New funding opportunities – July summary

Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund

The BBC TV series Wild Isles has brought the story of UK nature to our screens with more drama, beauty and spectacle than we’ve ever seen before.  It’s our responsibility to make sure this isn’t our last chance to marvel at UK nature in its current state. Save Our Wild Isles is an urgent call to action for everyone.

We know that communities across the UK play a crucial part in helping to restore nature.  This new £1 million Community Fund, inspired by the BBC’s Wild Isles series, will provide additional funds for community groups to drive forward action for nature in their local area. 


Arete Foundation

Funding and support to charitable organisations that help young people in NW England. It is made up of two funding streams.  One-off unrestricted grants for small community organisations, the typical one-off grants range from £2,000-£2,500.  The Foundation aims to support organisations with a turnover of less than £500,000. Funding stream two is based on long-term funding partnerships for small North West charities that want to strengthen and grow.  Typical grants of £10,000-£30,000 pa for 3 years, to scale or strengthen operational health.

Applications for the October grant round: Open 1st May, Close 31st August.


National Lottery – Places of Worship

The National Lottery Heritage Fund, in partnership with the National Churches Trust, is making £1.9 million in funding available to increase the resilience of places of worship in Scotland, Wales and the north west of England (Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria).

The three-year Cherish programme will provide grants of between £500 and £10,000 to help places of worship with small repairs, project development and maintenance, along with support which will be tailored to local needs. Places of worship in Scotland and the north west of England will get help with exploring community uses for their buildings, while places in Wales will benefit from developing their visitor offer.