Listed below are details of grants, awards, offers, competitions and other items of interest to parishes and schools in Northamptonshire. Some of these are time-sensitive, i.e. there are deadlines for getting applications in, and these will be removed a day or two before the deadline expires, so if you see something that's disappeared next time you look, contact Brin

28h November - Grants from Northants Community Foundation. From 1st April 08 "there will be one application and one set of Guidance Forms and groups will apply under one of our four funding programmes - Community and Family Life, Culture and Creativity, Healthy Living and the Environment, and Sports and Recreation (which includes the former Sport Relief grants). Applications for £250 - £2000 will go to a monthly small Grants Panel (next deadline 16th january) and applications for more than £2000 will go to a Community Grants Panel that will meet four times a year." (next deadline as above). Go to their excellent website for application forms and procedures, or ring 01604 230033. At present (November 2008) they are saying “Due to the popularity and success of our new way of giving out grants. our Main Funding Programme is nearly fully subscribed and so from now until 31 March 2009 for this programme we will be looking at activities for young people aged 13 - 19 not in education, employment or training. "
One of the grant streams they handle which is NOT subject to the above constraint is the West Northants Development Corporation "Stronger Communities Fund". This is for capital grants for things like community halls, play areas, equipment and security. Grants can be made up to £20,000 but most are expected to be made in the £1-£5,000 range. Guidelines available from here, you are advised to ring Matt Keen at NCF (see above) before filling out any forms. Deadline for the next Panel is 14th January.

12th December 2008 - Strategic Funding grants from Northants County Council for voluntary and commnunity groups. Awards of up to £40,000 are available to county-based organisations whose projects will contribute to the Council's aims of :-
 - A safer, freer and stronger community
 - A secure, healthy and independent future for our children, for our young people and for our adults.
 - A cleaner, greener and more prosperous County
As with all such public-funding purses, there are many hoops to jump through, and probably a lot of "monitoring and evaluation", but if you have a church-based project which is of genuine benefit to the wider community, especially in a needy area, then this is one of the few sources of serious local money and is well worth looking at. Guidance notes available from the Northants VSSU website.

12^th December - Corby Borough Council is urging local individuals and organisations to apply for a little help through their One Corby Open Grants programme for 2008/2009.
Over £30,000 is up for grabs through four types of grants, these are:
• Small Grants - £1,900 has been allocated to support small grants up to £500 to ad-hoc initiatives within the community. These grants allow new initiatives to get off the ground or for community groups to try new things.
• Themed Grants - £19,430 has been allocated to support themed grants between £400 and £1,500 for initiatives within the community that fit one or more of the current One Corby priorities of the council. These are:
- Community (e.g. improve the quality of life for residents through community initiatives)
- Leadership (e.g. improve access to services for all community),
- Environment (e.g. maximise the contribution of arts, culture, design and conservation activities to regeneration and growth) 
- Regeneration (e.g. support the economic development of the Borough).
• Arts Grants – 7,500 has been allocated for arts grants up £1,500
• Sports Grants – 2,000 has been allocated for sports grants up to £200.
Individuals and organisations eligible for the grants cannot apply for funding more than once in the same financial year or for the same project in two consecutive years.
All applications must be received by 12 noon on the deadline dates and all grants will be subject to available budgets.
For more information please contact: Kimberley Fitzjohn, Corby Borough Council  - Telephone: 01536 464022 Fax: 01536 464640
Email kim.fitzjohn@corby.gov.uk

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Money4Youth is the branding adopted by Northamptonshire County Council for the distribution of funding under the Youth Opportunity and Youth Capital Funds. These large pots of money are provided by the government under the "Youth Matters" initiative, to empower young people and to give them more choice and influence over provision and facilities in their area.The funding is available for projects for young people aged 13-19, with a particular focus on disadvantaged young people. The aim of the Funds is to involve young people, especially hard-to-reach young people, in improving the provision of positive activities in terms of more places to go and things to do. In Northamptonshire, £700k has been divided up between the Borough/District Councils and it is to them that local applications have to be made, so likely amounts are uncertain, but in other counties it has been hinted that grants can range between £5,000 and £50,000.Check out the Money4Youth website for further information and contact details. There is no deadline as far as I am aware.

There is a Connexions Small Grants programme (between £250 and £3,000) for the benefit of young people aged 13-19 who are not in education, employment or training, and those up to 25 with Special Needs. If your church or youth group has any activities which are of help to such people, enquire via Northants Community Foundation - ring 01604 230033 or e-mail them. No deadlines, you will receive a decision within six weeks.

Kettering Borough Council Small Grants Scheme will give grants up to £500 to local groups meeting the following aims:
 - Protection and enhancement of the Environment through funding essential minor works to Community facilities, crime prevention advice and other Community Safety initiatives.
· Reducing the effects of poverty through widening access and promoting social inclusion and equal opportunities by for example enabling individuals and groups to participate in Community, social and leisure activities.
· Supporting young people who would otherwise be unable to participate in National /International level competition or projects which benefit communities in developing nations.
· Supporting the development of the Community/Voluntary Sector through start-up grants and hire/or purchase of equipment.
See their website. Applications received on a rolling basis with eight-week decision period.

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The June and July 2006 issues of the excellent Funding Alert Bulletin from the Northants Council for Voluntary Services contained a very helpful summary of grants and awards from the Councils (County, Borough, District) in Northamptonshire. There are several different types of grant, and a range of criteria (from the most general to pretty-specific) and of deadlines (some annual, some four times a year, sometimes ad hoc for one-off events.) If you have a very local youth-oriented project in mind that needs a small cash boost, or even a capital building grant, contact Brin for details of your local council's funding possibilities.