The Gill’s Charity Fund

The Gill’s Charity Fund offers funding to organisations for projects for the benefit of older people resident in the Borough of Carrickfergus (as per the old Local Government area).

In recognition of the needs of older people, and the great work that groups supporting older people are doing, the Community Foundation acquired the management and administration of the Gill’s Charity Fund in 2021.  The Fund will be accessible annually.

Who can apply?

• Fully constituted voluntary organisations and community groups based within Northern Ireland, although the project must be strictly aimed at older people resident in the Borough of Carrickfergus only.

• Applying organisations should provide, promote, maintain or manage or organise amenities and facilities for the promotion of welfare or recreational or cultural activities of a charitable nature.

• Organisations with an income level of below £100k

Examples of types of projects that may be supported:

• Reducing isolation and vulnerability of older people, through supporting participation in activities.

• Reducing the fear of crime amongst older people.

• Encouraging and supporting independence of older people.

• Improving health and well-being, and supporting older people to remain in their homes.

• Supporting older people to keep warm.

• Supporting older people to access a nutritious meal.

• Reducing potential for age discrimination, and/or abuse.

• Enabling older people to access technology.

• Enabling older people to access potential benefits and entitlements that they may not be aware of.

• Engaging older people to take community action.

• Enabling active participation of older people in the community in decision-making, and addressing issues facing their sector.

What can be supported?

• Running costs, such as sessional costs for tutors, venue hire, transport.

• Capital costs are eligible, if essential to the project

Closing date for applications is 27th March 2023. For more information and to apply, please visit The Gill's Charity Fund - Community Foundation Northern Ireland (communityfoundationni.org)

McCarthy Stone Foundation Small Grants Programme

The Foundation awards one-off grants to registered charities and community organisations working towards the primary focus of our charitable outcomes. We’re keen to give grants to grassroots and volunteer led charities helping to make a difference in the community.

Our Spring Grants Programme for 2023 is now OPEN for Expressions of Interest. 

Please note, to be eligible your organisation should be under £500k of annual income, volunteer driven, and able to demonstrate the impact of your work on people over 65 in the local community. If you meet these criteria, you can submit an CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT AN EXPRESSION OF INTEREST. 

We are also running a Winter Warm Spaces grant programme, with 40 grants of £750 available for local groups providing a regular, warm meeting space for people over 65. CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION.

We know that many small organisations don’t have the resources for complex or extensive grant applications and monitoring, so we will do our best to work with you to make the process simple, transparent, and fair. We will also work with you to help report on the impact the grant will have. You can also find out more in our Grant Making Policy that covers the processes and criteria in greater depth.

The Acorn Giving Circle

The Acorn Giving Circle (AGC) is made up of a group of women who aim to make a positive contribution to improving the lives of people living in Derry ~ Londonderry and Strabane, in a small but meaningful way through pooled personal donations.

When the pooled donations reach a target amount, the funds are made available in the form of small grants. These grants aim to support local charitable or community groups and organisations.

The Giving Circle formed in 2012 as a response to the establishment of the Acorn Fund (AF) in 2012 and is managed by the Community Foundation (CFNI). The Acorn Fund is a legacy of the City of Culture 2013 and works in partnership with donors and funders to encourage local giving which supports local people and causes.

AGC aims to prioritise its support to where the need is greatest and where it can make a small but important difference.

The fund wishes to support projects that will improve the lives of children, young people and older people through social, cultural, sporting or educational activities who live in Derry~Londonderry city and its environs, including Strabane Town.

Grants are available up to £1000. Closing Date for applications is 21st Nov at 1pm.

For more information and to apply, please visit The Acorn Giving Circle - Community Foundation Northern Ireland (communityfoundationni.org)

Building the Community-Pharmacy Partnership Programme

The Building the Community-Pharmacy Partnership (BCPP) Programme is led by CDHN and funded by the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB), with strategic direction provided by a multi-agency Steering Group. BCPP supports communities and community pharmacists to work in partnership to address locally defined needs so that people make connections, listen to and understand each other better and work together to address the social determinants of health and health inequalities.

