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The government is providing £150 million over 4years to support community groups in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets and amenities which are at risk of being lost.

• An asset might be lost due to closure, property sales, negligence, damage, collapse, or lack of operational sustainability.

• The fund helps voluntary groups and community groups to buy or renovate assets that would otherwise be lost to the community. Community Ownership gives local people control over the buildings and spaces that have significance to them and that these spaces are used in way that meet the priorities and needs of the local community.

• Assets can include – community centres, cinemas, theatres, galleries, museums, music venues, green spaces, post office building, pubs, shops, sporting, and leisure facilities.

• The asset must offer value to the people and have long-term sustainability.

Mental Health Investment Fund (MHIF) which is a Surrey wide resource to support prevention, removing barriers, and supporting people to become proactive in improving their mental and emotional health and wellbeing. The fund is being used for new, and/or existing, non-statutory services which can help support local neighbourhood and place-based plans for our populations.

The opening of Round 2 of the MHIF is imminent. Applicants will have 40 days to complete their applications once the fund is open.

The McCarthy Stone Foundation’s annual Dementia Action Week Grant programme is now open for applications. Dementia Action week takes place from 15-23 May 2023, raising awareness and understanding of dementia and encouraging people to “Act on Dementia”.

The McCarthy Stone Foundation will be awarding 30 grants of up to £1000 to small dementia clubs and memory cafes across the country providing an invaluable service to people in the community. Applications close on Friday 26th May and recipients will be notified shortly afterwards.

Grants of up to £5,000 Available to Increase Employment Opportunities for Disadvantaged Adults

Grants of up to £5,000 are available to registered charities to support projects that equip people (18 or older in order) from disadvantaged groups with critical life skills necessary for employment.

Priority will be given to projects that target people experiencing multiple deprivation or other groups facing major hurdles to employment, especially; women, people with physical, mental, or learning disabilities, refugees and asylum seekers.

The funding is being made available through the Thomas Wall Trust. and to be eligible the applicants must:

The deadline for stage 1 applications is the 18th September 2023. Applicants successful at this stage will be invited to submit a stage 2 application.

There is lots of free support and guidance out there to support you in applying for grant funding. Have a look at whats on offer through Sport England. Club Matters workshops on 'A Club For Everyone' and 'Engaging Your Community' could be useful for developing your project to meet the criteria for providing wide community benefit from Your Fund Surrey. 

Sport England - We have a range of free webinars and workshops, designed to help the sector including marketing support, funding opportunities and updated guidance.

Here's the dates in May you need to know 👇

Community Sparks Funding Is Now Live - Voluntary Action Reigate & Banstead (VARB)

It is our greatest pleasure to announce that VARB has launched small grants funding.

If you have been inspired by some of our latest Good News Stories or have an idea for a great community project, please do attend one of our Q&A sessions.

The Fore have are launching an exciting new funding opportunity for small charities and social enterprises across the UK – The Fore’s Summer 2023 National Funding Round. Their registration period opens from 11th - 17th April.

The programme is offering unrestricted grants of up to£30,000 in Summer 2023 to help small charities and social enterprises develop, grow or become more sustainable.

Successful applicants will receive:

Who is eligible to apply?

To mark His Majesty The King’s Coronation thousands of organisations across the country are getting together to give us all the chance to help out in our own local communities.

Starting on Monday 8th May 2023 there will be opportunities for everyone to join in. No matter what you are good at, there’ll be something to suit helping hands of all shapes and sizes! From checking in on someone who’d like a bit of company or volunteering for a charity the more of us who join in, the bigger help we will be.

If you can spare an hour…fantastic. The day?…amazing. If it becomes a regular thing, so much the better. If we all do a bit, it will really help a lot.

Help us to do something amazing. Join in, Lend a hand. Make a change.

We're delighted to announce the launch of our Energy Support Programme 🙌

A new £6m package of support from The Premier League, The Football Association and Department for Culture, Media and Sport to help grassroots football clubs & organisations with rising energy costs.

