Funding

The North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub is now inviting applications for the Community Energy Fund.

Please note, all funding is subject to final agreement between the Net Zero Hubs and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The submission of an application form does not guarantee funding.

Overview

The Community Energy Fund (CEF) is a £10m grant scheme for urban and rural communities to develop energy services to benefit their local area.

The funding will help to kickstart clean energy projects including small-scale wind farms and rooftop solar partnerships, as well as battery storage, rural heat networks, electric vehicle charging points. It can also be used to fund fuel poverty alleviation schemes such as energy efficiency, retrofit, and advice projects.

The new fund follows the success of the Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF), with an expanded remit to include both rural and urban areas in England.

Aims of the scheme

The CEF aims to empower local people to take control of their energy future by:

• Increasing the number of community-owned low-carbon energy assets
• Supporting communities to reduce energy cost and demand
• Generating local income through community-owned energy assets
• Reinvesting income locally and kickstarting private investment
• Supporting local jobs, growth and volunteering opportunities
• Enabling places to benefit from clean, renewable, local energy

The fund will achieve its aims by supporting the earlier-development stages of community-scale projects.

About the funding

The fund is for the development of projects from concept to investment-ready scheme. It does not provide capital funding for the installation of projects themselves.

Funding will be offered for a Stage 1 Feasibility Grant of up to £40k to produce a feasibility study to establish the technical and financial viability of a project, and/or a Stage 2 Development Grant of up to £100k for a more detailed investigation of the technology, for planning applications and to develop a business case.

Who can apply to the CEF?

The fund is for eligible community-based organisations on England with projects that will bring benefits to the local community. These are:

• Amateur sports clubs
• Charitable Incorporated Organisations
• Community Benefit Societies
• Community Interest Companies
• Co-operative Societies
• Development Trusts
• Faith Groups
• Pre-commencement societies
• Registered charities
• Registered Social Landlords (partnered with a community group)
• Town or Parish councils

Applicants need to show that a good level of community engagement has been carried out, and that there is genuine community support for the project, including plans for ongoing community engagement.

How will the fund be delivered?

The CEF is a national scheme funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. It will be delivered through the five Local Net Zero Hubs across England, which support the public sector and not-for-profit organisations to develop net zero projects and attract investment.

Eligible applicants should apply to the Fund via their local Net Zero Hub.

Apply for the Community Energy Fund

The North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub will run three application rounds for the Community Energy Fund, subject to funding available, with timescales for the first round as follows:

Round 1

• Open for applications – 05/12/23
• Close for applications – 05/01/24
• Successful applicants notified – w/c 19/02/24

Please fully read the guidance document before completing your application form. Please also ensure that you are completing the correct application form for the funding you require. Stage 1 funding is for the completion of feasibility studies, while Stage 2 funding is available for post-feasibility project development.

To apply for the Community Energy Fund, please submit your application and all supporting documents to [email protected] midnight on 5th January 2024

Read more and apply for the Community Energy Fund here.

Women veterans who have suffered sexual trauma in the military will soon have access to improved clinical support within the UK healthcare and charity sector thanks to a new £200,000 government fund. This funding will support the rollout of dedicated training and guidance for frontline staff to support women veteran survivors of sexual trauma across healthcare services, military and civilian charities.

£200,000. UK Healthcare and charity sector.

Find out more about the Office for Veterans Affairs

This grant programme will support projects that provide hospice/ palliative care for people who are terminally ill and dying at home. Funding is available to encourage hospices to expand their services to new client groups as well as their carers/families, by inspiring and funding small innovative projects that will make a tangible difference to people dying at home. 

The intention is that project outputs would lead to examples of best practice, a framework of ‘what good looks like’, opportunity to share issues and encourage hospices to work together to provide a specialist service.

Up to £40,000. UK Hospices. Open – 5th December 2023 to 29th January 2024

 Read more and apply here.

The Fat Beehive Foundation is an independent UK registered charity that provides small grants for websites and digital products to other small UK registered charities with a turnover of less than £400,000. Funding priority for this quarter is art and culture, with an additional focus on hard-to-fund digital expenditure that other funders often won’t cover.

Up to £2,500. UK Registered Charities. Deadline – 5th January 2024

Find out more about The Fat Beehive Foundation

Co-op Foundation, Co-op and the #iwill Fund have partnered to deliver a £4.5 million fund aimed at supporting youth-led social action in communities.

Individuals aged between 10 – 25 and groups or organisations with an annual income of less than £250,000 are invited to apply. Applications are encouraged from young people that traditionally have not had access to funding, or have experienced barriers that prevented funding, and those from marginalised groups and communities.

Up to £20,000. Individuals and small groups or organisations.

Deadline – 19th December 2023

Find out more about the Young Gamechangers Fund

The North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) is inviting applications from organisations for provision related to their UKSPF People and Skills 2024/2025 investment, which aims to:

• Simplify the employability landscape, to make it easier for residents to access provision;
• ensure that employability provision is demand led, prepares people for labour market opportunities and that employers are involved in shaping delivery;
• create an employment journey which supports people towards work, into work, and within work.

They are interested in innovative proposals that focus on providing both economically inactive and unemployed residents with support to move towards work, into work, and within work. Lead organisations are required to submit applications in the form of a business case and finance and outputs table document.

£500,000 – £1.5m. Open to all organisations.

Deadline: 15th December 2023

Read more and apply for UKSPF funding here.