“It costs more to be poor”
Through our Improving Financial Confidence initiative we have awarded £31.7m in funding to 37 projects that will help an estimated 150,000 tenants across England to become more financially aware and more confident in money management as well as better able to access financial products and services such as a basic bank account.
Martin Lewis, creator of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: “Disgracefully it costs more to be poor. The poverty premium means, from household goods to energy bills, things are more expensive for those with little cash as they need to borrow to buy or don’t get the direct debit discounts others take for granted.”
Shelter in Slough has been awarded £899,125 for its Feel at home with your Finances five year programme. The project aims to ensure the vast majority of new and young existing tenants taking up social tenancy in Slough are consistently equipped with the necessary information, financial skills, confidence and access to suitable products and services to manage their financial affairs competently.
The project will target 2,000 people and will be delivered through four strands of work, which will include distributing information packs to potential new tenants; developing a flexible training 'passport' to specifically cater to the training needs of each tenant; offering additional personalised support for tenants identified as high risk; and mentoring delivered by tenants who are confident to pass on their skills to others.
The project is a partnership programme with Citizens Advice Slough, Bracknell and District CAB, Slough Federation of Tenants and Residents, A2Dominion Group, Catalyst Housing Group, Slough Furniture Project and Slough Borough Council.
Find out more about this and other grants funded under the
Improving Financial Confidence initiative
Reaching Communities: A South East first
Peasmarsh Parish Council is the first organisation in the South East to receive a Reaching Communities buildings grant. This parish council based in Rother has been awarded £270,000 to create a community hub to provide services and activities to improve the opportunities and social well being of residents.
The grant funding will allow Peasmarsh Parish Council to extend, refurbish and modernise the dilapidated memorial hall. This will provide a local meeting place for people to come together and take part in a variety of activities including Guides and Brownies, an over 60s choir, a luncheon club, youth club, mother and toddler group and Zumba. Other plans include offering new adult education classes, outreach surgery activities, dance classes, arts and crafts and an out of school clubs.
Peasmarsh Parish Council was one of eight groups in the region sharing nearly £1.7 million of Reaching Communities funding in August. To find out more about the most recently funded projects read our press release.
Social Incubator Fund
The Social Incubator Fund is a £10 million investment aimed at driving start-up social ventures into the social investment market by increasing incubation support and attracting new incubators into the market.
We expect social incubators to offer a portfolio of intensive support over a time-limited period and to each have the capacity to help at least 50 social ventures over the life of the project.
It is expected that projects will bring about at least two of the following outcomes:
- improved quality and quantity of early stage social ventures going on to seek financial support from the Investment and Contract Readiness Fund and/or social investment intermediaries;
- improved signposting between social investment intermediaries for early stage social ventures, particularly to enable them to secure further investment if appropriate; and
- increased numbers of social investors making investments into early stage social ventures.
The deadline for expressing an interest in the funding is 12 noon on 21 September 2012. To find out more about the funding available and how to apply visit the Big Fund website.
Get your small grants here
Awards for All is our small grants scheme, offering grants from £300 to £10,000. Last month 46 projects from across the South East shared £338,000 in Lottery funding from the Awards for All programme.
Please note that our Awards for All application form and guidance notes have recently changed and we will no longer be accepting the old form.
If you have completed your application using the old form, you will have to copy your answers into the new version. The old version has a photo of girls on a fun run on the front cover while the new version shows children in a tug-of-war.
Copies of the current form can be found on our Awards for All website or you can get a hard copy by calling 0845 4 10 20 30.
Be inspired – apply to Parks for People
The Parks for People programme is a joint initiative between the Big Lottery Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Our vision is that everyone should have access to a local park for enjoyment and recreation.
Watch our new Parks for People film about how Lottery funding has transformed Myatt’s Fields Park in London. You can see for yourself the difference that the funding has made – just think what it could do for your local park.
To find out more about the funding available and deadlines for submitting an application form please visit the Heritage Lottery Fund website.
Third Sector Knowledge Portal
The Third Sector Knowledge Portal is a new BIG funded website packed with research and information on the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors.
The website is hosted by The Third Sector Research Centre which is a collaboration of Birmingham and Southampton universities with additional input from Middlesex and Kent.
The content from the portal has been drawn from a range of sources including British Library collections and articles and Big Lottery Fund research such as ‘Where there is money there is influence’ exploring BIG’s impact on the third sector.
The research and information could allow groups and organisations to be better informed and assist in the development of services, together with strengthening funding applications and help improve project impact measurement.
For further details of knowledge portal please visit our Research and Learning web page
Other news & events
Village SOS deadline looming
Don’t forget that you only have until 2pm on Wednesday 12 September 2012 to submit your application to Village SOS. There are grants of £10,000 to £50,000 available to support rural community enterprises in villages and small towns with a population of less than 3,000 people. For more information visit the Village SOS website.
Assist programme
BIG and NCVO have teamed up for a new £6 million initiative. The Assist programme will help voluntary sector support and development organisations adapt to the changing needs of the frontline. The majority of the funding will go directly to local support and development organisations. These organisations will then be able to choose what support they need to adapt their services to changing needs, funding and expectation of frontline organisations.
The programme will formally launch in autumn. For more information keep an eye on the NCVO website. You can also read their Assist Q&As.
Heroes Return still open for applications
Do you know a Second World War veteran who has yet to take advantage of this funding?
A grant can be used towards travel and accommodation costs to visit the places where veterans saw active service abroad or to attend a commemorative event in the UK. The funding can also pay for someone to travel with them. Widows and widowers of veterans can also apply. For more details visit our website or call the Heroes Return helpline on 0845 0000121.
3VA funding and information fair
Wednesday 19 September 2012, 11am to 3.30pm
Calling all voluntary and community groups in East Sussex! 3VA has organised a free funding and information event at the Uckfield Civic Centre on 19 September. The event aims to put you in touch with local and national funding bodies as well as offer advice on setting up and running an organisation.
For further details on the workshops and to book a place at the event please contact Sue Shoesmith at sue.shoesmith@3va.org.uk or call her on 01273 483832.
Want to stay up to date with BIG news in the South East?
Connect with us on twitter and facebook