On Friday 3rd March, the Your Fund Surrey team, alongside County Councillor Keith Witham, visited Pirbright Community Amateur Sports Pavilion for a progress update on the construction of the new facility. The project, which has been arranged by the Lord Pirbright's Hall and Recreation Ground Charity, has received £300,000 to go towards this brand-new and purpose built pavilion.

The Communities Together Large Grant Programme has been set up to help groups working in Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Slough, Spelthorne, Richmond, Runnymede, South Bucks, or Windsor & Maidenhead, to run projects focused on bringing communities together – with a particular emphasis on organisations working with adults 25+.

The programme provides grants of up to £15,000 for one year. 

The Communities Together Large Grant Programme has one round in 2023, opening on 28 March and closing at 10:00am on 30 May.

The board will make their decision on 17 July, so any projects in round one must start after this date. 

Grants of up to £1,600 are available for grassroots community groups and organisations to support a broad range of activities that contribute towards transforming communities and improving lives across the UK.

The funding is available through the Asda Foundation’s Empowering Local Communities Fund Round 1 to support projects and activities which address local issues that are important to a community and which benefit local people.

This includes:

Magic Little Grants 2023 is launching very soon. After successfully distributing £500 grants to 2,650 charitable organisations in 2022, we’re incredibly excited to announce that 2023 is going to be even bigger and better than ever before... you won't want to miss out! 

Applications will be open from 1st March until 31st October 2023. 

With a simple 20-minute application process and an outcome within six weeks, the Magic Little Grants fund reduces the work required for grass-roots organisations to access the funding they need to launch or strengthen their services. The following criteria apply:

Please note that schools are eligible to apply if they are a registered charity. Groups in Northern Ireland are not eligible to apply for this funding. Groups may only apply once in 2023 for a grant.

The Curve is a series of free, 90-minute workshops for third sector organisations. These online workshops aim to build knowledge around best digital practices, raise awareness of digital tools and ultimately help increase impact with digital. Workshops are open to anyone working or volunteering with a third sector organisation in the UK.

Do you want to know how you can use the Surrey County Council (SCC) Social Value Marketplace (SVMP) to keep your project costs down as much as possible? Please follow the links below to find out more.

The SCC SVMP is a tool that can help make connections between organisations and individuals who are waiting to offer all sorts of help. Whether that's meeting spaces, skills and knowledge sharing, equipment or volunteers to help with gardening, painting or decorating.

Please read more about Surrey Voluntary Action's recent request on the marketplace below.

In July 2022, Manchester welcomed the newest addition to its roster of urban parks. Owned by the National Trust, the Castlefield Viaduct is a Grade II-listed, 19th-century railway bridge that has been redeveloped into a new 330m-long sky park.

The project is part of a wider repurposing of brownfield and former industrial space in Manchester with several other projects promoting the city as a go-to place for innovative urban development in housing and green and open space. Under construction, in particular, is Victoria North, a new neighbourhood of 15,000 new homes across a 155-hectare site in the north of the city. This includes City River Park, a huge new “recreational corridor”, according to the proposals, along the River Irk.

We hope initiatives like this can inspire Surrey residents to think outside the box when considering how they can improve their local area through Your Fund Surrey.

Voluntary Action South West Surrey’s Sparks Fund supports communities impacted by COVID-19.

The Sparks Fund will support communities that have been impacted by COVID-19 and its wider impact on health and wellbeing, with grants of up to £2,000 available for small scale community-led initiatives that benefits the local community. The areas to be supported are Guildford – Ash Wharf, Stoke and Westborough, and Waverley– Godalming, Central Ockford and Farnham – Upper Hale.

Priority will be given to applications that:

To apply complete 2023 Sparks Fund Small Grant Application Form Grants up to £2,000 (office.com), and for more information contact:

The second round of the Government's £3 million Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund has opened a two-week window for applications and closes on March 3rd.

