4Children monthly e-news

You may find the 4Children monthly e-newsletter an intresting resurce to follow- this month the newsletter includes a fair few funding opportunities:

A better start – early years fund

The Big Lottery Fund is to invest £165 million in early intervention projects for babies and toddlers in up to five council areas over a period of at least ten years. Earlier this month, expression of interest forms went to the chief executives of upper-tier local authorities with a submission deadline of 22 February 2013. Local authorities are asked to identify a voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisation to be the lead applicant if the area is invited to submit a full application. If you are a VCS organisation interested in getting involved in your local partnership, please contact your local authority.

Local sports groups to benefit from £40 million

Sport England invites local projects getting more people into sport to bid for funding. £12.5 million is being invested in the first two rounds of the Community Sport Activation Fund, with more funding available in 2014 and 2015. Community groups, charities and councils are among those that can bid for funding for up to three years, with grants of between £50,000-£250,000 on offer for a wide range of projects. First round bids will be accepted until 4 February 2013.

Tesco Community Awards

These grants offer one-off donations of between £500 and £4,000 to registered charities and not for profit organisations who are working on local projects that support children and their education and welfare. Funding is for practical benefits such as equipment and resources that directly benefit children. The next funding round is for applications for grants for children with disabilities: 1 February – 31 March. Read more about the application process here.
 

Bringing environmental understanding to all

The Kids Fund aims to raise awareness of the natural world by supporting disadvantaged young people aged 8–18 to take part in courses held at Field Studies Council learning locations. You may apply any time, the next decision round is 1 March.