Grants are now available to help communities celebrate Windrush Day in 2020, educating local people about the Windrush Generation's contribution to British social, economic and cultural life. 

The government has created the grant scheme to help charities, Community Interest Companies (CICs), local authorities and community groups fund their celebrations, involving people from all ages and all backgrounds.

The Cold Weather Fund from Homeless link will distribute £1 million to charities or CICs not commissioned by local authorities, to support homeless people.

Rough sleeping is a particular concern in winter time, and the funding aims to cut the number of rough sleepers on the streets by helping them find short-term and long-term accommodation. 

Grants of up to £25,000 will fund work with either one or both of these aims:

The National Garden Scheme Community Gardens Award has funding available to support community garden projects around the UK.

So far it has supported 59 projects, giving a total of £112,174 in funding, in memory of the garden writer and journalist Elspeth Thompson. 

City Funds, an investment funding initiative for Bristol, will offer mixed funding and early-stage lending to a range of projects that tackle inequality in the city. The aim is to bring together investment, grant, and local authority support.

There are four priorities for investment:

1. No Child Goes Hungry - helping communities grow, prepare and cook fresh food that is healthy and affordable.

2. Economic inclusion - making the local economy more diverse, and including deprived areas of the city, helping to secure employment.

If your capital project (including long-term use equipment) will cost less than £1 million, and you’ve already raised a third, then this fund is worth a look. UK registered charities and recognised churches can apply.

Applications are being accepted for the January 2020 trustees’ meeting.

To find out more, click here.

Bristol Libraries has launched a new fund to help community groups develop innovative ideas for their local library.

The Library Innovation Fund was launched at the Citywide Friends’ Group Meeting last night, and will see just over £100,000 split between the city’s 27 libraries.

The fund will enable communities to lead on putting the ideas they have about their local library and the library building into action.

To celebrate British Science Week (6-15 March 2020), grants of up to £1,000 will be available for community groups that work directly with traditionally underrepresented people or communities who are not currently involved in science activities.

Funding has been made available from the British Science Association, which runs British Science Week, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Underrepresented people or communities include:

NHS England has community grants of up to £2,500 available for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations with projects that celebrate patient and public involvement in healthcare. This can include service user involvement, carers and citizens.

Your project must show good practice around people's involvement, with the aim of improving health services overall. Partnerships can apply, but the lead group must be a VCSE organisation.

Voscur members have had a busy summer campaigning and collaborating, and autumn looks just as exciting.

The Continuation Fund from St. Monica Trust is open for applications from organisations in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, BANES or North Somerset that help people aged 55 and over.

Funding is for continuing projects, rather than new projects, that have already been running successfully for the past two years. The aim of the funding is to increase sustainability and help local causes that can make an impact, by supporting their ongoing work.