The funding aims to support the modernisation and improvement of village halls, so that they are fit for purpose and can provide activities which seek to achieve one or more of the following outcomes for their communities:

• Improved health and/or wellbeing and/or reduction in rural loneliness.

• Positive impact on the local environment, contributes towards net zero.

• Support for the local rural economy.

• Promotion of community cohesion.

The £3 million funding pot offers grants of between £7,500 and £75,000 which will be 20% of eligible project costs. The total project cost can be more than £375,000 but the maximum grant available is £75,000. All project work must be completed by 31 March 2025.

Stage One applications will be accepted from 20 February 2023 to 3 March 2023 (23:59).

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has announced the third application window of Round 2 for the Community Ownership Fund. The government is providing £150 million over four years to support community groups in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of being lost.

Voluntary and community groups can apply for match funding to acquire important assets and run them for the benefit of the local community. The Fund will run until 2024/25 and DLUHC intend to run 3 bidding windows each year for applicants to submit a full application to the Fund.

The deadline for applications for this funding round is 14 April 2023 at 11:59am. DLUHC will aim to communicate outcomes of applications in summer 2023.

Your Fund Surrey eligibility criteria has recently been updated. Unfortunately Your Fund Surrey does not support projects wishing to purchase land or property. If you're seeking to purchase a property you may be interested in the following funding opportunity: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-ownership-fund-round-2-application-form-assessment-criteria-guidance

For applications to YFS with a total project cost exceeding £1m, we will require a business plan as part of your full submission. Here is some guidance that might help you to develop or improve yours:

New partnership with Sussex Community Foundation and Cubitt & West Estate Agents

We are delighted to announce our new partnership with Sussex Community Foundation delivering the Cubitt & West Emergency Fund in Surrey, to help address cost of living challenges this winter.

The Cubitt & West Emergency Fund will make grants to support charities and not-for-profit organisations helping to support families and children facing financial hardship during the winter of 2022-23. Grants will be made to fund material and practical help such as food, clothing and other essentials. Unfortunately, the fund is unable to support charities providing advice such as Citizens Advice.

Cubitt & West wishes to connect more with local charitable organisations where they are based. Therefore, the new fund is targeted at the following areas where branch offices are located. These are: Banstead, Cranleigh, Dorking, Horley, Leatherhead, Reigate, Redhill and Caterham.

Successful grantees will be asked to contact their local branches, and, where possible, make a visit with them. This aims to connect staff teams with local organisations and to share publicity about these grants.

Gatwick Foundation Fund relaunches as pandemic eases

The Gatwick Foundation Fund has relaunched after being suspended during the pandemic. Grants are available for local projects that support young people, improve health and wellbeing, tackle social isolation and disadvantage, or raise aspirations and employment opportunities.

People working for local community projects in Tandridge, Reigate and Banstead and Mole Valley can now apply for funding from Gatwick Airport’s Foundation Fund, with projects receiving £100,000 in total across three rounds of funding.

The Fund is designed to distribute the economic benefits that the airport generates among local people and communities that may not benefit directly from other economic contributions the airport brings to the region.

If you have been inspired by some of our latest Good News Stories or have an idea for a great community project, please do attend one of our Q&A sessions.

Please register by clicking on one of the links below.

December Q&A sessions:

If you have been inspired by some of our latest Good News Stories or have an idea for a great community project, please do attend one of our Q&A sessions.

Please register by clicking on one of the links below.

November Q&A sessions:

If you have been inspired by some of our latest Good News Stories or have an idea for a great community project, please do attend one of our Q&A sessions.

Please register by clicking on one of the links below.

October Q&A sessions:

If you have been inspired by some of our latest Good News Stories or have an idea for a great community project, please do attend one of our Q&A sessions.

Please register by clicking on one of the links below.

August Q&A sessions:

The Community Foundation for Surrey is pleased to announce that a number of our Donor Funds have come together with some additional generous support from Surrey County Council to support the sustainability and resilience of our voluntary sector organisations.

