Hi there, here is October’s update!
I’ve just been looking back at Septembers newsletter – and honestly – it feels like a lifetime ago since I sent that out!
It’s really hammered home just how many things we cram into each month, and I suppose its quite a useful activity, as it has forced me to just take stock on all the things we achieve – and then swiftly forget about as we simply move on to the next task, the next project, the next goal!
The aim of this newsletter, as always, is to save you a little bit of time.
It’s an absolutely packed issue this month!
I’ve tried to gather together some of the funding opportunities that are currently open – but also aim to highlight some of the events, activities and resources that are available to our ‘not for profit’ sector.
And remember, I also post all the ‘back issues’ on my website – so pop over their too if you are looking for more opportunities!
Feel free to forward this email to anyone else who you think might find it useful – and they can sign up to get it delivered direct to them here.
(Remember – you can also join the Free Facebook Group: Straight Forward Funding Sources (and Resources) for further news.)
#Funding News
National Garden Scheme opened for applications on the 15th September.
Delivered by the National Garden Scheme, the Community Gardens Award provides grants of £1,500 and £5,000 for gardening projects carried out within local communities. Applicants must be a fully set up community group, registered charity or Community Interest Company (CIC).
Applications close at midday on 20th October, 2025.
The Linnean Society Our Local Nature Grant scheme is designed to provide young people with an opportunity to take the lead on projects that involve their local nature and natural spaces, to aid young people in realising their influence to affect positive change, to have their voices heard, and see their ideas come to life.
The maximum award is £1,000 per proposal but they welcome and encourage applications for significantly lower amounts – in the last two years they have funded a wide spread of projects ranging from £150 to £1,000. These grants are available to individuals and organisations who are linked with a group of young people within the UK. This includes, but is not limited to, school staff, student groups, home education groups, community groups and small charities.
Apply by midnight on 25 October.
The Castle Studies Trust is able to fund types of work that enhance the understanding and knowledge of castles.
Grants will initially focus on new work on castles such as architectural and geophysical surveys or scientific tests such as radio-carbon dating as well as projects to enhance the general public’s understanding of castles such as reconstruction drawings.
Grants will be up to a maximum of £14,000 (incl VAT). They can also be used in conjunction with other funding sources to co-fund projects of a larger scale.
The grant application process will open in September each year and close on 1 December of the same year or on the Friday before if on a weekend.
The Great British Energy Community Fund Funding of up to £140,000 is available to help parish and town councils, community organisations, faith groups, community interest companies and even sports teams get started on clean power projects.
GBECF will be managed locally by the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub. Designed to help community groups produce power where it is needed and which local people benefit from and to contribute to the government’s mission of increasing renewable energy generation, two grants are available.
Stage 1 – Feasibility Grant: For those communities at an early stage of exploring a renewable energy project this stage offers grants of up to a maximum of £40,000 to cover consultancy and professional costs for the development of a feasibility study.
Stage 2 – Development Grant: For projects which demonstrate a good chance of securing planning permission and being implemented, the Hub will consider further development funding of up to £100,000 to enable more detailed investigation.
The window for applications is open until November 12th 2025.
The Spark Foundation make grants of amounts up to £700 which will either help to advance the education or vocational training or employability of children and young people under the age of 26, or provide those who are leaving care, or have recently left care, with basic items, facilities or equipment. The overall aim is to give this group the same chance as those who have not been in care.
They accept applications from 1 October for the December meeting.
The National Archives Seed Corn Grants offer between £500 and £5,000 to support early-stage, exploratory projects that spark new ideas and approaches to community engagement with heritage.
These grants are designed for community groups, Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) or other heritage organisations looking to test concepts, build partnerships, or pilot activities. Seed Corn Grants are designed to be flexible and easy to access, making it simple for anyone to join the Community Hub programme. They encourage new ideas and inclusivity right from the start.
There will be two application rounds for the Seed Corn Grants: one launching in September 2025 and another in February 2026.
