LandAid, the property industry’s charity which supports projects that help disadvantaged or homeless people (particularly young people) has announced that its grants programme is due to re-open for applications on the 1st May 2012.

Grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 will be available to support projects that:

• Provide accommodation or assist in meeting accommodation needs.
• Refurbish or renew facilities
• Deliver training, life skills or other educational programmes.

The closing date for applications will be the 31st August 2012.

Visit LandAid website for details

A Sensory Success Story

When Sue Ingram’s severely disabled son Jamie attended an adult respite home for the first time, Sue was astonished at the lack of space available.  There was nowhere for Jamie to just relax, to just be a 16 year old boy and enjoy time with friends or enjoy the outside world. The garden at the back of the home was, in Sue’s words “ a concrete jungle”. With mould plastic chairs and overgrown grass, it was not exactly the exciting, attractive space Jamie and the home needed.

After hearing how Solihull Hospital had been successful in their bid for lottery funding Sue decided to apply to the Awards for All programme through her community organisation Club 22. Club 22 is a group of parents with teenagers and adults of similar disabilities who share experiences and seek money and support to provide the facilities so desperately needed. Sue applied to the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme and was overjoyed when she found out Club 22’s application for a sensory garden was successful.

With £10,000 of funding “our own special garden was now a reality” says Sue.

The garden was designed by a specialist landscape architect and has improved the existing environment substantially, turning it into a safe and more stimulating space for beneficiaries to relax in. Organisers say visitors can enjoy observing the moving stars and reflections, watching the fibre optic colour changes, feeling the many textures and playing with the wooden dashboard style controls. Special features include sensory plants and a water feature. “The garden has been a fantastic success which is now used by people outside of the home who also have special needs. It really is a place of our own” says Sue.

To find out more about the Awards for All programme and how you can apply, please visit the Awards for All website

Councillor Ken Meeson, Leader of the Council and Phil Mayhew, as Compact Champion have written again to all commissioning staff within Solihull Council “to remind commissioners of the need to work with the voluntary and community sector and to do all that we are able to do to ensure that the sector is informed and engaged in the commissioning process.”

Recognising the financial pressures from spending cuts they ask that “At a minimum, organisations should be given at least 12 weeks notice of any reduction but this we would stress really is an absolute minimum and the expectation is for earlier engagement and dialogue.”

They ask Commissioners to “ensure that you are familiar with the principles of the Compact and use it as a resource to assist your work with the sector.”

The letter also asks that they consider the Best Value guidance issued by Eric Pickles – the full text of the ‘single page’ guidance can be read by clicking on the link below and you can also download a copy of the letter from Ken Meeson and Phil Mayhew.

We cant ask for fairer treatment than that.

Read Eric Pickles Best Value Guidance

Download the letter to commissioners

v, the national young volunteers service, is increasing the number of awards available to young volunteers.  In addition to the existing v50 award, v is introducing a v10 and v100 award.

Any volunteer aged 16-25 in England can apply for one of three vinspired awards simply by keeping a record of their volunteering online:

• v10, gained from completing 10 hours of volunteering in your local community.
• v50, gained from completing 50 hours of volunteering.
• v100 achieved by doing a total of 100 hours volunteering

More information can be found on the vinspired website.

sported, a charity founded by Deputy Chair of LOCOG Sir Keith Mills, is now offering services across the majority of the West Midlands and is looking for organisations in Solihull who require support and funding.

The charity offer services to groups, clubs, organisations and social enterprises delivering Sports for Development projects, which use sport to have a positive community or social impact. Applicants have to be engaging with young people aged 11-25 and working within disadvantaged communities.

The main service offered by sported. is capacity building support and a linked main grants programme. Successful applicants receive hands on capacity building support delivered by experienced volunteer business mentors, who have a range of corporate and voluntary sector experience, and have a access to the main grants programme with an average grant of £7,000.

The aim of the funding and support provided is to improve the sustainability of the organisation as well as assisting in making the service they provide more professional. Examples of support include the areas of Business Planning, Fundraising, Marketing, Volunteer Management, Budget Planning and many other areas.

With additional services offered exclusively to sported. members being launched shortly, the following services intend to be available to members:

• Online Resources and Factsheets
• Small Grants Programme
• Experts Team
• Regional Training
• Regional and National Conferences/Events

To apply for support and become a member, complete the expression of interest form on the sported. website . Note there is no cost involved in being a member.

Further information is available on the sported. website or by contacting John Ellery, West Midlands Regional Manager on 07901339336 or via j.ellery@sported.org.uk.

No matter how hard your organisation has been hit by the cuts so far, it’s vital to make sure that you are leaving no possible funding avenue unexplored.

The NCVO’s Funding experts offer some advice and tips

Businesses owned by ex-Armed Service personnel across the UK are able to access vital finance via the Royal British Legion’s Be the Boss loan fund to start and grow their own small businesses.

Visit the British Legion’s Civvy Street website for more details

Douwe Egberts UK is running a competition to give small charities the chance to win £10k for a project that benefits their local community. Second and third place prizes of £5k and £3k will also be awarded.

Any cause that has a registered UK charity number and an annual turnover of between £5,000 and £50,000 can enter the competition. When entering you will be asked to outline a specific project for which you intend to use the winning donation. This project should fit within the three categories (re-use, re-fill and re-cycle) as outlined below.

• Re-fill is about replenishing a project low on funding so you can continue your good work.
• Re-use is about restoring facilities that are falling into disrepair or which are needed for a different use
• Re-cycle is about transforming something old and unusable into something useful, like turning wasteland into allotments.

To enter, simply go to www.facebook.com/douweegbertsuk on or after the 7th February, click ‘like’ and follow the Facebook application through to the entry page. Once here, follow the step-by-step entry process. Full T&Cs and entry criteria can be found on the Facebook page. Please note that your charity will be reviewed after you have registered with the application to ensure it meets the full eligibility criteria.

Once you have entered you will receive a campaign support kit, which includes a template letter, press release, A4 poster, A5 poster and some useful tips on drumming up support and ultimately boosting the public votes for your entry in your local area.

For more information, contact the team on 020 7554 4496 or email coffeecompetition@rt-com.com

BIGinvest is a specialised provider of finance to social enterprises. Loans are available for Commercial property renovation or purchase, equipment purchase, growth or acquisition and working capital. The average size of Big Issue Invest’s loans are around £200,000. The minimum loan size is £50,000. Each loan is tailored to each enterprise’s stage of development and risk profile, as well as being focused on scale-up.

Applications can be submitted at any time.

See BIG Issue Investment website for details.

Grants of between £1,000 and £25,000 are made to registered charities in the UK within the areas of:

• arts and culture
• environment
• health
• education
• disadvantaged.

Applications can be made at any time as there are no application deadlines.

Visit the Steel Charitable Trust website for details.