Description
Grants are available to voluntary and community organisations in the United Kingdom for small-scale projects to take action on climate change.Current StatusOpen for ApplicationsMaximum value:£ 10,000
Objectives of Fund
The Together for Our Planet funding programme aims to support the nurturing and development of local ideas, contributing to a legacy of ongoing climate action projects in hundreds of communities across the UK.
Value Notes
The fund has a total value of £2.5 million.
Grants of £1,000 to £10,000 are available.
It is expected that approximately 400 to 500 awards will be made through this programme.
Who Can Apply
Applications will be accepted from the following organisation types:
- Constituted group or club.
- Voluntary or community organisation.
- Registered charity.
- Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO/SCIO).
- Community interest company (CIC).
- Not-for-profit company.
- School, college, university (providing the project benefits and involves the wider local communities).
- Statutory body (including town, parish and community council).
- Community benefit society.
Organisations must have at least two people on their board or committee who are not related.
Projects will need to meet at least two of the following criteria:
- Support the development of longer-term climate action within communities (that is, taking place after the COP26 event in November).
- Encourage communities to plan for the climate emergency – to consider what climate action could mean to them and why it matters.
- Celebrate the importance of community-led climate action and encourage more people to get involved.
- Build resilience in communities that are hardest hit by climate change.
- Provide jobs, skills or training opportunities for communities which support climate action.
When assessing applications, priority will be given to:
- People and communities hit hardest by climate change.
- People and communities who are starting to think about taking climate action.
- Groups who have not received funding National Lottery Community Fund support before.
- Groups who do not have a current award with the National Lottery Community Fund.
- Smaller organisations with an annual turnover of under £100,000.
Restrictions
The following are not eligible for funding:
- Individuals.
- Sole traders.
- Organisations that can pay profits to directors, shareholders or members (including Companies Limited by Shares).
- Organisations based outside the UK.
- One individual or organisation applying on behalf of another.
- Alcohol.
- Items which will only benefit an individual or family, rather than the wider community.
- Contingency costs, loans, endowments or interest.
- Electricity generation.
- Political activities.
- Religious activities (although religious organisations can be funded if their project benefits the wider community and does not include religious content).
- Profit-making or fundraising activities.
- Reclaimable VAT.
- Statutory activities.
- Costs that have already been incurred.
- Activities that improve educational attainment – personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), English.
- Overseas travel or projects that take place outside of the UK.
- Costs of travel to and from the COP26 event.
Eligible Expenditure
Funding is intended to support projects that focus on one or more of the following areas:
- Food.
- Transport.
- Energy.
- Waste and consumption.
- The natural environment.
Eligible costs include:
- Community-led research, feasibility studies or work to create a plan as to how and what climate action will look like for the applicant’s community.
- Events and activity costs.
- Equipment and materials.
- Staff costs (proportionate to the funded activity).
- Training costs.
- Transport costs related to the project.
- Utilities or running costs related to the project.
- Volunteer expenses.
- Costs associated with delivering the project bilingually, such as translation costs.
- Small land or building projects. The applicant must either:
- own the land or building;
- have a lease that cannot be ended for five years;
- have a letter from the owner saying the land or building will be leased to the applicant for at least five years; or
- have an official letter from the owner or landlord that says the applicant is allowed to do work on the land or building. The applicant should also have any necessary planning permission for the work.
How To Apply
The deadline for applications is 18 November 2021 (5pm).
It is expected that most of the funding awarded will be to support activities taking place after the COP26 conference (which runs from 1 to 12 November 2021).
Guidance notes and the online application form are available at the National Lottery Community Fund website.