Round 1 opens on 15th September and closes on 28th November 2025.
Round 2 opens on 2nd February and closes on 17th April 2026
The Southall Trust awards grants to charities that are registered in the UK. Typically, these charities will be working in at least one of the following four fields:
- Quaker Work & Witness
- Environmental Action & Sustainability
- Peace & Reconciliation
- Social Action
The majority of our grants are for one year, and for up to £5,000. They will consider multi-year funding (up to three years), but this is typically reserved for charities that they have supported in the past.
They will consider appeals for an organisation’s core and capital costs.
Jerwood Foundation supports excellence and emerging talent in the arts in the UK and welcomes funding applications from organisations. Their 2025 Winter funding is now open for applications.
Closing 2pm 15 October
Cash4Clubs 2026 applications are now open. Cash4Clubs is a small grants scheme for community sports clubs and organisations to use as they see fit, whether that’s to purchase new equipment, gain coaching qualifications or invest in the sustainability of their club. Small grants of £2000 (€2000 in Ireland) are available this autumn to support clubs and organisations that help keep adults engaged in sport, particularly in areas of need.
Funding is available to groups that support over 18s only. Applicants must demonstrate that they are using sport for social purpose. Examples include: operating in communities facing disadvantage, engaging adults from under-represented groups and tackling issues such as crime and anti-social behaviour.
Closing date: Monday 8th December 2025
The Comic Relief Community Fund is offering grants of up to £5,000 for grassroots, community-led organisations in England that support people living in, or at risk of, poverty or hardship.
Closes at 12 noon on Monday 6 October 2025.
The Access Foundation awards grants to support charities and CICs to mitigate the digital divide by making IT facilities, support and learning available to disadvantaged and vulnerable people.
They generally award grants between £10,000 and £50,000. This funding will normally support a project that lasts no more than a year.
There are no application deadlines. They aim to have approved or declined your request within 12 weeks of receiving your completed application. It could be much sooner.
The Charles Plater Trust Autumn 2025 small grants round is currently open.
Their three educational funding priorities are:
- Leadership for Lay People
- Educational Social Action
- Applied Research
The online application form for proposals will be live until 9th October 2025 and will close for applications at 5pm that day.
All grant applicants will know the outcome of their application by 19th December 2025.
#Just for Schools
The Ogden Trust CERN funding Applications for funding towards partnership trips to CERN are now open. This will be the final round of funding available on this programme. A webinar to support applications and planning will be held on Wednesday 8 October (please sign up here) and the deadline for applications is Friday 14 November. Trips will need to be held within 18 months of a successful funding application.
A school can apply for funding to support:
- Pupils not able to otherwise meet the cost of the trip (indicated by pupil premium or the 16-19 bursary or a scholarship pupil at an independent school).
- Pupils in other extenuating circumstances (e.g. those with a disability, special educational need or other financial need that may prevent them from attending, such as requiring to purchase a passport).
- Pupils from state funded schools that meet our priority audiences including those that live in remote rural or disadvantaged areas and those whose parents have not been to university.
They typically look to offer up to £250 per pupil eligible for pupil premium or equivalent, so please be aware that the school or pupils will need to complete additional fundraising. In the 23-24 academic year, the average grant awarded was £160 per pupil.
Engage funding is open for applications 9 September – 5 pm 14 October 2025.
With the support of UK Research and Innovation, we provide Engage funding to help UK schools in challenging circumstances run CREST Awards with students who are underrepresented in STEM.
The Engage Grant is £350 grant money for your school to run CREST Awards, which you can spend on materials, equipment, a field trip, teacher CPD and more! Plus, awardees will also receive a voucher code for up to £350 CREST Awards for free.
parkrun’s mission is to create a healthier and happier planet for everyone.
They’re inviting schools across the UK to join the mission and become a parkrun primary, and support young people’s health and wellbeing through the weekend with junior parkrun.
