The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have announced that the Hong Kong BN(O) Welcome Programme has been re-funded for a 5th year. This announcement includes continued funding to the North West RSMP to deliver the North West Welcome Hub as well as continue our work funding vital projects and programmes across the region supporting BN(O) visa holders.

The Government is continuing to fund the following key elements of the Welcome Programme:

• Demand-led funding for local authorities in England to provide English language and destitution support. Funding for English language support will be available for the first three years that a BN(O) is in the UK – this is a change in eligibility for the English language funding and the attached updated guidance has also been produced by Government;

• Funding for the 12 Welcome Hubs across the UK;

• Funding for the Hate Crime Reporting Service for BN(O)s and ESEA communities. There will be a reduction in the operating hours for the service with details to be confirmed; and,

• Funding for the mental health and wellbeing project being delivered by Barnardo’s until September 2025.

Information is also available on the RSMP website or on the Gov.uk BN(O) webpage

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has announced that people in the UK will benefit from upgraded sports facilities in their local area backed by £100 million of government funding.

The funding is expected to support new and improved pitches, changing rooms, goalposts and floodlights to improve access to sport and physical activity for local communities. The funding will be targeted at deprived areas and support greater access and participation levels among under-represented people including women and girls, ethnic minority groups and disabled players.

Clubs and organisations in the UK are now being urged to come forward and apply for funding. Applications can be made in England via the Football Foundation on an ongoing basis. The first tranche of beneficiaries are expected to be confirmed in summer 2025.

Funding and support to charitable organisations that help young people in North West England. It is made up of two funding streams.  One-off unrestricted grants for small community organisations, the typical one-off grants range from £2,000-£2,500. The Foundation aims to support organisations with a turnover of less than £500,000. Funding stream two is based on long-term funding partnerships for small North West charities that want to strengthen and grow.  Typical grants of £10,000-£30,000 pa for 3 years, to scale or strengthen operational health.

Find out more here

Grants are available to UK charities running sports projects which provide opportunities for people who are disabled or otherwise disadvantaged to fulfil their potential and develop personal and life skills.

Two levels of funding are available:

• Major grants - £5,001 to £30,000.

• Small grants - up to £5,000 (for organisations with a turnover of up to £500,000).

The foundation provides single year or multi-year funding.

Initial applications can be made at any time.

There is a two-stage process. Applicants should first submit an enquiry using the online form.

Selected entries will then be invited to complete a full application. Full applications are considered quarterly. The application deadlines for the trustees' meetings each year are:

1 January - spring meeting.

1 April - summer meeting.

1 July - autumn meeting.

1 October - winter meeting.

The Cellnex Digital Inclusion Fund (up to £500) is offering small awards from groups of local residents or grassroots constituted community groups who want to get a new project or activity up and running. The Fund will focus on three main areas:

·        Empowering communities and places

·        Increasing confidence, skills and motivation

·        Affordability, accessibility and connectivity.

Who can apply?

If you’re a group of local residents who want to get a new digital inclusion project or activity up and running, or a constituted community group with an income of £2,500 or less, then you can apply.

You need to be based in one of the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester and be planning to run your activity in the area where you live.

How much can you apply for?

The maximum award request that will be considered is £500.

The Fund will close once all funding has been fully allocated.

The aim of the programme is to support smaller organisations in the UK that provide activities and services that help children to have a happy, healthy and fun childhood. Grants of up to £2,200 are available.

Applications are assessed once a month with the deadline on the last day of each month.

Grants are available to local community groups and sports clubs for projects that will increase opportunities for young people in disadvantaged areas of the UK to play outdoor sport. Grants in the range from £2,500 to £5,000 are typically available, although a larger grant may be possible in some circumstances.

The Macaulay Moat Foundation is an independent grant-maker supporting charities and social entrepreneurs (including Community Interest Companies) who focus on Autism and Church Outreach.

There is no deadline and grants are given out on an ongoing basis.

Albert Hunt Trust will be closing in January 2029 and as a result are spending their entire £45 million resource. They are offering unrestricted core funding for Hospices, homeless charities (income below £1million), Health and Wellbeing charities (income below £150,000. Unfortunately, they are unable to support CIC’s and charities that operate overseas.

The Access Group Foundation is offering grants of between £25,000-£100,000 for organisations to mitigate the digital divide by making computing facilities, support and learning available to disadvantaged and vulnerable people. Charities, CICs, and educational establishments can apply for specific services, activities or projects – funding will not be provided for general IT-related overheads or operational costs.

The initiative invites employees working for either TK Maxx or Homesense to apply for a grant on behalf of a local charity. Grants can be as small as £500.

There’s no official application form - we suggest contacting the Stockport or Cheadle stores to find out more.

The Core Costs Funding Stream is for charities and not-for-profit organisations. Applicants to this programme can apply for grants for up to three years.

They aim to give quicker decisions for grants of £15,000 or less per year.

Funding for specific projects and activities children and young people aged 18 or under. Priority to smaller, local organisations and rarely fund organisations with income above £1 million. For UK wide Hospices and Housing Associations there is no maximum income limit. They will only consider applications for over £15,000 pa, if you are a registered non profit.

Applications at any time.

GMCA’s new Foundational Economy Innovation Fund will provide grants for businesses and organisations in Greater Manchester’s “foundational” economy, to trial innovative new ideas and improved ways of working. The “foundational economy” is the “everyday economy”, or the “essential economy” – the businesses we all rely on for our daily needs.

It will provide £10,000 grants for 40 projects, plus expert support, to test innovations and ideas in stage 1, followed by £60,000 grants for 10 projects, plus expert support, to develop the best ideas from stage 1.

They are starting with four sectors: adult social care, early education and childcare, retail and hospitality, leisure and tourism.

The fund is for you, if you:

- own or run a business, social enterprise or cooperative in these sectors
- support or represent a cluster of businesses in one of these sectors
- can provide technology and / or innovative solutions or new ideas that could be used in one of these sectors

Funding of up to £5,000

Applications can be submitted between the following times only.

a. Dec 1st – Dec 20th for February Meetings

b. March 1st – March 31st for May meetings

c. 1st June – 30th June for August meeting

d. 1st Sept- 30th Sept for November meeting

Key Fund can support a range of activities, from restoring a derelict building to buying equipment or meeting start-up costs. Investment of between £5,000 and £150,000 to support:

Working capital to pay for staff or overheads.

Growth and development.

Contributing to the purchase and renovating of buildings.

Marketing & Promotion

Grants support organisations aiming to improve the mental health of women aged 16-25, by increasing their access to high quality, age and gender specific mental health services.

Grants support the preservation and conservation of historic buildings, structures and architectural features.

The Trust works with a broad range of charities, primarily in the North West of England, with particular emphasis on:

- Young Persons’ Wellbeing

- Elderly Services

- Education and Training

- Health

- Carers’ Support

- Mental Health

- Child / Family Support

Their initial focus is on grassroots organisations and projects, but they’re eager to hear from anyone who thinks Black Heritage Fund could help them support the Black community.

A variety of funds available including their regular Green Token Giving fund.

Green Token Giving supports small, local, grassroots organisations making a positive impact in their local community. Each year, Asda customers have the chance to nominate and vote for their favourite local good cause via the Green Token Giving programme. Each superstore will feature three community projects online that have been nominated by customers and colleagues. They will all be local, grassroots organisations having a positive impact on their local community. The group with the most online votes will receive a £500 donation with second receiving £400 and third place receiving £300.