Working during the Pandemic has meant it necessary for many charities and community groups to work more closely with other groups to deliver services as well as changing services to provide new ways of delivery.

In the current economic climate, the funding environment is bleak. Many public sector contracts have been frozen and public grants programmes either cancelled or drastically cut back. Increasingly, charities are looking to respond to the urgent need to cut costs by looking for new ways of working, cementing partnership working or even merging. In addition, many are looking to change their business model in order to achieve greater financial sustainability in the longer-term. On the positive side, many are building on what they have learned during the pandemic, which enabled them to re-imagine the services they provide to beneficiaries.

The Community Foundation for Surrey (CFS) is seeing an increase in applications for ‘crisis’ funding – funding to address urgent cashflow needs. We would prefer to be able to work with community organisations earlier in their journey so that we can avoid the need for crisis intervention.

In response, CFS has created the Surrey Strategic Transformation Programme. The focus of this funding will be to support local voluntary and community organisations to become more resilient. It will help organisations to plan and adapt to change and be better equipped to survive and thrive through challenges and opportunities that may arise.

What sorts of things would we support?

• Work to carry out a feasibility study for premises move or new merger/partnership

• Strengthening an organisation’s leadership and governance, ensuring it has the right skills available to maintain and develop its work including set up of new partnerships/merger or improving strategic planning

• Building the capacity of an organisation’s digital/IT infrastructure to help deliver services and reach the communities it serves more efficiently and effectively

• Small capital work to adapt or refurbish existing premises for new purpose(s) or support a move to new premises

• Work to design and implement new systems to enable two organisations to work more closely together

• Analysis of potential demand for services/needs including analysis of potential partner organisations

• Reviewing structure and governance models

• Reviewing income and fundraising options or impact measurement

• Work to improve capacity e.g., strengthen impact, effectiveness or sustainability

• Increasing the involvement of service users/communities in the design, development and/or delivery of services

The Programme will not consider:

• Applications to support ‘business as usual’ – these can be made through our usual grant rounds, but this fund is specifically to fund ‘business change’

• Applications for core/running costs

• Applications from individuals, political or sectarian organisations, mainstream schools and colleges, playgroups, community centres, sports clubs. Religious groups can apply but their services must be open to all and the grants cannot be used for the promotion of religion

If you have been inspired by some of our latest Good News Stories or have an idea for a great community project, please do attend one of our Q&A sessions.

Please register by clicking on one of the links below.

July Q&A sessions:

Good News Story!

Funding Awarded to South Park Sports Association

South Park Sports Association has been awarded £150,000 for a floodlit 3G artificial grass pitch with a spectator area, providing an opportunity for existing, former and new teams to play and build their provision for women, girls and people living with disabilities.

This will not only benefit South Park Adult and Junior sections but local clubs Reigate Woman, East Surrey Hawks, Reigate Youth amongst others. The site will also be used for the Reigate Refugee programme, Man versus Fat health league as well as Walking Football sessions. There will also be Just Play sessions for casual users, with the English Deaf league and local YMCA also benefiting.

South Park Sports Association are looking to provide a world class facility for the benefit of the many and not the few for all ages and abilities.

The project will also see environmental benefits with the installation of energy saving LED floodlights which will also reduce light pollution. The waste earth will be used around the outside of the facility instead of being transported to local landfill.

South Park Sports Ground before 3G pitch

South Park Sports Association pavilion

Cheque presentation to South Park Sports Association

If you have been inspired by some of our latest Good News Stories or have an idea for a great community project, please do attend one of our Q&A sessions.

Please register by clicking on one of the links below.

June Q&A sessions:

Good News Story!

Funding Awarded to Pirbright Community Amateur Sports Pavilion

Pirbright Community Amateur Sports Pavilion has been awarded £300,000 for an environmentally sustainable, community amateur sports pavilion, at the heart of the village, to help foster wider engagement in active lifestyles for all.

