottery grants programme aimed at local communities.

Big Lottery Fund: The Big Lottery Fund is committed to improving communities and the lives of people most in need.

Heritage Lottery Fund: The Heritage Lottery Fund uses money from the National Lottery to give grants for a wide range of projects involving the local, regional and national heritage of the United Kingdom.

NESTA: (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) investing in innovators and working to improve the climate for creativity in the UK.

UK Film Council: As the lead agency for film, the UK Film Council aims to stimulate a competitive, successful and vibrant UK film industry and culture, both now and for the future.

Useful sites and funding resources:

Government Funding: This is an online portal to information on grants for the voluntary and community sector from across Governement departments:

Sustainable Funding: The Sustainable Funding Project is a first-stop shop encouraging and enabling voluntary and community organisations to explore and exploit a full range of funding and financing options to develop a sustainable funding mix.  It is based on the NCVO (National Council of Voluntary Organisations) website – which offers further advice on funding and other issues for the voluntary sector.

Grants net: provides information about grant schemes available to both businesses and charities in the UK.

Funderfinder: FunderFinder develops and distributes software to help individuals and not-for-profit organisations in the UK identify charitable trusts that might give them money. The site also provides free software to help groups write grant applications and formulate a budget and also has links to trusts and other fundraising resources.

Funding Central: Funding Central is a free smart website funded by the Office of the Third Sector which provides access to thousands of funding and finance opportunities, plus a wealth of tools and resources supporting third sector organisations to develop sustainable income strategies appropriate to their needs. The site provides a comprehensive list of funding opportunities (grants, grant in aid and contracts) available from government and government non-departmental bodies and agencies, local and regional government, charitable organisations and foundations, and the EU.

NFASP: The National Federation of Artists’ Studio Providers (NFASP) is the professional membership body established to support and represent the interests of all those with an interest in providing affordable studio space for artists.  The Federation is revenue funded by Arts Council England and is increasingly recognised as the lead body representing the affordable studios sector.  The resources section offers additional practical guidance.

European funding

Welcome Europe: Information on Eu funding grants, European funds and community programmes from Europe.

Funders Online: Is an initiative of the European Foundation Centre which promotes and underpins the work of foundations and corporate funders in Europe.

living places funding

living places does not currently offer any external funding streams, but some of the living places Partner organisations do administer funding for the community sector.

living places partners:

Museums, Libraries & Archives: MLA makes grants to sponsored bodies who promote different aspects of the work of museums, libraries and archives or within the remit of national programmes, such as Framework for the Future and Renaissance.  A few schemes are open to applications from organisations within the sector. Please note that MLA does not make grants to individuals.  For further information go to the MLA website.

Arts Council England

Grants for the arts: Grants for the arts are for individuals, arts organisations and other people who use the arts in their work. They are for activities carried out over a set period and which engage people in England in arts activities, and help artists and arts organisations in England carry out their work. Grants for the arts is funded by the National Lottery.

Regularly Funded Organisations: Arts council England invests in nearly 900 organisations nationwide, for more information on those organisations see the Arts Council funding pages.

Managed Funds: Managed funds are not normally open to application. These funds are to identify new opportunities for the arts, take new initiatives, establish new partnerships and address particular ambitions for growth, such as in cultural diversity or support for the European Capital of Culture.

Sport England: Sport England is committed to the creation of a world-leading community sport system. This means focusing our investment on organisations and projects that will grow and sustain participation in grassroots sport and create opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport.  In addition to our investment in key partners to deliver specific objectives, we are launching funding programmes open to a wide range of organisations. These include sports clubs, voluntary or community organisations, local authorities, schools, colleges and universities.

English Heritage: English Heritage provides around £26m per year in grants to support:

• Repair projects for historic buildings, monuments and designed landscapes;
• Partnerships with local authorities to deliver repair schemes and public realm work in conservation areas;
• Capacity building to support voluntary and charitable bodies on projects which promote the conservation, understanding and enjoyment of the historic environment.

Historic Environment: Local Management (HELM) is a Government partnership project led by English Heritage and supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs. It provides resources and training to people working in the historic environment. HELM’s funding section details which grants are available to people maintaining and managing the historic environment: HELM funding guidance

Academy for Sustainable Communities: ASC is not a grant-giving body, but they are interested in working with organisations that share common aims and priorities. For details of their work programme see the ASC business plan.http://www.culture.gov.uk/working_with_us/access_to_funding/

DCMS: does not provide funding direct to individuals. They allocate money to agencies and sponsored bodies and have responsibility for National Lottery policy, setting the policy and financial framework within which the distributing bodies operate.  DCMS is responsible for 61 public bodies that help deliver the department’s strategic aim and objectives. These include three public corporations, two public broadcasting authorities, one executive agency and 55 non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs).  For more information on these sponsored bodies. http://www.cabe.org.uk/

CABE: CABE has a range of competitions, awards and initiatives.  It operates a regional grants programme that provides funding for 19 architecture and built environment centres around the UK.  CABE is also managing – Sea Change which is a 3 year capital grants programme of £45 million.  It is for Local Authorities and must be match funded, a minimum of 50% for grants up to £1,000,000 and a minimum of 100% over £2,000,000.
CABE has published a report outlining eight models for funding for green spaces, drawn from the UK and abroad. The report is a useful reference for those working in parks or regeneration more widely:http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=1525

Paying for parks: eight models for funding green space.