Sources of funding for rural businesses & communities

Funding for rural businesses

 

Funding Available Towards Employees Developing New Skills (Scotland)

Flexible Training Opportunities gives Scottish businesses with under 75 employees the opportunity to apply for up to £5,000 towards employee training costs.  The funding will cover 50% of training per course per employee, for a maximum of 10 emplyees.  Eligible training includes:

• Qualifications including individual units
• Masterclasses
• Learning based on National Occupational Standards
• Industry recognised qualifications
• First line supervisory management
• Workshops
• Taster sessions.

 

Grants for Small Businesses in Dumfries and Galloway

As part of its support for local businesses, Dumfries and Galloway Council offers discretionary grants of up to £5000 to support business development and sustainability amongst new start and established micro and small businesses in Dumfries and Galloway.

The maximum contribution is 50% of total project costs and the application must be supported by the Business Plan.

Applicants will be expected to demonstrate viability, aspirations to develop their business, to create and / or increase full time employed positions and to provide a product and / or service which enhances the regional offering.

Grants are available to invest in:

• Marketing and E Business initiatives
• Procurement of manufacturing and other equipment
• Premises and facilities improvement and expansion
• Selection and procurement of specialist consultancy and training
• Improvements to supply and production processes

If you feel that you have an eligible project and wish to develop a project proposal then contact Business Gateway service.

 

The Prince’s Countryside Fund

 

The aim of this fund is to help improve the long-term sustainability of the British countryside.  Organisations can apply for funding of up to £50,000.  The aim of the fund isto:

 Improve the sustainability of British farming and rural communities, targeting the areas of greatest need;

• Reconnect consumers with countryside issues; and
• Support farming and rural crisis charities through a dedicated emergency funding stream

 Funding is available for both capital and revenue funding.  All applicants must be able to clearly demonstrate a significant level of public benefit arising from their activities (which fulfill the Fund’s charitable objects). 

  

Scottish Borders Business Fund

 The Scottish Borders Business Fund is available to fund projects from new and small businesses (up to 15 employees) by providing grant funding of up to 40% of a project’s costs, to a maximum of £4,000, towards project designed to boost sales and increase profit.

 

Funding for rural communities

The Be Cause Awards

UnLtd has teamed up with social networking site Bebo to launch the Be Cause Awards, a new scheme to inspire people to make a difference in their community.  Applicants can put together a plan for a social action or social enterprise project using the Be Cause toolkit and enter it for a monthly Be Cause Award of £1,000 to help get the project off the ground.

 

CAF Venturesome

Venturesome is a social investment fund - a CAF initiative launched in 2002.  It provides capital investment to charities and other social purpose organisations, recognising that capital investment is necessary - for growth, covering cash flow difficulties or weathering difficult periods - but difficult to access. Such financial needs may fall outside the criteria of a grant maker, but be too risky for a bank loan.

Venturesome fills this funding gap, providing capital investment (in the form of underwriting, loans and equity-like investment) tailored to suit the needs of individual organisations.

 

Coalfields Regeneration Trust – Bridging The Gap

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) is an independent regeneration organisation that was established in 1999 to improve the quality of life in Britain’s coalfield communities.

The Trust’s programme offers grants from £500 to £5,000 in England and Scotland (and £500 - £10,000 in Wales) to voluntary and community groups for projects that can be completed within 12 months. A group can have one grant in any 12-month period and each application must be for a different activity. The application process is simple and we aim to get a decision within 12 weeks of receiving a completed application.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the 31st March 2011.

 

Cooperative Group Community Fund

Community Fund grants of between £100 and £2,000 awarded to community, voluntary, or self-help groups. To be successful a group must carry out positive work in the community, and the project should:

• address a community issue
• provide a good long-term benefit to the community
• support co-operative values and principles
• ideally be innovative in its approach

  

E.ON Sustainable Energy Fund

The E.ON Sustainable Energy Fund offers grants of up to £20,000 to community groups and not for profit organisations who wish to consider and implement sustainable energy projects in their buildings   - from energy efficiency through to micro-generation.

• Projects must result in the creation of renewable energy and/or a reduction in the amount of energy used.
• Projects must demonstrate a clearly demonstrated positive impact on the local community.
• Projects must demonstrate a measurable positive impact on the environment.

This will most likely to be demonstrated through by stating carbon savings

Your organisation must benefit specific groups namely:

• Education
• Vulnerable people
• People in fuel poverty

  

Investing in Communities (Scotland)

The Big Lottery Fund in Scotland’s Investing in Communities programme is accepting applications. 

There are three investment areas which make up Investing in Communities:

• Growing Community Assets aims to help communities have more control and influence over their own future through ownership of assets
• Life Transitions aims to support  projects that help people at key times of change, helping them to make their lives better for the future
• Supporting 21^st Century Life aims to support projects that build stronger families and stronger communities.

The fund is available to a wide range of organisations including voluntary and community organisations, local authorities and community councils, social enterprises and private companies (provided our grants do not contribute to the profits they distribute). It does not fund individuals or sole traders.

 

Lush Charity Pot Funding

Grants of a few hundred pounds to a maximum of £10,000 are available to small grassroots conservation organisations The focus is on environmental conservation charities, animal protection and human rights projects, but they also seek small organisations (the smaller the better!) and those who find it hard to raise money due to the particular issue they are working on.

 

The Naturesave Trust

The Naturesave Trust was set up in 1995 to fund specific environmental and conservation projects throughout the UK.   The primary function of the Trust is to encourage the greater adoption of sustainable development, especially within the Small and Medium Sized business community (SMEs). The Naturesave Trust now provides start up 'seed corn' grants for community renewable energy projects, whatever type of renewable power generation you, as a community, are considering.

The costs involved can be onerous and The Naturesave Trust recognises that many lenders and investors may be reluctant to put money into a project at an early stage as it may or may not get past the planning stage. The Trust prefers to provide start-up capital to small projects to get them going, rather than to contribute to the general administration costs of a larger charity or company.

 

O2 – Think Big

O2 is supporting projects by young people (13 – 25 years old) that have a positive impact on their community. “Think Big” offers young people up to £300 in grants as well as training, support and mentoring from a number of youth charities.  Projects should be up and running within 3 months of being accepted, and examples may be tackling knife crime, sports workshops or landscape improvement, Eligible projects may have the opportunity to apply for a further £2,500 to continue their work

 

Tudor Trust Grants Programme

The Tudor Trust aims to support work which addresses the social, emotional and financial needs of people at the margins of society.  Interested in how organisations tackle these needs, and their root causes, it seeks to encourage growth, progression and development.

Although still making grants across their established funding areas (youth, older people, community, relationships, housing, mental health, substance misuse, learning, financial security and criminal justice) they are also open to hearing about work in areas they have not funded before.

 

 

WREN

WREN is a not-for-profit business that helps benefit the lives of people who live close to landfill sites by awarding grants for community, conservation and heritage projects.

• Small Grant Scheme

Funding applications between £2,000 and £15,000 will be considered with the total project cost under £50,000.

• Main Grant Scheme

The WREN Main Grant Scheme offers funding of between £15,001 and £50,000 to projects which fall within WREN policy and the Landfill Communities

• Biodiversity Action Fund

The WREN Biodiversity Action Fund provides funding of between £75,000 and £250,000 to deliver biodiversity improvement projects under Object DA.

Eligible organisations that can apply for funding include environmental organisations, voluntary groups, charities, not-for-profit organisations and community groups.