| BIG - The Big Lottery Fund |
BIG will be distributing more than £2.3 billion between 2006-2009 for projects which bring real improvements to communities and to the lives of people most in need.
Visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk for details and updates. Brief outlines of their main programmes are given below.
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| Programmes now open................. |
LAUNCHED on 18th March 2008!
Big Lottery Fund – People’s Millions 2008 Competition
The BIG Lottery Fund are looking to build on the success of previous years, by continuing The People’s Millions competition in 2008. They have already funded 229 projects across the UK, and hope to fund 90 new projects in 2008. There will be four head-to-head competitions in each of the 18 ITV regions resulting in 72 winning projects. In addition, there will be another 18 bonus awards for the runners-up who score highest in each region.
Grants of up to £50,000 will be provided for projects that transform local environments and offer opportunities or facilities for people to take part and enjoy their local area. This will include initiatives focusing on buildings, amenities, public and green spaces and natural habitats. Voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, local authorities, schools and health organisations are invited to apply.
The deadline for entries is 12 noon on 15th May 2008. |
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People's Millions
The Big Lottery Fund and ITV are running a national competition which will see a groundbreaking project winning £50million. The competition was narrowed down to four projects:
- Connect2 - a project to support 79 communities in improving local travel
- The Edge - the evolution of the Eden Project
- Sherwood the Living Legend - protection of the fragile ecology of one of the world's most famous forests
- Black Country Urban Park - will provide a sweeping transformation of the natural and built environment
TO FIND OUT WHICH PROJECT WON THE £50 MILLION VISIT the BIG Lottery website |
Family Learning
To fund learning activities where children and parents (including those acting in a parenting role) learn jointly and where there are joint learning outcomes. Only project involving adults and children learning together will be funded and must deliver all three of the following outcomes:
- family members participate in and enjoy educational activity more
- family members have more skills and knowledge
- parents and carers are better able to interact positively with their children and support them in learning.
Grants will be between £10,000 and £500,000 for one to five years. The average grant is likely to be £100,000 to £150,000. The scheme can fund revenue costs and capital up to 10% of the grant applied for.
All applications must have strong community links and involve voluntary or community sector organisations although grants can be awarded to registered charities, statutory organisations, voluntary and community organisations, schools, social enterprises and private sector organisations. The application deadline is 29th August 2008. If you have any questions or would like an application pack and guidance notes please call the BIG Advice Line on 0845 4 10 20 30 or log onto Big Lottery Fund West Midlands |
Breathing Places
Developed in conjunction with the BBC's Breathing Places initiative, this programme aims to increase participation and access to local green space that benefits wildlife and the local community. This could be local woodlands, roadsides, nature reserves, school playgrounds, ponds and wildlife area etc. Applications are welcome from schools, local community organisations, health bodies and town and parish councils. Grants are between £300 and £10,000 for the creation of new Breathing Places, particularly woodlands. The deadline for applications is Friday 18 January 2008. |
Young People's Fund 2 - National Grants
To help young people aged 11-18 stay healthy, safe, get the most out of life and overcome disadvantage. Projects for disadvantaged young people up to the age of 25 who find the transition to independent adult life difficult are also eligible. Approximately 20 grants of between £200,000 and £5m will be made to voluntary and community sector organisations for youth led projects of national significance. Young people must be involved in the development, delivery and evaluation of projects which help to deliver the 'Every Child Matters' priorities. The deadline for applications is 4 April 2008. |
The Young People's Fund 2 programme for local grants is expected to open in April 2008. This programme will make grants between £10,000 and £500,000. Projects focussing on young people will have to wait until this programme is launched, rather than applying to an another Big Lottery Fund programme.
Advice Plus - will support third sector legal advice services who collaborate with other advice services in their local area to improve the quality and accessibility of legal advice for people in need. Grants can be between £10,000 and £500,000 for up to five years. The deadline for applications is 1 April 2008. |
Playful Ideas
This programme is designed to support novel and innovative approaches to children’s play. It is open to voluntary and community sector organisations, parish councils and social enterprises. Grants between £10,000 and £250,000 are available for both capital and revenue for up to five years. |
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Parks for People
Grants worth from £250,000 up to £5million available from this three-year joint initiative between the Heritage Lottery Fund and BIG, for the restoration and regeneration of public parks and gardens including squares, walks and promenades. (Project Planning Grants of up to £50,000 are also available). Match funding of 25% is required either as cash or non-cash contributions.
For this grant programme “public park” means an existing designed urban or rural green space primarily for informal recreation. Most applications are expected to be led by local authorities, but they welcome application from other not-for-profit organisations who own public parks.
Applications will be assessed through a two-stage process. Decisions will be made at stage one in competitive batches twice a year. Closing dates are 30 March and 30 September.
For more information visit the Heritage Lottery Fund website at www.hlf.org.uk. CD-ROM application packs can be obtained by calling 020 7591 6042. |
Reaching Communities
Launched in December 2005, this programme will support projects that improve the quality of life in communities across England focusing on those in greatest need. Aims are to give people better chances in life, create stronger communities, improve rural and urban environments and promote healthier and more active communities. Grants of between £10,001 and £500,000 (for up to five years) are available to a range of organisations including the voluntary and community sector, social enterprises and statutory bodies including schools. Projects must directly involve the community in shaping and delivering the project. Please note that this programme is heavily oversubscribed with less than 10% of applications being successful. New application marerials and guidance notes were introduced on Monday 1 October, please ensure that you have the correct information before applying.
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Other programmes ................
BASIS (Building and Sustaining Infrastructures)
Grants of between £10,001 and £500,000 were available to improve the infrastructure support available to all voluntary and community sector organisations. The Big Lottery Fund are currently analysing the responses to their consultation on Round Two of the programme in order to decide how best to prioritise the funds available. Within the West MIdlands it is likely that between 12 and 16 projects could be funded through Round Two. The scheme is not likely to be open for applications until Spring 2008. |
Community Buildings
This is a £50million programme investing in buildings that will be 'hubs for communities' and host a wide variety of activities for everyone, young or old. Grants worth £50,000 to £500,000 will be made to improve, replace or create new buildings. The deadline for stage one applications was 30 April 2007. |
Breathing Places
Developed in conjunction with the BBC's Breathing Places initiative, this programme aims to increase participation and access to local green space that benefits wildlife and the local community. This could be local woodlands, roadsides, nature reserves, school playgrounds, ponds and wildlife area etc. Applications are welcome from schools, local community organisations, health bodies and town and parish councils. Grants are between £300 and £10,000 for the creation of new Breathing Places, particularly woodlands. The deadline was 13 December 2006. |
Children's Play
Funding to create and improve local children's playspace in areas of greatest need. A total of £124m will be made available across all local authority areas. They have been informed of individual funding allocations and invited to submit Play Strategies and portfolios of projects. The programme is open to applications and first grants will be announced in Autumn. There will be four deadlines for submission of applications. July 2006, November 2006, March 2007 and September 2007. Whilst applications have been led by local authorities they have been developed in partnership with a range of local organisations. Contact details for each local authority are available on the Big Lottery Fund website.
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Well-being
The West Midlands Regional Assembly successful led a £6.79million project to improve the health and well-being of communities across the West Midlands. As part of this programme in Warwickshire, Age Concern will be working with communities and families to improve health and increase levels of physical activity, particularly in isolated rural and disadvantaged areas. Further information on this programme can be found on the West Midlands Regional Assembly website.
Full details of all these programmes can be found on the Big Lottery Funds website. |
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