It’s easy to become a parkrun primary. All it takes is five simple steps:
- Register as a parkrun primary and connect with your local junior parkrun(s).
- Host a junior parkrun school assembly.
- Share information with parents and carers.
- Attend your local junior parkrun together.
- You are now a parkrun primary — welcome to the family!
Paul Hamlyn Foundation Teacher Development Fund support teachers to develop arts-based approaches which create equitable classrooms where all children learn and thrive. A primary school or an arts/cultural organisation may be the lead applicant.
- Amount: Up to £165,000 per application
- Deadline: 12 November 2025 at 12 noon
- Duration: Projects should last for two academic years
The Teacher Development Fund has a two-stage application process. The Fund has one deadline per year. The deadline for this round of funding is Wednesday, 12 November 2025 at 12 noon.
Do you need help getting to grips with grant funding?
Take a look at the Straight Forward Funding Membership Programme.
Low cost, high impact support delivered on a month to month basis
No contracts, no commitment, a simple ‘pay as you go’ process.
OPEN NOW
This is a really practical programme; there are no meetings involved, no commitments required – simply a ‘pick and mix’ offer of information, resources and 1:1 support.
This is what one of out members had to say this week after booking in for a Members Only SOS Call:
“Thank you so much for your time on Wednesday and for all the information that you have sent over, I just had a really quick look and it is so, so helpful so thank you very much…I really appreciate it!!”
Find out more here
#Useful Stuff
Smart Energy Advice Workshop By Centre for Sustainable Energy
This free online workshop is designed for frontline energy advisors, community energy workers, and advice organisation staff and managers who want to enhance their smart energy advisory skills and better support their clients through the smart energy transition.
Date & Time: Wed, 22 Oct 2025 10:00 – 14:30 BST (online and free!)
CAST have created a living library of resources that they hope will support you as you explore the challenges and opportunities associated with AI. They will add to this section regularly. This includes a range of free courses designed to help you and your organisation get started with AI.
Interesting article from CAST: Top Ten: 10 ways the sector is experimenting with AI
Nominations for The King’s Award for Voluntary Service are now open. Equivalent to an MBE, KAVS is the highest Award given to local voluntary groups in the UK, and they are awarded for life.
Nominations for the 2026 round are now open and will close 1st December 2025.
New FREE webinar – How to secure corporate fundraising – delivered by Benefact Group. Companies in the UK give roughly £2 billion to the charity sector a year – but they also give much more than money. They lend skills, social media channels and can even help solve the problems you exist to tackle. This makes corporate partnerships the most exciting form of fundraising. But it can be hard to know which stories to tell, who to tell these stories to, or how much to ask a company for.
Andy King, Director of Fireside Fundraising is an award-winning fundraiser and will run you through how to answer these questions – giving you the tools and tips you need to start securing corporate partners.
Date: 08 October 2025
Time: 10:00am – 11:15am
GetGrants are running a FREE virtual conference on the 7th and 8th October. Sessions include (amongst many others):
- Unbeatable Bid Writing
- Fundraise Smarter, Not Harder
- Rejection to Resilience
- How Not to Use AI
Don’t worry if you can’t make all the sessions – everyone will receive the recording of the whole conference.
Register here: Get Grants Virtual Conference Booking Page
Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport Week takes place from 6-12 October
Grassroots sports organisations can download an activation pack full of marketing materials to help promote this year’s Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport Week.
Run by the Child Protection in Sport Unit, this year’s campaign is focused on helping parents and carers play their part by understanding what support their child needs – before, during and after activities.
Before I go…..
I’m now taking bookings for January – take a look at the workshops I can deliver and get in touch for a chat if you would like to know more.
Are you making the most of my free resources? Use these links to receive my:
Schools and Education free termly newsletter
Visit my resources page for a host of free tools and resources
‘Straight Forward Funding Resources’ Facebook Group, where I post more info about funding, along with any useful information and resources.
See you next month!