The village's existing cricket pavilion, nearly 70 years old and in poor condition, will be demolished and replaced. The new pavilion will provide accessible welfare facilities, including team and official changing, toilets, kitchen and a community café. It will act as a focal point for coaching, events and a meeting place for the wider community.

The new Pavilion is designed for all ages to support healthy and active lifestyles in an area with limited access to formal sports provision.

The project involves ATC Pirbright and local mainstream and special schools. It will promote wider participation in sport and new community activities locally.

If you are interested in attending one of our Q & A sessions, please register by clicking on one of the links below.

March Q & A sessions:

On the 8th February 2022, Mole Valley District Council’s (MVDC) Cabinet will be asked to consider the Thomas Flack Trust Fund Grant report.

What is the Thomas Flack Trust Fund?

This Trust Fund offers funding support for projects benefiting the residents of Leatherhead, Ashtead, Bookham and Fetcham. The fund has limited resources and therefore funding applications up to £25,000 are advised. Applications can be made for both Revenue and Capital projects.

Each year, applications are invited for projects which will provide permanent facilities for local people and assist the start-up of new initiatives. All applications are reviewed by the Thomas Flack Working Group, made up of elected Members of wards in the north of the district. Projects where significant funding has already been raised from the general public, or directly from members of the organisation making the application will be given a priority.

What is Mole Valley District Council's Involvement?

Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) is the trustee of the Thomas Flack Trust Fund, established in 2005 to offer funding to projects that benefit residents in Ashtead, Bookham, Leatherhead and Fetcham.

What is the deadline for applications for 2023/2024 funding?

New applicants are requested to submit their proposals for 2023/24 funding from April 2022. The deadline for submission is 30th September 2022.

What will be discussed at the Meeting on 8th February?

The working group’s views will be discussed and grants agreed at the meeting on 8 February.

This year, the group is recommending that funds totalling £22,073 will be allocated to:

- Ashtead Tennis Players Club for the installation of floodlights on the two community courts

- Parochial Church Council of Leatherhead to install and fit a new kitchen

- B@titude in Leatherhead to support ‘The Hive’ providing art and craft activities for the local community

- Intergenerational Music Making (IMM) for providing music sessions in Leatherhead and Bookham

Councillor Emma Norman, Chair of the Thomas Flack Working Group, said: “I hope that the proposed funding will be able to support local projects to benefit our communities. It’s great to see that there is so much going on in Mole Valley and we’re proud to be part of it. We encourage new applicants to submit their proposals for 2023/24 funding from April 2022. The deadline for submission is 30th September 2022.

The Community Foundation for Surrey is an independent charitable foundation, that brings together local donors with voluntary organisations providing positive solutions to the many challenges within our communities.

Community Foundation for Surrey Funding Surgeries

The Community Foundation for Surrey are offering 30-minute virtual one to one meetings (via Microsoft Teams) with a Grant Officer. These sessions have been set-up to provide advice and guidance for anyone thinking of making an application to The Community Foundation for Surrey.

The upcoming sessions are:

Tuesday 22nd February

Wednesday 23rd March

Various times are currently available.

For more information, please contact the team via:

• Email: grants@cfsurrey.org.uk

• Telephone: 01483 478092

Please follow the link below to find out more information about The Community Foundation Surrey:

Enabling Community Action on the Climate Crisis in Surrey

Join our webinar on 14:00 on February 3rd 2022 and meet the Community Energy South team.

If you are interested in attending one of our Q & A sessions, please register by clicking on one of the links below.

February - Q & A sessions

If you are interested in attending one of our Q & A sessions, please register by clicking on one of the links below.

December - Q & A sessions

If you are interested in attending one of our Q & A sessions, please register by clicking on one of the links below.

December - Q & A sessions

We are pleased to announce the first two projects have been approved for funding. Funding of £30k has been awarded to the Weybridge Men’s Shed and £35,000 for the Claygate Recreation Ground Trust.

