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City & Guilds Foundation opens Local Community Skills Fund, plus more funding news
Melanie May | 20 January 2025 | News
A round up of grants available, including a new scheme from City & Guilds Foundation, and funding announcements – with a good news story to start off the week from The Reed Foundation and A.C.E.
Grants of up to £10,000 available for initiatives designed to boost employment, skills & development
City & Guilds Foundation has launched a pilot scheme to help fund initiatives designed to boost employment, skills and development in communities across the UK.
The Local Community Skills Fund complements established City & Guilds grant giving schemes and aims to boost community-led initiatives that may not be eligible for funding from traditional sources. It will tackle skills gaps at a hyper-local level and aims to positively impact communities where access to training and development are limited, and improve opportunities in areas facing acute deprivation.
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Grants up to the value of £10,000 are available for projects that support people aged 16+ who are facing barriers, and that support the development of skills required to move towards or into employment.
The Fund opened for applications on 16 January for an initial period of one month, and is inviting Expressions of Interest and applications from UK-based registered charities, social enterprises, colleges and further education providers, as well as individuals / community groups supported by eligible organisations.
More information here.
£125,000 prize fund for the sixth William Sutton Prize as Clarion marks 125th anniversary
Clarion Housing Group has announced the launch of the sixth William Sutton Prize, with the prize pot increased to mark the organisation’s 125th anniversary. A fund of £125,000 will be awarded to ideas and innovations that transform the lives of social housing residents.
The fund will be split between the winners of two categories focusing on sustainability and connected communities:
The William Sutton Prize for Sustainability (with up to £75,000 available) will be awarded to organisations or individuals bringing forward ideas that actively contribute to the restoration and preservation of the natural world. Applications are invited to tackle any issues in this space, with a particular interest in climate resilient design, retrofitting and renewable energy, resource efficiency, biodiversity and recovering nature, and wellbeing and placemaking.
New for 2025, The William Sutton Prize for Connected Communities (with up to £50,000 available) aims to foster solutions that enhance community ties, promote inclusion, and strengthen the social fabric of Clarion neighbourhoods. Developed in partnership with the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art (RCA), this new category will recognise impact-led ideas that improve social housing residents’ physical, emotional and social wellbeing, promoting a healthy and welcoming environment for all.
In addition to funding, the winners will also receive a tailored package of business support and the chance to collaborate with Clarion and their partners and sector-leading experts to turn their ideas into reality.
Applications can be accepted from individuals, not-for-profit and commercial organisations, and close at midday on 8 April.
More information here.
Grants available for projects improving, repairing & maintaining homes & community facilities
The Screwfix Foundation offers local registered charities and not for profit organisations funding up to the region of £5,000 for projects that improve, repair and maintain homes and community facilities used by those in need throughout the UK.
It prioritises those that will create a longer-term difference and where its donation will make an impact and fund the total cost, or the majority, of a project.
The types of projects funded are:
• Improved energy efficient lighting & heating
• Installation of new kitchen, bathroom etc.
• Installation of a sensory room
• General painting & decorating
• Improving safety and security of a building
Applications are approved at the quarterly trustee meeting, which are held in March, June, September and December.
More information here.
Barratt Foundation announces changes to grantmaking
The Barratt Foundation has announced that going forward, it will be making a smaller number of larger multi-year donations through its grantmaking programme, and will no longer be accepting applications.
The Foundation will now select up to six charities to receive multi-year grants of £50,000 per year (£150,000 over three years) from the 27 charities already selected, all of whom “align with our purpose, had excellent applications and have high potential for future growth and impact”.
The news came with an announcement that in the last financial year, via the annual fund which grants a total of £300,000 a year, the Foundation made unrestricted donations of between £5,000 and £40,000 to 27 charities.
However, out of more than 330 applications, 45% (147) didn’t meet the Foundation’s funding criteria. The 27 charities supported represent 15% of the eligible applications and 7% of overall applications.
More information here.
Grants for small organisations through Matthew Good Foundation
Grants for Good is funded by the John Good Group and supports small and growing local charities, voluntary groups or social enterprises that are making a big impact on communities, people or the environment.
To be eligible, applicants must:
- Be a local community group, charity, voluntary group or social enterprise that has a positive impact on communities, people or the environment.
- Have an average income of less than £50,000 in the last 12 months.
- Have a bank account in the organisation’s name.
Charities and organisations are welcome to apply across the year, with four funding rounds. The current round closes on 15 March.
Last month The Matthew Good Foundation announced the latest round of its Grants for Good programme, awarding £15,000 to five small charities and non-profit organisations committed to making a meaningful difference in their communities.
This latest round brings the total funding distributed through the Grants for Good programme to £190,000 since its launch in 2021. Funded by the John Good Group, the initiative supports grassroots projects with annual income under £50,000, distributing £60,000 each year.
More information here.
Free resource on top 300 UK independent foundations available
The Association of Charitable Foundations offers a free report of the top 300 UK independent charitable foundations to help charities in their reseaarch.
The annual Foundation Giving Trends publication reviews the top 300 grant makers, providing key facts and figures on giving, income and assets.
It also now includes an Excel spreadsheet of the top 300.
The Foundation Giving Trends reports can be downloaded here.
The Reed Foundation donates £10,000 to Lancashire-based A.C.E
The Reed Foundation has donated £10,000 to Lancaster-based charity, A.C.E (Achieve Change & Engagement).
The Reed Foundation, part of the Reed Group, is donating £10,000 every week for a year to support 52 different charities, chosen by its employees. By April 2025, the Reed Foundation will have donated £520,000. The initiative is a celebration of Reed’s 65th year in business and its Founder, Sir Alec Reed’s 90th birthday.
Every week, a Reed employee is drawn randomly to nominate a charity of their choice to receive the incredible donation. This time, it was Rachel Gill – a Recruitment Manager based in Reed’s Lancaster office.
Sally Temple, Director at A.C.E, commented:
“We are so grateful to the Reed Foundation and Rachel who nominated us. The donation has made a massive difference to our charity and will enable us to support more young people and their families through difficult periods, which are causing distress and negatively affecting their mental health.
“Recently, the grant that funded our family work ended, and we have been struggling to find alternative sources to enable us to continue this valuable work. We have decided to use the money to get an expert to help us gain sustainable funding for the future, so the £10,000 will support the provision of a family worker for more than a year. We cannot thank Rachel enough for her nomination.
“There’s a double bonus for us too – because when we met with Rachel to thank her for nominating us, she agreed to become one of our trustees. We are delighted that she will bring her skills and knowledge to help us develop our much-needed service.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.