We recognise that health is impacted by much more than the everyday lifestyle decisions that we make, important as they are. Research shows that social isolation can be as damaging for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. With this in mind, our projects aim to address these wider issues and tackle the root causes of poor health. These vary greatly for different groups of people and may include mental health issues, housing issues, low educational attainment, poverty or debt. Group work and relationship building is at the core of all our projects. By sharing our assets, our lived experiences and supporting each other we can achieve great things.

For information on the Programme or for some support with your application, please contact a member of the BCPP team on 028 3026 4606 or visit Building the Community-Pharmacy Partnership Programme | Community Development and Health Network (cdhn.org)

Closing dates - Level 2 - 17/11/22

BC & P Fund

The BC & P Fund exists to support small, locally based grassroots community projects in the Local Authority areas of Mid and East Antrim, and Antrim and Newtownabbey.

Criteria:

• Priority will be given to applications from small groups, typically with an annual income of less than £200,000, as evidenced in the most recent set of accounts.

• Projects must aim to directly support one of the following specific groups:

  • Young people

  • Older people

  • People with disabilities

• The Fund will not support projects targeting all ages.

• Priority will be given to projects that are:

  • addressing health and wellbeing issues

  • targeting those facing disadvantage (e.g. rural isolation, low income, social exclusion, reduced access to services

  • involving the beneficiaries in their development and delivery

Examples of types of projects that may be supported within Fund themes:

• Community education and training opportunities

• Communication and leadership skills

• Local initiatives to improve resources and community facilities

• Creativity and self-expression through drama, music or a range of arts.

• Inclusion and involvement of disadvantaged communities

• Out of school projects for young people

Who can apply:

• Constituted grass roots community and voluntary groups

• Have a committee of at least three unrelated Trustees/Directors (if there are more than three related, the majority must be unrelated individuals with no financial interest in the organisation.)

Grants available:

The grants are split into two elements:

• Small scale grants that are limited to £3,000 – £4,000

• Larger scale grants that are limited to £10,000 (only two of these grants will be available per round)

Closing date for applications is 3rd October 2022 and more information can be found here BC & P Fund - Community Foundation Northern Ireland (communityfoundationni.org)

The Older People’s Fund, Food and Fuel Small Grant Programme

The Older People’s Fund offers funding for projects that are planned and run by and for older people.  Originally called the Turkington Fund, it was created with financial support from NICVA via resources from Turkington and Seapark and is managed by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland. The fund has grown significantly in recent years with additional investment from the Community Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies.

In June 2022 the Community Foundation met with a number of key stakeholders and called for the formation of an Executive to address the cost of living crisis.

As part of the Foundation’s commitment to being flexible and responsive we have agreed to review some of our funds with a view to supporting communities at this time.

Among the hardest hit by the cost of living crisis are older people. Older people are often on fixed income, and the rising cost of food and fuel has often led to having to choose between eating or heating.

The latest cost of living research from the charity found around 65,000 households aged 60+ in Northern Ireland will have insufficient income to cover their essential spending this year.

Around 25,000 (almost 40%) of pensioners here are currently living in poverty or just above the poverty line.

There are concerns that over the next few months and into the winter that older people will suffer further.

In recognition of the needs of older people, the Community Foundation has therefore developed a new Older People’s Fund, Small Grant Programme with a particular focus on food and fuel.

Groups supporting older people, can access up to £5,000 of financial support.  

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply your project must target at least one of the key priorities detailed below:

• Supporting older people to keep warm.

• Supporting older people to access a nutritious meal.

• Reducing isolation and vulnerability of older people through supporting participation in activities.

• Enabling older people to access technology, and to potential benefits and entitlements that they may not be aware of.

There is no deadline for application and maximum award is £5000. For more information and to apply, please visit The Older People’s Fund, Food and Fuel Small Grant Programme - Community Foundation Northern Ireland (communityfoundationni.org)