Michael O’Sullivan, Trustee and Treasurer of the Weybridge Men’s Shed Charity said: “We are indeed honoured to have been the first organisation advised by Your Fund Surrey of an award. On behalf of our Steering Group, our vital key holders, and the growing number of “shedders” already benefitting from the facilities, a huge and grateful “Thank you!”. The funding will enable the internal fitout of both sheds to be finished and an underground water treatment system installed to complete the Project.”

Helen Maguire from Claygate Recreation Ground Trust said “This is great news we can now progress with the Family Garden and pedestrian path to the pavilion, which is the second stage of our landscaping plan, following the successful rebuild and opening of the Claygate Pavilion this year. This funding will enable individuals, families and sporting and community groups regardless of ability to enjoy spending time outdoors thus increasing their health and wellbeing”.

Have Your Say

If you are interested in attending one of our Q & A sessions, please register by clicking on one of the links below. Please note that we have a limited number of sessions and so cannot guarantee you a space.

November - Q & A sessions

If you are interested in attending one of our Q & A sessions, please register by clicking on one of the links below. Please note that we have a limited number of sessions and so we cannot guarantee you a space.

October - Q & A sessions

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be hosting a mixture of themed Q&A and 1-2-1 sessions to answer your questions. On Thursday 8 July, we are hosting Q&A sessions at the times mentioned below. If you are interested in attending one of our sessions, please register by clicking on one of our 45-minute slot below. Please note, we have limited number of sessions/space and cannot guarantee you a space.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be hosting a mixture of themed Q&A and 1-2-1 sessions to answer your questions. On Thursday 1 July, we are hosting 1-2-1 sessions at the times mentioned below. If you are interested in attending one of our sessions, please register by clicking on one of our 15-minute slot below. Please note, we have limited number of sessions/space and cannot guarantee you a space.

1 July - 121 Sessions:

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be hosting a mixture of themed Q&A and 1-2-1 sessions to answer your questions. On Thursday 24 June, we are hosting Q&A sessions at the times mentioned below. If you are interested in attending one of our sessions, please register by clicking on one of our 45-minute slot below. Please note, we have limited number of sessions/space and cannot guarantee you a space.

24 June - Q&A Sessions:

Voluntary Action Reigate and Banstead is hosting a series of bitesize funder information events over the next couple of months.

You can book onto a Your Fund Surrey event on 9 June 2pm – 4pm

This event is aimed at voluntary, community and faith organisations that deliver services within the Borough of Reigate & Banstead.

Part One of the event will be a presentation from Surrey County Council, giving an update on the Fund and the application process. There will be examples of some of the suggestions made in Reigate & Banstead (and any notable ones made across Surrey). This will be followed by a general Q&A and the opportunity for anyone thinking of making a bid to share their ideas, to build support and partnership working. This first part of the workshop will take around 30 minutes.

Part Two of the event will be a series of individual appointments. If you are considering making an application, you will have the opportunity to discuss your project and the application process in more detail. Each appointment will last 15 minutes.

The Your Fund Surrey (YFS) team have been sorting through all the Ideas Submissions and will be in touch shortly to ask selected projects to submit a Full Submission. The YFS team will email you whether you’ve been successful or not, please bear with us as we start sending out the email notifications.

We said we’d keep you updated about all things “Your Fund Surrey” so here we are …. the Ideas Submission Portal opened at the beginning of March and so far over 70 applications have been submitted online. Thanks to all those who have submitted an idea so far. We’re going through all the submissions now and we’ll be getting back to you all sometime in April. If we need any further information we’ll be in touch. If your Idea is accepted you’ll then be invited to submit a Full Submission.

There are plenty of big ideas out there with Surrey communities pinning lots of ideas on the Your Fund map which is great to see. We now have 878 ideas on the map with over 28,193 likes. Do take a look and see what else is being proposed in your area.